The Struggle: Decluttering

We all have problems, at various levels, with controlling clutter that enters our house.  I think there are a few problems that make life as a middle-class American especially cluttered.  I want to talk about this here and there on this blog as I myself struggle to declutter our house and not be owned by our things.

The first problem is that shopping is a pastime in this country.  People shop on vacation for souvenirs, people shop for gifts for every occasion (whether the item is meaningful or needed, or not), people shop with their friends as a way to pass the time on a Saturday afternoon.  People shop because they're bored.  They shop because there is a sale they couldn't pass up (how could you afford not to?).  People put stuff on credit because they just had to have it.

I have one word for this:

NO!  STOP!

Okay, that's two words.

I speak from the standpoint of someone who used to be a shopaholic.  But what is a shopaholic?  I was able to quit cold turkey a few years ago, and I definitely did not develop the shakes or the sweats.  I did notice something growing exponentially:  my bank account!  Imagine that.  When you spend less money, you are able to save more money.

Over the past few years, I have decided to not be owned by my stuff.  At first, this meant just not buying new stuff.  Maybe this even meant allowing things like shoes and coats to show some wear before buying new ones.  However, I didn't get rid of the things I had already purchased.

As an aside, let me tell you that when I stopped being a shopaholic, I also went through some moves.  I moved out of my parents' house and into my friend's house to rent a room.  I moved out of there and into my other friend's condo that she was selling.  Then out of there (all the while some things being stuck in storage) and into my own one bedroom apartment (and out of the storage unit too).  And the best one:  out of my one bedroom and into a two bedroom just across the complex, as my brother moved in with me.  This involved walking my belongings across the parking lot, from one second-story unit to another.  Finally, I moved all my items in with my then-boyfriend-now-husband and his brother.  All the while, my long-suffering friends had to move pounds and pounds of JUNK.  Sorry guys.

Now, let me introduce you to my new addiction:  I am addicted to getting rid of stuff!  I decided I want to live a more clean life.  I guess in current terminology, I want to be more MINDFUL.  But I think that word has become so clichéd as to lose its meaning.  So, let's just say I want to not be wasteful in anything I do.  I will go into my individual processes in subsequent posts, and believe me, it's a process.  But I want to leave you with a good tip I just ran across today over on the blog Seventeenth & Irving:  to clean out your bedroom, take everything out of the room except your actual bed and sheets and blanket, two nightstands, and their respective lamps.  Then only put back the stuff you really need.  Read more at the link for more information.

I guess the moral of the story for now is, we actually need a lot less STUFF than we think we do.  Stay tuned for more posts as I continue on my decluttering journey.