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This podcast is designed to give English students extra practice by discussing events, history, culture and language.
Hello, and welcome back to the VivaLing podcast t. I want you to look around your home. How many things can you see that you haven't used for months—or even years? Maybe there's an old jacket in the wardrobe, some books on the shelf, or a box of things in the garage that you haven't opened since you moved house.
Why do we keep these things? For many people, the answer is simple: our possessions are connected to memories, feelings, and important moments in our lives.
Let’s talk about the things we don't need. Let's start with something that almost everyone has: clothes.
You probably have clothes that you wear regularly, but you may also have clothes that you never wear. Perhaps an old jacket from university or a dress that you bought for a special occasion. We often keep these things because we feel an attachment to them.
The jacket might remind us of a particular time in our life. The dress might remind us of a wedding or an important party. But here's the interesting thing: we don't always keep something because we need it. Sometimes, we keep it because of what it represents. In fact, some people believe that the most difficult things to throw away are the things connected to memories. Is it true for you?
There's another reason we keep things: we think we might need them one day.
You might have a box of old cables, for example. You don't know what they are for anymore, but you think, "I might need one of these someday." Or perhaps you have some old furniture in the basement because you might use it in the future.
This can create a lot of clutter. Clutter is a collection of things that you don't really need but that take up space.
Some people try to solve this problem by becoming minimalists. A minimalist tries to live with fewer possessions and keep only the things that are useful or important. For a minimalist, the fewer things you have, the easier it can be to organise your home. And then last reason we keep things, the problem with gifts. Gifts can be especially difficult.
Imagine that your aunt gives you a beautiful vase. You don't really like it, and you don't have anywhere to put it. But it's a present, so you keep it. Then, a few years later, the vase is still sitting in the cupboard.You don't use it, but you don't want to throw it away because it was a gift.
Think about the last time you moved house.When you pack your possessions into boxes, you suddenly have to decide what is important and what is unnecessary.
You might find an old photograph from the summer you spent in Spain. You might discover a ticket from a concert you went to years ago. Suddenly, these aren't just pieces of paper. They are memories.You may not use them, but they have emotional value. And this is why decluttering can be difficult. Decluttering means removing things that you don't need. It's easy to say, "I don't need this old phone. "It's much harder to say, "I don't need this old phone because it was the first phone I bought when I moved here." The object has become part of your story.
So, what should we keep? There isn't one correct answer.
Some people want the simplest possible home. Others enjoy having lots of possessions around them. Perhaps the best question isn't, "Do I use this?" Instead, we could ask, "Does this have a purpose or meaning for me?"
If the answer is no, perhaps it's time to donate it, recycle it, or throw it away.
But if something makes you happy or reminds you of an important person or experience, there may be a good reason to keep it.
So, this fall, when you start organising the cupboards or the garage, take a look at your possessions. You might discover that the oldest things in your home have the most interesting stories. And you might also discover that some things are simply unnecessary. And now, it’s grammar focus time - on articles. You know, A, AN, and THE. Did you hear how the article changes depending on what we are talking about?
For general things, we use no article.
Books can be difficult to throw away.
Music can remind us of the past.
But when we mean something specific, we use the:
The books on my shelf are mostly old.
The clothes in my wardrobe don't all fit me.
When we talk about one thing, we use a or an … but it must be countable.
I have an old jacket from university.
She gave me a vase.
I don’t like clutter.
However, when we talk about that same thing again, we change the article to the:
I have an old jacket from university. The jacket is still in my wardrobe.
She gave me a vase. The vase is in my cupboard.
Of course, we use THE with rankings and superlatives.
the oldest possessions
the first phone I bought
And we use the word THE with diferent time expressions, such as:
in the fall
on the weekend
But remember, we don't use the with word such as: last, next, this, or every.
Now, do you remember?
What is clutter, and why can it be a problem?
It’s a collection of unnecessary things that take up space, of course. What question could we ask instead of simply asking, "Do I use this?"
If you said, "Does this have a purpose or meaning for me,” well done.
When you talk about something for the second time, or more, which article do you use?
You’re right if you said THE.
Your homework: think about some things you have that you don’t need or that you think you may need. Do you have an emotional connection to them? When did you get these items? Identify them and answer these questions using the correct article and tell them to your VivaLing coach or family member.