Signora Sheila

Life can get pretty complicated, right? So why add a messy house to it? That’s what I tell friends when they comment on how clean and tidy they usually find my house. “But how do you do it?” they ask. ” By following my Golden Rule of Simplifying,” I tell them.

My Golden Rule

My golden rule for simplifying is really quite simple. Just keep getting rid of stuff! Because perhaps you didn’t know it, but stuff just has a way of showing up and accumulating!

Even though I’m not a fan of shopping, (to say the least), stuff still piles up. Maybe my house secretly creates it at night or maybe the dust bunnies drag it in when they come. I really don’t know!

I’ve had a lot of these conversations since I adopted a simpler lifestyle. Mostly because many friends would like to keep their own homes tidier.

So I share what I’ve learned and I’m still learning. People love hearing about all the benefits it can bring. After all, who wouldn’t want easier cleaning, debt-free living, greater peace of mind and heart, and time to pursue more meaningful things?

But two facts usually emerge from these conversations:

• Most people see the need to simplify.
• And most don’t believe they can do it.

“I could never get my house decluttered,” is the oft-repeated response. So I thought it might be useful to look at the reasons they give.

5 main obstacles

People often list these 5 reasons for why they have a hard time decluttering and getting rid of things:

• They’re afraid to get rid of things from family and friends.
• They don’t want to give up precious mementos.
• They worry that they might need the items in the future.
• It all sounds like too much work!
• They feel remorse over the money they spent on it.

But the biggest reason people seem to have for not decluttering is, “But what about all the money I spent?” And I get it. I’ve gone through the same struggle.

I’ve found that the only way to get over that remorse is to realize that we’re never going to get that money back. (Unless we sell it and maybe recoup some of it.)

But holding on to our clutter won’t bring it back either. And yet, they hold on to it and let it complicate their lives.

I guess you could say that my liberating moment came when I got rid of my shoe collection. An absurd story in and of itself, that shoe collection, but for another time.

Let’s just say that one day I got tired of dusting off over 300 miniature shoes that I never wanted in the first place! Mostly gifts from people all over the world. Shoes I never wanted, from a collection I never started!

Ah, but to get rid of them and offend practically everyone I knew? Oh dear! Until I finally decided that true friends would understand. (Or at least try to.) And family? Well, they remain family, even if they don’t always understand our nonconformist ideas!

My golden rule is threefold

1. KEEP VALUE: Keep only things you actually use or that add value to your life in some way.
2. CUT THE NON-ESSENTIAL: Cut out non-essential commitments, activities, and clutter.
3. REMEMBER THE BENEFITS: Keep in mind everything you will gain by decluttering!

The benefits of decluttering

• By sellling unneeded stuff we can recoup at least some of the money we spent.
• Or by giving it away we have the joy of knowing it’s gone to others who need and will use them!
• But the main benefit is that by getting rid of stuff we don’t have to keep paying for it!

Let me explain. Everything involves a trade-off. We want a paycheck, but we have to work for it. We want a home of our own, but then we have to maintain it. Every single thing we have or do requires some amount of work or maintenance. We are constantly paying for it in some way.

Every single thing we have or do requires some amount of work or maintenance. We continually pay for it in some way.

Signora Sheila

Kitchen counters get messier when full of stuff. Kids struggle to keep their rooms in order. Living rooms become cluttered. Dirt and dust also collect more easily. Keeping up with it all takes a lot of work and eats into our time. And the disorder can begin to steal our peace of mind.

But by letting go of things we free ourselves from excess work, worry, and responsibility! So really my Golden Rule of Simplifying is to remember all the benefits!

Don’t think about what you’ve spent. Think of what you’ll gain! Because you’re going to love your new simplified life!

People often don’t declutter because they worry about how much they spent on all that stuff. The key is to focus on all the benefits!

📷 Image credits: pots & things; shoes; moving