6 month rule?

So have you ever heard people say that if you haven't used something in 6 months or longer, you should get rid of it? I have. Many times. I think that maybe it is referring to clothing, but it might be a good rule of thumb.

I am a fairly organized person...but I have several "junk drawer" type areas in my house.

Today I went through several piles of STUFF and ended up throwing half of it out and filing the rest. I found some really great stuff that my kids had done at school that I want to keep, but I also had a bunch of random papers that I knew I didn't need.

Sometimes it takes me a week or more to realize that I don't need to save my kids' art (at least not EVERY piece) and so I think that TIME is an important factor in saving or chucking things.

That's what made me think of the 6 month thing.

BUT there are many things that the 6 month rule does not work on...at least not for me.

Favorite books, old journals and letters are things we may not look at every 6 months but it doesn't mean we should get rid of them. Also, I save a majority of my kids' clothing to hand down to the next kiddo. I try to keep it organized, but I personally would rather store a few boxes than buy new clothes every year.

Speaking of clothes, I keep a lot of clothes that are not my *current* size. Being the the middle of my "child-baring years" my body changes from year to year. Some day I hope I can get back to where I want to be and will stay there, but until then I will store a variety of sizes for myself so that, again, I don't have to go shopping for new jeans every time I'm working on losing my baby fat.

Old craft and sewing projects can take up a lot of space. Right now, I have a guest room where these things are stored, but I keep thinking that I need to clean that stuff out. I honestly do not have the time or energy for them and I haven't for a while.

Well, now I'm just ranting.

The point is, whether you need a time table on how long to keep something or not, try to declutter something soon. Heck, you may find more room for your FOOD STORAGE!