Do you really need it?

If you have ever moved house, you will understand how stressful the whole experience can be. From finding a new house to live in to packing up and unpacking again when you’ve arrived; the idea of leaving a home that you are comfortable in sounds like some form of personal torture.

As you rummage through your cupboards, you will stumble upon a whole range of memorabilia; from photographs from your childhood to old sticker books- and you will want to cling onto everything you possibly can, as if the memories will vanish if an item was left behind.

But there’s one rule to make the whole inconvenience bearable; we urge you to throw away anything that you haven’t used within the last 6 months which has no sentimental value.

Now, we’re not telling you to bin all your old photographs or childhood certificates; they hold a value no memory in your head can replace. On the other hand, we are telling you to distance yourself from the toy flip phone you had when you were five.

This process is also useful for spring cleaning when you fancy getting rid of all the things you have unconsciously hoarded over the years.

Sure, the concept of binning something that you have kept hold of for the past 20-something years will be frightening and periods of weakness, where you debate with yourself trying to find an excuse to keep the item in question, are to be expected. Despite this, once the process actually begins, the number of personal belongings you will have to box up or put away will have diminished significantly. Plus, if you are moving house, you will thank yourself when the unpacking process begins at your new home.

So what are you waiting for? Go fetch some bin liners and let’s get to work!