Do you own too many cups? There are tons of things you don’t need in your house. Can you remember the last time you decluttered your home?
Many people have difficulty throwing things out. But, if you take inventory of everything you own, do you know what to throw away and what to keep?
If you struggle with hoarding things you never use, today’s episode is for you! There will never be a better time to get rid of stuff you don’t need any more than today.
https://youtu.be/zsCQAKYGr2Y
Pet Peeves Poll
So, we took a poll the other day asking house cleaners in our Facebook group about their pet peeves. There was one of the pet peeves that was kind of peculiar. It stood out and it caught my attention because it wasn’t common at all.
This cleaner said she dislikes customers who have too many cups. She said cabinets and cupboards are only so big, and you can only fit so many cups inside.
I Have Too Many Cups!
And that got me thinking, well why is that a pet peeve? That’s kind of an odd pet peeve. And then I started thinking about my own cupboards and my own cups. Then I realized, wait a second, I have too many cups. But why do I have too many cups?
When I got married about 18 years ago, my husband and I were just settling into adult life. At the time, we had just enough money saved to either invest in a down payment on a home or have a lavish wedding reception.
House or Wedding?
Due to our age and practical natures, we ended up deciding to invest the money in a down payment on a home. The compromise was that instead of a big wedding reception, we would have an open house in our new home.
But in order for that to happen, I had to cater the meals and the rehearsal dinner, and then also the after party.
Renting Dishes Is Expensive
As a result, I decided to rent the glassware and then just wash them. So, I went to the catering company and asked, “How much will it cost to rent all these glass dishes?”
Well, it was going to be a dollar for every glass dish. That’s the glasses, the little bowls, the plates, the saucers, whatever, a dollar apiece. Now, if I broke them, it would also be a dollar apiece to replace them.
Carolina Pottery
So, I started thinking it’s going to cost about $400 to do this. But right down the street there’s a great big pottery store. At the time, it was called Carolina Pottery, and it sat right on the border of North and South Carolina.
And so, I went down there to see how much their glassware cost. When I got down there, it turned out Carolina Pottery sold the exact same design for a dollar apiece. So, the practical wheels in my head started turning.
I Bought Dishes Instead
If I buy the glassware, then I will have it for this party. But if I break it, I don’t have to replace it because it belongs to me. But if I own it, I can use it for every party that I have from here through infinity. Sounds like a better deal.
So, I went down, and I spent about $300 or $400, and I got all the glassware that I would need for this huge wedding party. Well, the truth of the matter is, flash forward 18 years, I still have about 95% of all that glassware.
The Dishes Added Up
It didn’t break and what’s more is the glasses have this fancy, fun, little design on it. It goes with every single place setting that we’ve ever had, such as holidays or fancy table mats.
But now I have a nice set of China that somebody gave us, and I have a set of dishes my husband had when he was a bachelor. Not to mention the hundreds of fun, plastic picnic ware we use for parties or outdoor activities.
We Had So Many Mugs
So, I started looking at all my cabinets. Of course, cups filled them. I had an entire cabinet filled with coffee mugs alone, and my husband and I don’t even drink coffee.
But we have employees who come over, and we do have a coffee bar for them, but they don’t even use those cops. They’re not allowed to have any open mugs near a computer, so they bring their own mugs with airtight lids.
We All Have a Lot of Stuff
So, I started thinking, wait a second, I have all these cups. Why do I have all these cups? Well, I have a place for all them and they’re all put away and they all have a happy home and one day I may use them again.
But for the most part, I could get rid of 95% of them and I wouldn’t miss them at all, right?
So, the reason I’m sharing this with you today is for every person it’s different. It could be T-shirts that you have gobs of T-shirts or that you have gobs of whatever it is. I started thinking about my clothing.
I Have Tons of Suits Too
I’ve have a whole closet of business suits because I used to do a lot of job interviews and training. During this time, I talked to consultants and ran entire programs for their staff.
And so, for those appointments, I would wear a business suit. And then in the last 18 years, I’ve been wearing my uniform. And so, when was the last time I wore a suit? But I have a lot of suits. And I started thinking it is time to cut down. Just because I have the space doesn’t mean I need to hang on to the stuff, right?
An Excess of CDs
I know for a fact one of the things I’m trying to go through right now, as we switched over from those little floppy disks to CDs. I saved all my documents and stuff that I ran my business with on CDs. Some of them had like 56 megabytes of space. My hard drives now are five terabytes. So, the 56 megabytes they just don’t go far.
But if I’m ever going to transfer that information, I better do it right now since new computers don’t have CD players anymore.
So, I have to hurry and transfer that information. I have spindles, lots of spindles, of CDs and DVDs, and they’re obsolete already, right?
What Do You Have Too Many Of?
So, what do you have in your house that you could get rid of? Just because you don’t need it or use it, and you can reduce that in your life? There are things in everybody’s homes that you don’t use.
For me, it’s too many cups. So, if you ever come over to my house just ask for a drink because I’ll give you a lot of choices of things you can drink out of.
Get Rid of Something
But I want you to stop and I want you to think during this pandemic, what could you get rid of that you just don’t need? Get rid of it.
It’s a way to free up some space in your home and create a cleaner environment. I want you to live in a clutter-free space. Let’s get there together.
