I must say I was quite surprised to turn on the evening news with Katie Couric last night and hear a feature story about simplifying your life with input from organizing expert Peter Walsh. Americans are beginning to fight back against the overstuffed way of life we have gotten ourselves into. The story highlighted one man who has taken the extreme but not unheard of approach of literally downsizing his possessions to less than 100 items. He said he really took at look at what he needed and used in his apartment and got rid of the rest. They also interviewed a woman who will probably never want to go that route - her apartment was filled with stuff - but she, too, is realizing that she probably has enough and doesn't need to keep accumulating.
Organizing expert Peter Walsh pointed out that this growing trend of simplification and downsizing is due in part to the economy. People are realizing that they just can't buy everything all the time anymore. They are also realizing that much of their hard-earned money has been spent on stuff they never use. The story quoted the often-used organization statistics that we never used 80% of what we keep in our homes and that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. That's a lot of unused stuff!
Aside from saving money and de-cluttering your home, another benefit of this trend is that people are thinking about quality rather than quantity. The process of de-cluttering often helps people rediscover what matters most to them and appreciate and use the belongings they decide to keep.
As a professional organizer, I don't often work with people who want to take a 100-items-or-less minimalistic approach. But I do often work with people who are fed up with too much stuff. They are tired of wasting money in the form of unused items and wasting time in the form of overstuffed closets, kitchens and garages. Some people I work with simply want to pare down, discard and donate and neaten up the rest. This is a great start, but the people who have the most success and enjoyment of the process are those who have a light-bulb moment and start to think about their life and their stuff in a different way. They envision what they want their homes and lives to be like. They start using and appreciating what they have, they let go of items that aren't supporting their current goals and dreams, and they really think before they buy. I can tell right away when the switch flips by what they say and how they act when we are working together. It's very satisfying for me to see because it usually comes along with a huge sense of relief, joy, and a positive outlook toward the future.
Bottom Line: Last night's story illustrates that many of us are beginning to fight back against overstuffed and uninspired lives and homes. No matter where you are on the 'stuff' spectrum, we can all benefit from taking a step back and looking at our habits. Are you working on simplifying your life and home?
Check out the full story on CBSnews.com.
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