As we pack our Christmas belongings away, a lot of us end up taking stock of just how much “stuff” we have accumulated as we try to find homes for the new possessions that we have been lucky to have been gifted over the festive season. The overwhelm of the season, coupled with the desire to “cleanse”and simplify our lives in the new year leads many people to put decluttering at the top of their resolution lists.
The act of decluttering and the minimalist lifestyle has become somewhat of a trend with thanks to the likes of Marie Kondo and the Home Edit. The idea of tidying and removing excess from your life in order to spark joy is something the girls and I in the office are big believers in. During the fires and COVID I decided it was time to declutter my life. With some willpower and discipline, I managed to get all my sentimental belongings down to half a dozen boxes and pretty much made sure that anything that remained had an income earning function. This might be extreme for some people, but the principal and the mindset the act of decluttering leaves you with is the same.
The girls and I agreed – culling unnecessary items from your environment (whether it be home or work) frees you from some of the mental clutter which may be plaguing you AND beyond the joy that can be found mentally in decluttering, there can be monetary joy as well.
My girlfriends got wind of my decluttering project and quickly jumped on the bandwagon – holding garage sales and listing their unwanted items on gumtree and marketplace – putting money back into their pockets. From a business point of view, we recently encouraged a client to reassess the need for a storage facility they were paying a considerable amount of money for every year to house stock that they simply were not making money on. After referring them to a declutter specialist, they no longer have the need for that warehouse space and are saving that cost. Again, more money back into their pocket.
After you cleanse yourself of possessions you don’t really need to hold onto, you find that you are much more scrupulous when it comes to the future purchases you make. Impulse buying takes a back seat as you question the need and function of every item you buy. You know that you don’t need more than one of anything and some things you don’t need at all. Financially, you are saving money by simply not spending it the way you once would have. The more you buy the more you clutter your mind and put yourself back in chains.
One of our resolutions in 2021 is to really educate our clients on how decluttering can be a win both in mindset and monetarily and make sure they are not shackling themselves to their physical possessions
As 2020 comes to a close, maybe it’s time for you to gift yourself the declutter too – ask yourself what steps you are going to take to free yourself mentally and financially from the chains of clutter which are holding you back?