We all have more things in our home than what we are currently using.\u00a0 We might even have a lot of things collected \u2013 things we bought when we couldn\u2019t find the other ones and\/or things we bought in bulk or when it was on sale.\u00a0 Our spaces might be significantly limited \u2013 so there\u2019s only room for a few things close by where we use them.\u00a0 I am asked regularly whether I think people should get rid of these duplicates \u2013 \u201cdon\u2019t I need to purge the excess stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n
Some people think that most things in excess are the very things to pass along \u2013 donate, recycle, even throw away.\u00a0 You\u2019ve probably heard \u201cexperts\u201d talking about how if you have clothes that don\u2019t fit, get rid of them.\u00a0 If you have 10 bottles of shampoo \u2013 donate them to a shelter or something.\u00a0 The bottom line of the thinking seems to be to remove all those unnecessary things and free up the space in your home.<\/p>\n
With much of what I talk about \u2013 I believe that there are no absolute answers for people.\u00a0 Yes, you can create more space by donating the clothes that do not fit.\u00a0 Yet, what are the factors that motivate you to keep those same clothes?\u00a0 Considering your own situation means that the solutions fit your life.\u00a0 Remember, there is no one right answer.<\/p>\n
Therefore, consider that all those things you have \u201cextra\u201d of are the things that you can go shopping for \u2013 right in your home.\u00a0 And you won\u2019t have to buy them \u2013 again.<\/p>\n
This idea is familiar with those who have a root cellar \u2013 or simply keep some of their food in the basement.\u00a0 Yes, it can function as a food supply in case of an emergency, yet it is also hopefully food that you move upstairs when you run out of that particular item and then replenishing the supply.\u00a0 We can apply this idea to other things that we have more than what we\u2019re actively using right now.<\/p>\n
The key is to make it relatively easy to find what you\u2019ll need \u2013 it is about making it more like going shopping.\u00a0 What are the broad categories of things you have?\u00a0 If you have beauty products \u2013 shampoos, toothpaste, lotion \u2013 get these all together.\u00a0 Initially it can be the general group of bathroom items and then you can make sure each division is together.\u00a0 That way when you run out of shampoo, you go to the place where the extras are and pick up another bottle to resupply your shower.<\/p>\n
If you have more than one size of clothes, consider what it is like to grab one of them not knowing if it will fit you.\u00a0 Like with anything you are keeping \u201cextra\u201d of, getting them sorted can make all the difference down the road.\u00a0 Get all the clothes that are one size down from where you are right now and keep them together.\u00a0 Under the bed bins can be great for this \u2013 it keeps the clothes out of the way, maximizing your usable space, and allowing them to be accessible when you need them.\u00a0 Where you store clothes that don\u2019t currently fit isn\u2019t as important as keeping them out of your usable space and having groupings for each size.\u00a0 Then when it\u2019s time to dig into another size \u2013 hopefully smaller \u2013 you know that what is there are all things that will fit you.\u00a0 You get a \u201cnew\u201d wardrobe without spending any more money \u2013 all by going shopping in your own home.<\/p>\n
Many of us already do this to a lesser degree, we have an extra shampoo and whatever \u2013 so we don\u2019t have to rush to the store if we run out or forget to pick it up at the store.\u00a0 When we pull out that duplicate item to use, we add it to the list for the next shopping trip.\u00a0 Even when we don\u2019t pick up another \u2013 whether the store is temporarily out or we simply forget despite the list \u2013 there\u2019s enough time to get that thing on the next shopping trip before we\u2019ll need it.<\/p>\n
It feels less like shopping when you have only the single duplicate, yet it\u2019s about using what you already have.\u00a0 If the things you have are things you are going to use eventually \u2013 then why not set things up so you can access and use them with minimal effort?\u00a0 The key is to make sure they are things you will use \u2013 want to use \u2013 and part with those things you won\u2019t use.<\/p>\n
We can apply this idea to various things:<\/p>\n
As you can see it is not necessarily about having to get rid of the things you are not currently using, it is about making sure you can use and appreciate the things you do have \u2013 even if it\u2019s at some future point.\u00a0 Sometimes it even feels fun to \u201cgo shopping\u201d in your home and rediscover the treasures you are now ready to use \u2013 some people have compared it to Christmas or a birthday, you have all these gifts you\u2019d not quite remembered.\u00a0 This can happen even as you sort the things \u2013 preparing them for future use.\u00a0 If you will use those extra things in the future, you can create the systems to make it easy to find and then use them \u2013 to go shopping in your own home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Simply because you might have all these \u201cextra\u201d things does not mean you have to get rid of them \u2013 just set things up so you can make the most of those things. Remember it\u2019s about creating the systems that fit your life and situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,8,18,5,22,15,17],"class_list":["post-1597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-organizing","tag-behavior","tag-discipline","tag-goals","tag-household","tag-productivity","tag-resources","tag-spaces"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-pL","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1597"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1601,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions\/1601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}