Today my decluttering got so carried away I even purged the waffle maker. It took me a while to get there – 9 months to be exact. Previously, I would have never considered anything so rash. As a matter of fact my husband suggested (about 9 months ago) that we get rid of the waffle maker. My response? How could he even suggest such a blasphemous thing? It was if he’d suggested we sell everything and move to Antarctica. He thought it was cluttering up our pots and pans cupboard and recognized we hadn’t used it for the last 5 years. I was still in denial. I held onto idealistic dreams of waking up in the morning, putting on the coffee and then making waffles – like they do in the movies and TV shows, where everyone has all the time in the world to make waffles and all the space in the world to store waffle makers. My compromise was to store it in a different spot – a place up high in the cupboard, just for the waffle maker – a place of honor for this now unused, but “might be used someday in my dreams” appliance.

There was a time when both my husband and I wanted the waffle maker – when we both loved the waffle maker – or at least I loved the waffle maker. It was an item on our wedding registry over 10 years ago. I have fond memories of making waffles for the first 5 years of our marriage. I’m sure we made waffles every weekend or at least every other weekend – truthfully, maybe every other month – if we were lucky. After 5 years, however, waffle making seemed to go out of style. We became busier and didn’t have time to make waffles or maybe we just got tired of making waffles.   Now it’s been 5 years since the last waffle weekend – but still the waffle maker stays in our cupboard. Why not just get rid of the waffle maker? Those waffle making memories, be it few, were good ones – how could I throw away those memories? How could I get rid of a wedding gift? Could I come to terms with the fact that I might never make waffles again?

After several months of faithful decluttering it hit me like a lightening bolt. I realized no matter how much free time available in my days, I didn’t want to spend it making waffles. Waffle making doesn’t make the cut. There just isn’t going to be enough time in the day to live my dreams and make waffles – and making waffles is not my dream. It’s nothing personal against waffles or those who love making and waffles. It’s nothing personal against the person who purchased us our beloved waffle maker from our registry all those years ago. It simply means that our lives don’t include waffle making anymore – and that’s a completely logical reason to get rid of the waffle maker – even if it brought wonderful memories in the past and even if it was a gift. In the end, it’s just a waffle maker.

I ceremoniously got out the stepladder and reached high up in the cupboard to remove the cherished and neglected waffle maker and placed it in the Goodwill donation box. It’s a fine waffle maker – a Cuisinart – it would be a shame to continue and let such a fine waffle maker sit on a shelf collecting dust. Soon it will be in a new home making new waffle memories for a new waffle making family.

I don’t think I will have any regrets parting ways with our waffle maker. We had 5 good years together. If I wake up one morning feeling the urge to eat waffles, I’ll probably head to my favorite local breakfast spot and enjoy some waffles there. If I wake up one morning 10 years from now suddenly feeling the urge to make waffles, perhaps I’ll drive to my local department store and purchase another fine waffle maker. More likely though, I’ll be perfectly content making some delicious French toast in my regularly used frying pan – no waffle makers required.

I hope this story made you laugh. It’s quite a bit of truth peppered with some humor intended to demonstrate how attached we often become to our things – even things as silly as waffle makers!

Perhaps your minimizing journey is not complete (like mine) or maybe your minimizing journey is just beginning. Wherever you are in the process, here are some questions and suggestions to help weed out your “waffle makers” along the way.

• Are there items in your home that you insist on keeping, but never get used?
• Why is it important to keep these items?
• Do they hold memories of special times? If so, write down these memories, photograph the item and put it in a place of safe keeping, so you can view it again and recall those memories – then donate, sell or discard.
• If items bring you joy, find a special place to display them in your home, so you can experience those joyful memories daily.
• If items bring back unpleasant memories, why are you keeping them? Donate, sell or discard.
• Do you plan to use items that are currently not used? When? If you don’t have a specific time or event in mind, perhaps you can donate or sell these items.
• What if you get rid of something and then need it again? “If” you get rid of something and then “if” you really need it again – you will likely be able to repurchase the item and will be willing to do so if it’s important enough. More likely though, that “what if” scenario will never come. Consider selling or donating.
• If you’re really struggling to let items go that you’re not using regularly – store them in a special bin, preferably out of sight in the basement or garage. Revisit the bin in 3-6 months. Donate or sell any items that you didn’t miss.

The above questions and suggestions will help you begin to intentionally think through why you are or aren’t keeping any given item. If you find yourself keeping something that you know you should probably let go, don’t beat yourself up – be gentle. Decluttering muscles continue to grow stronger as you keep using them. Give yourself 9 months and you might also ceremoniously remove that waffle maker from your home!