How To Prevent Clutter: Make the CHOICE

Choices

Choice is defined as “an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities” according to the lovely Google. A simple definition, but what a battle it presents!

Think of how many choices you have to make in a given day:

• To get out of bed
• What to make for breakfast
• How much to eat
• Where to put your dishes
• Whether to shower or not
• How long to brush your teeth
• What to wear
• How long to take to get ready
• What shoes to put on

This…is just part of the morning routine. Maybe even the first hour of your day. That’s it. Think about all of the OTHER decisions you have to make! Isn’t it overwhelming? Think about how often you have to make the choice between two or more possibilities? Isn’t that in almost every decision it seems?

There is even the choice on how to live:

To live with clutter or not.

What is your decision on this choice? Are you making the choice to not live with clutter? Where do you even begin?

1. Do you ignore cultural trends? Do your devour magazines such as People, Good Housekeeping, or House Beautiful, trying to keep up with the trends of your clothing and home decor? Do you realize that in reality, you will never get there? I know that sounds depressing, but lets be realistic! It is a choice to bring all of this STUFF into our homes, in order to keep up with the Joneses. How far are you willing to go?

2. Gifts. Have you made the choice to let go of the clutter of items GIVEN to you? How many things do you keep, just because someone gave it to you? Do you keep it out of guilt? Think about how much clutter it is adding to your home. Will that person ever know that you got rid of the item? Thankfully I think almost all of the gifts I have received over the past how many years, have been useful. But, like I talked about earlier, not being able to say no, can be a road block on your journey to live with less. Prevent clutter by getting rid of those gifts that you hang on to, for no good reason, except to please the other person. 

3. Make the choice to choose quality over quantity. I never fully understood this concept, until I married my husband who abides by this saying. When we first met, he bought me a few things that were in my mind, a tad pricey. Funny thing is, 10 years later, I am still wearing/using those items on a daily basis. For example, I have a winter coat that I absolutely LOVE and was worth every penny. He bought me a pair of chacos (BEST sandals EVER) and I literally wear them almost everyday of the summer, and they are about 7 years old. I understand that some things require a pretty penny and that pretty penny is not always found. I so get that. Depending on what the item is, is it worth buying and buying, adding more clutter, to end up buying a more expensive version of it anyways? Buying and buying, to satisfy our desires, only adds to the clutter. Is it really worth it?

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