You have worked diligently at purging and organizing your space. The feeling of satisfaction and peace is indescribable. Now what?
You should assess how you ended up with disorganized clutter in the first place or your home will inevitably end up that way again. I call this the “little creeper” and it will rear its ugly head again if you are not careful. Slowly things will creep in here and creep in there and soon you have a home full of little creepers who have taken up residence in a once organized area.
Let me explain…
Everywhere you look there are messages that you need something. If you buy that car you will be successful or popular, if you wear certain clothes you will be beautiful/handsome, if you have a specific electronic item it will make your life easier, and so on. Society screams at us through billboards, television, social networks, and many other places that we should BUY BUY BUY!!!!!! Grocery and department stores strategically put items in certain places and the most expensive items are always eye level. They study us and use our universal behaviors to buy their product. Then there’s family gifts and estates and the office Secret Santa, and… (enters the little creeper}
How do you make sure you don’t end up back in disorganization? You have to think about EVERY purchase, gift, or “freebie” you bring into your home. You must change the habits that did not serve you in the past. You must question everything that comes into your organized home no matter how small.
Here’s an example:
Late aunt Sally left you a lamp shaped as an elephant from the 1980’s. Maybe it brings good memories of the time she put a Santa suit on it for Christmas just to make you laugh or maybe you just feel guilty not accepting it since she wanted you to have it, however acquiring these things and putting them in storage isn’t really honoring Aunt Sally. Aunt Sally wouldn’t want to see her elephant lamp getting dusty in a crawl space for years when she had proudly displayed it in her living room. You must always think about the motivation of what you’re bringing into your home. The little creeper is sneaky.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when tempted to bring something into your home:
1. How does this item improve my life?
2. Do I have a space for it? If yes, is it worth taking that space?
3. What is the cost of keeping it? What is the cost of letting it go?
Every decision comes with a benefit and a cost. It is up to you to determine whether the benefit outweighs the cost. It’s a personal decision and if that elephant lamp brings you joy, then display it proudly! If the elephant lamp ends up in a closet, then perhaps donating it and letting someone else love it as Aunt Sally did would be the right way to honor her memory. Life is about choices and as long as you feel peace with the choice, it was the right one for you. If someday that choice starts bringing you anxiety, then remember the joy it once gave and send it off with love and good wishes to its new home.