How to Be Happier with Less (Challenges Part 6)

By

 "If a little is good, more must be better!"  


Isn't that the mantra of our culture?  It goes with "Buy one, get one" (whether you need it or not), "Supersize it!" and "Why settle for less?"


"Sale" sign



It's never enough.


My parents never had much money to spare, but I have never experienced real poverty.  I imagine it's the same for most of you.  And today, we have everything we need and then some.  But our hyper-consumerist culture has convinced us that we need even more.  


  • It's not enough to have a house – we need to continually update and upsize our housing.  
  • It's not enough to have clothing – we need to follow trends that change every few months.
  • It's not enough to have a phone – we need to upgrade every time a newer model appears.
  • It's not enough to have a car – we need to trade it in every couple of years for something bigger and with more features.  

This attitude explains why our closets are packed with clothing and our shelves are crowded with collectibles.  It's part of the reason we carry so much debt and so many extra pounds.  Over-consumption really is the name of the game.


Living by this principle dooms us to remain unfulfilled.  Even as we're enjoying a wonderful experience or buying something useful and beautiful, we're looking around for what we will do or acquire next.


You might think that all of the extras in your drawers and closets represent innocent exuberance.  It's so fun to shop!  There are so many cute things!  And they're all on sale!  But ask yourself:  Are you satisfied?  Contented?  Or do you have a habit of always wanting just a little bit more?


Add a little happiness to your life by recognizing that you have enough.



Subscribe to receive my free printable

The Declutter Dare

and declutter 100 items (or more) in just one hour!




Thirty-minute Minimalist Challenges #16-18


16.  Declutter duplicates.

Grab a box or two and walk through your home.  Do you need two sets of measuring spoons?  Two slow cookers?  Two can openers?  Two drawers full of tee shirts plus 14 pairs of jeans?  Five coats?  Seven cooking spoons?  A dozen throw pillows?  28 mugs?  The answer is different for everyone.  This is also your chance to donate or recycle the phone, computer, printer, or other tech you've replaced with newer versions.  Do the same with CDs, movie discs, and game cartridges if you prefer digital, streamed, or downloaded versions.  


If you're worried that you won't have enough, hide the box for 30 days and see if you miss anything.  If not, take the box to the donation center.


17.  Toss misfits.

We all have things that are incomplete or no longer usable.  Examples include socks with no match, lidless Tupperware (or lids with no containers), keys and cords that don't belong to anything, games and puzzles with missing pieces, last year's calendar, old prescription glasses, etc.  Get rid of the things you've been keeping for no reason.


18.  Declutter books.

I love books.  But they take a lot of room, and they're HEAVY.  Even e-books can become clutter if you purchase a lot that you wind up not reading or that you read once and never refer to again.  I actually read more books when I use the library because I can check out anything that catches my eye without worrying about cost or storage.  


How many books should you keep?  The answer varies from person to person, but remember that the value comes from reading books, not from owning them.  Declutter what you can (One-fourth of your collection?  One-half?), and maybe you can remove a bookcase as well.


Related article:  How to Pare Down Your Home Library and Uncover the Books You Love



Subscribe to receive my free printable

The Declutter Dare

and declutter 100 items (or more) in just one hour!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Fun, No-Risk Ways to Try a Minimalist Wardrobe Today

By
Image
Is your closet bulging with clothes, yet you feel like you have nothing to wear?  Do you shop often for new pieces, yet still feel unsatisfied with what you own?  I've been where you are.  Maybe, like me, what you really need is a minimalist wardrobe. A minimalist wardrobe is a small, carefully chosen collection of versatile pieces that can be mixed and matched to create dozens of outfits.  When you streamline and craft your wardrobe in this way, you can break free of the never-ending cycle of buying, purging, and buying even more clothes. I realize that a minimalist wardrobe can sound scary.  When you're used to an overstuffed closet, the idea of paring down in order to gain more usable choices seems impossible, impractical, and like something you're going to regret. I had similar feelings when I first tried a minimalist wardrobe years ago.  That's why I've created this list of ways to test the idea before you make a full commitment.  It's an approachable way t
Read more

Here Are My 10 Essentials - What Are Yours?

By
Image
I was reading an older post by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits fame, and he mentioned a semi-regular feature on GQ called 10 Essentials .  Each entry features a designer, entrepreneur, or celebrity naming 10 things that are essential to them. A valuable exercise I won't link to GQ's feature, because within moments of looking I could see that it was basically a hard sell for luxury consumerism.  But I love the concept, and think it would be useful – and possibly fun – to think about the 10 things that are my essentials. 1.  What I wear Jeans.   Almost every day I put on a pair of black or dark wash jeans.  I love the comfort and versatility of jeans (you can dress them up or down).  The ones I buy are designed for my plus-size body, but almost everyone can find a style and cut of jeans that fits them, looks and feels good, and wears well. 2.  What I also wear Sketchers Go Walk shoes.   Affordable, comfortable, simply designed – black Go Walks * are my daily shoes. * This blog is read
Read more

6 Ways Minimalism Will Make You Happy

By
Image
Maybe you've been decluttering and organizing for a while now.  You're making progress, but you're not really feeling that serenity and happiness all the minimalists talk and write about. Yes, things are more manageable in your home.  You're not spending so much time searching for things or deciding what to wear.  And yes, your home is... shall we say prettier ?  You're looking at fewer piles of neglected things, fewer things that you kept out of guilt or inertia, and more things that you actually enjoy seeing.  The things that bring a smile to your face.... Oops.  Sorry, that just snuck in.  I'm writing about how you're not feeling the joy, and how you're wondering why you should continue with all of this minimizing.  Let's try again. 6 reasons to get excited about having less 1.  You're saving money. Seriously, start keeping track of the money you save because you're not buying stuff you don't need.  Remember the cute merchandise you
Read more

9 Best Shopping Hacks for Your Successful Minimalist Wardrobe

By
Image
If you haven't already checked it out...  I was named an expert in an ApartmentGuide article. Check out the featured article : How to Declutter Your Home Fast: Tips From Our Experts | ApartmentGuide I used to spend most weekends and even some evenings after work shopping for clothes.  I often told myself I was "just looking," but the truth is, the more we "look," the more we buy.  I couldn't keep money in a savings account, and I always had credit card debt, but it took me many years to notice the connection between my shopping habits and my lack of funds.  (I know – dumb.) So I had a closet full of clothes, but "nothing" to wear – or so I told myself as I made yet another trip to the mall.  I'd buy clothes that I'd wear once or twice, at which point I'd realize I didn't like them as much as I thought, they didn't look as good on me as I had believed, or they had stretched, shrunk, faded, balled up, or otherwise been ruined in
Read more

How Minimalism Has Made Me Rich

By
Image
We only get to spend our money once.  So every time we buy something, we're making two statements: I don't have enough (which might be true when it comes to food, gas, toilet paper, or some other things). This thing is more valuable than anything else I could have done with my money (again, sometimes this is true). Every time we make a purchase, we have less money for something else.  Yes, we can make more money, but that takes our time and energy – and those things are finite. So our choices of how to spend are more momentous than we think. That's why my Starbucks habit is a problem, or maybe why your clothes-buying or music- and app-downloading habits might be problems.  Maybe we can technically "afford" those things (that is, we aren't using credit to buy them), but is that the best way for us to use our money? A true windfall I recently received a small bequest from my Uncle Clarence, who passed away early last year.  His wife Alice, who predeceased him, w
Read more