"We have the space" is no reason to keep something
We all have our triggers, and this is mine.
Everyone has something that ignites the fire inside them, unleashes a bee in their bonnet, gets their undies in a bunch. Sometimes we can’t even explain why.
Mine is this phrase. I’ve had a hard time articulating exactly why, so I’m going to attempt to work it out in this post.
Here’s the phrase: “We have space for it, why not keep it?”
This phrase might enter your purview after you’ve found some successes with decluttering. Once you’ve achieved blissful empty space, people start coming for it. Husbands innocently suggest using said empty space to end a debate about whether or not to keep something. Family members start asking you to store things for them (Just Say No).
Now, I’m a huge fan of using your space as a limiting factor. If you don’t have room for X, then you simply can’t hang onto X. I go on about that here:
But the opposite idea—using your space as a reason to keep something—is anathema to me. I feel its wrongness deep in my bones.
Here’s an example. We have a Victorian home which isn’t Painted-Lady-intricate, but it has a lot of different paint colors going on, both inside and out. Between that and a rental property, there are a lot of paint colors to keep track of. We’ve generally kept leftover paint to use for touchups and such. Normal stuff…