“The more things you own, the more they own you.” – Unknown
Welcome to The Vibe!
The only weekly blog that doesn’t require hand sanitizer.
Each week we discuss ONE IDEA that will help you live a better life.
This week’s topic is CLUTTER and how getting rid of the PAST makes room for the FUTURE.
If you think this post is helpful, please forward to a friend.
Just remember to wash your hands after you do.
Let’s do this…
The Vibe: Set Yourself Free
Gretchen Rubin had a revelation.
While doing research for “The Happiness Project” she noticed something.
She was HAPPIER and CALMER when her surroundings were in order and clutter free.
When she created OUTER ORDER it calmed her mind.
The idea resonated so much that she wrote a book on the subject – “Outer Order, Inner Calm.”
The Hidden Cost
It’s so easy to fill our basements (and lives) with “stuff”.
Kindergarten art projects, holiday gifts from Aunt Betty, clothes you haven’t worn since Gangnam Style was on the radio, or those boxes in the basement that you don’t even remember what’s inside.
Stuff piled on stuff.
Space disappears.
It feels like your house is shrinking.
Then the anxiety builds.
There is a hidden cost to all that accumulating.
Rubin writes that CLUTTER can cause ANXIETY and increase the STRESS levels inside your home.
Ugggh…
But clearing clutter is NOT easy.
The process can be exhausting.
It can even get emotional.
The process makes you say goodby to the past so the future has space to enter.
I have learned that cleaning out requires HUMILITY.
You have to admit you were wrong.
That there was never a good reason to store all that sh*t in the first place.
We no longer needed it the moment we put it in a box in our basement.
We just did not have the guts to make the tough call and SET IT FREE.
Make Room for the Future
Here are 3.5 ways to SET YOURSELF FREE:
1) Don’t Get Organized.
Rubin writes, “Your first instinct should be to get rid of stuff. If you don’t own it, you don’t have to organize it.”
“If you need to buy things to store other things, you have too many things.”
Take that Container Store.
Set it free.
2) Do I LOVE this?
Before you buy anything, ask yourself “Do I LOVE this?”
Not like. Not want.
But LOVE.
No love, no buy.
3) If I did not already own this, would I buy it again?
This question is for all the stuff in boxes and bins in our basement.
If you did not own it, would you buy it again?
If no, it goes.
3.5) Store Things at the Store
No need for a 5 year supply of tooth paste.
Rubin writes, “The best place to store things is at the store.”
Don’t stockpile.
Just buy enough for now.
Set It Free
DECLUTTERING is a simple concept.
But it’s not easy.
So go at your own pace.
Try to make progress every day.
Your future self will thank you.
The philosopher Lin Yutang wrote, “The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”
So what’s stealing you peace of mind?
What do you need to SET FREE?
Clear that SPACE.
Clear your MIND.
#SetYourselfFree
Until Next week,
Joe Ciccarone
The Vibe 