Why keeping only what you "Love" is Magical

You'll be surrounded only by what you love.

It seems obvious, but take a moment to let this sink in: When you get rid of everything that doesn't make you Happy, all your things make you Happy. You're left with only clothes that fit well, that you look good in, that you feel great in. You're no longer reaching for the okay stuff. It's awesome, and it's a fantastic way to really enjoy what you have. Note that this also allows you to keep things that are important to you.

You'll find yourself.

Keeping only what makes you Happy helps you realize who you are right now. As you're saying no to certain stuff that you don't love, you're also often shedding what and who you were — or who you thought you wanted to be. You get a stronger sense of and appreciation for who you are. It's a healthy exercise in self-reflection and a gentle but powerful letting go of the past.

You won't keep things out of guilt, and it will feel so good.

Keeping only the stuff that you Love allows you to relinquish items that you have been keeping out of one kind of guilt or another —that I bought something and never really wore it, because someone else gave it to me, or because it's wasteful to get rid of something that's perfectly "good."

Realizing that maybe the "purpose" of some things is to bring us joy in simply buying them or that they enabled someone to express their love toward us through a gift is also a refreshing and freeing way to look at our items. This perspective helps sever the tie that makes us hold on to so many things for reasons other than their giving us joy in the present.

You know right away.

Probably the most incredible thing about the "Do I Love this ?" decluttering question is that the answer comes instantly and instinctively. Once you get into the groove of sorting based on this parameter, you'll be hooked. It's fast, it's decisive, it's honest, and it's incredibly personal.

It cuts through all the other questions.

You'll never have to hem and haw about whether something will be useful later, whether you should keep it because it's a "good shirt" or was expensive or any of that! Note that "sparking joy" applies perfectly well to items that aren't exactly thrilling but that serve us well. For instance, the cotton t-shirt that doesn't rise up and is just the right length — that sure sparks joy for me! Socks without holes spark a lot more joy than socks with holes. You get the picture.

It shows you what you really need.

Once you weed out all the has-beens from your space, you'll have a clear picture of what you need, of gaps that you may need to fill in. On the other hand, you'll also be happy to find out how little you actually need. So many of those things you're sending off to better homes were just space-fillers! And you'll breathe much better with them gone.