Running Your Own Thrift Store?

Do you know what most people's reason for not wanting to get rid of stuff is? They are afraid they won't be able to replace their things in case they change their mind! I mean come on people, this is 2009 and you live in the United States. Unless your item is very rare or very personal, you should be able to replace it very easily.

I mean, look around any thrift store. It is packed to the gills with stuff exactly like your stuff. If you're hanging onto stuff like that, you're basically running your own thrift store, and who wants to live at Goodwill? Plus there's Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist, and a dozen other websites where people sell all kinds of stuff - collectibles, books, movies, CD's, clothes, you name it. So, what are you so worried about. Let your stuff go, free it into the wild. If it was really meant to be yours, it will find it's way back to you - honest.

I've decluttered many hundreds of items over the years, clothes, books, kids toys, purses, shoes, etc. I can only think of one thing I was every sorry I got rid of and that was a book. When I noticed that I had missed it and decided to replace it, it took me 5 minutes and about $8 to replace it on Amazon.com. That $8 was well worth the dozens of other books and other things that I was able to part with and clear out of my life. And you can "visit" your stuff at the Goodwill any day of the week for free!

However, once you've decluttered something, you are very unlikely to remember it. Like I said, I have decluttered probably a thousand pounds worth of stuff in all these years and I probably couldn't name 10 of the things I've given away. Seriously. Try it and you'll see.