If you have some kind of attachment to something, then you shouldn't throw it away. It has real value to you. The kind of stuff you should toss is the stuff that you're keeping because you think it's valuable in the abstract.
Re:Stuff - Paul Graham
by ivankirigin on Wednesday August 01, 2007 @11:50AM
(#38390)
Indeed. I have a box in my basement with an incomplete set of work for school since grade school and other junk. Each individual piece is pretty useless, and has low sentimental value. The box is easy to store.
Why save books, besides the memories? Convenience of being able to look things up? I like books, but my wifes parents are book sellers. They have hundreds of thousands of rare books for sale.
She doesn't like to save anything but the most essential books.
The mental load of throwing something away that _might_ have value is pretty high. It might be higher than the integrated attention paid to it in your basement -- unless you move often.