By
When it comes to letting go of material possessions, it helps to separate your rarely used belongings into three categories.
Just-in-case items are the things you no longer use—chargers for devices you no longer own, clothing that no longer fits, old textbooks you no longer read—but you keep them around just in case you might need them in some hypothetical future. Personally, I let go of 99% of my just-in-case items using the 20/20 rule because most of them are clutter.
Emergency items are my one exception to this rule. These are important objects you hope you’ll never need—first aid kits, jumper cables, firearms—but you keep for emergencies only.
Just-for-when items are different. Some possessions don’t fit neatly into the Seasonality Rule. Thankfully, I haven’t needed my ball-peen hammer, slip-joint pliers, or laser level recently. But I’m certain I’ll use them again. The same goes for my umbrella, paint roller, and funeral suit. So I hold on to these things just for when I need them.
The key is honestly assessing which category an item belongs in. If we aren’t careful, we can invent endless stories that keep us clinging to clutter.
—JFM
P.S. Ryan and I talked about these rules—and a dozen others—in our Minimalist Rulebook, now available on Audible and Kindle.
The post Rarely Used Things appeared first on The Minimalists.