Do you have a tendency to hold onto things that aren’t adding value to your life?

During the month of May, many people participated with us our annual Minimalism Challenge. When you hear the word “minimalism”, how does it make you feel? Do you feel like you are being restricted in what you can or should own? Does it make you feel like you need to remove all décor from your personal and work space? To live with just the basics? 

To us, minimalism means to let go of things that aren’t adding value anymore. The goal of the challenge was to gamify and have community accountability to let things go. We all have a tendency to hold onto items that are no longer useful or needed, or perhaps that someone else could use. In coming together with a shared goal of releasing clutter, many were able to make strides they hadn’t on their own. Doing a challenge like this allows you to look at things through a different lens. 

The Minimalists, Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, have a saying “love people, use things” (as opposed to loving things, using people). Our things should serve us; we should not be controlled by our possessions (always searching for, shopping, buying, bringing into our space, maintaining, cleaning, organizing, moving, etc.), which typically works when we have what we need and honor, not a bunch of “excess”. 

The cost of holding onto excess “stuff”

When we hold onto excess items in our life, it often comes with a cost. What do our things cost us, in addition to the original price of acquisition? 

• Wasted time 
• Distraction
• Anxiety
• Maintenance

In the endless pursuit of “more” – is it that the more you have, the more you want? Are you looking to fill a void with stuff? If you don’t address the “void” no amount of stuff will fill it. Are the items adding value to your life? Often the pursuit of “more” can result in us actually having “less” of what is really important.

Are your things a gift or a burden to others?

Do you ever feel like your possessions are holding you back? How do we know if we have “too much” stuff? Excess stuff can stop us from being as agile as we’d like to be, unable to move, be flexible or travel the way we might like.

Eventually, when you pass, someone will need to take care of your possessions. Will you be passing on a gift or a burden? Can you lighten your load to have more life in your life now, and to be considerate of those who will receive with your stuff down the road?

The stuff you own should help you create or live the life you want!

We all have rituals that bring things into our lives (bringing in the daily mail, receiving gifts, things our kids bring home from school, regular shopping, etc) but most of us don’t have rituals for removing or releasing things from our life (for example, our Minimalism Challenge or a routine of new in/old out). Some people practice the habit of eliminating one item for every new item brought into the house, for example, which is a great strategy for staying on top of “excess”.

What habits or routines could you implement to not only stay on top of the things you have and keep them organized, but also to regularly downsize or declutter as your needs, work and lifestyle change? Any time of transition is a great time to look at your possessions with a new lens (the perspective of the new situation or with the direction you’re goin going in mind), and to assess what you really want and what adds value to the current or near future situation.

Have a hard time letting go?

Keeping a representation of something special can sometimes be more meaningful than the item, itself. For example, keep the memory of your children’s artwork through photos, or make a quilt that you will use from their old baseball t-shirts that might otherwise be crammed into a drawer or “memorabilia box”. If it is something truly meaningful and cherished, like something from a relative that you love, that inspires you, or that is the only representation of a special memory, hold onto it and put it in a place of honor. It is still adding value to your life.

If it is something that you spent money on, don’t just consider that cost. Consider also, what is the cost of keeping it? Is it taking up space that could be better used by something else? Is it getting in your way? These are just a few of the questions to consider as you decide what to keep and what to release.

Let go of the items that no longer add value to your work or your life. You’ll make room, time and energy for that which does.

If you have a hard time letting things go – or just have too much stuff and don’t know where to start, these “Six Easy Steps to Declutter”, which Debbie shared might help. We can also help bring organized systems and productive habits into your life through our hands-on organizing services. Schedule your free, no-risk discovery call today to learn more!