This will help you decide scientifically which pieces of furniture to keep; and also you will not regret it in future.
Are you…
- Revamping your home (your rooms)?
- Moving to a new house?
- Simply planning to replace some furniture?
In all such scenarios, you will need to get rid of some pieces of furniture.
The question is, how can you decide which pieces of furniture to keep, and which to remove?
To ensure you take a scientific approach and arrive at the correct decision, we are publishing this post on 10 questions to ask when deciding which furniture to keep.
Blog overview
To understand the logic behind these 10 questions to ask when deciding which furniture to keep,
- First we will go into the context in which this post is written.
- Then we will take a look at the logic behind the questions
- And finally we will see which are the questions to be asked
Ready?
Let’s begin!
The context of this blog post
In a previous blog post, we had taken a look at a process to help you decide which furniture to keep.
One step of that process was to consider each piece of furniture separately, and take a decision as to whether you really need it or not.
How will you understand that? You have bought it with your hard-earned money, so it must be something you need, you may think.
To overcome that mentality, we are giving you this list of questions to help you decide rationally whether you really need a particular piece of furniture.
The logic behind the questions
The main logic behind the questions is to put usefulness and sentiment on an equal level, so you can take a decision after considering both factors.
That way, you won’t feel sad later that you removed a piece of furniture that was very valuable for you.
Now, let’s take a look at the 10 questions.
Are you currently using that furniture?
Basic issue.
If a furniture is not being regularly or currently used by you, it’s possible you can live your life without it.
Pro tip: Think of this with a one year time frame, not within the last week or the last month. This is because some essential pieces of furniture might be used during certain seasons only.
Am I getting into the “I bought this with my hard earned money” sentiment?
This is an important thing to think about.
Can you think of the furniture as valuable without getting into the “hard earned money” mentality?
If you see it in a shop or on a website now, will you buy it?
If you are prepared to invest your money into the item right now, the item has real value to you.
Otherwise you would not want to spend your hard earned money on it.
Are you keeping it for sentimental reasons?
Sometimes we find it difficult to remove items from our childhood or from when our children were younger, due to sentiments.
BUT
If they have no real use for you now, they are adding to clutter in your room, and decreasing your quality of life.
Is there a plan or time to use it in the future?
If you think “this piece of furniture is something I will use in future”, think carefully.
Do you have a plan or a set time to use it?
Or are you saving it just in case you need to use it?
If it is “just in case” logic, better get rid of it.
Do you have one or more than one of that?
This is a special case of “just in case” logic.
For example, you may have 2 armchairs (more than one) in your living room, and you are saving them up, just in case you have a party.
If you haven’t had this big a party for years, and/or also have a sofa on which many people can sit, you can think about removing one of your armchairs.
The 2 C’s
Do you feel confident and comfortable (the 2 C’s) when you use it?
For example, do you feel confident and comfortable sitting on your armchair?
Could it be more useful for someone else than it is for you?
This is a utility based question, aimed at charitable donations.
If something would be more useful to someone poor than you, you should donate it.
This also helps reduce the sentimentality problem – you will not feel bad about not having an item if you know it’s being used by someone poor and making their life better.
If you had to move to a new house, would you take that furniture with you?
If it’s really useful for you, the answer will be yes.
If it’s not that valuable, the answer will be no.
For example, while moving, you may think that a very old armchair has enough sentimental value to move with you to your new house, but that you can get a more comfortable be cheaply, so you may want to get rid of the bed.
Is it worth the time, money and effort it takes to maintain it?
Maintenance is a key issue when it comes to furniture selection.
You would have to invest time and effort, and sometimes even money into maintenance of a piece of furniture.
Is it worth what you are investing in it?
Further reading
To better understand the 10 questions to ask when deciding which furniture to keep, and to help with related home design and decor,
You can refer to the following blog posts:
How you can decide which furniture to keep is the context post of this blog, and should be useful.
10 wall decor ideas to style up your space is a good read if you’re revamping your room.
Making your home staging a hit will give you clues if you are planning to sell your home and move.
Tips for decorating a small space will be useful if you’re revamping a small space.
And finally, 5 home cleaning tips is essential if you’re revamping your home…you should give it a good clean also!
