54. 10 Decluttering Questions That Actually Work—Including the ‘Would You Buy It Again?’ Test

When the decision feels emotional, overwhelming, or stuck—sometimes it’s not about trying harder. It’s about asking better questions.

In this episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast, we walk you through 10 powerful decluttering questions that cut through guilt, obligation, and uncertainty to help you move forward with more confidence. From the “Would I buy this again?” test to prompts that challenge identity, obligation, and emotional clutter—these questions will help you get unstuck when “keep or toss” just isn’t cutting it.

You’ll learn:

• When to use each question during the downsizing process
• Why some questions work better for sentimental or inherited items
• How to apply these questions room by room
• How to shift your mindset from guilt to progress

Whether you're sorting through a full house or just starting to pare down, these tools are here to help. You don’t have to be ruthless—you just need a better way to think about your stuff.

🎧 Listen now and keep a notepad handy. One of these questions might just be your breakthrough.

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Let’s simplify, declutter, and create space for your next chapter—together!

Transcript

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time. Hi, welcome to Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. Today we're going to talk about 10 questions you can ask yourself. Like one of them is, would you buy it again? So we're going to talk about questions that relate to different reasons of why you might be keeping things. And what different questions kind of go with different reasons. And just to maybe help yourself get out of that rut that you're in of if it's like, hey, I I can't make any decisions on any of this stuff. Number one, what's the underlying reason that that you're having trouble with it? And then what questions can you ask yourself to give yourself a little bit of clarity around what that looks like? I'm Jody Roscoe.

Heather Fisher 0:56

I'm Heather Fisher, and we're gonna just help you get unstuck a little bit today. I think we hit walls of decision fatigue, walls of too much, walls of how do I get started? And these questions will just, you know, help you move past some of those stopping points to get you to the finish line.

Jodi Rosko 1:17

Right. So um I think we get a lot of like, hey, should I keep it or should I let it go? And that's such a broad question that sometimes it's hard to answer it. And we've talked a lot about when you put parameters around things, um, it makes it easier. And so I think maybe these questions will make it a little bit easier just by putting some different parameters around it of like instead of just looking at something, be like, oh, do I need to keep this or not? Like that's just too vague.

Heather Fisher 1:44

Yeah, we definitely hear that um in our classes, just broad categories of should I keep all my china, should I keep all my photos, should I keep all of my fill in the blank? And there's so many layers as to the personal story, back to stories, the personal story for each person, that those questions can't be answered in that general sense by us. Right. But these questions will help you answer it for yourself on whatever is is the sticking point.

Jodi Rosko 2:16

So why does the right question matter? Um, I think that we, you know, we just get stuck in our one straight line of thinking. Um and remember, stuff is just stuff. Um, and so it we really have to start thinking about what are the stories behind it and why am I keeping it? Is it because I feel guilty? Is it because, you know, I'm afraid I'm gonna miss it once I let it go? Is it because somebody gave it to you? Um, you know, what's the emotion behind it? Is it because it it it costs money? It's valuable in some way? Like what are what is why are you having a hard time letting it go? And I think um sometimes we just need to um create some space for reflection or or logic, you know, over emotion, um, or clarity over our emotions or whatever that looks like to figure out, you know, what what's holding me back on this thing, you know, why, why am I having trouble with it?

Heather Fisher 3:12

I think answering these questions and um making decisions on things based on on some of this gives you a little more comfort against the feeling of, oh, I just gave away too much. It it gives you that peace of knowing you thought it through and there was reasons why you didn't need to keep it instead of feeling just like a sweeping loss because you've attached some reason and some some thought to it, it it feels a little less um drastic.

Jodi Rosko 3:44

Yeah, and I think the quality of the questions that you ask, Tony Robbins says this the quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions that you ask yourself. And I think sometimes we don't ask ourselves quality questions about it because we're not doing any kind of deep thinking about it. And we talk to our real estate team about this all the time when we're talking about helping people with their houses and making sure that they're asking quality questions to get to, you know, finding the right home for our clients. Like that's super important to us. And so um asking the right questions can really make it so much easier. Yeah. Yeah. So um it's a it's a tool. They're they're just mental tools for us in a way that we can filter out things a little bit differently.

Heather Fisher 4:26

Yeah, just saying keep it or toss it is too blunt. It doesn't give a lot of thought around it.

Jodi Rosko 4:34

Right. So, okay, so um what helps, you know, so what are what are our questions gonna be? So number one, our first question is gonna be, would I buy it again today? And this is great for big ticket items or someday gadgets. I know we've talked about my ice cream machine. Um that you know you you you may or may not use and you think, oh, we spent money on it and I might should keep it. And um, you know, it's a bread maker, it's uh, you know, what whatever it is. And um ask yourself that, you know.

Heather Fisher 5:09

Exercise equipment. Exercise equipment falls into that. Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 5:14

Um things you really thought you want, that food dehydrator you wanted, or whatever it is. Um are you would you spend $200 on that again?

Heather Fisher 5:24

Like, yeah, trendy items, the item of the cr it seems every holiday season there's a new something. Right, right.

Jodi Rosko 5:33

And so um it's not that it's not a useful item still, um, and it's not that um y y you just may not be using it, right? Just because it has use, um, if you're not using it, then it's not doing you, you know, purpose in your life. And somebody else might think, oh my gosh, I make bread every day and I want that bread maker, and it would be amazing for them. And so um, so just be honest with yourself. If you had to buy that again, would you actually spend money on it? And sometimes that helps you reframe that ownership as like an active choice of actively using something because sometimes the answer is yes, like, yeah, I would need this again.

Heather Fisher 6:13

Yeah, I think you said it too that for someone else the answer may be completely different, and that's fine.

Jodi Rosko 6:19

Right. It's it's it's not the thing itself, it's how it's fitting into your life. And and so there's some other questions that are around how it's fitting into your life, but it's is it?

Heather Fisher 6:29

Yeah, yeah. Not just that it has life left, but is it supporting your life that you have to do?

Jodi Rosko 6:36

Correct. And so um I would say most of the time you wouldn't buy it again, often, especially if it's been in a cabinet and hiding somewhere in storage or whatever that looks like. You're not using it enough to be able to, you know, really tell yourself, yes, I'd be happy to spend that money over again. And you have to let go of the guilt that you did spend that money in the first place and you're gonna let it go. So, I mean, maybe you could get some money for it, maybe you can sell it. It's never gonna be the money that you paid for it. Um, but also it doesn't need to be sitting in there making you feel guilty that you didn't use it like you thought you would. So time to cut your losses on that.

Heather Fisher 7:12

Yeah. Yeah. Question two if this disappeared tomorrow, would I notice?

Jodi Rosko 7:18

Yeah, I think this is best um used in overfilled spaces, like when you're feeling like, ugh, this room is too much for me, or this area of my house is too full of stuff. Um, what could you let go of that you wouldn't even notice was gone?

Heather Fisher 7:35

Yeah. Yeah, we've uh, you know, we moved recently and um our youngest who's still in the house uh was away at college during most of the move, and now she's been back over holiday breaks and and just back in um in the house, and it's been interesting to see what she notices. Is there a nice? Yeah, because we've we've given and donated a lot, and um, you know, there's been a couple things that she's like, hey, what about where's this? And it is stuff we chose to donate, and it is nothing super important, but you know, the couple things she noticed, but then I think about the scope of how much we sold or donated or gave away and didn't bring with us, and if it's only these couple things, you know, right someone that wasn't there through the process is just like, oh, wait, right, it makes it feel okay. Like it's okay. We didn't need all that stuff.

Jodi Rosko 8:35

I know I've talked about you know my friend coming over and doing our kitchen and and we had like 13 boxes and I couldn't even tell you what was in it, but we're gonna find that this is either in in spaces that are overfilled um and you just don't see the stuff anymore. If you have a lot of decorative stuff out and um you just aren't you just don't look at it anymore because you're just so used to it. So um trying to decide which of those things is actually important to you and which is just there because it's been sitting there for 10 years and you're you you know used to seeing it, but it may not be important to you. But also I think this is a great one for your linen closets, your the top, you know, shelves of the cabinets in your kitchen, you know, all of the places that you have put things um that you uh probably wouldn't miss because you aren't actually using them.

Heather Fisher 9:24

Yeah. This question, uh uh we've talked about this before, but oftentimes you know, the s the sign of having too much stuff is not always like, oh, your house looks like a hoarder lives there or there's no surface areas. You can have too much stuff and your house still look very organized and tidy uh because of that storage space, like you're talking about. Um, you know, we've talked about when I cleaned out my linen closet and you know, at the start of it, it was organized baskets and the the shelves weren't overflowing, but cleaning it out, we still had a whole garbage bag full of expired things and things we didn't need. Um so even, you know, just opening the door and going, oh, it's good in there and shutting the door again, there's a lot of stuff that you you wouldn't notice if it if it disappeared and those shelves were just empty.

Jodi Rosko 10:18

And if you're not sure, this one is a good one for the maybe box, right? So this is a great one um if you're the tool that you're gonna use around it is um I'm not a hundred percent sure. I'm gonna pack this box full of things, and if I haven't opened it in six months, knowing what's inside and wanting to go get it back out, yeah, it's time to donate it because you've already looked at it once. You don't need to look at it again. Um, it's just time for it to go because you didn't actually need it and you don't even remember what's in that box now. So remember, we don't open that box unless we know what's in there that we need to get back out.

Heather Fisher 10:50

Yeah, once you hit that date and you haven't needed to do that, it just goes straight to the book.

Jodi Rosko 10:54

And if you need it, great. Like then then you know, like you remember what was in there and I'm I'm gonna need to use that, and that that that's what the maybe box is for. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so that one was if this disappeared tomorrow, would I notice? The next one is is this who I am now or who I was then? Yeah.

Heather Fisher 11:13

Categories um that come up are hobbies, crafts that you might have done. I think your wardrobe is a big one for this too. Um, are you still going to the events or the places that you have a large wardrobe for? Um you know, just as things change and you phase out of different activities, right? Are you still holding on to too much stuff around that category?

Jodi Rosko 11:41

Yeah, I mean wardrobe could be, you know, does that fit you anymore? Like does your body is your body different or are your activities different? Like wardrobe can be both.

Heather Fisher 11:49

Yeah, absolutely. And there's a lot of room to go through that. We've talked about tips for taking it all out and just deciding what you're going to keep for the wardrobe category. Um, but looking at especially hobbies and crafts and uh sports, athletic equipment, things like that, um, is there ways uh that you've reinvented how you do that activity, that maybe it's a smaller scale um or you're not doing it at home uh and you don't need quite as much equipment? Um or is it something you still do and love and that's the things to keep?

Jodi Rosko 12:29

Right. Crafts, like you know, um I I had a bunch of stuff that I I've said this before I did with my kids that that's not gonna happen anymore. Um and that's okay. We're moving on to other things. Um so it so just take a look at what you want that future to look like and whether that stuff fits into it or that was a time in your life and that time is gone. Bookshelves are also something that you can often clean out. Um, you know, the bookworms, which I'm one of them. Um you know, are we gonna keep all those books? And honestly, if you're gonna read the book again, then I would keep it. If you're not gonna read that book again, um, then maybe it's time to share that book with somebody else who loves books too and just kind of create that path for it.

Heather Fisher 13:13

Yeah, and I think uh just what you said about books and could be applied to other things, but it doesn't mean you're fully giving up that interest. You're just making sure that what you have fits how you are doing that. So I think even people with craft rooms, um, they still may be crafting and quilting and doing all of that, but do you have years of fabric that you're not gonna revisit and you go get new for the next project? Is there room to downsize some of that? Do you have, you know, too much yarn or too much of something and then you're still bringing in new? It's the same as um so many things we talk about, but if you're bringing in, are you letting out or do you just have an overstuffed craft room where you might get a whole new, you know, inspiration and motivation if you clean that out and just have a fresh empty space with more empty breathing room to do that craft again? You might find a new joy in it.

Jodi Rosko 14:16

Yes. Yeah. We're not saying let go of your hobbies. We're not saying that. We're saying if there's ones that are sitting there that are abandoned, um, then those can go. Yeah. So that one was is is this who I am now or who I was then? Yeah. Okay, next up is could someone else use this more than I do?

Heather Fisher 14:36

Yeah. This can help with the guilt around letting go because there's always someone that can use the things that you no longer want or need and share that. We see that so much when we um have our donation person come out and help um, you know, with our clients that are moving and they're picking up the donations and they're so excited to get it and know that it's going to help, you know, people in need, um, you know, build houses, uh put together their households uh with these items. There's someone that can use whatever it is that maybe isn't right for you anymore.

Jodi Rosko 15:15

Yeah, so if your mindset of holding it onto it is um, well, it's still useful. It is, but are you using it? Um and this one's also good for things that cost more, you know, they're higher quality or they cost a little more, and um so you're you're feeling like, oh, I probably shouldn't, yeah, I probably shouldn't give that away because that cost, you know, X amount of dollars or whatever. Um I at one point decided I was gonna learn how to sew. And so I bought a sewing machine and it sat um in the basement where I didn't learn how to sew. And every once in a while Mark would be like, Hey, how's that sewing coming? I would be like, mmm. Um and then I was um I was in a friend's store and uh she was um her other friend was teaching um sewing classes to kids and she was saying, Hey, you know, oh, she needs some more sewing machines. And I'm like, you know what? I have a sewing machine and I'm not gonna learn how to use it, you know, sew with it. Like, I mean, let's just be real. Like it if it had sat there for you know four or five years and I wasn't doing it, like I'm not gonna be doing it. And and maybe in the future that's something that I will have time for doing, or maybe not, but in the meantime, the sewing machine is getting old and you know, just sitting there. And so I did, I so I donated it to her, and um, so she I'm assuming now uses it to give you know classes to the kids, and that made me feel great.

Heather Fisher 16:41

Yeah, they're learning a skill and you have let go of that guilt.

Jodi Rosko 16:45

Yeah. And I don't have to look at it, Mark doesn't have to ask me about it because it's not there anymore.

Heather Fisher 16:50

Exactly. So that was uh could someone else use this more than I do? Um number five, am I keeping this out of obligation or intention?

Jodi Rosko 17:02

I think the should word is like so um, you know, it just kind of resonates around in your head. Not not because you want to keep it or because you love it. It's like I should. Should I keep this? I should because like whatever reasons you're coming up with in your head.

Heather Fisher 17:19

If you're hearing that in your voice, the answer's probably no.

Jodi Rosko 17:23

Yeah, because because if you're if you're feeling that like weight of the should word, that means you don't love it. Like it's not like you're looking at it and going, oh my gosh, I love that.

Heather Fisher 17:34

Absolutely not giving this away.

Jodi Rosko 17:35

Yeah, I love it, and I'm gonna put it in this place of honor somewhere in my house. Or um, you know, I can't wait to see that one Christmas decoration every year when I pull it out of the box, like I love it so much. It's like, ugh, I wonder if I should keep it. I mean, I should. Like, that is not like if that's how you're feeling, honestly, none of those things should still be in your house. Yeah, yes. So keeping it out of obligation, it's really good for um items that are tied to other people's expectations. Um, my mom was a keeper. I think we've talked about that a lot, and she wanted um me to be a keeper too. And she wanted my daughter to be a keeper. Like she wanted everybody to be a keeper because she just saw so much value in things um in in her thought process through her lens that she, you know, used to look at the world. And so um I still hear her in my head feeling like, oh, you should keep that, or that's still good, Jody, or like you should, you know, whatever. And so but those things, I s those things, that's her, that's her expectations around it, right? And not necessarily me being true to myself about do I do I love that thing. And there are lots of things that I have of hers or that she gave me that I do love. So don't get me wrong on that. But but if it's not one of those things, um why am I keeping it? Am I keeping it for myself or am I keeping it because other people might expect me to? Um and it puts that more um it puts that thought process into your authenticity and you versus your obligation and feeling like, you know, that should word, you know?

Heather Fisher 19:14

Yeah, I think this goes back to um, you know, a mistake that many of us often make, but we have our own stories around things, um, but we haven't shared that story or made that story part of the next generation or the people around us. We just have a story of why it's important to us, and then that gets passed on with that obligation of the importance in the the giver's head based on their story, but that does not translate to how you feel about it if it's not your own memories and your own story. Um, and so there can be that guilt though of knowing how important it was to the person giving it to you, but not holding that same thing for the stuff. And those are okay situations because there are plenty of things that will honor that person that you do love and cherish and have memories around.

Jodi Rosko 20:13

And that's the key because I think you need to put it into context of the bigger picture of how many things of that person's do you have, and which ones do you actually love? Because if you're looking at it just through that lens of just the one thing and you're like, oh my gosh, that was my mom's or that was my grandma's or that was somebody's, and I should keep it just in the fact that it was theirs. Um, think about how many of the things in you have that were theirs. You might have 50 things or a hundred things that were theirs. So you can keep the top ten things that you love so much that were theirs and still be honoring them and their legacy and all of that without having to keep it just simply because it was passed on to you, possibly because they were procrastinating, making decisions around it, um, not even because it was their favorite thing.

Heather Fisher 21:00

Yeah, we see this happen a lot where people um, you know, in that time of crisis when someone has passed and you're grieving, they just take so much and physically move it from the person's house to their own because you have to move on logistically with selling a house or getting out of a space. And they bring all of that, but there's no intention around it. They just bring it as kind of a guilt package of I'll do this later. And you know, when it's time to then go through it, then you've layered on the well, I've had it so long, or I own this now, or it's always been there. It's my responsibility. It's my responsibility. And you're layering so many things, and if you can peel, you know, peel back the onion and and go back to that original decision that would have been ideal to make at the front end, it's back to What makes me, you know, cherish the memory of this person and remind me of them that I want to love and honor and have in my home, you know, on display or as part of my story, and the rest is okay to to let go.

Jodi Rosko 22:16

Yeah. Yeah. I think um, you know, uh things that we would feel this way around would be gifts that people gave us, um, heirlooms for other people, you know, guilt's not a gift, right? Guilt is not a gift. And so um this one's a hard one for people, and and I think um I I just went through um our Christmas decorations and you were talking about the stories. And it's okay if you have a story around something and you still don't want to keep it. Um, because my daughter was she was like, You're cracking me up, mom. Like you're holding this ornament and you're telling me the story about it, and then you're like, but we can donate it. And so it's because I had so many, um, and it it wasn't the most special one, you know, and that's okay too. So I can know the story around it, tell it to her, and then I really genuinely feel like n not all of them are going to, you know, uh be something that I'm gonna miss. Like next year, if that's not in the box, like it's gonna be okay because there are so many that are amazing. Yeah. And it can be just that things get out of hand because there's just too many to be when you have too many, none of them are special, right?

Heather Fisher 23:28

And so I think we uh tend to start out looking at a category with a very all or nothing mentality, and we feel like if we even start, then we're gonna lose all like some outside force is gonna be like we've we have to give it all away, and and so we hold on tight and don't want to get started. But if we can really look at it with intention like you did, what are the ones that I treasure the most and and be okay with some going? It's a much gentler process, and you'll feel so good when you unpack next year, yeah, and you know that those are all the ones that go on the tree, and there's not the thought process, you just are decorating and loving it.

Jodi Rosko 24:09

Yeah, yeah. So, okay, so that was am I keeping this out of obligation or intention? We spent a lot of time on that one because I think that's one that people really, really struggle with. Yeah. Heirlooms and and gifts you give and guilt is is something that is really strong. Okay, number six. Um, does this add to the life that I'm creating? So um you kind of have to get dreamy first and figure out what it is the life is that you're creating um before you can ask yourself that question. But um, it helps with your future alignment of your vision of what your life is going to look like. So if it's a big transition or a move, you know, if that's what's happening and that's why you're cleaning things out, this is a great question to ask yourself after you've done some thought about what that future is gonna look like. Um, you know, it brings you some goal-oriented clarity of like, hey, this is what I want it to look like and this isn't, you know, this was part of my past.

Heather Fisher 25:04

Yeah. Some categories that might fit into this question well would be um, you know, your your party hosting, you have the place setting for 40. Yeah, the the punch bowl that you used to use, things like that that um just are not going to be part of the future you're creating, and that's okay. Um but don't keep all of that surrounding you if you don't need it anymore.

Jodi Rosko 25:31

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So um what is your future life gonna look like and then does this fit into it? And it's okay if it doesn't, and and you're not losing anything about your past um by letting go of the things. Because again, stuff is stuff, right? So you have all the memories, you have all of that stuff. That doesn't mean that it's a loss or that you're losing it. If you're choosing uh to go forward in a different way, then that choice means that you may not need some of the things that you have now.

Heather Fisher 26:00

Yeah, absolutely. Um question seven. Um, if I had to pack this today, would I take it with me? I think we did an episode recently on the the one-week rule and you know, challenging yourself with the if I had to move in seven days, what would I take? And I think this this goes back to that question. Um, you know, if you had to pack up your house m just in one day, if they were showing up unexpectedly with the moving truck tomorrow, what would you want on the truck first?

Jodi Rosko 26:35

It wouldn't be the empty boxes of my technology things that we still have. Yeah. The empty phone box, the empty laptop box. Yes, things like things that we're just like, why don't we?

Heather Fisher 26:45

A million pieces of Tupperware or other storage containers and all the cords that you're not sure what it goes to. Yeah, yes. Gosh, what uh so much stuff. The stuff that you don't even know what's in the boxes. I mean the attic, the the garage. Right. That's been down there so long and you just the basement. Are you gonna have somebody start there? Um you know, likely not. So think about those choices of where would you send the movers first if you knew okay, if it's not on the truck by 6 p.m., it's not not going, where where would you focus first and then consider what wasn't on that list? And maybe there's some room for things to go from wherever that wasn't.

Jodi Rosko 27:34

Yeah, and and if you are gonna move, um, what's that new place? What's the feel of it? What do you want it to feel like? And does does the stuff that you have now um fit into that, right? And or or is it time to get a new sofa? Is it time to get, you know, like what any and and even if you're gonna stay where you are, maybe it's time for a little refresh. You can take a look at at that. And maybe it's not a whole sofa, maybe it's just throw pillars or something that you know changes the look of it and kind of gives you a different feel. So um if you have to pack it, is it gonna i if you're genuinely packing, is it gonna fit in the next place? If you're not, if you're staying where you are, just kind of being brutal about like would I really want this?

Heather Fisher 28:12

Yeah, looking around each room room by room and thinking what is just in my vision that I've forgotten, I mean, really look at it with fresh eyes, go, you know, right to left and go around the room, what's really in there, or is it just stuff you don't notice anymore because it's been in the same spot for so long?

Jodi Rosko 28:32

I mean, even give yourself that thought process of packing, like how much would it cost to move it, right? Like it do you care about it enough like that you would pay money to move it?

Heather Fisher 28:42

Yeah, yeah. So that's um if I had to pack this today, would I take it with me? Um next question, number eight, what would I tell a friend in this same situation? This is a good one. We haven't talked about this one. Yeah, I think we do this. Yeah. We text Jody and I text each other pictures of our closets and pantries and bags of things that were bags in the donation. That's what our friendship entails. Joint donate donating of support. Yes, joint support. But um, I think it's a great thing to have. And um, if you have that person that might be in a similar situation, um, just that encouragement and the like, hey, be brutal um with me. I think you had that situation when your friend came over during COVID and and cleaned out your kitchen. Um, you had her personality being much more um third party.

Jodi Rosko 29:42

I'm not thinking of that, but she's she had no emotional ties to any of it, right? So there was no guilt for her, like to get rid of it, or there was no she was just being very objective. You don't use that. No, you're right, I don't use it. It was in the far back top closet, you know, cupboard, or you know, top shelf of a cupboard. Um you're right, I don't use it. And even if it was cute or if it was like whatever, it was just like you don't use that. And she was just being objective because she didn't have any ties to to it. And um and she was right about it. And so um this helps you if you're feeling like emotional about things, I think this this is the one that kind of helps you get unstuck about that. Like my friend would be like, you do not need those, you know, box of letters from your you know, third ago boyfriend or whatever it is, right?

Heather Fisher 30:35

Yes. I think we've we've talked, we've had some episodes on different downsizing personalities, and so some of us are much more sentimental about things, and some people are more matter-of-fact on planning, and and there's just different personalities that come into play. And so you really will do yourself a favor um you know, if you're pulling in a friend to help you to have someone with maybe a different personality. You don't want the one that's gonna encourage you to keep everything because they feel the same way. Um, you know, get a little support. But I think this question can work um just for yourself that if you were trying to look at your own space objectively as if it wasn't your space, what would you tell someone? What advice would you give a, you know, a friend struggling, not to, you know, feeling overwhelmed but not knowing what to get rid of, what was okay to let go of. Um, you know, what advice can you give that to yourself, you know, from a different bird's eye view?

Jodi Rosko 31:42

Yeah. And if you can't do it, find the friend and have them do it for you.

Heather Fisher 31:46

Yeah, yeah. Having someone sit beside you as you're making those decisions and encouraging you that it's okay and that you can do it makes a world of difference if you have that.

Jodi Rosko 31:58

Because I will say um telling the story about the thing helps you to let it go if you, you know, if you don't love it or if it's not whatever. Just being able to be like, hey, here's how this was and this is what happened with it, but I'm good, like I can let this go. And um just being able to say it um can help you emotionally release it.

Heather Fisher 32:19

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So number nine, um, have I already gotten what I need from this? Um this can help with sentimental items and the purpose of of holding on to an item. Um an example might be, you know, souvenirs and playbills from shows and ticket stubs and and things. Maybe even kids' artwork. Yeah, that's that would definitely fall into that.

Jodi Rosko 32:49

Yeah, like memorabilia or keepsakes. Yeah. Some you know, my mom always kept like every card everybody gave her, so then I did because like she taught me to do that, but like I found a bunch of cards that i and they just even just they didn't even have any like really sentimental things written inside of them. It was just, you know, birthday cards that were just signed with somebody's name. And I I just, you know, that isn't honestly something that made me feel amazing when I saw them. It was I was like, oh, I have these. It wasn't just, you know, I don't know.

Heather Fisher 33:22

I think that's a a good um category or similar categories to put parameters around like one keepsake box, um, you know, because it's nice to have a little bit of emotional attachment. And um, you know, I keep some cards uh, you know, from the most special people or with the message, you know, a really heartfelt message that that I love. Um, but I have, you know, a card box of, you know, whatever dimensions, about jewelry box size, and it was the lid didn't sit flat anymore because I just kept putting more and then putting the the lid up on top of the stack and I went through it before I moved and it had become instead of a a choice, I was just start had started at some point just putting every card. So a birthday would come and you know I'd get a a nice card from an acquaintance or something, but that's not something I need to keep for 50 years. It was a lovely m moment, but I don't need to keep it. And so just having that parameter of I don't have to throw away everything, but what's my keepsake box size and what's the most important things that you can then revisit because it can be somewhere where you know where it is, and when you're feeling sentimental, you can pull it out and look through those memories.

Jodi Rosko 34:45

Yeah. I mean, other stuff that you've already gotten what you needed from it um might be like I was opening boxes that were in my basement that have been in their what they actually came from my mom's house. Like some of the some of the stuff I just took a box and I just kind of opened it, saw it might be something that was mine, and you know, closed it up and brought it because I couldn't deal with it. Um and so one of the boxes was um the furniture from my Barbie dream house, um 19 like 70s, 80s, whatever. Vintage furniture. And um it was not in the best shape and whatever, and it kind of made me laugh, but I I don't need to keep it. Like it's it served its purpose then, loved it, loved my Barbie dream house, but it's not something that I you know need anymore. Yeah, absolutely. So maybe that is just something that's time in your life has passed. So the value got you got from it was something you got and loved, but that time is past. So it might not even be something so sentimental. It might just be something that the time of your life has passed. So and you got what you needed from it at that point. So okay. Um number the last one is what emotion do I feel when I hold this? Right? Because the emotion you want to feel is like, oh, this is so great. I love this. Like it just makes me so happy. Yeah. Not like uh I gotta keep this because X-Y's.

Heather Fisher 36:09

Yes. I think there's a lot of rationalizations that we all do. Um I I think too, sometimes we talk a lot about people being attached um to sentimental items. I think on the flip side, there's probably a lot of listeners, and I maybe fall more on this line that you feel guilt for not feeling more sentimental about something. And that sometimes I keep things because I feel like the should word. The should word. Like I should feel sentimental like this is kids' artwork more than I do want to keep it. And it it's not a reflection of the care we have towards our stories or our you know, the people in our life or where they came from, but there's a lot of you know, emotion both ways of keeping things because you feel like you should, keeping things because of guilt, um, you know, just a lot of emotion around stuff.

Jodi Rosko 37:10

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And and I think sometimes it's it's not even emotion. When you do like if you if if you're like, I'm gonna get rid of your coffee maker, like, no, no, I need that. Like my emotion there is like when I hold it, I feel like I need this because it's something that I use every day.

Heather Fisher 37:26

You're you're saying that to someone that's had a a broken coffee pot for five days now. I think the Amazon box finally arrived today.

Jodi Rosko 37:34

So but some of it isn't even emotional, you know, like some of it is just functional. Like I need this. Like, so if you hold it, like it's like, oh yeah, I love this because I use it every day. Some of it is like I love it because it means something special to me. You know, some of it is I I don't even know what this is. Like what what do I why do I have this?

Heather Fisher 37:52

Yeah, yeah. I think that just uh again, it it's being intentional about noticing the emotion you feel about things and then making decisions on it and moving stuff out when it's not a positive emotion.

Jodi Rosko 38:09

Yeah. So all right, those are our 10 questions. You can um post those somewhere and when you're decluttering and you're feeling a type of way, you know, pick out one of these. It's not like we're asking you to ask every question about everything, right? Different questions are for different things. And so um, but but it might be helpful to narrow your parameters from should I keep it or should I not, to more pointed questions about why you're keeping it.

Heather Fisher 38:39

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 38:39

And that should help you.

Heather Fisher 38:41

Yeah, absolutely. I think that um just having these questions posted and when you're feeling stuck on a category or an item, if something's just weighing on you and you're not sure what to do, these are a great place to visit and you know just run through which question resonates with with what you're struggling with and go a little deeper and you know figure out why it's a tough category for you.

Jodi Rosko 39:04

And if you're still stuck still stuck, then it's time to go get a coffee and stop for the day because decision fatigue has just worn you out. So the questions should work. If they're not working, it's time to stop.

Heather Fisher 39:16

Yeah, absolutely. And if there's anything we can help with or any topics uh you need some help diving deeper into, please reach out to us or let us know any topic ideas for future episodes. We'll go into those in depth and we will see you next week. All right, bye-bye. Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to us on our website, www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.