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The Declutter Question: If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?

By Jared Dees

I just bought a few new t-shirts to wear during the day. They will make up my work-at-home attire. My rule is, however, that I cannot have more t-shirts than I can fit in one drawer and I have to wear the shirt that is furthest to the left.

So, I need to get rid of a few t-shirts to fit the new ones.

The question Marie Kondo suggests we ask when deciding to declutter/eliminate a possession is:

Does this bring me joy?

I like the question from Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism, even better:

If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?

To me this is more concrete than the “spark joy” criteria. If something does “spark joy,” like a shirt I love to wear and that reminds me of many fond memories, then I would spend a lot to buy it. But, if it’s just a shirt I somehow accumulated over the years and I try to avoid wearing, then I’m not likely to spend a lot (or any) money at all to buy it.

This approach applies to possessions and to projects, too.

We can’t evaluate a project simply based on whether it “sparks joy” since a lot of projects require hard work.

Instead, we might ask:

If I didn’t already have this opportunity, what would I sacrifice to obtain it?

May 4, 2018 Filed Under: Meaning and Motivation, Meaningful Work, Personal Finance, Productivity

About Jared Dees

Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children.

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Jared Dees is passionate about sharing practical resources to teach faith. He is best known for his website The Religion Teacher and is the author of many books including 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, Praying the Angelus, Christ in the Classroom, and Beatitales: 80 Fables about the Beatitudes for Children. See all of Jared's Books →

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