Do you EVER have regret for getting rid of something???

[tamrajo]

I think this has happened to me like one time… I had a box of clothes sitting in the garage waiting to go to the 2nd hand store. I was also making my to-pack list for my upcoming business travel (which I do about once a month) I wanted to put a robe on the list because I always feel cold in hotel rooms, and just want to snuggle up into something that is my own but don’t always like bringing my regular things on trips. So, I dug a cozy (but not so stylish) sweatshirt out of that give away box, and now it stays in my suitcase along with my neck pillow and travel size toiletries for when I am on the road.

So have you ever regretted getting rid of something? What was it? What did you do about it? It’s the biggest obstacle in my mind when I go to purge things. “what I can use it/will want it/my kids will want it some day” I try and tell myself that the sweatshirt situation was the exception, not the rule.

[loosechickens]

I have learned that for every 100 things I get rid of, there are several I wish I had back (see current "salad spinner" thread). But, I just go out and get that item, thereby still being free of the 97 or so that I haven't missed.

Unless the item is not replaceable, I assume that a few percent of my discards will need to be repurchased. But since huge, huge percentages of them are never missed, I feel it's a fair trade.

[Kestra]

I gave away perfectly fine steel-toed boots, thinking I wouldn't need them again. Then I went back to school about 7 years later and bought them again. Now I'm not using them really, but I'm keeping them this time. That's the only thing that really bugs me, since they aren't that cheap and I hate shoe shopping.

[jania]

I really can't think of anything that I've ever gotten rid of that later generated feelings of regret. I seldom just toss anything immediately, usually placing things in a box in the hall and after a few months I'll donate the box. I figure I've given myself plenty of time to go back to the box and retrieve any "treasure" if necessary.

Now, sometimes I have forgotten that I got rid of something and will be perplexed when I can't find it. Once I realize I have gotten rid of the item I'll usually just do a mental shrug.

[danna]

OMG of course, and the salad spinner was one of them, but found one at a yard sale for $.50 and yes the other 97 items are gone..thank goodness
Fabric/patterns are the things I have got rid of that something comes up (like costumes) and I think I have that and then realize I don't and guess what there is always Fabricland or Thrift Stores.
And, I only need to go the short drive instead of sorting through 6 boxes of fabric to find that one piece. lol...Yes, I am down to one box now and that is much better and I may actually use some of it some day..Maybe..

[benhyr]

a 12'x7' couch, a 24' extension ladder and a queen mattress.

Sold house with no plan or idea on where we'd move. Massively downsized in the process. DW, dog and I lived in a 350 sq ft room in a friend's house for almost a year (ended up staying to finish work commitments), then moved out of state and rented for a year before buying again. Had I known I'd own a house within two years of selling my old one, I would have kept that stuff.

[Tiam]

All the time, but I usually get over it.

[iris lily]

Yes, I sold my baby and have regrets that she is gone. She was a doll like this:

http://tinyurl.com/3r2xyk9

[babr]

yep; but loose chickens you are right; yeah so you have to go out or maybe you can improvise which i have done and it has worked; but your response has motivated me to let some of this stuff go!

thanks for the post it will help me get remotivated!

[iris lily]

I've come to accept that I will be ambivalent about getting rid of some things. I will simultaneously regret it being gone and be relieved that it is gone. That's ok, feeling both ways is part of the process. I actually enjoy the ambivalence, I think it's interesting and try to analyze why some thing carry so much emotional weight, even when I am ultimately happier to be without them.

Loosechickens is right that you can usually replace something that you have huge regret over.

[Fawn]

Well... I got rid of the corkscrew and then decided that I was not done drinking wine...cost me about $8.

Every other thing that I got rid of....including husbands......Good Riddance!

[porcelain]

Yep, I've regretted a few things. Mostly it's clothing, makeup, or toiletries, so they're easy (though not cheap) to replace. For example I had tossed a certain hair product because I was using something new; after about 6 months, I miss my old stuff because I think it worked better, so I bought more.

[nswef]

I had two charm bracelets I got rid of and a painting of a dog...but that's about it. I can live without them and am so glad to have gotten rid of so many other things.

[peggy]

a 12'x7' couch, a 24' extension ladder and a queen mattress.

Sold house with no plan or idea on where we'd move. Massively downsized in the process. DW, dog and I lived in a 350 sq ft room in a friend's house for almost a year (ended up staying to finish work commitments), then moved out of state and rented for a year before buying again. Had I known I'd own a house within two years of selling my old one, I would have kept that stuff.

A 12' X 7' couch? How could that be?

I guess the only thing I really regret giving away was this nifty little hand cranked food processor. It was designed to take along with a baby so you could turn any veg/meat into baby food. So nifty and handy for all sorts of applications. I've never been able to find one since. Come to think of it, it was given to me so i don't even really know where it came from.

[loosechickens]

hey, Peggy.....is THIS what it was? or similar?

http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-F700-Food-Mill/dp/B000067Q6J/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1307989552&sr=8-1

[benhyr]

A 12' X 7' couch? How could that be?


Sorry, wasn't clear, it was a sectional sort of sofa from a company called W. Schillig. It was L-shaped and 12' in one direction and 7' in the other.

Although, I do have a sofa that's round. It unfolds to be 10' wide but when it's closed it's 5' deep, very nice for sitting back and reading or watching a movie.

[larknm]

A balalaika--it was so beautiful. I regretted it for about 10 years, got over it probably around time I read Your Money or Your Life.

[Gina]

Yes, absolutely. Especially things that can't be replaced, or would cost a lot. Sometimes the regret is just because it's gone and we no longer have control over using it or not anymore - not that it is actually needed.

Having regrets just is part of having stuff. Just another uncomfortable feeling state to accept and experience.

We just can't keep everything - if we did, we'd regret having too much stuff. ;)

[Florence]

I didn't keep my mother's letters. I was so young that it never occurred to me how precious they would be to me after her death.