Rule number one of de-cluttering…
Just because you have something that was given to you as a gift doesn’t mean you can’t get rid of it.
A quick story to emphasise this point. When moving house once when I was a teenager we were packing up a clock that had hung on the kitchen wall for as long as I could remember and for just as long it had been 10 minutes fast. One of us said to Mum “Isn’t is time we got rid of that stupid clock it has never kept time properly” and my Mum’s response was “I can’t get rid of it, it was a wedding present”.
While carrying the box the clock was sitting in up the stairs to the new house, it fell out of the box and smashed to a hundred pieces all over the stairs. My mother laughed and said “well that’s the end of that”, swept it up and seemed quite happy to see the last of it. She clearly didn’t care for the clock and had kept it all that time just because someone had given it to her.
Lets face it, people don’t scope your house for the gifts they have given you when the come to visit, and if they do well that’s just a little weird. Maybe they will learn to stop buying you stuff that is not appreciated and is only likely to make it to the next garage sale.
This goes both ways so next time there is an occasion where gift giving is appropriate, donate something to a charity on their behalf or buy them something consumable like chocolate, fresh flowers or a fruit basket.
Todays item is a bike that has rarely been ridden in the ten years since I bought it. I am donating it to “The Bike Guy” in Newcastle who collects bikes from all over and passes them back on to anyone who drops by who wants one.
Wow! I have made a decision to declutter.. because of a post on tumblr, and it’s links led me to your page. I decided to go back and read your story from the start, and maybe follow your lead, and I think.. oh hey.. she’s from Australia, cool! Then I get to this post and see that you are from Newcastle! me too!! lol.. what are the chances that the second blog I read about decluttering is someone so close by.
Well.. you have inspired me 🙂
Jo
Hi Jo,
welcome to 365 Less Things and thank you for dropping by to introduce yourself. It is good to have another Novacastrian on board. I have been thinking lately of arranging a cafe-get-together of my local readers so we can chat about our decluttering experience. Would you be interesting in attending something that?
You might notice I changed your username to Jo from Newy so I could easily distinguish who you are from the other Jo who comments often. i hope you don’t mind, feel free to change it back or choose another username if you like.