Had to choose between keeping my grandma's china or my camping gear...

I've been trying to trim down my storage unit for months now and I finally had to make a call between two big boxes. One was my grandma's full 12 piece china set that I've never used in 5 years, and the other was my backpacking tent and stove setup I actually pull out twice a year. I sat there for like 20 minutes feeling guilty about the china because it's sentimental, but realistically I'm never gonna host a fancy dinner party. The tent though, I use that thing every spring and fall when I hit the trails up near Mount Rainier. So I ended up donating the china to a local thrift store and keeping the gear. Has anyone else had to pick between something sentimental and something useful when decluttering? How did you decide?

3 comments

3 Comments

emerym361mo ago

Man you're overthinking this.

-1

the_thea1mo ago

I had a friend once who spent three hours trying to pick out a coffee mug. She was reading reviews, comparing handle sizes, even checking if the glaze was food-safe. The rest of us just grabbed whatever wasn't chipped. She still uses that mug ten years later though, so maybe she was onto something. Point is, Emerym36, some of us need to circle the block a few times before parking.

blair_taylor321mo ago

Is it really overthinking though when she's been using that mug for a decade? I've got a cheap thermos I grabbed in a hurry and it leaks all over my bag, so I'm on team "take your time." Your mileage may vary, but rushing usually means I end up buying the same thing twice. Three hours might sound crazy, but that's ten years of daily use she's happy with. That ratio actually seems pretty good to me. Maybe we should all slow down a little.