Decluttering: If you haven't used it in 6 months, you don't need it.

One bit of advice I keep hearing as I look into how to declutter (it's not as easy as one thinks) is when I think I want to buy something, put it on a list and revisit it in 30 days. If I haven't wanted it, or it hasn't come up again during the month, I probably don't really need it.

Another recurring idea is, if I haven't needed and used something I own for more than 6 months, I can get rid of it. This suggestion scares me because I usually end up needing something like that AFTER I get rid of it, and then have to buy another one.

In anycase, I am a motorcycle rider and have accumulated a sizeable collection of riding gear over the years. Here in Sacramento one of the local shops said they might entertain recycling some of the gear. I emptied my closet of all but a couple of my favorites and threw them in my truck to take down there. Unfortunately after picking through them, they decided they didn't fit their customer base.

So, should I hang them all back in the closet? In addition to too much motorcycle gear, I have bunches of photo equipment, so I think I will use the photo gear to photograph the items individually and see if I can sell them.

I am no expert on this whole decluttering thing, but I am hoping blogging about it, and researching it will motivate me to continue. Who knows, I might actually get rid of something.