"What is clutter? Clutter is anything you’re keeping around your house that doesn’t add value to your life. Decluttering is all about making room in your home for the things that matter."

January 14, 2017

I took off work this week to concentrate my efforts to declutter. Now and then I read articles that come across my Facebook feed. I like 'Becoming Minimalist' by Joshua Becker. But the following quote comes from another site:

http://www.budgetdumpster.com/resources/how-to-declutter-your-home.php

"What is clutter? Clutter is anything you’re keeping around your house that doesn’t add value to your life. Decluttering is all about making room in your home for the things that matter."

I like that definition. I have so much stuff. I bought some of it thinking I'd be able to do a project, great ideas, but didn't follow through. I'm learning a lot about my thinking and doing. I've found it hard to let go of stuff, but it's getting easier.

I look so forward to having a house that is organized and filled with 'things that matter' rather than having stuff that doesn't add value to my life and actually takes too much of my life and time. It keeps me from being productive. I got a little discouraged today just going through backed up paperwork and cleaning out little areas. I had to pause and refocus. I want it to be done, I want to just get rid of it all real fast, but I can't as I have to sort it out. It's getting easier to get rid of things that are just clutter even though I like it.

Just watched a Ted Ed video, "Why are We so Attached to Our Things?"

*Endowment Effect - we value things much more highly just as soon as we own them.

*Many of us are attached to celebrity items or as if they were somehow imbued with the essence of their former celebrity owner.

*For similar reasons, many of us are reluctant to part with family heirlooms which help us feel connected to lost loved ones.

*We feel attached to our things, but it can go too far. Part of the cause of hoarding disorder is an exaggerated sense of responsibility and protectiveness towards one's belongings. That's why people with this condition find it so difficult to throw anything away.

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My week has come to an end as today is Monday, January 23, 2017. I have learned a lot about what really matters...but that is for the next blog. So until then.........