It sat there for YEARS.
Did nothing.
Bothered nobody.
Asked for nothing.
Then one day…
YOU THREW IT OUT.
Three days later?
YOU NEEDED IT.
LOL.
HAVE MERCY ON HOARDERS
THEY DONT WANT TO FACE THE CURSE
The item can be anywhere.
On a shelf.
In a drawer.
In the garage.
Under the sink.
Inside a box marked:
MISCELLANEOUS.
Which usually means:
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S IN HERE.
LOL.
It sits there quietly.
Days.
Weeks.
Months.
Years.
It bothers no one.
It takes up a little space.
You walk past it again and again…
until one day something changes.
You look at it differently.
And suddenly you say:
WHY AM I KEEPING THIS?
Uh-oh.
THROW IT OUT!
That is how it starts.
You wake up in a cleaning mood.
Dangerous.
LOL.
You begin strong.
Old papers?
GONE.
Broken thing?
GONE.
Mystery cord from 1998?
GONE.
Now momentum builds.
You are unstoppable.
Then…
you pick up THE ITEM.
And somehow…
this one feels different.
PLEASE…PLEASE DON’T DO THIS…
SAYS THE ITEM.
There it is in your hands.
Now comes the interrogation.
DO I USE THIS?
NO.
DO I NEED THIS?
NO.
DO I EVEN REMEMBER WHAT IT DOES?
BARELY.
So logically…
OUT IT GOES.
Except…
something inside says:
WAIT.
WHAT IF YOU NEED IT LATER?
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
There it is.
The argument begins.
YOU:
I HAVEN’T USED THIS IN TEN YEARS.
THE ITEM:
EXACTLY. I HAVE BEEN VERY PATIENT.
LOL.
You stare at it.
Turn it over.
Maybe put it back.
Then pick it up again.
Cleaning out things can suddenly become a courtroom drama.
LIGHT TO HEAVY NAGGING IS ACTIVATED
Sometimes the item wins.
It gets a reprieve.
Back into the drawer.
Back onto the shelf.
Back into storage.
And you say:
I’LL DECIDE NEXT TIME.
Next time arrives…
three years later.
LOL.
Same object.
Same debate.
Now it has seniority.
It survived two clean-outs and a move.
At this point…
it practically owns part of the house.
SORRY…MY WORD IS FINAL
Eventually…
you become firm.
Enough.
NO MORE.
I do not use this.
I do not need this.
It serves no purpose.
It is going.
FINAL.
The item has exhausted all appeals.
No stay of execution.
No governor’s pardon.
No last-minute call from the Supreme Court.
LOL.
OUT IT GOES.
Trash.
Donation.
Garage sale.
Whatever.
And then…
something wonderful happens.
SPACE.
You feel lighter.
Organized.
Responsible.
Mature.
Look at me.
I can let things go.
Very impressive.
For approximately…
THREE DAYS.
YOU FOUND A NEED FOR THE JUST-THROWN-OUT ITEM
And now…
THE CURSE.
You are fixing something.
Building something.
Looking for something.
And suddenly…
you stop.
WAIT A MINUTE.
I HAD ONE OF THOSE.
You walk to the place where it lived for twelve years.
Empty.
Then memory returns.
NO.
NOOOOO.
I THREW IT OUT!
LOL.
And of course…
you need it now.
Not sometime later.
NOW.
The thing that had no purpose for a decade…
has suddenly become the most valuable object you ever owned.
WHY DID I THROW THAT OUT?
It wasn’t bothering anybody.
It was just sitting there.
Minding its business.
Now I have to:
buy another one,
borrow one,
improvise,
or go without.
And the whole time you are thinking:
I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE KEPT IT.
THE CURSE HAS ARRIVED.
THE SEARCH BEGINS ANYWAY
Now comes another strange human behavior.
You KNOW you threw it out.
But you look for it anyway.
LOL.
Maybe…
just maybe…
you changed your mind at the last second.
Drawer.
Garage.
Closet.
Cabinet.
Box.
Other box.
That other OTHER box.
Nothing.
Then you ask someone else:
HAVE YOU SEEN THAT LITTLE THING I HAD?
They ask:
WHAT THING?
You now have to describe an object you previously decided had no purpose.
LOL.
THE LAST WORD IN
The curse does not stop when you fail to find the item.
Oh no.
It keeps talking.
SEE?
YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT IT.
DON’T THROW ANYTHING OUT AGAIN.
EVER.
That old object has now become the spokesperson for every useless item still in your possession.
LOL.
You look around and suddenly think:
I BETTER KEEP THIS.
AND THIS.
AND THAT.
Because what if?
WHAT IF?
There are those two dangerous words.
WE ARE BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED
And that…
is how clutter begins rebuilding itself.
You threw one thing away.
Needed it later.
Regretted it.
Now every questionable item gets permanent asylum.
Congratulations.
The curse won.
LOL.
What is interesting is…
WE started the whole cycle.
And WE can stop it.
Not by keeping everything.
Not by throwing everything away.
By using a little judgment.
THE THREE-QUESTION RULE
Before you toss something…
ask:
- HAVE I USED THIS RECENTLY?
- IS IT DIFFICULT OR EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE?
- IS THERE A REALISTIC USE FOR IT SOON?
If the answers are:
NO.
NO.
NO.
Well…
perhaps the item has had a good run.
LOL.
If it is specialized…
hard to replace…
or something you reasonably expect to use…
maybe keep it.
Simple.
Not perfect.
But better than letting every old screwdriver, cord, container and mystery part become a lifelong tenant.
THE “I MIGHT NEED IT” DEPARTMENT
This is the biggest category.
I MIGHT NEED IT.
True.
You might.
You also might need:
three umbrellas,
seven extension cords,
a 1987 phone charger,
six empty jars,
and a piece of wood shaped suspiciously like nothing useful.
LOL.
Possibility alone cannot be the standard.
Otherwise…
EVERYTHING stays.
There has to be some relationship between:
the likelihood of needing it
and
the cost of keeping it.
That is the balance.
SENTIMENTAL THINGS ARE DIFFERENT
Now…
some things are not kept because they are useful.
They are kept because they mean something.
Photo.
Letter.
Child’s drawing.
Family object.
Memento.
Fine.
That is a different category.
Do not confuse:
NO PRACTICAL USE
with
NO VALUE.
Memory has value too.
Just know WHY you are keeping it.
That changes everything.
THE BOX METHOD
If you are uncertain…
here is another way.
Put questionable items in one box.
Date it.
If you do not touch anything in the box for a year…
you now have some evidence.
Not proof.
Evidence.
LOL.
Then go through it again.
You may be surprised how many things you completely forgot existed.
And yet…
you survived.
Remarkable.
THE OTHER CURSE
There is another curse too.
The opposite one.
It sounds like:
WHY DID I KEEP ALL THIS STUFF?
LOL.
That curse usually shows up when:
moving,
cleaning a garage,
downsizing,
or trying to find one specific thing buried beneath 200 things you kept “just in case.”
Now the stored items are winning again.
So apparently…
there are TWO curses.
I THREW IT OUT.
and
WHY DID I KEEP IT?
Welcome to adulthood.
LOL.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
If you throw it away…
you will need it next Tuesday.
Another:
If you keep it forever…
you will never need it at all.
LOL.
And one more:
The goal is not to keep everything.
The goal is to keep what still earns its space.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“What we keep should either serve the life we are living or preserve something worth remembering.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“Possession has value when purpose remains attached to it.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“Release what has completed its usefulness without turning regret into another form of bondage.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Decluttering is easier when items are judged by:
actual use,
replacement difficulty,
emotional value,
and realistic future need.
Fear of future regret can cause people to keep far more than they require.
At the same time, throwing things away impulsively can create unnecessary replacement costs.
The better goal is not:
KEEP EVERYTHING.
or
THROW EVERYTHING OUT.
It is:
DECIDE ON PURPOSE.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with THE LITTLE THINGS MATTER…INTIMACY RESIDES THERE.
Some small objects carry memories far larger than their size.
It also connects with THE ANSWER MAY LIE OUTSIDE YOUR THINKING…WHAT THEN?
Sometimes our habits need examination before they become permanent rules.
And THE SIMPLICITY OF IT ALL reminds us that living with less unnecessary stuff can sometimes make everyday life easier.
FINAL SAY
So…
should you keep everything?
NO.
Should you throw everything away?
NO.
Use some judgment.
Keep what:
works,
matters,
serves,
or carries real meaning.
Release what has become nothing more than:
space,
dust,
and fear of future regret.
And when the inevitable day comes that you need something you threw away…
because it WILL happen…
LOL.
Buy another one.
Borrow one.
Improvise.
Survive.
Just do not let one missing screwdriver sentence every useless object in your house to LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE.
Because that is how we end up right back where we started.
Surrounded by stuff…
afraid of THE CURSE.
I THREW IT OUT!
LOL.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you