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I have to admit I got the idea for this article from Georgia, my wife. She created a closet clean out exercise for women and offers it as one of her in-home services at www.TheClothesDoctor.com

This got me thinking, what about the rest of your life? What about your business?

For example, how much stuff do you have that you probably will never use? How many things are you holding onto that have outlived their usefulness? I have for example, a great JVC dual cassette recorder. It’s a wonderful piece of equipment and was quite expensive when I bought it 10 or 12 years ago, but what is the likelihood that I’ll ever use it again? Nil!

What about the vinyl CD albums that I no longer use for my audio CD programs? With everything moving to digital downloads or at least small DVD packaging, it’s unlikely that I’ll use these either. So the question is why am I hanging on to them?

What about you? What do you have stored in your attic, garage, closet, file cabinets or just lying around the house that you’ll most likely never use? Someone recently told me that the average American has $3,000 worth of merchandise that they will never use and could instead, sell on ebay.com.

Let’s apply a modified version of Georgia’s closet technique to your “stuff.”

Look at each item that you’re hanging on to and ask yourself, when was the last time you used it and what is the likelihood that you’ll use it again?

If it’s something that you are not going to use, not a family heirloom, or something with sentimental value, do one of the following:

- Sell it either on ebay or a similar online site or have a yard sale.
- Donate it and, if you want, take a tax write off.
- If it is really of no use throw it away.

If you have outdated stationery and office supplies, like the blank tri-fold brochure paper I’ll never use, you might want to give it to someone with small children, an elementary school or a nursing home. They are always in need of arts and crafts supplies.

Another benefit to doing this is that you’re creating a vacuum and, since nature abhors a vacuum, you are actually creating space for something new and better to come into your life.

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