Oh, my, gosh, is there any more cluttery time of year than the holidays? We decorate like people possessed, buy stuff and give stuff, partly because we want to but mostly because we have to. We receive stuff too, much of which we really don’t want, need or even like.
Not to be Grinchy, but let’s just have a little talk about Clutter and Life BEFORE you cut loose on Amazon or hitch a ride on the Black Friday crazy train!
Clutter costs us in some obvious ways, but it can also cost us in ways we might not consider. Yes, really, this is a good thing to think about any time of the year. click here for Morning Blend video
Time
Disturbing factoid: according to US News and World Report, the average American spends one year of their life looking for lost or misplaced items? That’s time spent rummaging for stuff – bills, clothes, running to the store to buy more of what you know you bought before but now can’t find, being aggravated with kids every day because there’s no clear schedule to get them ready and out the door, being late for work, being unproductive at work, fill in the blank here….Sound familiar? (For more horrifying stats, see links below).
Money
Hate to point this out (not really), but the vast majority of that “stuff” cluttering your space and your life – you purchased or otherwise acquired yourself! “But I’m a bargain shopper!” you protest. Well, little things add up, like re-purchasing those aforementioned duplicates of things you know you “put somewhere around here,” lost coupons, unpaid bills and late fees, eating out more because the kitchen is too messy to cook in, unrealistic hobbies, buying soooo many toys that our kids can’t enjoy or care for them, that useless avalanche of plastic bins and organizing gadgets… And don’t get me started on the cost of self-storage units that could be put toward school supplies or even a vacation! Here’s a 4:41min video I did called Shopping & Spending & Debt, Oh, My!
Physical Health
The more things you have, the harder it is to clean. Duh. Decluttering literally “clears the air,” reducing allergies, asthma and other respiratory ailments. Not to mention making it possible to more thoroughly clean bathrooms and food prep surfaces. Can you say, “Salmonella”? I won’t bore you with the details here, but here’s a 3min video I did on Clutter & Your Health: Dust.
Social Life/Embarrassment
Is Home Shame making you a hermit? Do you keep neighbors, friends and family at a distance (I don’t mean the healthy kind, I mean the sad kind), or are your kids embarrassed to have friends over? Is the guest room too full to welcome visiting guests or grandkids? If you cringe at the thought of having a client in your office, or if you avoid your home office like it’s sealed with crime scene tape, you might have a clutter problem.
Stress & Emotional Health
All of this rushing, looking for stuff, avoidance, lack of professional confidence and financial chaos leads to overwhelm, anxiety, depression and generally feeling bad about yourself which, while bad enough, also raises stress and adversely affects physical health. Talk about chasing your proverbial tail – Yikes!
Sooooo, why this little chat at Holiday Time?
‘Tis the season for celebration and giving, and that’s a beautiful thing! We truly, genuinely want to be in the spirit and loving traditions of exchanging gifts and experiences with our loved ones. What I’m suggesting is that taking a look at our current clutter condition can help us put the holiday giving/receiving season in a lighter, healthier perspective than we might have had in the past. Clutter tends to snowball, making us feel like a mess instead of our best. Think of all the gifts you have received that you don’t need, want or like but feel obligated to keep. With that simple awareness you can start a new tradition and free yourself – and others – from stressful, cluttery holiday obligation!
click here for Morning Blend video
Wishing you a happy, non-cluttery Holiday Shopping Season. Love, Jennifer
Want to give or receive the BEST GIFT EVER? Give ME!
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Exactly HOW MUCH time do we waste? There are stats for that…
- Average Americans spends one year of their life looking for lost or misplaced items.US News and World Report
- On average, we spend 6 minutes looking for our keys in the morning.IKEA
- The top five items men look for in their homes are clean socks, remote control, wedding album, car keys and driver’s license. For women, the top five items are shoes, a child’s toy, wallet, lipstick and the remote IKEA
- The average American wastes 55 minutes a day (roughly 12 days a year) looking for things they own but can’t find.Newsweek
- The average office employee spends 1.5 hours a day (6 weeks per year) looking for things.com
- The typical executive wastes 150 hours a year (almost an entire month), searching for lost information. For someone earning $50,000 a year, this loss is equivalent to $3,842 annually. Forbes ASAP
- Americans waste more than 9 million hours each day looking for lost and misplaced articles. American Demographic Society
