Temporary vs. Permanent
Temporary vs. Permanent – What to do with all the extra parts.
Sometimes clutter is just the stuff you are not sure what to do with once you bring it into your house or office. Not necessarily the thing you planned for and purchased, but the extra stuff that came with it. Everything from the free sample that came with your lotion, to the leftover screws and washers once the thing is assembled.
Occasionally there will be perfectly good stuff that came in the “kit.” But you really only wanted the blue one that wasn’t sold separately. Every time there will be packaging – lots of packaging.
To maximize your enjoyment of the items you want and need, it’s essential to eliminate the extra. To help you do that, consider creating personal policies about what lives only temporarily in your home. Not every item will become a permanent fixture deserving of its own assigned spot.
Temporary items are things like the wrench needed for assembly or hook up, the research materials for deciding what to purchase, the box the electronics came in, and the flavors you don’t like. Keep these extras only until you know the item works, or until you’ve made a final decision. Then, they’re gone!
Transient items come in, are used, and rotated out, like catalogs, news, food, toiletries, and light bulbs. These need a place to live, the oldest going out as the new comes in.
Permanent items are needed, useful, loved, and will be around for a while – furniture, appliances, clothing, art, and pets. Assign these a home and keep them there.
Packaging is designed to entice you to buy and to keep breakage to a minimum. There is no need to keep it once the item is home.
Remember, extra pieces are surplus and you don’t need them. Let them go and enjoy your new thing.
This article originally appeared in Sage, March 2010.
Tags: clutter, extra stuff, Habit, organize, organizing, routine, simplify, Simplifying, streamlining, systems
Hey! Cool article.