Baby Boomers! We Have Too Much Stuff! What Are We Going to Do About It?

By Rita Wilkins
The Downsizing Designer

Do you know that the common American home has over 300,000 goods in it according to LA Instances? And a lot of of us newborn boomers have a great deal much more “stuff” than that!

Perhaps you’ve turn out to be blinded to the genuine volume of stuff you have in your residence. You just do not see it any more.

Muddle blindness is not unconventional. It transpires above a extended interval of time mainly because:

• We continue on to acquire new items we think we want, require, and will use.
• We go on to acquire gifts from many others, preferred or unwanted.
• We frequently inherit other people’s things no matter whether we want it or not.

Our big properties have become the repository of as well a lot things!

How do you know when “too much” is “too much”?

1.    Even although you have a major residence, every nook and cranny is crammed.

Your major household feels cramped and you never ever seem to have enough room to take pleasure in your existence. For case in point, you could need to have to obvious off the kitchen counter just to get ready a food.

2.   You have a lot more “stuff” than you can handle…

When you last but not least consider to deal with your things, you just close your eyes and really don’t even test anymore, hoping it will just magically disappear. It will not!

3.   You attempt to eliminate some of your litter but the process is so mind-boggling that you get discouraged, even disgusted

So you just set it off to one more day and the cycle carries on.

If you exhibit any of these signs, likely you are suffering from the impact and stress of far too considerably things.

• You feel its effect just about every day when you wake up, get house from a very long working day, and go to mattress at evening.
• You’re pressured out, disappointed, and usually overcome.
• You have issue concentrating in your individual dwelling since everywhere you glance you understand you have as well considerably “stuff”.
• And you fully grasp that at some point both you or your kids are heading to have to offer with it.

You eventually wake up and realize you have far too a lot stuff. So just what are you likely to do about it?

If you are looking through this blog site, you’ve by now taken the big to start with phase by recognizing you have also a lot stuff and that you need to start out someplace. You know you have to have to commence the system of clearing the litter so you can prevent more accumulation.

Understand why you acquired so considerably in the to start with area and why you continue to preserve it.

Major 3 reasons we acquire stuff and retain stuff:

1. “Just in scenario you may possibly need to have it!”

This mentality has permitted us to converse ourselves into getting and holding items.

You want to be organized. You don’t want to run out so you buy additional though you don’t want or need to have it, then, you keep onto it.

So, what are you going to do about it?

If you want to enable go of this mindset, commence asking oneself:

• If there is a thing that you could use alternatively or substitute for it if this product was no for a longer period in your residence.
• If you could rent or lease that merchandise rather of owning it.
• If you obtained rid of it, what’s the worst that could transpire?

2. “I feel so responsible permitting it go!”

This mindset is a large explanation that we continue to keep and keep onto matters much for a longer period than we really should.

• Guilt is about how considerably money you put in on one thing.
• Guilt simply because it was a reward offered to you by anyone you like.
• Guilt because you come to feel obligated and responsible to maintain some thing to go it on to the up coming generation.

So, what are you going to do about it?

What do you have to have to do to allow go of your guilt?

If you expended a ton of revenue on it, acknowledge that revenue is lengthy gone and it’s not coming back again. Chalk it up to a lousy choice. Allow it go, offer it or donate it.

Recall: A gift is a reward.

Someone confirmed you they cared when they gave it to you. But once you obtained it you are not obligated to maintain it. It is yours to do which you will with it.

Recall you will usually have the memory of a person caring plenty of to give it to you. That is what will remain.

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3. “I am pretty sentimental about this item”

We connect memories to an item and we hold onto that merchandise mainly because of the memory.

But when we have far too considerably things, when we are hooked up to much too many items, when we have a hard time letting go of sentimental products, we get ourselves into problems for the reason that we have much too several issues and far too several feelings attached.

So, what are you likely to do about it?

• Acknowledge it is the memories that will usually be with you, not the merchandise.
• Reduce the range of sentimental things to only all those that are most important to you.

“When you own less you benefit what you have far more.”

Consider time to exhibit people few special objects so that you can appreciate them each and every day and allow those reminiscences to dwell on.

• Consider pictures of each and every place, each individual closet, each and every drawer, and every cabinet. This work out will open your eyes to the magnitude of stuff that you have. This will aid you acquire point of view and insight to just what you have to do.
• Know “why” you want to declutter your extra stuff.
• Set extensive-phrase and shorter-phrase aims and milestones.
• Make a plan, and timeline, and problem your self. Break it down into scaled-down workable actions so that you can attain compact and significant wins.
• Know what to do with your stuff and exactly where to donate, market, dispose of or consign it.

Make time for decluttering and downsizing just about every working day, each and every week. Begin compact but just begin. Consider reliable motion to exhibit development.

When you hit roadblocks, pull out the images of your residence at the beginning of your downsizing and decluttering journey. This will remind you of how significantly you have occur.

If you get overwhelmed, remind yourself of your aims, and what it will be like when you have less stuff and less muddle. You will have far more time, dollars, liberty, and vitality to go after what issues most to you

Knowledge the daily life-providing benefits of possessing fewer things.

Be intentional. Buy only what you will need.

Acquire only what you have to have when you need to have it.

It is not a excellent offer if you really don’t want or want it.

Understand to make because of and get pleasure from residing with less.

This is a existence-shifting way to live.

It is a new minimalist mentality and way of imagining.

It is possible to have much less and appreciate life additional.

Wake up, child boomers! We have way as well a lot stuff!

What are you likely to do about it?

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