I’ve tried many times to purge the children’s art from our storage room. It’s been 20 years and I still can’t throw away this rendering of a cookie factory by a very young Daniel. (And many other masterpieces by our kids.)
Other things that I find difficult to remove, but should:
high school awards and yearbooks
unused recipe books
extra mugs
books I will not read again
plates we never use
old sleeping bags
unused picture frames
power cords collected over 30 years
cast off cell phones
old pillowcases
baby blankets
extra throw pillows
We don’t keep our clutter in the open. It lurks in our storage areas and closets. Decluttering is perpetual for me, but it really ramped up when the children left home. People don’t notice a difference when I clear a closet shelf or storage bin, but I notice that my mind is a little more free.