A recent discussion on Facebook got me thinking. It wasn’t a highbrow discussion, but one about ‘sorting’. One of my singing friends had used a blustery and rainy afternoon to declutter a cupboard in her house. Perfect use of time to my mind. The one thing she mentioned was this yellow safety helmet. It was this that started the bulk of the discussion.
You see, in 2010, I was lucky enough to be part of Monty Python’s comic oratorio ‘Not the Messiah, (He’s a Very Naughty Boy)’ at the Royal Albert Hall in London. And so was she. And all 120 or so in the choir were given one of these ‘hard hats’ for use in the performance and subsequently as a souvenir.
The discussion then came about as to who had kept theirs and who hadn’t. I haven’t, but I must admit I probably only got rid of it 2 years ago. In the intervening 7 years it was only ever looked at when I moved home, and mostly shoved in the back of a cupboard, therefore not in a place where I could see it and be reminded of the occasion. It turns out many did keep theirs to remind them of the occasion (unclear whether also shoved at the back of a cupboard or not) but others had kept theirs because they thought it would come in useful. One commentator suggested that myself and another singing friend were really the only ones likely to ever actually find a use for them. I have the DVD, and I have watched it recently. For me, that’s enough, and so much easier to store. How many of them have actually taken the hard hat out of the cupboard and used it as a tool for reminiscing?
I politely suggest, for those that do still have them from the occasion either take a photo and keep it in a ‘memory folder’ in the cloud OR they just watch the DVD. The photo takes up MUCH less space and is what I recommend regularly to clients (one box of actual things to trigger memories is enough). We're lucky to have a DVD - most people don't get that!
So, what have you got that you kept for ‘just in case’ or is big and bulky and is taking up more space than it should, when a photo would suffice? Particularly if these things are in the loft, you’ll only ever look at them when you need to move home. Believe me, I know, because I help people with these conundrums on a regular basis!
If you want to start your journey on clearing your life so you can enjoy the space you have, do get in touch!