“Just toss it!” is the rallying cry of these weeks. But some items we simply can’t bring ourselves to discard. 9 writers share

"I save nothing,” I said to the women on the park bench, with just the tiniest hint of smugness. “When I moved,” I continued, “I started packing two weeks before M-day, because everything I have I use. When I Pesach clean, I search for chometz. When my siblings need help spring cleaning, they call me. My advice? Throw it out!”

I’m not quite Marie Kondo, but even she admitted that it’s harder to live Spartan when you have kids. Still, when I clean out under the beds, I earn the title “Mean Mommy,” and I wear it proudly. You have one under-the-bed box, I tell my kids, and if it’s full, well, throw something out to fit the next thing in.

But then I heard what these women were saving. Sheva brachos outfits, tchotchkes from friends, tiny little baby clothes that are long out of style…. That’s what they talking about? That’s not stuff you save in a fit of sentimentality! That’s all the stuff I have crammed into the back of my closets.