Clutter? The Physical Space Dilemma

I often hear people talk about how they just do not have enough space.

I often wonder what this means:
Not enough rooms?
Not enough shelves?
Not enough room for all their stuff?

It is a common thought to move to a bigger home, so that everything can fit. What if we started to think the opposite, of getting rid of stuff in order TO fit? I understand that a growing family may need to move to a bigger home so that everyone has a bed to sleep in. Often though, it is our STUFF, that makes us think we need more space or a bigger home.

When my husband and I started living in our first house after we got married, it was embarrassing to see how fast all those shelves got filled. In fact, we bragged that we had so much storage space downstairs and that it was way more than what we needed, when we first looked at the house. Before we knew it, those shelves were absolutely cluttered with our stuff. When we moved, we realized this: the more space you have, the more you are just going to fill it. Is it worth it?

Rethink the need to have more physical space. Think about what you can do to prevent the need to move, saving you thousands of dollars!

1. Your home is a storage container. Think of the containers you have in your home. The bigger the container, the more you put in it, right? It’s not rocket science. Well, our homes are also storage containers. They contain all of our belongings and the bigger the “container,” the more it takes to fill it. Ultimately, this means filling it with items you may not need, but filling it because you feel like you have to. Empty space though, IS okay!

2. Keep things OUT! In order to deal with the physical space dilemma, learning to keep things out, is key. It is easy to accumulate items. Think of how much you buy in a week. Every item you bring into your home, is another item to store. Even though you may end up donating something in return, understanding how to keep items out in the first place, is needed. Start by not going to the store! Do not go to a mall or clothing store, where you will be tempted to buy. Do not buy food without having a specific purpose for it. Keep your clutter under control by keeping things out!

3. Sustaining our needs. My jaw drops at times, when I see the sizes of some of the houses being built! I am not saying a large home is wrong; I just couldn’t ever imagine living in such a big space! We live in the homes we do because that is what we feel we need. The thing is, earth is designed for our needs – NOT our wants. Do we see our homes as the same? Do we live in “want” or “need” homes? If there is more of a sway to the “want” home, there will probably be physical space dilemmas because you end up filling it with all of your wants, cluttering the home. If we lived in homes that served more of our needs, that means in the end, you should only buy what you need. Sustain your needs – not always your wants!

Do not let culture or the neighbor down the street who is building a bigger and better home, tell you what size home you need. Assess your needs. Assess your possessions. What DO YOU NEED? It is humbling to think about how much we really do have, when you get a chance to sit back and think about it!

The physical space dilemma. What are you doing to prevent this?