Life Simple Living

Too Much Stuff in Our Lives

Why Oh Why?

Why do we acquire too much stuff? The more space you have, the more you will cram it with stuff. If you aren’t familiar George Carlin’s act on stuff, you should. It is spot on. Watch it on YouTube (censored version). It is so easy with all the marketing around us. We make an impulse buy and we either regret it or it gets stashed away and forgotten.

Too many clothes, too many pieces of furniture, too many kitchen gadgets, and  too many electronic devices. And I’m not even talking about my fabric and yarn stash. All this stuff adds to mental clutter and messes with our priorities. We end up spending more time taking care of things instead of ourselves and others.

When I try to find a certain shirt and I go hanger by hanger wrestling as I go. How many blue shirts do I need? Are there clothes that don’t fit in your closet? Clothes with the tags still on them? I’m guilty of all the above but it gives me a starting point. And I’m getting rid of most of my clothes.

Open a drawer in your kitchen looking for a spatula and you dig through so many gadgets you’ve used exactly once or never. I found two packages of nutcrackers I never opened. Three rolling pins, why three? I have gadgets I don’t know what they are for! I use the same things every day. So that’s what I’m keeping.

I stashed old, unused electronics in a closet. I still have the modem from an old and crappy satellite internet I had to endure for a short time. There are old out-of-date DSL modems sharing space with old routers and a huge tangle of Cat-5 cables. Why do I have phone cords? I disconnected the landline years ago. That all has to go.

It Has To Go

I’m starting to de-clutter slowly. Sorry, Marie Kondo. Your method is too stressful for me. I appreciate the idea if something does not spark joy, let it go. But I’m not tearing my house apart to get there. I’m happy to let things go as I live my life. I open a drawer and see 3 rolling pins, I pick one and put the other two in a box for the thrift store. We have to find what works for us. But the goal is the same — simplicity — to clear our minds.

Five banker boxes of excess went to Goodwill on Friday. That is just two weeks of slow decisions. Some from my closet, the kitchen, and small furnishings sent out the door. I keep a box accessible. Those Amazon boxes are usable now and I’m getting rid of them too!

Have you read Marie Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and did you carry out her method? Do you need to join an online challenge to motivate you? Let me know in the comments.

Too Much Stuff affects all areas of your life. Get rid of it to free yourself from the physicial and mental clutter. #Declutter #SimpleLiving #Minimalism

Too Much Stuff affects all areas of your life. Get rid of it to free yourself from the physicial and mental clutter. #Declutter #SimpleLiving #Minimalism
Too Much Stuff affects all areas of your life. Get rid of it to free yourself from the physicial and mental clutter. #Declutter #SimpleLiving #Minimalism

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4 Comments on “Too Much Stuff in Our Lives”

  • I’ve been slowly decluttering over the past few years. I actually did our attic last year and can now see the floorboards!

    The Kondo method has its merits but the idea of emptying my entire wardrobe onto my floor/bed and sorting it all in one go is too much! I like your idea better, slowly does it.

    I decluttered my kitchen last year and again in January prior to having a new kitchen fitted. Only problem is I chucked our pizza slicer out and we’ve had pizza twice this month! Oops.

  • Thanks for your comment!

    I did my closet in several passes. My pantry was done in one afternoon – ugh! The garage will be a beast so it is going piece by piece. I’m working on a post on what to do with the stuff you want to get rid of because it can be a problem or a blessing ($$$).

    Sorry for not commenting sooner. I had a conflict with my GDPR plugin and comment forms.

    • Hi Annette

      Slightly off topic but what are you using for your comments such that you get those 2 tick boxes at the end? I know they’re to make you GDPR compliant but interested in whether its your theme or a plugin? Thanks in advance!

      NB. Asked as comment as couldn’t find a contact page.

      • I use the Jetpack plugin and select the Notify options under the Discussion tab. The GDPR checkbox comes from the WP GDPR Compliance plugin which now has the pieces I need for a contact form so that is coming soon. So many rules to follow.