Permission Granted

Permission granted? For what?  We are officially granting you permission to get rid of a few things we know you have stored somewhere in your home.  Typically, we keep such items for three reasons:

1.  “I used to use it all the time”-the key words here are “used to”.  If you no longer use it, you aren’t going to suddenly start using it.  It is probably taking up space or at least collecting some serious dust.

2.  “I have such great memories of it”-Yes, we know you do, but do the memories only exist when you in the presence of the item? Or can you remember the event without having to see/touch the item? We know the answer. 

3.  “Guilt”-This is the toughest reason of them all! We want to assure you that no one will turn over in their grave and the world wont stop spinning if you pull this item down from your attic or up from your basement and get rid of it.

Here are some examples of the items we are referring to:

• The homemade ice cream maker.  We know you bought it to bring the family together on hot summer nights.  More than likely, no one agreed on the flavor, it took forever to be ready and it was way cheaper to buy ice cream from the grocery store.  Go ahead and toss all the ingredients you bought to make the ice cream.

• Children’s medicine and baby thermometers.  If your kids are in high school or better yet, have moved out, you wont need these.  Our guess is the medicine is expired anyway.
• (Most) Owners’ Manuals.  This probably sent a wave of panic through you.  You may be thinking “But what if I need to fix my lawn mower?” So what you are saying is,  if your lawn mower breaks down, you have the skills to repair it.  Well good for  you! However, most manuals are typically available online.  If you are still nervous about this, check the company’s website, if the manual is there, ditch your copy.  If not (and this would be quite a surprise) permission granted to keep the manual.  For sure, get rid of the manuals for the items you no longer own.

• Take out menus.  Pretty much same goes for these as Owner Manuals.
• Anything purchased in the middle of the night, during an epic battle with insomnia, from any 30-minute long infomercial or website you stumbled upon.  Good news, many of these glorious items (bacon bowls, exercise equipment, pasta strainers, food hydrators…) can be bought locally, during the day when your judgement isn’t impaired by sleep deprivation.
• VHS tapes, especially the ones you recorded yourself.  Yes, we all enjoyed TV shows from the 80’s and early 90’s but think about it-Do you have a VCR? If the answer is NO, then the VHS tapes are useless.  If you answered YES, then we suggest you think about getting a DVD player, you will be amazed with the quality.  In addition, there are many options to watch your favorite shows-Netflix and Hulu are two that quickly come to mind.  If what you recorded has sentimental value you can always get it converted to a DVD so you can actually view it.

• Now the really hard items-gifts from family members.  You know you aren’t wearing that ugly sweater your mom gave you (Sorry Mom!), you aren’t setting out the decorative placemats, that DO NOT go with your home, at your next dinner party and you have no wall space for the framed 11 X 17 family picture (the one where everyone looks terrible, someone is likely crying and everyone is in matching turtlenecks). Get rid of the items.  You aren’t throwing away your mom or destroying your memory of your family by discarding the items.  Remember you can always take a picture of the item (digital-not to be developed) so you can alleviate your guilt for ditching the item.

SO-permission granted…and you are welcome!