Organizing Happiness

My family is big (see about me) and we have produced lots of boys and one girl.  Through out the years our garages have been full of…..

balls, bats, mitts, tennis rackets, surfboards, wetsuits, skis, golf clubs, snowboards, skate boards, bikes, bowling balls, ping pong tables, exercise equipment,  and more.

Without a doubt those items helped create wonderful memories and were well worth the cost.

But the time has come to reevaluate what is being used and what needs to be passed down to kids, grandkids or given away to other family members that could use them.

The two big questions to ask yourself when making the big decision, keep or not to keep is….

1.When was the last time this item was used? 

2. Could someone else be using this and creating new memories?

Many of these sports are seasonal. It is possible that a year or two went by with no use and then that third year the snow was good and you could finally get out the skis and snowboards. The problem we had is our wood skis were so old and new stuff had been invented so we would end up renting the new stuff while the old stuff stayed on top of the garage.  But, we kept them.

If your stuff is real old you might be up against new technology. The newer stuff may make you better or at least look better.

Talk to friends and family that have kids that may be interested in your sporting equipment if you haven’t used in years. You could also post in the classifieds or you may be lucky enough to have a second hand sporting good shop in your area. They sell things on consignment.

If you haven’t used in 5 , 10, 15 or even 20 years or more, why are you keeping the stuff? Remember, most of you have the proof with photographs and good memories. The stuff is now just  taking up space and the chances of using again are slim.

The more you give away, the less you will buy.

Giving away changes your spending habits. Instead of buying the latest and the greatest think about renting sporting equipment. It’s cheaper and with new technology it might even make you better at the sport.