I just realized that my house is full of unused stuff when I bought a new car to replace the old one. The garage has been used as a storage room for years. Now the garage will be returned to its function.

My husband and I had to throw away and rearrange all the stuff in it. The cluttering was a tough job because we had different opinions. Our argument is whether to throw away or keep certain things. He tends to keep his old stuff, while I dream of having a fresh and clean room again by throwing away some unused stuff.

“I will need it someday,” my husband argued whenever I asked him to throw away some clothes, books, etc.

I have tried many times to throw away broken or unused items, but before I managed to take them to the public disposal facility, I then found them in the garage or in old suitcases. My husband had restored it.

Decluttering is a dilemma. Each item has its memories. There, guilt arises as if you have been cruel to the once useful things;  or were once associated with people you love.

If throwing things away is difficult, letting go of painful memories in your mind and heart is even more complicated. Holding onto bad memories will damage a person through feelings of anxiety, never being truly happy, and life becoming stagnant.

Maybe that’s how my husband feels, although not to the extreme.

Now I find the best way to get rid of old things: I do it when my husband is not home. I do it in small amounts and bring it away before my husband sees and saves it back.

I’ve done it several times. He never lost or asked for the item back.