How to deal with clutter regret

Clutter regret is one of the regrets we fear the most: “What if I regret donating this particular item?” Take for instance the Legend of the Fuzzy Pink Bathrobe. Over all the things that I’ve donated over the years, I once regretted one item: my stuffed rabbit. The rabbit was a present. When the lady at my local goodwill store pulled this one out of the donation bag where I was standing  in the store, dropping of my stuff. “It will be perfect for our Easter’s display”, she said. My heart stung and I couldn’t utter a word anymore. I was regretting donating the rabbit at the spot.

Honestly? I felt more awful when my mother decluttered my favorite sweater: a yellow and green-hemmed sweater with a horse on it specially knitted for me by my grandmother. I LOVED that sweater. I would even try to put it on in the summer. Yet, apparently, my mother thought it wasn’t my decision (BOO!) and just threw it out. What a bummer.

In the end, I realized that it is common for people with too much stuff to attach emotion to objects. If we then lose an object, you feel like you might loose a part of yourself. But why? People are worth more than objects. You are not your stuff.

The funny thing is that when I got fewer possessions, I start loosing the attachment to my objects. I realized that I only needed a few basic things to live my life. Most of the stuff that I own is also quite easily replaced.

The truth is that I never wore the sweater again since it became to small, and the rabbit was boxed up for a long amount of time. I’m sure that there are photos of both objects and I love the space I got in return.

The moral of the story? It is ok to let stuff go – they will find better homes with people who are going to love and use it more than you ever did. It is only the attachment we have to our stuff that causes the regrets. If you are unsure, you can always do a dry-run by boxing it up before donating it before you declutter it.

Also, get the heck out after donating your stuff. Don’t watch other people going through your stuff. It will hurt.