Just In Case. These 3 little words will either bring clutter into your house or make sure it never leaves.
"Just In Case" shopping will cause you to buy items that you don't really need but you think you might need or that you hope you'll need some day. Shopping without a list can find you tossing random things into your cart just in case you might need it later. Pretty much it's buying stuff with "good intentions" and never really use it, like buying an ice tea machine just in case a guest would like some ice tea some day. Buying toys in bulk for your kids/grandkids just in case you need a quick gift to give. Even simple grocery items that you purchase off the top of your head can become clutter if they just sit in the cupboard just in case you need them in a recipe and you never use them.
"Just In Case" keeping will make sure you keep more than what you really need and use in your home. Just like when shopping, you think that you'll need it one day. Clothes that are too big or to small that you keep just in case you loose or gain weight. Specialty use kitchen gadgets often kept just in case need them to make obscure things like chocolate curls. Keeping items that you bought a replacement for like a better blender, but you keep the old one just in case the new one breaks.
When you are confronted with "Just in Case" thinking, ask yourself a few questions.
For shopping:
Do I buy this ahead of really needing it, or should I wait to see if I really need it?
Do I already have one of these?
Am I buying it just because it's such a great price?
Will I use this right away?
For keeping:
Do I have a duplicate of this?
Can I live without this?
Is it taking up space of something else that is more worthy?
Do I have something else that can also do the job of this?
There are so many things that we have in our house that we don't need and that are just taking up space, so why not pass it on to someone else that would love to have it. I was given a set of bear claw meat shredders because I make pulled pork. For years, those shedders just sat unused in a box with other obscure kitchen gadgets just waiting for me to bring them out and use them. After several years of never using them, I finally donated them because the only time I touched them was when I pushed past them on my way to grab my potato masher that I use just a couple times a year. As for my pulled pork, even though I had those fancy meat shredders, I always reached for some big serving forks out of my silverware drawer to shred my pork because they worked just as well, were easier to get to, and I can also use them as....serving forks....go figure!
Long story short, "Just in Case" is like "What if". You are really only guessing that you might need something and when you have too many :"just in case" and "what if's", you'll end up with too much clutter in your house weighing you down. So next time you go to declutter an area, let go of the 'Just In Case" things and you'll be on your way to living in a home with less cluttered in no time.
Good luck!!!
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