Being mindful of what we bring and allow into our home is key to maintaining a happy home. When we have too much stuff in our home, we impact our health, time and finances.
HOW HAVING TOO MUCH STUFF IMPACTS OUR HEALTH
We can feel stressed, anxious, overwhelmed and depressed from the items in our home. When we have too much stuff it often creates clutter, disorganization and brings about a whole pile of difficult emotions. Even if it is organized, we can feel the emotional weight of items such as the nagging of an unfinished project or unfulfilled intentions, such as that treadmill that hasn’t been used in over two years. Housing items that hold heavy memories can stir up painful emotions, especially when we are reminded of them every day. Looking around your home at all the items that you “should” address, deal with, sort, or make decisions about is tiresome and overwhelming.
HOW CLUTTER IMPACTS OUR TIME
How can having too much stuff negatively effect our time? The time we spend searching for items, or cleaning items or organizing and re-organizing items all adds up. If we spend 15 minutes a day searching for items in crowded cupboards or homes, that adds up to be 5475 minutes a year, which is over 91 hours in a year. How else would you prefer spending your time? A tidy home is much easier to clean, less items to dust, less items to pick up to clean under, and it also makes the task less daunting to tackle.
HOW HAVING TOO MANY THINGS CAN IMPACT OUR FINANCES
Aside from the obvious impact of having too much stuff can have on our finances through the cost of purchasing them, there are other ways that it impacts our money. When we have too many items that don’t have a proper spot that is easy to find, we often can’t find them when we need them we end up re-purchasing them. It also costs us more money if we were to hire a house cleaner to move and clean the various items in our home.
Letting go of the items that do not bring us joy can create space for us to live a happier life.
What can we do to avoid these negative consequences caused by having too much stuff? We can start by being conscious of what we allow into our home. These are the most common ways we collect new stuff is either through receiving it as a gift from family and friends or purchasing it ourselves.
The key to combating the acquisition of too much stuff is through understanding WHY we do it, and then combating these triggers through adding some rules and boundaries into our life. We know that it can make people feel good to gift items or pass down pre-owned items to family and friends. Though it is up to us to have conversations with our circle to let them know your intentions on keeping a more minimal household. Instead of gifts, you could suggest experiences such as a zoo pass or an event, or specific items that would be valuable and used. When it comes to pre-owned items, you could help find appropriate charities or donation centers that would happily accept your loved one’s generosity.
RIDDING YOURSELF OF CLUTTER IS PROCESS
Be aware that decluttering is a process. Many methods recommend physically touching each item in your home and making a decision on whether to keep or sell or give away -piece by piece! Start small. Choose a drawer, a closet, a shelf or a section and get started! Keep these impacts at the back of your mind to remind you of your ‘why’ as your tackle the decluttering process for your home.
We are always here should you desire a helping hand and professional assistance.
