Sentimentality is an interesting thing. It can infect the most common of items without you realizing it. And before you know it, that old pair of shoes is collecting dust because you don’t want to remove it from your life.

But they’ve been collecting dust since you first wore them.

Today I tossed out a pair of shoes that I’ve held onto for far longer than I should have.

These shoes have touched the earth in 18 countries on 4 different continents. Their tattered fibres hold the volcanic dust of Salvadoran volcanoes, the mud of Colombian jungles, and the powder-like sand of the Sahara Desert.

I held on to them half out of sentiment and the other of practicality. They still functioned — barely. But I have other shoes. Better shoes.

There was no reason to hold onto these.

It’s important to evaluate these little things.

The fading thumps, as they fell down the garbage chute, swirled feelings in my mind.

Nostalgia, mostly. It’s why we hold on to so many otherwise useless items — why we keep things far longer than they are worth.

But these things aren’t the feeling.

It’s not that we should rid ourselves of sentimental items altogether. But we all have that old, stained t-shirt, a hoodie with a zipper that no longer works, or a crusty pair of shoes that are literally coming apart at the seams.

Hold on to things that truly bring you joy. But free yourself from the things that simply tease the feeling on occasion. Keeping everything that does can quickly get out of hand.