The Balanced Life, Huntsville Alabama

It seems like it’s a weekly occurrence that I see a new mini-storage complex popping up around town and it makes me wonder…why do we have so much stuff?

We buy and buy and buy and never seem to get rid of anywhere near as much as we purchase. It’s so convenient to consume these days, what with the ease of online shopping, and even easier to hang on to those things we buy with our larger homes, cute storage items from stores like Target and no shortage of storage units to be had. Before you know it, your house, garage and attic are full and so many people, rather than get rid of things, just get a new, larger home or put it in storage and continue the process of stuff-aquisition.  Are we happier with all these possessions? Do they make our lives better in some way? How many purses or shoes or cars or kitchen gadgets or tools can one person have and actually use?

Ebay is running an advertising campaign right now that shows one woman admiring another one’s purse and immediately goes to Ebay on her phone to buy it. The catch phrase is “Love it, shop it, own it”. The takeaway for me is, if you want it, you should have it…immediately. There is no delayed gratification or waiting to be sure you really do want it or gasp…can really afford it! Our children are growing up in a culture where everything they want from food to toys to clothing are all available at a moment’s notice. There’s no need to wait on anything, because you can have it now. I remember waiting with anxious anticipation the huge JC Penny catalog that would come before Christmas and I would pour over the toy section dreaming of what Santa might bring me. It makes me sad that that sense of anticipation really isn’t something kids now will ever truly experience.

Perhaps the bigger issue with having so much stuff is the sense of chaos that tends to come with too many things being in our personal space. Clutter and disorganization tend to follow accumulation of possessions and can cause a person to feel depressed, anxious and/or angry. I know that when people think of minimalism, they often mistakenly assume this means a house that’s sparsely decorated and devoid of any decorations. I don’t think of minimalism this way. I like how The Minimalists (Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus) describe it: Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom…Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself; thus, it’s up to you to determine what is necessary and what is superfluous in your life. They talk about only having items in your life that have value or serve an actual purpose. I’ve applied this in my own life and it really does help with making sure that the things I do have make sense to have, not because I might just happen to use them one day in the next decade.

It can be challenging to get into a minimalist mindset- we are in a consumerist society so it’s all around us, 24-7. However, by making even small changes, you can start the process of letting go of things in your life that you don’t need or want, keeping things of value and instilling a sense of peace and calm into the spaces you exist in.

Here are some great ideas from Joshua Becker at becomingminimalist.com that you can do quickly and make a big impact:

1. Clean out your car/vehicle.Too often our vehicles fill up with unnecessary things: old CDs, sunglasses, Happy Meal toys, receipts, coins, empty water bottles, paper trash. Grab two bags: one for garbage and one for items to relocate. Fill them quickly with everything in your car that doesn’t need to be there. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can empty your vehicle of unneeded clutter.
2. Clear off the top of your bedroom dresser.Bedrooms should promote rest, relaxation, and intimacy—not upheaval and unrest. With focused attention, it will take you less than five minutes to clear off the top of your dresser. And it will change the entire mood in your bedroom.
3. Clean out a bathroom medicine chest.If empty containers, expired products, and dozens of items no longer used are cluttering up your medicine chest (and probably the cupboards under your sink), take a few minutes and remove everything that can go. Then, dispose of it wisely.
4. Return toys to the toy room or bedroom where they belong.If you have young children (or even older ones), you know that toys routinely get strewn around the house. Grab a few minutes with your child this evening before bed and make sure all the toys get taken back to the room or space they belong. If this task seems overwhelming, consider some of the benefits of owning fewer toys
   . But in the meantime, do your best to teach your children the importance of returning items when finished using them.
5. Declutter your plates or cups cupboard.Many modern homes are filled with duplicate items. One of the places this can be easily noticed is in our kitchen cupboards. Realistically, how many cups, mugs, bowls, and plates does your family need? Have you slowly accumulated an entire cupboard full of them? Maybe. Reach in the back, grab those that are never used, and minimize them forever from your life and valuable kitchen space.
6. Tackle a junk drawer.Some junk drawers may take longer than five minutes, I admit. If you’ve got the extra time, declutter it completely. However, for a strict five-minute task, set a timer on your watch and see how much of the junk you can remove from the drawer. You may be surprised how much you can remove in that time frame—and how quickly you can accomplish something when you put your mind to it.
7. Sort through a pile of mail or paper.Junk mail piling up on your kitchen counter? Is there a stack of paper files on your home office desk? First, look for piles of paper in places they don’t belong (kitchen counters, dining room tables, coffee tables) and tackle those piles first. You’ll get through them quickly and easily. If you’re feeling motivated, move on to tackle a larger pile—sometimes taking the first step is the hardest.

In a recent blog post, Joshua writes that he was speaking to a group of men in Poland and the organizer told him about a mentor he had as a young man who was a survivor of Auchwitzh and lived most of his life in communist occupied Poland. His mentor said to him- "I have come to realize that materialism holds people captive in many the same ways Communism does. Communism, by force, seeks to destroy personal identity. Materialism does the same. But materialism destroys personal identity by choice."

If you find that you are drowning in “stuff” and want help with decluttering, organizing, letting things go and establishing calm, happy spaces in your home and work environment, let us know. We are happy to help you on a minimalist journey! Give us a call at 256-258-7777 or email info@thebalancedlifellc.com.