One lesson I’ve learned from my decluttering gurus – watch what you allow into your house. I’m starting to interrogate incoming items by asking questions like “How did you get here?” This question is particularly effective in weeding out a very tricky clutter-bug – the freebie. Just today I received this freebie in the mail:

It is one of those little to-go purses. When I saw it, my old clutter-accumulating brain immediately thought, “Sweet! I can use this all those times I just need to dash out with a credit card and ID. How convenient!” Then my reality-focused, minimalist brain chimed in, “You are a mom of triplets. You never leave the house with just a credit card and ID. And, furthermore, this is a freebie freeloader that is trying to stake its clutterful territory in your house! Out with it! It has no business here! It was not invited, and it is therefore not welcome.”

Lucky for me, I listened to the minimalist side of my brain and tossed that cute little freebie in the donation box.

If you are interested in learning to interrogate your clutter, I recommend reading this post on Miss Minimalist: Twenty Questions to Clear Your Clutter.

The questions I find most effective in helping me weed out clutter are:
– How did you get here?
– Would I miss you if you were gone?
– Could I re-acquire you if necessary?
– Are you a stand-in for a memory?

Which questions help you clear your clutter?