5 Reasons We Have Household Clutter

Enter any typical American home and you’ll find clutter. What’s the reason for this? First, we’re generally not aware of it. It seems like half the time we’re so into our own mental head space and daily routine. We’re thinking about things like what we’re going to have for dinner, projects at work that need to get finished, carpooling kids to their activities, etc. Our home environment takes a back seat and we don’t even notice if it’s tidy or not.

Other reasons we have clutter:

1. We shop too much.
We could blame it on malls and their snazzy window displays. But online shopping also makes it easier to shop at just a click of a button.

2. Peer and advertising pressure compels us to buy.
Have you turned down a store sale?  There’s time scarcity making it seem like if you don’t buy now then you’ll never get this deal again. Also, everyone else is shopping, why not you?

It’s one thing if you actually need a particular item, however did you actually evaluate whether or not you need and will utilize it within the next 30 days?

3. The thing you bought broke, you need to buy another one.
Quality of things haven’t been so great since they’re manufactured overseas. Some products are not built to last so you’ll continue to buy and the sales cycle will continue. This is called obsolescence which you could watch about on Annie Lennox’s video on The Story of Stuff.

4. We have easy credit.
It’s very easy to buy when consumer credit is readily available so there’s that instant gratification. It’s not so great when you get into debt and more clutter.

5. You’re too worn down to make a rational decision.
You can’t decide, it’s the end of the day, you’re worn down and just want to relax. You’ve given in to decision paralysis.

Now we know why we have so much stuff, what can we do about it?

Determine how much of it do you actually use. How much of it do you actually need? This is something that you as an individual would have to evaluate for yourself. You’ll need to define what “enough” means to you. There is no right or wrong answer for this. If you want to investigate this further, you can read the financial classic Your Money or Your Life by the late Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.

They have this system where you track your expenses, evaluate the exchange of life energy for the items in question purchased, and then there is that crossover point, that “enoughness,” where you feel satisfaction, fulfillment, and that’s the amount that you need in order to feel and be satisfied with your life.

Truth be told, you’ll probably realize you don’t need all that much to make you feel happy, make you feel alive. Time doing the things you love with the people who matter may be all you need.