Getting Rid of Clutter

The first step to having less clutter in your house is to stop buying stuff. Most people don’t need more organizational systems; they need less stuff. Most people have a misguided notion of how much stuff they actually need. There are a lot of great resources for how to deal with clutter, like becomingminimalist’s guide to a clutter free home; but let’s take a closer look at two of the top reasons people have too much stuff in the first place—more than they need, and more than they even want.

Many people buy things—not just for their life, but for a completely imaginary universe and lifestyle that does not exist. They have a yoga mat for a pretend world where they wake up at six and stretch before using that French press and crepe maker for breakfast. They have a tea tray they’ve never used for when they curl up and read those 79 books they’ve bought but haven’t picked up. When you start to think about it, many of us have not only enough stuff for our life, but for multiple alternative lives—or more specifically lifestyles—that we’ve tried to buy our way toward instead of actually working our way toward. Letting go of these types of items is painful because it requires that we admit that we are not who we want to be. You have to admit that you don’t do yoga, and you don’t make breakfast before you rush out the door and you don’t read (gasp—could that even be true? Yes, look at your bookshelf.) You could have items you never use because of hope, or because of fear. Get rid of any item you have that you are saving for the future because you are afraid of something. Get rid of any item you have that you are saving for the future because you are hoping that you will be something that you are not right now, and you are currently not making any steps toward becoming that person.