It’s pretty safe to say that most of us own too much stuff. I recently got rid of 40 bags of crap from my tiny one bedroom flat and I still feel as if I’m drowning in stuff. As I get older I’m finding myself feeling more and more (metaphorically) weighed down by possessions. For example the other day I joined a clothing store discount membership program and I refused to take the card the assistant issued me. I took a photo of it immediately, stored it in my Wallet app and threw the card away. I’m so done with bringing crap into my life, I’m getting hard core about it. If you’re a bit new to the de-cluttering game here are a few tips to get you started…
1. Stop buying stuff in the first place
Resist all items like novelty mugs, single-use gadgets and cheap clothing. Impulse buys are the biggest culprit here so make sure you wait 24 hours before you buy anything unless you’re 100% sure you’ll get a lot of use out of it.
2. Disconnect yourself from your stuff
Our grandparents lived through war times and never had enough of anything. Most of our parents are Baby Boomers and worked hard to get the things they have so they’re very protective and don’t like to getting rid of things. Our generation (Gen X and below) can have whatever we want, when we want and at the price we want so so we’ve become garbage hoarders. Most of the stuff we own has no value – emotional value or monetary value. We are not our stuff, so get rid of anything non-essential.
3. Disconnect from the monetary value of the item
If you spend $300 on a pair of shoes and you can’t walk in them, there’s no point in keeping them. You can try to sell them but if they don’t sell, give them away. Holding on to a useless item does not increase it’s value and only acts as a negative reminder of a poor purchase.
This week on Straight and Curly Kelly and I discuss the concept of clutter and how managing you clutter will increase your productivity. Guaranteed.
You can find this week’s episode about going clutter free (that’s quite a mouthful!) on Straight and Curly – a podcast for self-improvement junkies. Each week we try a life hack like eating 5 cups of vegetables every day or keeping a gratitude journal. Then we report on our findings and tell you whether you should try it or whether it’s a giant waste of your time.
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What’s your clutter personality? Are you clutter-free? Clutter-happy? Or clutter-stuck and you need a bit of help?
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