After working our butts off to accrue a variety of “stuff” and listening to the media gods who tell us we need all of this “stuff” to feel fulfilled in life, more and more people are realizing what a load of poop it is.
Here is a list of benefits to inspire you:
- Make some additional coin. January can be a financially tight month for many of us, as we tend to go over budget in November & December buying gifts for friends, colleagues, family and loved ones. What better activity to start the New Year off with than decluttering. If you have some items which others may be willing to give you some moolah for in exchange, you can help pad your wallet a bit, by selling your stuff on Craigslist, Kijiji or on e-bay. If a garage sale is more your style, and you live in Canada (like me) you’ll want to wait until there is nicer weather to do this. If you don’t care about the money, I say – just get rid of it. Move it out of your space as soon as possible.
- Less stuff equals more Zen. I always feel a little high after I fill a garbage bag up to give away. Not only am I freeing up more space, but I am also helping many others out who may be in need or looking for something incredibly inexpensive if my stuff lands in a thrift shop. It is a win/win situation and it feels GOOD to unload a heap of stuff which no longer serves you.
- Decluttering forces you to reevaluate your spending habits which makes you more mindful on how you spend money in the future. How many times have you picked up a piece of clothing or gadget and thought “what was I thinking when I bought this?” – I know for myself I have thought “SALE!!!!!”. When I shop now, I ask myself if I would be willing to spend full price on this item (if I could afford full price), do I need it, do I LOVE it, and I think about how it will work in my space, or in my wardrobe. I also think about financial goals I have set, and how I could put the money towards these goals. More times than not, I just walk away. Decluttering is actually helping me save money and is helping me to be more responsible in how I spend it.
- Create more space. Less stuff means more space, and when you have more space you can find what you do use more easily. Your space will organize itself or be easier to manage. You won’t be sorting through tons of junk to find one item. Organizing will be less daunting, less time consuming and a lot less stressful. Once again, contributing to a more peaceful Zen state of being. Especially, when you are living in a small space like me!
- More time to relax and enjoy life with a more serene space. My parents live in utter chaotic clutter, not quite an episode of “Hoarders, Burried Alive”, but close to it at times. My Mom has a lot of paper mail subscriptions and then grocery lists, phone numbers and to dos on a variety of slips of paper scattered throughout the house. Chairs are covered with clothing which need to be ironed, or folded & put away. I feel exhausted & overwhelmed by the mess when I enter their home, it isn’t so much an issue of cleanliness as it is the issue of piles of clutter. I have helped my Mom clean up this clutter a number of times, and it is super daunting.
- Easier and faster to clean. Think of a counter covered in stuff, in order to clean the counter you have to clear it first, then clean, then either put the stuff back on the counter or put it away. Same thing with cleaning floors, the less stuff you have to move around, the less dust and dirt getting trapped in amongst the stuff.
- A more focused mind. With less stuff surrounding us, there will be less temptation for us to pick up, put away, adjust, find a place to put whatever said item(s), so we can focus more on now. You will be less distracted and more focused on whatever the task it is that you are doing, whether it is relaxing or working on a project.
More productivity and less procrastination. If you are not constantly being distracted by cleaning up clutter & organizing your space, you will be less apt to procrastinate on those small projects you have on your to do list.
There is a plethora of benefits I have not covered to having less stuff in your space, but what is loud and clear to me is that having less actually means a lot “mores”:
- More money
- More mindful spending habits
- More peace in your life
- More space
- More me time
- More efficient for cleaning
- More focus
- More productivity
Forget about spring cleaning! Let’s New Year clean and enjoy the outdoors when spring rolls in this 2017. Trust me, you will feel AMAZING afterwards, it is like a cleansing of the soul.
In the near future, I will go over some tips on how to start decluttering and also, how to avoid clutter. Stay tuned for 2017’s shopping ban and goals for a better financial future.
Peace & love – Rachel
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