cabyrd's Profile

I've been using the outbox method for a while without realizing it. After my divorce, I moved from a three-story house into a teeny (but happier!) place. With all the emotional upheaval at the time, I couldn't handle dumping everything at once, so I rented a storage unit and worked through the bags and boxes at a slow but steady pace. I came up with a system to help me decide what I really love and what I might be hanging on to for other reasons (guilt, the money I paid, memories, whatever).

My outbox is in the trunk of my car. I put in whatever I'm considering letting go of. It's usually a few days or maybe even a week before I get around to stopping at the charity dropoff. I know I can change my mind and "rescue" anything I want, but usually by the time I drop it off, I realized I haven't missed it since I took it out of the house. Only on rare occasionas do I rescue something and take it back home, and then I know it's something I appreciate enough to keep for a while longer. For me, getting it out of the house for a little while is the key.