It’s wild, right? When we love something, we’re more likely to keep it, clean it, use it more often, so it ends up with a lower carbon footprint. But when we’re annoyed by it or let it pile up, we buy more to replace the “bad” feeling, and that adds up. So, your emotions are like the fuel in your budget—if you’re positive, you’re using less energy overall. Take a quick look at what makes you feel good about each item, then put the rest in a donation pile or recycle it. You’ll save money, energy, and a whole lot of frustration.

Totally! Pick a quick 1‑5 scale for how much you love each item—1 means you’d toss it next week, 5 means it’s a keeper. Then note how often you actually use it, maybe with a phone app or a paper log for a month. Add up the usage minutes, multiply by a rough “energy per minute” estimate for that type of item (like a laptop, a blender, a jacket). The higher the love score, the fewer extra buys you’ll make, so the total energy drops. If you plug that into a spreadsheet, you’ll see a clear line: love‑score versus carbon savings. That way, before you even open a drawer, you can see how a quick “I love this” or “nah” will play out in real numbers. It turns feelings into a handy budget tool—pretty neat, right?