Less buying means less to declutter!

January 20, 2013

 Less buying means less to declutter!

We have been influenced by clever marketers for years but the time since WWII has been incredible. In many countries where the standard of living is very high, a large portion of the population’s income is spent on wants and desires rather than on basic needs. And buying lots of things makes us happier, right?

Polls show that our national happiness quotient peaked in the ’50s and has been steadily declining ever since. Obviously shopping has not made us happy and all of this stuff has not given us more spare time. Indeed, research indicates that we have less leisure time than we have ever had before. Somehow we have gotten into a cycle of nonstop work in order to earn the money to incessantly consume.

Let’s stop the madness!

Awareness is probably a great starting place for stopping this endless circle. I feel like I was the nuttiest consumer on the planet and have only now come to my senses. I just never really thought about it. Everybody around me was in the same whirlpool.

It was a constant cycle of spending and consuming and tossing (or storing) to make space for more stuff so I could do it all over again. 

Shopping often provides a diversion from having to look at what is really making us dissatisfied. We consume to fill a void. More often than not this void is completely unconscious to us. We are simply not aware of it.

Many people buy big homes or spend money on storage units to store all their stuff. They pay a larger mortgage (or monthly storage unit payments) to store it all, and then pay the increased utilities that go along with the bigger house.

We learn at an early age to identify ourselves with our stuff.  If we are good, we get more money and we buy stuff to show it.  If we work hard and are successful, we own more stuff than other people.  Those that are unfortunate are the only ones without stuff. People who push their belongings around in a cart are pitiable.

Money Saver - Downsizing

Downsizing and decluttering can save loads of money. In addition, downsizing and decluttering can make life significantly more stress-free.

Here is a real eye-opener from: http://www.moneycrashers.com/why-downsizing-can-save-you-money/#ixzz2IXmyAjpW

1.     Write down the total square feet of your house.

2.     Write down how much you pay monthly for your house or apartment.

3.     Divide your total square feet by your monthly payment; this is how much you pay monthly per square foot.

4.    Now estimate how many square feet you’re using to store stuff: include your closets, your basement, extra bedrooms, and your garage.

5.     Multiply that times your “monthly square foot” cost. Yikes!

6.     For instance, imagine your home is 2,500 square feet (including storage space) and your mortgage is $1,600 per month. You’re paying .64 cents per square foot, per month for your home space.

7.   If you’re using 1,000 square feet total to store stuff, this means your stuff is costing you $640 per month. How much would you save by downsizing to a smaller home with a smaller mortgage payment? You do the math!