Week 14 of 15 in 15 in ’15 Challenge: Entertaining Items

We are ALMOST done with our 15 Week Challenge.  Only one more week after this week’s assignment.  And this one is another one I’ve timed to coincide with a holiday.

What is a more perfect time than a spring weekend, where many of us are celebrating Easter or Passover, to take a critical eye on the items we’ve collected over the years for entertaining.  

Platters, oversized bowls, linens, punch bowls, salt shakers, cake stands, pitchers, vases, serving utensils, napkin holders, candlesticks, fondue pots, champagne glasses, bar tools, and I could probably keep naming things, couldn’t I?  

There’s a good chance many of us have more than we need, more than we want, more than we could ever use, more than we have storage for..  and I could probably keep naming more of THOSE things, couldn’t I?

Entertaining Items

So, this week’s challenge, for a holiday weekend or just a plain old Spring Cleaning weekend, is to go through your entertaining items and let go of your least favorite, your least necessary, your least-likely-to-use.

Now, there is a good chance that there’s a particular struggle many of us will have with this one.  It’s the voice in your head. Do you hear it saying: 

“But this was a wedding gift,”  or   “But this was my great aunt’s” ?

Think about a few things:

1) When someone gives you a gift, they want it to be a source of joy for you.  It doesn’t always land that way.  When it doesn’t, do you think they would feel good if s/he knew you were holding onto something out of guilt or obligation? That their GIFT made you feel bad? Of course not!

2) There are so many things that we can have that remind us of family members and loved ones, especially those that have passed away.  But those things are not them. And their memory does not fade because we let go of an item we associated with them.  Take a picture to preserve a visual memory, and look at that picture to remember them, whenever your heart desires. 

You might try to sell them. Sometimes, unique items can be wanted by others, whether on a local yard sale or Facebook yard sale site, or eBay / Craigslist. 

You might donate them or freecycle them.

You might gift them to another family member or friend who has very little, but might like some of yours.

But whatever you do, let them go. Give yourself the gift of clearer cabinets, shelves, and drawers this weekend.