Clutter, even when stuffed out of sight in closets and garages, takes up space in our brains and adds bulk to our lives. It pulls us down, making us feel less capable and more stressed. How do we get clutter? By keeping too much stuff. And why do we keep stuff? There are three reasons why we do.

1) Fear

2) Love

3) Habit

Today, we’re just going to talk about fear. Sometimes we keep Stuff because we fear nothing better will come along. Sometimes we think we are being “prepared.” Sometimes we just fear the unknown and feel more comfortable with our unhappy, but familiar lives.

Being prepared is a special trap we fall in to- it sounds so valiant. We have a responsibility to our families to be ready for anything, right? We carry eight different snacks and five different toys in the baby bag just to be ready for Junior’s whim. We save boxes for things so we can pack them up to move later, or to mail a gift to a friend at the holidays. We stockpile food from Costco so we are ready for the Zombie Apocalypse. Or we stockpile toilet paper in fear of COVID-19 😉!

The intent behind being prepared is well-intentioned, but be careful. As Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan writes in Apartment Therapy: “‘being prepared’ can sometimes be a euphemism for being scared to let go. How much we carry — whether it is on our bicycle, in or bag, or in our home — is often directly related to how little we trust in life to guide us well, and in others to help us out in a pinch.”

Stacy Erickson, the owner of Home Key Organization, hears the excuses regularly. As she and her clients sort through piles she regularly hears things like “I might need that later” or “it could be good for a craft project for the kids.” She says “saving stuff doesn’t save you either time or money. The cost of organizing it, storing it, looking for it… it all adds up to more than the cost of rebuying it if you have had to (which, let’s admit, is probably unlikely). It’s just fear making you hold on.”

Here’s an activity that can help you begin to sort through your stuff:

1) List five feelings you want to get from your home (like warmth, hope, and acceptence) and list five feelings you do not want from your home (like fear, guilt, and shame).

2) Take the list and find five things in your home that evoked one of the positive feelings. For each item, write down the good feeling, who brought the item into the home, and when it was last enjoyed.

3) Take the list and find five items in your home that evoke negative feelings. For each item, write down the bad feeling, and why you still have the item.

Reflect on your lists and you will see what stuff you are able to get rid of!

Hopefully now you understand a little better “Why do we keep stuff?” If you take a leap and start letting things go from your home, you’ll open the door to trust and opportunity. That in turn can help you learn to see life with abundant eyes!

May Your Home always be happy!