One skinny folder now holds every manual we need in our house. It used to take a whole desk drawer, and the drawer barely closed.
I didn’t throw them all away. I want to say that first, because I know how many of us feel about our manuals.
Some of them, I’m keeping on purpose. When the dishwasher starts beeping at seven in the morning, I don’t want to hunt online for a model I can’t even name.
But when I finally emptied that drawer onto the kitchen table, I found something funny. Most of the manuals were for things we didn’t own anymore.
The toaster from years ago. A VCR. The fridge we replaced.
A car we sold. Two cell phones I couldn’t picture if you paid me.
So this is the gentle way I sorted ours. It keeps what’s useful and lets go of the rest.
Why We Keep Every Manual
I think most of us keep manuals for good reasons.
We paid for that appliance. Something might break. And when it does, we want the little book that tells us what the blinking light means.
Looking things up online isn’t always easy, either. You need the model number, the right website and a good pair of glasses. (I need all three, and I still get lost sometimes.)
So keeping the manual feels safe. The trouble is that we keep them long after the thing itself has left the house.