To this day, I have trouble throwing things away. Maybe I’ll wear it again – just to work in the yard. Maybe it has just one more use before it falls apart. Maybe someone else can use it. What is it? It’s everything in my possession.

My parents were always conservative. They taught me well. I remember mom carefully washing aluminum foil, then gently folding it so she could use it again. Clothes were handed down. Paper written on one side was recycled as shopping lists and note paper. Dad saved scraps of wood and other construction material to use later. I remember him pounding old nails to straighten them so he could use them again. My family was green long before it was popular. We just didn’t know it.

So, here I am, after years of being very conservative. What do I have to show for it? Closets and drawers FULL of stuff. It’s time to change my relationship with my stuff. When a friend was moving out of state, she threw out tons of stuff and had garage sales to sell the better things. I asked how she could part with all of it. Her answer was so profound, her words still ring in my ears. “I can give away the things I like, because I’m keeping the things I love.”

So, now it’s my turn. I’m cleaning with a new attitude. I’m going to throw out everything that’s worn out and broken. I’ll donate to my favorite charity. I’ll sell and give away some things. And . . . I’ll keep the things I love.

I’ll be thinking about all the time I’ll have when I’m not in the middle of all the clutter and memories. And, in the end, it’s time that is our most precious resource. It can’t be saved. It must be spent wisely. I’m committed to making every day worth the time it’s costing me.

For a new view on time, check out the Life Expectancy Calculator by Peter Russell.