A Tiny Idea: Part II

Getting Your "Stuff" Under Control

In Part I of the "A Tiny Idea" series, I discuss benefits of smaller homes.  Reaping these benefits will require streamlining your possessions -- you can't live a simple life with a bunch of excess stuff!  This post focuses on getting rid of stuff, not finding sneaky ways to cram it into less space :)

What is minimalist living and why should I care?  

Minimalism is alleviating yourself from things you don't use or need to create a simplified environment.  It is living lightly, without a preoccupation with material things.

Minimalism means different things for different people: it's not determined by an absolute number of possessions but rather your relationship to them.  Minimalist living isn't sparse or boring; on the contrary, it allows your uniqueness to shine because you only have things that you love and that reflect the best of you.

If your belongings are ones that are truly essential, highly functional, and personally meaningful, then you are a minimalist.

Intentionally adopting a minimalist lifestyle allows you to enjoy what is most important.  

Benefits include:

• Lower stress
• Easy to organize & keep up with belongings.  Moving and cleaning are easier.
• Everything you own has a specific and unique purpose -- no decision paralysis 
• No excessive consumption of resources
•  Why growing cotton for clothes is so bad for the environment
• Less expensive 
• Room for things you really care about - no extraneous stuff to distract you & hog space
• Benefits others: donate to those who need it

Visit http://mnmlist.com/minimalist-faqs/ to learn more

The psychology of a pack rat: Why do we hang on to things?

In order to streamline your life, it is helpful to understand why we are attached to material objects, even those that don't serve us.  Our preoccupation with such things reflects not our essential needs, but our emotions and insecurities.

What emotions anchor our resistance to part with nonessential things?

1) Fear of needing it at some point.  A common barrier to de-cluttering is the thought, "I might need it some day so I'll just keep it."  This reasoning encourages us to latch onto more stuff out of uncertainty and fear of regretting our decision to de-clutter, when in all likelihood we'll never need the stuff.  The truth is, once you get rid of the unnecessary things you will only regret having kept them around for so long!

A variation of this fear is struggling to get rid of items that have definite utility value in your life but that you have too much of or no desire to actually use (I confess, I hoard little bottles of hotel shampoo and conditioner even though I prefer other products and have plenty of them already.  Now I have a box of shampoo that I haven't used in 2 years...).

Another example: I have a nice cookbook of "101 ways to make chicken".  I rarely eat chicken-based meals but who knows, tomorrow I might want to try one of those recipes!

The Remedy.  Ask yourself -- if there ever came a time when you really needed the item, how easy would it be to buy it again?  Is it something you use only a few times a year that you could borrow or just do without?  Do you have another item that could serve a similar function?

Solution: Copy a few recipes into a Word document and use recipe sites online.  Donate the book.  Get rid of excess shampoo (I donated most of it to a shelter) or use it as soap because I have less of that.

Note: There are some items that we use infrequently but have good reason to hang on to.  I have bulky snow pants that I use solely when shoveling snow -- which is only a few times each winter -- but none of my other clothes will suffice for the job.  If I had multiple snow pants or no longer needed to shovel snow multiple times per winter, then those pants would be sent out the door.

2) Avoiding a sunk cost.  Have you ever held on to a broken item long after you should've just thrown it out?  It seems silly but it happens.  Why?  Because we can't bear the mental anguish of a sunk cost; i.e., an investment that we felt did not get a fair return.  So we justify keeping the item by telling ourselves we'll eventually fix it.

Example: One of my favorite shirts suffered a huge rip. I kept it, intending to sew something out of it. The shirt was too nice to throw out!

The Remedy.  Ask yourself seriously if you will fix or repurpose the item (then do it now).  While it's awesome if you are able to restore the item and use it again, many times we overestimate our attachments and need to accept that the object is a lost cause.

Solution: When I moved 8 months later and hadn't touched the shirt since it ripped, into the garbage it went.

3) Regret that the item has not served us fully.  "I should get more use out of it" -- Many times we fail to let go of something because we feel we haven't gotten our money's worth or we regret that something in fine condition should 'go to waste'.

In this case, your options are a) make an effort to use the item, b) find a new function for the item (repurposing), c) get rid of it  d) stuff the item deeper into your closet  >> haha NO.

My examples: Expensive shirt that I wore once; Starbucks coffee I got as a gift (I don't drink coffee).

The Remedy.  If you haven't used the item in a year or more, are you likely to ever need it?  No matter how expensive or perfect the thing is, it's not doing any good taking up space in your house if you are not using it.

Solution: Take shirt to consignment store (make some $$); use coffee in a dessert recipe and give the rest to roommates

I repurposed an unworn yet sentimental scarf as decoration

3) Longing for the past.  For instance, refusing to get rid of:

-- Items from a certain time in your life that are unlikely to be needed again (e.g., kids' toys; maternity clothes)
-- Items that don't serve you and merely remind you of a person, place, or event (e.g., a deceased family member's belongings; pointless travel souvenirs; old sports uniform)

My example: Cocktail dresses from my sorority years.  I like them and they bring back fond memories, but I don't need that attire now.

The Remedy.  Ask yourself if the object illustrates who you are today -- not who you were in the past.  Again, utility is key: if you aren't using it and it's not improving your present life, it is clutter taking up your physical space and mental energy.  Try to limit items that are purely sentimental -- in having less, your appreciation will grow.

Solution: Kept 2 of my favorite dresses for special date nights.  Donated the rest.

4) Desiring for the future.  Examples:

-- Keeping clothes that are too small in hopes they will inspire you to achieve a certain body ideal
-- Keeping baby items because you might have kids or grandkids one day
-- Having lots of glamorous shoes or jewelry, hoping for more occasions to show it off even though you rarely attend formal events.

My example: Storing books I wasn't very interested in.  But I should save them until I have more time to read and a house to display them in, right?

The Remedy: Ask yourself if the object serves who you are today -- not who you want to be or might be in the future.  Don't let a fuzzy forecast determine your present well-being.

Solution: Sell books at a used book store.  Use the library more instead of buying books.  

5) Worrying over disappointing yourself or others

In order to gain control over your possessions you must realize that your relationship with certain objects does not necessarily reflect your relationship to people who might be connected to those objects.  If you are keeping excessive stuff based on your beliefs about others' expectations, it's not a service to anybody.

My example: For years I carted around yarn slippers my great-grandmother made for me when I was younger.  Even though I didn't wear them anymore, I felt guilty at the thought of throwing them out.

Solution: Realize that keeping the slippers is not a reflection of honor on my great-grandmother and that I was not a bad or ungrateful person for getting rid of them.

6) Indecision over how and when to get rid of stuff

Even if we get past the previous roadblocks and are committed to disowning something, there is a big difference between wanting to be free of stuff and actually getting rid of it.  This is because society conditions us to concentrate on losses, gains, and the monetary value of our material assets.  This mindset makes it difficult to accept getting rid of stuff even if it's stuff we don't want!

My example: The following thoughts crossed my mind when I was sorting through clothes to get rid of:  "These are too good to just give away...should I try to sell them?  Maybe dig up some more stuff and organize a garage sale?"  

The Remedy: While it is smart to capitalize on your de-cluttering process, is your space, time, and sanity worth the extra effort listing items for sale or organizing a garage sale?  Of course, if you have items that are worth a good deal then the reward-to-effort ratio is better and it makes more sense to sell those items at a premium.  But for your average spring cleaning of clothes and household items, you must accept that you're not going to get back what you paid so you might as well free yourself from the burden as soon as possible.

Solution: I came to terms with the fact that although having a garage sale or consigning my clothes would be more profitable, it had not happened and was unlikely to ever happen. So off to Salvation Army without a second thought.  

Notice anything interesting about those 6 psychological barriers to relinquishing our attachments to possessions?  They are all rooted in negative states -- fear, avoidance, regret, longing, desire, worry/guilt, indecision.  If you can identify and minimize the objects in your life that are thriving on such states, you will experience greater day-to-day happiness as well as overall clarity when it comes to what is truly important in your life.

We were suffocating in our stuff

What happens when you let stuff take over you 

When we moved out early this August, my roommates and I filled (overflowed, actually) an entire dumpster.  A lot of it was old mattresses, expired food, and garbage other people had left behind, but still it was astounding to see how much *crap* accumulated in a house after just a few years.

Even after the initial purge (ahem, trauma), as I unpacked I produced 3 more bags to donate, a large box for consignment, and a bag full of trash.  There is nothing like moving to motivate minimalism!

Questions to ask yourself to get rid of clothes you don't need

As I was unpacking after the move, I researched tips to help me streamline my wardrobe.  Here are a compilation of the questions I found helpful for reducing stuff that was weighing me down.

1) Does it fit well?  

This is easy - if it doesn't fit at this very moment (and you aren't willing to invest in having it tailored), there is no reason to hang onto the item no matter how expensive it was or how much (or little) you've worn it.  If your weight tends to fluctuate, consider investing in outfits that will fit comfortably and look flattering even if you lose or gain a few pounds.

2) Does it look good on me and do I feel comfortable in it?

This question should be considered as seriously as "does it fit well?"  If you don't love it and feel good in it, consider finding it a new home.  Clothes that you constantly have to adjust are probably not worth the trouble.

3) Are there rips/stains/yellowing/missing buttons/broken zippers, etc?  Am I willing to fix such problems if the item is in good condition otherwise?

Clothes only last so long.  If it seems worn, outdated, or in poor condition to you, it probably looks downright yucky to everyone else.

4) Have I worn it within the past year?  

If all the seasons have passed and you still haven't used it, this is a sign you probably don't need it.

5) If I found this item at a decent price in a store, would I buy it?

This is a good question to ask yourself for weeding out clothes that are "just ok" or that are getting to the end of their lifespan.  If you wouldn't 're-buy' the item, it's time for it to go.

6) Do I have duplicate items or multiple items that accomplish the same function?  If yes, get rid of most of the extras.


If you're hesitant about parting with an item but it fails to meet your retention criteria, create a "maybe" box that will be stored out of sight.  If you find yourself going into the box for something, you may want to bring that item back into your regular clothes rotation.  But after a few months, it's time to get rid of anything left in the "maybe" pile!

My wardrobe is still far from minimal but it feels good to have the stuff I wasn't wearing gone.  I do not regret donating even one thing.  Now I am better organized and have more space for the clothes I like and wear frequently.



Missed Part I of "A Tiny Idea?"  Access it here