“Don’t throw that away—it might be useful!” 🧦🧹 But is it really? Or just a habit we’ve inherited from harder times? One old T-shirt led to a family talk that flips the way we think about clutter, poverty, and holding on “just in case.” The line her aunt says about survival and broken furniture hits deep. Read it in the article below 👇
I remember one time I was about to hand my husband a few of our kids’ old T-shirts to use as rags in the garage. They were full of holes, too small, and seemed useless. But my aunt happened to be visiting, and she was shocked.
“What are you doing?” she asked, clearly upset. “Young people just throw everything away! You don’t know how useful these things can be.”
Out of curiosity, I asked what on earth I could do with those worn-out shirts. Back then, I didn’t even have a yard or much space in my home.
And just like that, she gave me four ideas:
First, use them as rags to clean the house or mop the floors.
Second, in the garden—to cover cabbages or flowers when it’s too hot or when there’s a sudden frost.
Third, you can cut them into strips and tie them into rugs or use them to support tomato plants.
And finally, when they’re completely falling apart, you can toss them in the fire or use them to light one.
That was her advice. And I realized something from it.
Apparently, my face showed how skeptical I was, because my aunt just smiled and said, “You’re young. You don’t understand what it means to live without things. We kept everything not because we loved junk, but because we had to. It became a habit.”
She went on, “I still save every nail, jar, and sour cream container. But you don’t have to. If you’re sure you won’t use something in the next couple of years—throw it away. But keep the T-shirts—we’ll cut them now for the tomatoes.”
From that day forward, I understood something important. The habit of keeping every little thing “just in case” doesn’t help you get out of poverty—it keeps you in it. It’s a leftover survival instinct, passed down from times when people didn’t have many options. And it’s very hard to break.
People who grew up with less may still say, “Don’t throw that away! It’s useful!” But you have to be careful, because that mindset can take over your own thinking.
The truth is, most of those saved bits and pieces—old wood, scraps of fabric, bent nails, rusty tools—never get used. Neither do broken appliances. Unless you’re someone who fixes or collects those things, they just take up space.
That’s how balconies and garages get so cluttered. And later, after a loved one passes, their kids and grandkids are stuck hauling it all away to the landfill—truckload after truckload.
Was it worth it?
Couldn’t they have lived more comfortably, without piles of old junk getting in the way?
Now, I don’t mean good furniture. I’m not saying to get rid of sturdy chairs or old beds that still work. This is about broken things—truly useless items that just sit there gathering dust.
Think about it: that stone and tub your grandmother used for pickling cabbage? You haven’t grown cabbage in 10 years. That cabinet door you were going to make shelves out of back in the ‘90s? It’s falling apart. What are you holding onto it for?
Here’s the rule I live by now:
If you haven’t used it in years, ask someone if they want it.
If you haven’t even thought about it in 2 or 3 years, it’s time to let it go.
And my favorite reminder: “You can’t bring back the past, and the future is uncertain—so enjoy your life right now.”
I know many people keep old things—clothes, linens, broken stuff—“just in case.” But let’s be honest: has that “case” ever actually happened?
Have you kept anything for years and later truly been glad you did? Or do you agree that most of this is just an old habit from times when people had no choice but to hold on to everything?
Share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to know how you feel about this.
