4163: The Myth of the Someday/Maybe Life by Rose Lounsbury on Minimalism

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[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_02] It's a Minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily. The Myth of the Someday Maybe Life by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com. And I'm Justin Malik. We're going to jump right into today's Minimalist Monday post as we optimize your life. The Myth of the Someday Maybe Life by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_02] This might sound crazy, my client said as she held up a tan colored trench. But I keep this coat because someday I might want to be Inspector Gadget for Halloween. Marissa was a new client and it was my first time at her house. So I tried my darndest to bite down the smile tugging at my lips. Lucky for me, she quickly laughed and added, I should just donate it, right? Yep, I said, adding the coat to our growing donation pile.

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_02] About an hour later, we came across an unopened meat grinding attachment for her stand mixer, which she had received as a wedding gift several years before. Marissa cradled the box in her hands. You know, she said, I have this scene in my head where my husband and I are older and our kids are grown and we have these really nice dinners outside on a terrace and we're grinding our own meat to make these fantastic burgers. By this time, I felt pretty comfortable with Marissa. So I asked,

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_02] Are you by chance wearing the Inspector Gadget costume while grinding this meat? We both laughed until our sides ached. This example, while hilarious, demonstrates a very real phenomenon I often see in clients and myself. The urge to save things for our someday maybe lives. These are the lives where we are wearing elaborate Halloween costumes, eating kid-free fancy dinners on a terrace in our soon-to-be-built palatial homes,

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_02] and scuba diving off the coast of our own private islands. No matter what type of someday maybe life we imagine for ourselves, there's one common thread in all of them. They are never the lives we are actually living right now. Thus, the stuff we are keeping to fulfill these imaginary lives is probably unnecessary. If you struggle to let go of items for your someday maybe life, here are a few tried-and-true questions to help you. Number one,

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_02] Would I buy it again today? This question can help you let go of items you may have purchased in anticipation of your someday maybe life. For example, I'm not a hat person. Hats always make me feel like I'm wearing a costume. In fact, I couldn't even stand to wear the baseball hat I was supposed to wear when I coached my son's t-ball team a couple years ago. The only hats I wear are the kind needed to keep my head warm in Ohio's winter. However, every once in a while,

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_02] I'll find myself imagining that I'm going to become a hat person. I'll be in a store, usually that cute downtown boutique type, try on some hats, and while the salesperson oh-so-expertly compliments me on how I look, end up purchasing one. I've actually bought two rather expensive hats this way, and then donated each of them within a year of purchase because I had to face the sad fact that the hat wearing me only exists in my someday maybe life.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_02] Number two, Have I used this in the last year? This is the quintessential decluttering question. It's a really good one if you're trying to weed out items for your someday maybe life. If you haven't used an item in the last year, are you really ever going to use it? I don't see the need to hang on to any item you haven't used in the last year, except maybe teaching materials that are in your attic that you need in case you ever go back to teaching middle school language arts. Not that I'd have any of those in my attic,

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_02] like several boxes worth. Let's go on to question number three. So question number three, what's the worst thing that would happen if I let go of this? We often hang on to items out of fear. What if I need that someday? We get all angsty and anxious and worried that letting go of this item will somehow spell disaster. So I encourage you, face that doomsday scenario head on and ask yourself, what's the worst thing that would happen?

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_02] The answer is usually not that bad. I once had a woman in one of my live classes say that she knew she needed to let go of some of her excess clothing, but she just couldn't do it. So I asked her, what's the worst thing that would happen if you let go of those clothes? She paused for a moment, then smiled and said, I guess I'd have to go shopping. Is that so bad? I asked. She shook her head no, and I think we all realize the power of facing the worst case scenario and realizing,

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_02] as is probably typical when it comes to decluttering, the worst case scenario is usually not all that bad. So I hope these questions have encouraged you to rethink those items you might be saving for your someday maybe inspector gadget meat grinding life. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have a date with some boxes in my attic. You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_02] The Myth of the Someday Maybe Life by Rose Lounsbury of roselounsbury.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Now I wanna tell you about a book that stuck with me, Life at the Speed of Play, Launch Products People Love by Mark Pincus. Mark's a legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur and one of the most prolific idea generators around. But as he'll tell you, ideas are a dime a dozen. What matters is picking the right ones.

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_02] His instant national bestseller is a fast-paced, 170-page read for these uncertain times full of real-life skills and a battle-tested, easy-to-follow framework for separating the great ideas from the terrible ones. Y Combinator's Gary Tan says it'll change your odds of success. And it reads less like a stuffy business book, more like you're in Mark's kitchen, already in his inner circle. Go to getmarksbook.com slash old

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_02] and buy one copy and Mark personally, not his publisher, sends you a second one free. Two books, about $16 each, so you can hand one to a friend who's stuck. Once again, that's getmarksbook.com slash old.

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00] Your heart can tell you a lot about your health. Apple Watch Series 12 measures your heart rate every five seconds with the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. So your vitals app, now with heart rate variability, can tell you when something is off. And your readiness score can let you know when to rest and when to push. Hear the story in every heartbeat with Apple Watch Series 12. The features described are for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. iPhone 11 or later required. Based on Apple conducted study of heart rate accuracy, August, 2026. Visit apple.com slash Apple Watch Series 12.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_02] Thank you to Rose. She's frequently narrated over on the Optimal Finance Daily podcast with some humorous posts as well. So if you'd like more from her, but more about money related topics, you can check out the Optimal Finance Daily podcast. Now, when someone mentions something about using an item in the last year, I always have to bring up the couple of tricks or tactics that I think really work well for this. The first is specifically for clothing in your closet

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_02] and more specifically on hangers in your closet. This trick is so easy to do that I think it's worth bringing up on this show a few times. So basically when you take an item off of your hanger, just turn the hanger around at that time so the hook is facing in the opposite direction. That's it. Although first you have to make sure they're all facing the same way, of course. And then set a date or reminder in your calendar to check it again in whatever timeframe you choose.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_02] It could be a year like Rose suggested. I think that's always good. Or sooner if you like. Then when that year or whatever date rolls around, whichever hangers are still facing the original direction, you didn't wear that piece of clothing for that entire time period. And it should be easier to get rid of. Now the other super simple method is to just pack things away in a box and write the date on it. If a year passes and you never went looking for those items, well, it's already packed and ready to donate.

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_02] Something to try for Minimalist Monday. Have a great rest of your day, hopefully minimizing. Thank you for being here and listening to me and for subscribing to or following the show. And I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits. Just Thank you.