10/12/2026
Sometimes letting go of something has very little to do with the thing itself.
I've worked with people who hold onto things because somewhere along the way, having something became synonymous with being safe.
Maybe you grew up without much.
Maybe things were unpredictable.
Maybe you learned that you couldn't count on having what you needed when you needed it.
Maybe someone you loved died, and suddenly ordinary objects became incredibly difficult to part with.
Maybe you were taught that wasting anything was wrong because there might not be more.
Maybe you've simply lived through enough uncertainty that getting rid of something feels like taking a risk.
And sometimes you know, logically, that you don't need it.
But another part of you is saying, “What if I need this someday?”
That's not stupidity.
It's not laziness.
And it's not a failure to declutter.
Sometimes it's a very old lesson that your brain learned for a very good reason at the time.
I think we need to be much gentler with that.
Decluttering doesn't have to mean forcing yourself to throw something away because an organizing expert says you should.
Sometimes the first step is understanding why you're holding on.
And sometimes, once you understand that, letting go becomes a little less frightening.
You can appreciate what something meant to you without needing to keep the object forever.
And you can learn that you're safe even when you don't have a backup for everything.
