There is a book I’d like to recommend that you check out: ”Material World” by Peter Menzel.  It will give you an awesome visual of how much “stuff” people have in their homes around the world.  In so many parts of the world, families are standing by their meager belongings with big smiles on their faces.  Then along comes the U.S.  The family is from Texas, a nice family I’m sure, and their stuff is spread out all over the cul-de-sac, much like most of ours would be.  The title of this one:  “Moral Dilemma.”  Wow.  OK, we really do have a lot of stuff compared to much of the rest of the world.  So, here’s my take on the 7 sins of our stuff:

#1)  Money.  We spend a ton of money bringing in more and more stuff and often accumulate large amounts of debt over it.  We might not even use it, we may not even remove the tags, but we may get a high when we find a “great” deal.  Not really such a great deal actually.

2)  Stress:  We end up with so much stuff that it crosses the line from being a source of enjoyment to a source of stress.  It’s hard to enjoy it when you can’t see it and you can’t find it.

3) Safety:  If you’re stuff is causing a hazard and you don’t have a clear path to get from point A to point B in your home without tripping, you may have too much.

4) Health:  Too much stuff can cause stress and depression.  It can be a tough cycle of feeling overwhelmed, but then not having the energy to do anything about tackling the clutter.

5) Discord:  How does  it look behind closed doors when there is too much clutter and stress in a home?  It looks like family arguments, bickering, frustration and anger.

6) Embarrassment:  Too much stuff can = embarrassement.  Embarrassment over not having a handle on your spending, embarrassment over having your stuff be the boss instead of you being in charge, embarrassment to invite family and friends into your home.  Now that’s no fun.

7: Time Suck.  If we have to keep touching our stuff and moving our stuff and going through our stuff and digging through our stuff to find what we need, it takes up our time.  It takes up our time and it usually adds an injection of stress too.  This is valuable time that could be much more fun spent on relaxing, reading, family time or hobbies.

I imagine there’s more that I could add here, if you have input, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.    For tips on 20 Easy Things to Toss to get you started, please click here.

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Tags: DIY organization, health, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, stress, stuff