“But it was a gift from…”

I hear this ALL the time! Dealing with gifts isn't something that comes easily to most people. That is because gifts tend to give us both feelings of sentiment and obligation. After all, you feel like you kind of HAVE to keep the gift that someone bought especially for you.

And the closer that someone is to you, the harder it gets. That one notebook you got as a gift way back in high school from your classmate uh… what’s-her-name? Saying goodbye to that notebook probably won’t be too hard, especially when it’s still not filled after 15 years and you have about 10 more of those. But a gift from a close friend on the other hand, that’s a whole different game.

My advice is to think back to the moment you received the gift. Feel the joy it brought then and really be appreciative of it. And then try to think if it still adds this much to your life. Does it still make you happy, or was most of the joy in the receiving of the gift instead of owning the actual item itself?

Because, you know, that’s completely possible. You can absolutely value something because it was given to you by someone who is important to you. But if you then put it away in some closet because you don’t actually really like the thing itself, and you end up never looking at it again… is there really any sense in keeping it and letting it simply sit there?

My best and last advice for you when you’re in the process of tidying your home, is to put all these gifts in the same spot that you are collecting your sentimental items in and only get back to them to decide if you want to keep them when you are done with all your other things.