When you declutter, you soon learn that you get back a lot of space. But as time goes by, you start learning other things. You learn things about yourself, about the important things, and about people. So, here are 12 things you learn from decluttering:
1. Your things can waste your space
Each time you declutter something, take a good look at its size. It's the amount of useful space that you just added back to your home. It is space that was being wasted on useless stuff. That's when you realize how nice it is to take your space back from things that waste it.
It's hard not to feel sorry for the countless people who have large garages but park their cars on the street. It's because their garages are overrun with stuff. They hardly use any of it, and it's worth a tiny fraction of what the car is worth. They can't even bring in groceries on a rainy day without getting soaked. Yet they cling to the useless stuff like they are treasures. They have got it backward. The open space is more valuable than the useless stuff that is filling it.
2. Your things can waste your time
It is wonderful to let go of things that no longer serve you. You realize how much time you spent reorganizing them. After that, you end up reorganizing them again. If not, you may have spent time looking for things misplaced among them. There is also the time that you spent maintaining them. And you get nothing of value from them in return.
When you get rid of useless things, it's better than reorganizing them. This is because they are gone forever. You never have to reorganize them, maintain them, or worry about them again. Your place is also easier to keep clean, and that saves even more time. You now have more time for what's more important to you.
3. Your things can ruin your decor
When there are more things than places to put them, it is impossible to keep the place tidy. But after you declutter, then there is now plenty of space. This makes it easy to keep the place tidy because everything has a place.Your place looks better with much less effort than you spent in the past. You realize that having more things than places to put them creates the worst type of clutter. This type of clutter will make any room look bad. Also, the only way to resolve this type of clutter is to get rid of things. This is how too many things can ruin a decor.
4. Your things can waste your money
You spend money on something when you buy it. But you also spend money on it after you buy it. Some things need accessories, which cost money too. Some things need maintenance and upkeep, which also cost money. Also if it's high maintenance, you might end up maintaining it more than you use it.
Some people are afraid to part with their things. This is even after these things no longer benefit them. It's often because they paid so much for the things that they don't want to waste their money. So they put their things in off-site storage. This way, they pay money to not use their things. It's a sad irony. You know that they would be better off if they were free of those things.
5. Your things can add stress
You know that things cost money and take up time. That is enough to add stress. You also know that sometimes you worry about whether they will get damaged or not. You might have even read about how clutter increases cortisol levels. But one of the big revelations is comparing your home now to what it was like in the past.
Your home is now a beautiful, tranquil sanctuary. In the past, it was a cluttered, chaotic mess. Today, it's hard to misplace things because everything has a place. In the past, it was easy to misplace things and often hard to find them. You are now proud of your home but it was embarrassing in the past. Now your home is spacious, but it wasn't big enough in the past. These all leave no doubt that your things can add stress.
6. You won't miss the useless stuff you got rid of
It's easy to hesitate when getting rid of some of your things. This is especially true if you paid a lot for them. But once something that you don't use is gone, it becomes "out of sight, out of mind". You are now enjoying the extra space and your neat, tranquil surroundings.
You got rid of them because you realized that you didn't need them. You also notice that the extra space is more valuable than the useless stuff that you got rid of. After a while, you will be hard-pressed to even remember what you got rid of much less miss them.
7. You have all the possessions you need
When you were decluttering, you noticed that your home is looking better. You realize that it is functioning better too. So, you are improving your home by removing things and not by adding. This forces you to realize that you have everything that you need plus extra.
When you decluttered, you were getting rid of the extra. Now you have everything you need. If something needs fixing or replacing, then you fix or replace it. You will again have everything you need. This revelation is life-changing. It brings a level of satisfaction that most people have never experienced.
8. Your happiness doesn't come from things
We all have physical and emotional needs. When you meet your physical needs, you experience comfort. But once you have everything you need to be comfortable, extras will not add to your comfort. For example:
If your home is at the right temperature, making it warmer or cooler will not add comfort.
If you are comfortable on a full-size bed, you don't need a king size.
If your stomach is full, eating more will not add comfort.
You realize this once you know that you have all the material things you need. So if you want to be happier, you know that you need to focus on your emotional needs. You fulfill these with a combination of your actions and your attitude. The actions include:
Spending time with people who you enjoy being around
Doing and experiencing things that you enjoy
Doing things that make you feel better about yourself
Experiencing moments of calm and inner peace
Counting your good fortunes and being grateful
This is a major revelation and can be a reckoning. It is often a life-changing moment.
9. Your possessions do not determine your value
After decluttering, you now know that you have all the material possessions that you need. You then learned that your happiness comes from your activities instead. This makes you less impressed by material things.
Status symbols lose their meaning to you. You feel neither admiration, envy, nor pity for someone who owns a status symbol. You care more about the person's character. This is because people's characters determine their value, while possessions do not.
10. You are happier living on your own terms
When you don't care what other people have, you have no need to keep up with them. You see status competitions as the folly which they are. You have more important things to think about. These include doing the things that give your life purpose.
You don't need to follow every fashion trend because you have your own style. Fashion is what society presents to you. But your style is how you present yourself to society. Unlike fashion, your style reflects your tastes and your personality. This all means that you are living life on your own terms. Also, you are happier for doing so.
11. Many people are slaves to their possessions
Over time you have become detached from material possessions. You also notice the attachment that others have to their things. You see how much people sacrifice for their possessions and how little they get back in return.
Some people slave away at jobs they hate to make large car payments. They do this even though a much cheaper and more reliable car will do the same job.
Some others are still paying for their clothes long after the clothes are no longer wearable. Also, the credit card interest rates mean that they pay much more than the clothes were ever worth. They do this so that they have the right labels on their garments.
The examples are too many to name, but these people are giving up years of their lives when they don't need to. They have become voluntary slaves to their possessions.
12. Many people are insecure
You learn that many people are not secure about themselves. They seek the approval of others, even if they don't know those people. They try to win this approval by buying things to show off their status. Even then, they are not sure what they should use to show off their status. So they turn to what they believe everyone else will approve of.
They look to advertisements and trends to see what everyone else likes. But the merchants are the ones who create these advertisements and trends. So the people end up paying money to become walking billboards for the merchants. This is all because most people are not secure enough to trust their own tastes.
In summary, here are 12 things that you learn from decluttering:
1. Your things can waste your space.
2. Your things can waste your time.
3. Your things can ruin your decor.
4. Your things can waste your money.
5. Your things can add stress.
6. You won't miss the useless stuff you got rid of.
7. You have all the possessions you need.
8. Your happiness doesn't come from things.
9. Your possessions do not determine your value.
10. You are happier living on your own terms.
11. Many people are slaves to their possessions.
12. Many people are insecure.
Some of the things you learn apply to your home. But as time goes by, you learn things that apply to your life. These will change your life for the better. So decluttering is definitely worth trying