“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decision,” says Barbara Hemphill.
Our culture attracts more and more of this clutter.
Having said this our traditions and ethics bring in more and more holy-days that become holidays, which in turn are special occasions along with birthdays, anniversaries, discount days, etc.
We scarcely find the opportunity to discard them. It is the main reason for our homes turning into dumping grounds for so much stuff.
We keep piling up things whether we like them or not into bigger containers rather than segregating them into what is needed and what is not.
Simply organizing our things without discarding some is always only a temporary solution.
Though we’ve got endless organizing solutions, without addressing the root cause of the clutter, it can turn into a never-ending battle.
Today, I am here to share some amazing reasons why we keep things we do not use in our homes. I call them amazing because we are aware of these reasons yet try to cover them up.
Let us delve deeper into this topic and understand the ‘why’ behind our cluttered rooms.
1. I will do it tomorrow.
And tomorrow never comes.Imagine it is a winter morning, you are in the cozy bed covered with a torn, tattered, and old quilt. Your mother keeps reminding you to get rid of it every day but your answer is just, “yes Mom, tomorrow I will.” Making it simpler, all you need to do is start right away. Break it into smaller steps, check what do you need and what you do not. Make two containers and start filling them up with a genuine understanding of needs. Go easy with yourself, you do not have to finish it up in a single day. But the notion is to begin somewhere. Keep aiming to progress with every step, not for perfection. And you shall reach the level of zero procrastination soon.
2. Money is gone but the guilt is on.
Money is precious no matter if it is spent on stuff, important or not. Buying stuff in haste ends up with emotional melodrama in our minds. Recklessly buying stuff that you feel might be useful in the future usually tends to be lying on the shelf for ages. And then, when we look at them, the guilt trip starts all over again. When we make up our minds to disown it or give it away, we realize that we have spent money on it and should not be thrown away. Thus, a simple solution to this is buying thoughtfully.
Before stepping out for shopping, you must make a checklist and abide by it. This easy trick can help you buy things that are needed and important. A simple hack can save your hard-earned money being spent on stuff you might not need. Another way to sneak out of this guilt trip is by gifting it to a friend or a relative who might desperately need it – yes, it is that easy. I understand it’s difficult to let go of things, you have spent money on. But now you are trying to convince yourself that you have spent money on it and will use it in near future. Also, needless to say, when you see that item, you go on a guilt trip which is a negative emotion in itself. The solution is to let go of that item and save yourself from that not-so-healthy emotion.
3. I may need it
We tend to take “be prepared for anything”, way too seriously. We buy stuff we think should be owned for now, or we shall have to face an emergency kind of situation soon. Another way to overcome this thought is by amending your expectations. You have spent your entire life collecting things so they cannot be discarded or segregated in a single day. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time. By doing so, you will understand what you need right now or soon. And you shall know, what are the items that will never be needed in your house.
Be a little rigid with yourself to overcome this feeling. Something that u haven’t used in 5 years, the possibility is you might not use it in the future.
Remember Diwali cleaning where you pulled out stuff from the attic and bed-storages to just clean it and keep it back to see it only next year?
And we are sure you have been seeing those things still in those places untouched. So, the plan is to think and let go.
4. They have it, so shall I
Do not try to keep up with Justin or Selena. Remember, what your friends or colleagues need is not necessarily what you shall need. Mark that into your minds forever, and life is sorted.
Often we tend to copy, replicate, or adjust our tastes and preferences according to others. Just because it is ‘trending’ does not mean it must be owned by you. Every single person is different from the other. So are the different needs for different people. The necessities of a person in general are:
- Protection
- Food
- Clothing
- Transportation
- Utilities
Everything else is simply unreasonable. Plan a budget and work towards it. Prioritize your necessities, and life will be simple.
5. It means a lot to me.
Many possessions have a memory or a history attached to them. Some things that might be of high value to you might be just stuff for others. Feelings and emotions get attached to an item unknowingly. Often, we get hooked onto that particular nostalgic moment or feeling by seeing a thing. It may be a broken neckpiece or an old toy. Letting go of stuff that has sentimental values is painful at times. An easy hack to let go of such emotionally loaded stuff is by clicking photographs, and then dropping them off into donation bins. In this way, you clear the drawers and shelves and also lock your memories intact.
Make a memory box and keep your memoirs in them rather than creating cartons of stuff that you shall never open again.
Discarding possessions start to switch on our eagerness for more, as we find freedom, joy, and affluence in owning limited or less. And detaching ourselves from the all-consuming want to own more generates an opportunity for noteworthy life change to happen.
If you are battling with how to get rid of things, you surely can give this a try:
- Accept the challenge of discarding things you do not need in your home.
- Segregate and permanently get rid of extra bondage.
- Roam with a dumping bag from room to room and collect what is not needed.
- See for yourself how much you can donate.
It hardly matters how many bags you could fill in. The process of disowning is as important as decluttering.
What are the things that you purchased and do not need anymore? Drop your answers in the comments section, and let us be true to ourselves.
Let us clear the clutter together. Stay tuned for more insights coming your way!
