More Time With Friends & Family
Written by Hannah Harris
Now that I have received my second vaccine shot, I feel like I can finally step back and review the past 12+ months. The pandemic has given many of us the chance to pause and reflect on what's important in our lives. One thing that it’s confirmed for me is how my “stuff” is so much less important to me than the people I care about in my life.
Did you notice how during the first few months of the shut-down, people spent so much time in their homes around their “stuff” that they started to purge and organize it? While the statistic on how much was donated to Goodwill during 2020 hasn’t been released, their website says that in 2019 the average amount of donated materials kept out of landfills per Goodwill store location was 2.4 million pounds.
At the same time, a few new home organizing shows aired like Get Organized With the Home Edit and Hot Mess House. The Container Store released two new product lines - Home Edit and the Marie Kondo Collection. Bins and containers flew off many stores’ shelves.
Putting our stuff in nice bins and containers is visually pleasing and can help you find things more easily. However, I believe the most critical strategy to help you reach the goal of having an organized home is to have less stuff. This means sorting through your things to see what you have and removing those items you no longer use or need. It also means buying less stuff in the first place.
By having and buying less you have less things to manage. Having and buying less also saves you money because not only do you spend less on things but you also buy less bins and containers to put things in. According to the SpareFoot Storage Beat, 10.6% of Americans rent a self-storage unit with an average monthly cost per unit of $89. That’s almost $1070/year!
And importantly, having less stuff to manage can greatly improve your outlook as you have more time to do what you love, which hopefully in the very near future includes spending lots of time with friends and family!
If this sounds as dreamy to you as it does to me, I’d love to help you purge your stuff! We can start with a closet or two. Or make a plan to address every space in your house. The first step is to schedule a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation with me. I look forward to connecting with you!
P.S. For more on strategies on having less, check out the two documentaries by the Minimalists on Netflix. Also, see the Real Simple magazine online article about downsizing.