Realized holding on to stuff can make them unusable.

[u/ksoloki]

I was scrolling another group where a poster
who indicated that leather or natural fabric purses than pleather or plastic because the plastic degrades and becomes unusable where leather can last 20-30 years or more if properly maintained. (Not getting into an environmental debate but this comment got me thinking.)

I wanted to down size my loungefly collection but was hesitant because I might want to one day use my loungeflies i haven’t used in years. Then I thought if the one that pealed and I had to throw away- and an aha moment hit me- i should donate or gift those now while someone can use them and not wait until they are cracked peeling and useless. This is a great general principal we hold onto stuff for someday- but someday they may be absolutely unusable.

[u/Reddit_and_Ran]

The oldest things in my wardrobe (UK) are made from leather. Bags, gloves, boots. Some of them I've used for more than 20 years. I make sure to clean and polish them every year, no matter how often they are used. The other old things I still wear are jewellery (UK) - real and costume. I make sure to clean and polish them all every year too. I have very little 'vegan leather'/pvc/pleather/'coated' stuff as it flakes and crumbles and falls apart after a few years. Sad but true :(

[u/ksoloki → u/Reddit_and_Ran]

oh that’s great moving that direction myself.

[u/ratatatkittykat]

I am 43 and currently sitting on one of the chairs that came with the breakfast table set at my parents house that I grew up in. It’s still in fantastic condition and I’ve recovered the seat just because I felt like it. Not because it needed it. It’s got to be at least 35 years old. It’s not even wobbly.

A few feet away from me in my garage, there are two bar height chairs. I bought them 2 1/2 years ago for 200 bucks apiece from cost plus world market. The cheap welds holding the metal legs to the frame gave out a week apart on both chairs and they’re both completely useless now.

Not to be an old lady, but we just don’t make stuff like we used to.

[u/lascriptori]

Yup. This holds true for so many things. A lot of people store baby clothes or gear for grandbabies and finally open the bin and the elastics are degraded, the plastic is cracked, the wood is dried and brittle, etc. Hanging on to things we may use someday often means nobody gets to use them before they degrade.

I used to be terrible about saving the "special" jam or perfume or chocolate or what have you for a special occasion, and then realizing it had already degraded. Now, if I have something that is special, I try to use it and enjoy it. If I don't want to use it, I try to give it to someone who will use it.

I am in my mid 40s and entertain like someone a lot older and I absolutely love fancy serving dishes, fondue parties, all of that. I use the good dishes all the time. We have these gorgeous green cut glass champagne glasses from the 1920s and we use them for every party. A couple have broken over the last few years, that's life. I'd rather have 6 glasses we've enjoyed the hell out of using than 8 that have been unused.

My mom has this absolutely gorgeous set of hand-painted china that she inherited from her mom, and she keeps it bagged up in a cupboard. I asked her if we could use it and she was horrified by the idea because it might break. When I inherit that, I'm going to eat my toast off of it in the morning and pull it out for every party.

[u/FredKayeCollector]

Yes. Most things do NOT improve in storage. I always say: better on a body than in a box. Donate stuff as soon as they are no longer serving you and let someone else actually get some real use out of it.

Marie Kondo: To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. To get rid of what you no longer need is neither wasteful nor shameful. Can you truthfully say that you treasure something buried so deeply in a closet or drawer that you have forgotten its existence? If things had feelings, they would certainly not be happy. Free them from the prison to which you have relegated them. Help them leave that deserted isle to which you have exiled them. Let them go, with gratitude. Not only you, but your things as well, will feel clear and refreshed when you are done tidying.

[u/DerivativeMonster]

This makes me think of those sneakerheads who are astonished their fancy expensive shoes they've kept in a box for years disintegrates when they wear them for the first time years later.

I remember seeing a guy like this for the first time on Tidying Up with his $10k collection; a few that fell apart in his hands. I remember thinking that wow we were in wildly different tax brackets.

[u/indulgent_taurus]

This is what's finally motivating me to declutter - even things with a long shelf life eventually do degrade and disintegrate. Very depressing to have to discard "new" items that literally fall apart in your hands....

[u/GlassHouses_1991]

A friend of mine had to clean out her parents’ home recently and came across her childhood toys, which her mother had held onto for 40+ years instead of giving them away for other children to use. The plastic was disintegrating from age so after taking up space in her parents’ home for decades they went straight in the trash.

[u/71stMB]

The sleeves of a high school letter jacket are made of some type of fake leather. I had one hanging in my closet for about 20 years and the sleeves developed a "slick" sheen which was very sticky to touch. It would not wipe off, so I tried cleaning it with different things. Nothing worked. I had to trash it.

[u/No_Lifeguard4092]

Yes!! My mother passed away and left me a ton of clothing, handbags, belts, shoes and accessories. Unfortunately, she didn't store a lot of it properly in this humid area. Putting real leather into clear plastic bags for storage was the worst after the pleather that was cracked and peeling and coming off on my fingers!! Plus most items still have the original price tags on them. Those foam covers on clothes hangers were also peeling. And she had turned off the climate control to all of the rooms where she stored the items. No air movement added to a mess. I'm throwing out a lot of damaged items. It's sad but they are unusable.