Toss or Keep
Are you about to start a project at home, but aren’t sure where to begin with what to keep and what to toss regarding furniture, rugs, lighting, and accessories? We have some tried-and-true questions we like to ask ourselves and steps to take. These will help you along in your journey and provide a refreshed space to work from.
Take a look at what you have ask yourself these questions:
Does it fit in the space?
If it doesn’t, toss it or use in a different space in your home.
If it does fit the space, ask yourselves the questions below:
Do you use it or would you use it if it was repurposed in the space?
If the answer is no, toss it. Even if it fits, if you don’t use it… get something you will use that’s more functional for you or your family!
If the answer is that you do use it or could repurpose it, ask yourself the question below:
Do you enjoy it, and as Marie Kondo would say, “Does it spark joy?”
If you don’t enjoy it and it doesn’t fit in your space, say BYYYEEEE
If you don’t enjoy it, but it does fit in the space and you use it, it might be worth hanging onto.
If you do enjoy it, and it fits in the space/is useful, absolutely keep it!
Let’s take a look at a project where we went through this exercise in every space.
In the Sweet Flag living room we slowly donated old sofas that blocked the beautiful view (did not fit), chairs that were falling apart (would not use) and accessories and light fixtures that did not spark us joy.
In the Sweet Flag project (Wendy’s cabin) we inherited everything from the home. You name it, we inherited it: forks, cups, art, baskets full of dusty fake ivy upon baskets of dusty fake ivy, log beds, broken beds, phones from 1980, linens that were 30 years old, games with missing pieces, etc.
In every room in the house we asked ourselves the questions above. If some of the pieces fit and were useful but they didn’t spark joy, we slowly changed them out over time like light fixtures, beds, bedding, flatware, glassware, art, etc.
In one of the twin bedrooms, we donated the beds (did not fit, and would not use) and transformed the space into an inviting guest room. This Yaya & Co pillow and The Citizenry sheepskin throw elevated the coziness to another level.
Setting a budget for how much you could spend to update furniture and existing pieces will help. You can then allocate funds to the rooms that are most important to you. Here is what we did at Sweet Flag to get the house in a liveable condition (to our design and comfort standards):
Any art we didn’t love, we tossed. Art we loved but felt needed a refresh, we had reframed to give it new life. Our go-to place for framing is Beard’s Framing in Raleigh Hills and our favorite framer is Freya (but they are truly all amazing)!
For furniture that was falling apart, we felt it was not worth the investment to fix (either too cheap of furniture or very dated). We knew we would never love them and/or they wouldn’t fit with the new furniture arrangement, so we donated them. When purchasing bedroom furniture, we decided to mix old with new by keeping two log beds and buying two new steel-coated beds in bright colors from Room & Board.
Anything we knew couldn’t revive/if it didn’t bring us joy was tossed or donated. The old linens that smelled and the baskets of dusty ivy (probably hadn’t been cleaned in 20 years) were a few of the items tossed. We were so excited to then shop for new bedding that would fit our design aesthetic from Schoolhouse.
Art is the perfect starting point if you’re looking to experiment with eclectic style. Looking for a tip to make old and new art look cohesive? Framing! If you are local to the Portland area, we recommend Beards’s Framing.
The evolution of the new and improved family cabin slowly started to take shape thanks to a thorough exercise of Toss or Keep. While it’s an ongoing project with eventual bathroom remodels, new carpet, etc; the progress to date has been HUGE.
We hope this article helps as you look at your project to figure out what to keep or toss. Soon you’ll be living in a space (or your client will be!) that is aesthetically pleasing and functional.
Have questions on where to begin? Message us @tealandscott on Instagram! Below are more helpful resources.
The best place to donate in Oregon is Habitat for Humanity. This is where we took most of the furniture and accessories that we tossed in the Sweet Flag project.
If you are not local, check to see if you have a local Habitat for Humanity chapter, or look for other donation-based centers.
A related blog that might be helpful: Scoping Your Project
Affiliate Disclosure: Teal and Wendy hand pick every product they recommend. Some product links are affiliate and may provide a small kickback to T&S at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate they earn from qualifying purchases.
