by Martha Tobin
Do you feel like you have too much stuff? Life is hectic and there’s no question we all need things to run our homes, our lives and to function day-to-day like dishes, clothing, toiletries, tech items, tupperware, and gift wrap, etc.
But how to determine if you have too much stuff? Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:
#1. Is your home making you feel stressed and overwhelmed? Your home should be where you recharge and unwind.
#2. Do you lose items or can’t find items when you want them (i.e. keys, receipts for returns, items to give back to a friend, etc)?
#3. Do you have duplicates of items – maybe that you bought because you couldn’t find the original (i.e. gift wrap bags, sunscreen, travel mugs)
#4. Do you have boxes in your home that you’ve never opened, unwrapped or used. Maybe you’re not even sure what’s in them anymore. Maybe they ‘moved’ with you.
#5. Are you finding that you have to buy more and more storage bins and baskets to store all your things? More containers or off-site storage units are rarely the solution.
#6. Are you embarrassed to have people over as they’ll see the state of your home? Often clutter causes shame and this can lead to loneliness when we keep others at a distance.
#7. Do you repeatedly try and organize but within a short time, it’s back to its original mess? When you have more stuff than you have space for organizing is not maintainable.
#8. Are the surfaces of your home covered with stuff and you find your home difficult to clean? Clutter everywhere makes moving items around to clean very challenging.
#9. Do you feel distracted and find it difficult to focus or be productive? Having too much stuff around you overloads your senses.
#10. Are you hanging onto items in case you’ll need them someday? Keeping ‘just in case’ items is always going to cost you space so determining when you last needed the item is a good gauge to know if you still need to hang on to it.
When the stuff in your home starts to weigh you down and fences you in, decluttering is key. Our ‘stuff’ should never control us. Experiences and the people in our lives are where our memories are made.
Need some quick, non-judgemental help? Reach out to me for a free consultation.