Imagine your current home as totally empty. The space is just like a blank canvas–clean, bare walls, spacious floors and nothing inside as if you’re about to move in.
The Exercise**
Now, picture yourself in the living room sitting comfortably on a simple chair with a small coffee table in front of you and a laptop setup. Next to the computer, there’s a stack of money. Your laptop is logged onto (an imaginary) website called mystuff.com. This is an unusual website because everything formerly in your house is now available for purchase. This website offers a wide range of departments, from clothing to furniture, kitchen, bath, lawn, and garden, to cover all your home needs. Prices are extremely low, reflecting the current market value of your used belongings. Interestingly, that stack of cash next to your computer is the exact amount it would take on mystuff.com to buy back every single item that was in your home.
Ask yourself: “Would I rather have this thing or its cash equivalent?” How much of your stuff would you repurchase? You may look around your home and realize without all the stuff, your house is actually too big. The choices, of course, are totally up to you. Chances are that most of us going through this process will choose NOT to repurchase every single item and let many things go.
Ultimately, this exercise is a concept of re-looking at our belongings and recognizing how attached we’ve become to things. When faced with stuff versus cash, along with a shift in perspective, first steps can be taken. Try this exercise on a smaller scale, such as in a storage area or guest room. Purge each area and donate what you don't need. Then, pack up everything you don’t need but can't part with (yet). After 6 months, let go of anything you haven't retrieved from the box. Continue this process throughout the house, room by room. You may be surprised by the mind shift that occurs with decluttering.
“When you love what you have, you have everything you need.”
A Clean Slate
Imagine how you would feel to begin again with a clean slate, only allowing things into your home that you truly need, love, and use?
The act of creating space brings along a sense of ease, perhaps even peace. A cluttered space and attachment to things often reflects a cluttered mind, creating stress and tension that spills over to every area of our lives.
If you’re ready to (re-look) and release some stuff that no longer serves you and begin living a simpler, less cluttered life, contact me for support @ organizingbyyve.com or (585) 201-6009.
Read more about Mind Shift Tools and the Neuroscience of Clutter.
**The exercise was adapted from a presentation by Charles Tinsley at www.thekeysguild.com on "Helping Clients Let Go of More Stuff" for NAPO's virtual chapter.