March 7, 2007
In the last post we talked about the need to minimize our stuff, maximize our space and maintain our organizing systems.
Just what is all this “stuff” we have in our lives? What is it for? What is its value? Sometimes this can be very hard to determine.
Our “stuff” can be categorized by examining each item’s function and emotion.
Functional value is related to how important or useful an item is. A KitchenAid mixer will have high functional value to the person who loves to cook and low functional value to those of us to have all the local take-out restaurants on our speed dial.
Items can also be described in terms of emotional or sentimental value. A lock of your child’s hair is kept purely for emotional reasons.
All of the items that people own fall into one of four categories:
· Treasure – high emotion, low function
· Tools – low emotion, high function
· Toys – high emotion, high function
· Trash – low emotion, low function
Once you categorize your items into one of these four groupings, it’s easier to determine what you should do with these items.
Treasure
Treasures need to be either beautifully displayed or carefully stored. Is it something that you love to look at and makes you feel happy when you see it? It needs to be displayed so you can enjoy it. If it’s something that you want to keep but it doesn’t make you particularly happy to look at then you should store it.
Tools
Tools have a function but little or no emotional value. A hammer or a vacuum cleaner are examples of tools. These should be stored in a convenient place where they’re easy to get at when needed.
Toys
Toys are items that are functional but also have a high emotional value to the owner. We used to have a neighbour who was out every single Saturday lovingly washing and waxing his car. The car was functional in the sense that it took this neighbour where he needed to go but it was also emotional because he loooooved to keep that car looking good. Toys should be stored where they are ready to use and easily enjoyed.
Trash
These are items you don’t use and don’t like. These are the things we need to part with. Donate, recycle or throw them away. They serve no purpose in your home other than to take up space.
Once you start to think about your stuff in terms of these four categories, it becomes much easier to decide whether to hang on to it and where to keep it.
Reader feedback
I love to get e-mail from my readers. After the last post entitled “Minimize, Maximize and Maintain” I received a tongue-in-cheek e-mail from someone who said he almost deleted my newsletter because he read the subject line and thought it was one of those spam e-mails he always receives. Once I finished laughing because I realized he was right, I had a look at this latest newsletter. You’ll notice I didn’t put in the subject line “Tools, Toys, Treasure and Trash.” J
Until the next chapter,Lisa
