Just give it away

I called it a pram. But the modern marketing name was a “travel system”. Now almost 9 years old it had served us well for the birth of 3 children. Imported Italian made with grey polka dots. It was a real status symbol that showed one was materially able to raise a baby. With the last of 3 kids now walking and talking, why was it so difficult to accept this random cash offer and part with it?

One of the major disadvantages of storage space is that you typically find things to store in it. I noticed that when we moved into our current home we had loads of unused cupboard space but lately I have noticed that every cupboard in every room is getting full.

I don’t remember buying most of this stuff so decided to do a room by room clean out to see what exactly it is that was taking up so much space. I found clothes I hadn’t worn in years and ridiculous things like boxes for children’s toys that were no longer functional. I also realised that I owned over 30 caps. One for each day of the month maybe?

Meticulously room by room I identified those items that could be sold, given away or thrown away. The pile of clothing to be donated filled multiple black garbage bags on its own. I donated it to the wonderful old man who did our garden every week. He had a large family and I assumed he would distribute the clothing amongst them.

To my surprise he showed up every week wearing one of the items of clothing I had discarded. Always clean and looking smart. These were the only new clothes he had. I learned later that on the day he received the clothes he actually cried. This made me really think why do we have so much stuff that we barely use? We store it and keep it safe but potentially will never use it again. In my pile of obsolete electronics I found two TV’s, 2 CD player radios, 3 DSTV decoders, a DVD player and a cordless phone set. I can guarantee that I won’t use any of these items ever again. So why keep them?

The items I was able to sell provided some handy cash flow for the month, even though I sold them for significantly less than I paid for.

Coming back to the pram. The long story is that it was a gift from my mother in law. She is a wonderful, generous, loving woman and there was a sense of sentimentality in holding onto it. What are the reasons you hang on to “stuff”. Things that fill your home and your mind and your personal space?

I encourage everyone who has things they are not using, or will ever use. Just give it away. You can declutter your life, and make someone’s life better in one move. Don’t think too hard about it. Just give it away!