There’s an old joke about treadmills. It goes something like this:
One time I bought a treadmill, now it’s the most expensive clothes hanger in my home.
People laugh—they know it’s true.
The fact is we often buy items with good intentions but never end up using them.
Of course, in the scenario above, if the treadmill was only serving as an extra clothes hanger in the corner of our bedroom, that would be one thing. But the reality is, that unused item is more than a hanger.
It is taking up space—lots of it.
It is taking up valuable physical space in your home.
It’s another physical object, in your home, that you need to dust and clean and vacuum around. It’s just another thing to walk around every day… or pack up when you move.
But more than physical space, it also takes up mental space in your mind.
As Randy Alcorn says, “Every increased possession adds increased anxiety onto our lives.” And that is definitely true.
That unused item (a treadmill or anything) is visual clutter in your home. It calls for your attention every time you walk into the room. It surfaces guilt that you wasted money on it. It causes regret every time you see it. And it serves as a constant reminder that at some point you have to decide what to do with it.
Our unused items are not passive, they are active. They take up space—physical space in our home and mental space in our mind.
Which leads me back to the old adage about treadmills: One time I bought a treadmill, now it’s the most expensive clothes hanger in my home.
There’s a lot of truth in that statement—maybe more than we realize.
If a treadmill is not being used as a treadmill, what is it exactly? If it’s not being used for exercise, is it even a piece of exercise equipment? Maybe it really is just an expensive clothes hanger in the corner of my room.
This question quickly extends far beyond exercise equipment. We could begin to ask the same of other items in our home that are not being used.
For example:
If a shirt in my closet is never being worn, what is it? Is it actually a piece of clothing? Or is it just a piece of fabric hanging in my closet?
If a coffee mug in the back of my cabinet hasn’t been used to serve a drink for as long as I can remember, is it really a coffee mug anymore? Or is it just a piece of ceramic taking up space and gathering dust?
If there are countless tools in my garage that never get used, are they really tools anymore?
If that plastic spatula is never used, what has it become? Just something I need to rearrange every time I open the drawer?
If a book has never been read, is it really a book? I mean, isn’t the purpose of a book to provide education or entertainment? Clearly it isn’t doing that. Is it just a collection of papers, bound together, taking up space on my bookshelf?
If that old desktop computer is never used, what is it? It’s certainly not something I use to solve problems or accomplish tasks. It’s just a big box of electronic components sitting on a desk.
If I never listen to the CDs… if we never use the camping gear… if those old phones are just sitting in a box… if I don’t know what these cords go to… if I never play that piano… if that purse never gets used… if I never wear that pair of shoes…
It seems to me, the items in our home should serve a purpose. They should be used for the reason we purchased them.
If they are not, they are no longer serving their purpose.
They are only taking up space.
Or being used as a really expensive clothes hanger.
OMG Joshua,
I think this is my favorite! You had me laughing about the treadmill because one of my Siblings & her Husband Have a Treadmill. I lived with them for a few years & then prior to an Exercise Program I joined this past January I was living with them & started to use it! I moved out in September & it pretty much sits idle in their back porch. Just today I asked her if they have been using it & she said no. She said that they are going to start but it’s already January 3? (And I was told that this treadmill was not cheap)!
These bullet points are great & yesterday I did go & clean out my closet and clothes drawers a bit. Now I will go through more things & see what I may not be using. As far as the books though they will get read, that I am sure about.
If we can instill some humor into the mix you can turn decluttering into fun. Take your time & go at your own pace.
Does anyone know what to do with old cameras and video cameras?
Sell them to collectors…I did the same…If they are broken, unusable, give them to e-waste.
In Israel, all train stations ( we don’t have a subway) have a book shelf of donated books. They put a book sticker on them. There is a container at all stations where you can drop off the book you borrowed at some othet station or donate books.
In addition, the hospital where I work also has bookcases designated for donation and borrowing, in several locations where people sit and wait.
In our town, there is a national women’s organization that holds various classes and has an open bookshelf that people donate books in good condition. They sell them for $1.50 and the profit goes to a shelterfor batterd women along with profits from selling donated clothes.
Just a reminder that your local public library often accepts donations of books. Mine has a “friends of the library” group that holds sales to help support library programs. Although, sometimes, they’ll spot a book the library wants for its own collection.
Also consider asking what your local used book store does with books it doesn’t want. The one I patronize gives unwanted books to a particular thrift store in town that wants them. So any books I want to donate that I know are too old for the used book store can go straight there instead.
So not only ask if something brings us joy but does it still serve the purpose I intended?
Yes, perfect. Though I don’t think “does it bring joy” is the right question to be asking anyway: “Does It Spark Joy?” Is the Wrong Decluttering Question
Why? If an item bring you Joy why not keep it. We need as much Joy in our lives as possible. Mvh Ellen.
For the reasons I mention in the article that I linked for him to read.
Thought provoking article Joshua. I am interested in where the Randy Alcorn quote came from.
Preach!
Love this timely article…I have been packing for a month, getting ready to move to a new house…well it was built in 1969, but it sure has good bones. It is just what is needed to spend the rest of our days…I’m so excited and ready to let go of anything that I can’t find a home for in the house…..this is going to be such a great opportunity to make sure nothing stays that doesn’t have a purpose.
Love your thinking!
Great article! Never really thought about unused items like that! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I collect no big baggage items, except for the house itself. I leave what I don’t need in it when I move.
To me, one of the saddest things is seeing books never being enjoyed. They serve no purpose sitting on a shelf collecting dust. They ARE meant to be read, meant to provide entertainment, meant to educate.
Passing the vast majority of mine on to others has given me great joy!
Looking nice place to hangout , I getting people to my house for tea. I found savings in Maroco mint leaves. Healthier carbs than brown sugar. Is detoxifying be part of a minimalist living style?
Use e-books laptop no shelving that the best answer to de – cluttering
I too have lots of books in boxes but my goal is to read them of course i can’t read them at one time but as i read they go into a box and when the box is full i give them to someone else to read and enjoy i got rid of one box this spring and i am working on another one and on and on it goes
I love your commitment like you I want to finish a novel or fiction and volunteer my time to help my bookstore. Then get some new. I love my part-time and people are so helpful there.
Me too! I try to get all my books read, and my mums books read. Just to give them away after. Find it hard to get someone to take them. Put them on line for free, but waited a Long time. Our used books store only take in this years books, so impossible to sell either. I guess No one wants the clutter in their houses. Ellen.
I found a school that takes a lot my my preloved books.