The Crucial Decluttering Question You're Not Asking

there are any number of questions we can ask about our possessions as we seek to minimize them some have offered questions such as does it spark joy does it add value does it serve my purpose i personally recommend two questions do i need this and why do i have it in fact you can find an entire video explaining that second question right here you'll find both questions incredibly helpful in your decluttering journey especially if you include the added step of touching every physical item in your home but i've come to recognize a third question that is helpful to many in fact if you're struggling to own less this may be the most important question you're not asking ask yourself with every item in your home what would i use if i didn't have it if the question can be answered quickly it is not an item that you need to keep i first discovered this question when i minimized the things in my kitchen and i stood face to face with countless tools and gadgets mark bittman in his article a no-frills kitchen still cooks which there's a link in the description below lists the only 30 items you need in your kitchen and i used his list as a template to declutter my own i'd collected way more than 30 items countless gadgets and tools i thought necessary to cook dinner for my family as i stared at a stainless steel egg separator that had lived in my drawer for years i thought to myself well surely i need to keep this how else would i separate the yolk from an egg until i asked myself this question what would i use if i didn't have it within seconds on google i discovered that you can separate eggs with a simple spoon or even no spoon at all i thought i needed an egg separator cluttering up my kitchen drawer but in reality i didn't need it at all there's more than one way to solve a problem and i already owned everything i needed to separate eggs i got rid of the egg separator haven't missed it at all when we ask ourselves the question what would i use if i didn't have it and quickly discover an answer it becomes easier to let go even if it's an item we use another time i saw this question help someone declutter was when i was helping a friend of mine minimize her kitchen over the years she had collected decades and decades of items and so we began the process asking the questions do you need it do you use it why do you have it we weren't making very fast progress and at one point i pulled a red santa tray from a cluttered cabinet and asked if she needed it oh yes she said i put cookies on that every christmas eve so i asked the follow-up question well what would you use if you didn't have it she didn't have to think long before her reply oh i'd probably just use one of the other red serving trays in that cabinet and in that moment as she was working hard to own less and free up space in her home and life she discovered something important just because you use an item doesn't mean you need to keep it especially when there are numerous things in your home that serve the same purpose the question what would i use if i didn't have it allows us to see our things in a brand new way it forces us to recognize the number of duplicate items in our homes you can make quick progress decluttering your space by removing the duplicate items that you own and this important question helps us recognize them and it allows us to find new solutions to the problems we face there is almost always more than one way to solve a problem you can offload many of the possessions you think you need by simply reminding yourself that you already own a solution to that problem elsewhere do i need it why do i have it what would i use if i didn't have it ask yourself these questions and declutter faster own less live more you'll love it [Music] you

Channel: Joshua Becker

Views: 144,735

Keywords: how to declutter fast, decluttering questions, how to be minimalist, minimalism decluttering, joshua becker, simple living, becoming minimalist

Id: dOHtLWVKNUA

Length: 4min 35sec (275 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 07 2022