“Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.” – Twitter / Facebook
We are a culture drowning in our possessions. We take in more and more (holiday, birthdays, sales, needs), but rarely find opportunity to discard of it. As a result, our homes fill up with so much stuff. And because we believe the best solution is to find organizational tools to manage all of it, we seek out bigger containers or more efficient organizational tips and tricks. But simply organizing our stuff (without removing it) is always only a temporary solution. By definition, organizing our possessions is an action that must be repeated over and over and over again.
At its heart, organizing is simply rearranging. And though we may find storage solutions today, we are quickly forced to find new ones as early as tomorrow. Additionally, organizing (without getting rid of our stuff and decluttering) has some other major shortcomings that are rarely considered:
- It doesn’t benefit anyone else. The possessions we rarely use sit on shelves in our basements, attics, and garages… even while some of our closest friends desperately need them.
- It doesn’t solve our debt problems. It never addresses the underlying issue that we just buy too much stuff. In fact, many times, the act of rearranging our stuff even costs us more as we purchase containers, storage units, or larger homes to house it.
- It doesn’t turn back our desire for more. The simple act of organizing our things into boxes, plastic bins, or extra closets doesn’t turn back our desire to purchase more things. The culture-driven inclination to find happiness in our possessions is rarely thwarted in any way through the process.
- It doesn’t force us to evaluate our lives. While rearranging our stuff may cause us to look at each of our possessions, it does not force us to evaluate them—especially if we are just putting them in boxes and closing the lids. On the other hand, removing possessions from our home forces questions of passion, values, and what’s truly most important to us.
- It accomplishes little in paving the way for other changes. Organizing may provide a temporary lift to our attitude. It clears a room and subsequently clears our mind, but rarely paves the way for healthy, major lifestyle changes. Our house is too small, our income is too little, and we still can’t find enough time in the day. We may have rearranged our stuff… but not our lives.
On the other hand, the act of getting rid of stuff from our home accomplishes many of those purposes. It is not a temporary solution that must be repeated. It is an action of permanence—once an item has been removed, it is removed completely. Whether we re-sell our possessions, donate them to charity, or give them to a friend, they are immediately put to use by those who need them.
Removing possessions begins to turn back our desire for more as we find freedom, happiness, and abundance in owning less. And removing ourselves from the all-consuming desire to own more creates opportunity for significant life change to take place.
If you’re struggling with how to get rid of stuff, you can:
1. Challenge yourself to remove the unneeded things in your home.
2. Rid yourself of the extra weight in a permanent manner.
3. Carry a trash bag from room-to-room.
4. See how big of a donation pile you can make.
5. Eliminate debt by selling what you no longer need.
It doesn’t matter so much how you remove them, as long as you do. For it is far better to de-own than to always be decluttering.
Colleen @ 365lessthings.com says
I think this point you made is key to the clutter problem ~ “It doesn’t turn back our desire for more.” People have to change their mindset on forever wanting something else. No matter how much you declutter or deown if you keep replacing it you are fighting a losing battle. One of my readers made this quote the other day that I thought was brilliant ~ ”You know you have got the bug when you get more of a thrill from getting rid of something than you do from acquiring something!” ~ Calicoginger
Rayleigh Leavitt says
I LOVE organizing things because it makes me feel less stress and more freedom. But it’s true, part of organization for me means getting rid of stuff that is just wasting space.
Lisa Kanarek says
I like your distinction between organizing and removing stuff. It’s so important to know the difference between the two. Some people rearrange, shove in drawers and dust off their stuff, and don’t see it again until they do another organizing campaign. Decluttering is so freeing and has many benefits. Less stuff…less worries. Something I always do is think twice before I buy. I make sure it’s something I’m going to use instead of something that’s just going to take up space. Thanks for the reminder that less is more!
Living the Balanced Life says
What a great post, Joshua, and so true, every word. I think one thing that reducing my belongings has done for me is helped me to not buy something on a whim, whether large or small. I stop and think, is this something I am really going to use or enjoy, or is it going to be headed out to goodwill in a few months so why waste the money?
Having less and less makes life so much easier!
Bernice
8 posts on productivity and organization
Scott says
I have been trying to de-own my possessions for near a year. It has been harder emotionally than I thought.
This year I am going to make another effort. I think what would help me is a list of tools to accomplish this.
An example tool is to take pictures of the possessions, upload them to google docs, and trash them. I am doing this for all my trophies and medals that I have earned over the years.
Another problem I have is this damn 42″ Plasma TV (Paid $700). While I admit it is nice to use, I still have the damn box for if I ever need to move out of my apartment, plus its huge to move. I am considering trading it for a smaller 32″ LCD, as long as they too have the box =).
My snowboard.. I love it, its perfect fit for me, and the best bindings ever (FLO) which make the riding experience so much better, I couldn’t sell it when I had the chance too. Although, I only snowboard once a year. (Of course, I would like to go more, but this is the reality).
All of my weights. I have about 14 hex dumbells, and a nice stand for them. Cost about 400-500 dollars. I just texted my friend now, who teaches martial arts if he wants them for free.
Another thing I am realizing is, the money I paid for the items should not be important, I got (should have) my use out of them, and items lose value anyway.
It is almost worth it to pay someone to take away my possessions..
Scott says
Added my twitter website, if anyone has more help on how to fight this.
Sabine says
Scott- I found it helpful to remember this: a new box for whatever needs to be moved/shipped can almost always be bought for under $20. Is the space you’ll gain + the mental enjoyment of having cardboard out of your life, worth $20? Also, what are the real (not the imagined) odds of moving before the item is used up/broken/passed on to someone who doesn’t need or want the box?
We now have NO boxes in our garage, and in more than two years, have not needed any.
Lorilee @ Loving Simple Living.com says
Yes, if I am going to go through the work of cleaning and organizing than, as much as possible, I ‘touch it for the last time’. Just went through the whole apartment again on monday and packed up 2 big boxes to donate. I think we have more going out from the holiday season than came in. Loving it!
Deborah says
Writing this from Normandy, France. We did this very thing a year ago whilst still living in Australia. Now we have a very, very few boxes stored back there and we are in Month #13 of living and working in Europe as a result of that freedom from ‘stuff’ obsession. I will admit that we have already had several laughs about what we will rediscover once we are reunited with our boxes and we realize we should have done an even MORE thorough purge! Good luck to everyone in your De-Owning process.
Ishak Latipi Mastan says
Very true….let go!
Carrie Farris says
I am going to de-own some things right now! Love your blog :)
Jessica | mnmize says
I am going to try and de-own more this year and really work to bring in less junk. I just moved and got rid of alot of stuff, but I still have a ways to go before I am totally rid of my unecessarily belongings! It is hard, but I think it is a great new years resolution along with the typical ones such as getting out of debt and losing weight! Will help create a more stressfree environment for living and may even help one to attain their other goals while not worrying about possessions as much!