Have you ever been called a hoarder? It’s possible that you aren’t exactly a hoarder, but you’re a procrastinator.

Procrastinators have a hard time making decisions. They’re afraid they’ll regret getting rid of something, so they just let it sit. Do that enough times and your house begins to look like a hoarder’s home.

If you’re a procrastinator, have you considered that by not making a decision about whether to keep something, you’re actually punishing yourself? You’re preventing yourself from either enjoying the item, or enjoying the extra space you’ll claim by getting rid of it. Plus you have to deal with that internal struggle every time you see it.

If you really used the item, you wouldn’t be debating with yourself about whether to keep it or not; you would keep it and use it. If you never used the item, it would be easier to just let it go, unless something is preventing you from doing just that.

That “something,” most likely, is that you’re worried about whether you or someone you’re close to might need it “Someday,” that mysterious time in the future. Let me tell you now, if you’re keeping it because your kids might need it someday, forget it. When we made our big decluttering effort, I kept certain special things for my kids. As it turned out, none of them wanted what I saved for them! They’re a different generation and they like different things than I do. Plus they aren’t nearly as sentimental as I am so they have no desire to keep things just because Mom saved them.

All of my kids live in larger homes than I do, and none of them keep a lot of clutter. In fact, one is a dedicated minimalist. I’ve learned that anything I give that one’s children is destined for the donation pile before long. I just hope the kids have fun with it before their mom sends it along to the Goodwill.

So I don’t think my kids have the procrastination problem, and I know I’ve mostly conquered mine. If you have this problem, I hope you conquer it, too. There’s enough stress in this world without adding to it by having an internal debate about things, mere things, that we can’t decide whether to keep or not.