At its heart, organizing clutter is simply rearranging, Even though we may find storage solutions today, we are quickly forced to find new ones as early as tomorrow. Organizing without getting rid of “stuff” and decluttering has some other major shortcomings that are rarely considered:
Organizing Clutter
- It doesn’t benefit anyone else. The possessions we rarely use sit and cause clutter on shelves in our basements, attics, and garages… even while someone else could desperately need them.
- It doesn’t solve our debt problems. It never exposes the underlying issue that we just buy too much stuff. In fact, many times, the act of rearranging our stuff even costs us more as we purchase containers, storage units, or larger homes to keep it in.
- It doesn’t lessen our desire for more. The simple act of organizing our things into boxes, plastic bins, or extra closets doesn’t retract our desire to purchase more things. The culture-driven teachings to find happiness in our possessions is rarely thwarted in any way through the process.
- It doesn’t force us to reevaluate our lives. While rearranging our stuff may cause us to look at each of our possessions, it does not force us to reevaluate them—especially if we are just putting them in boxes and closing the lids. Removing possessions from our home forces questions of passion, values, and what’s truly most important to us.
- It accomplishes next to nothing in paving the way for other changes. Organizing clutter may provide a temporary lift to our attitude. It clears a room and subsequently clears our mind, but rarely paves the way for healthy, lifestyle changes. Our house is still seems too small, our income still seems too little, and we still can’t find enough time in the day. We may have moves our “stuff” but not made changes to our lives.
The act of getting rid of stuff from our home accomplishes many of those purposes. It is not a temporary solution that must be repeated. It is an action that is permanent—once an item has been removed, it is removed completely. Whether we re-sell possessions, donate them to charity, or give them to a friend, they are immediately put to use by those who need them.
Removing possessions begins to lessen our desire for more “stuff” as we find freedom, happiness, and abundance in owning less. By removing ourselves from the all-consuming desire to own more “stuff” creates opportunity for significant life changes to take place.