When Simple Means Having More
The number one way to get organized is to have less stuff.It’s as simple as that.Less stuff means more time, more money and ultimately more freedom. I’ve experienced this myself as have countless others.It’s important to note that everyone’s version of “less” looks different. Ultimately, the goal of simplifying is to surround yourself with only what you need, use and absolutely love. The best part is that we each get to choose what simple looks like for us!For my family, simplifying has meant letting go of the stuff that distracts us from doing what we really want to in life. It has meant evaluating every single thing we own and choosing to keep only what we actually use OFTEN and what we ABSOLUTELY love. It’s meant getting rid of A LOT!In some cases, however, simplifying can actually mean having more. And this can be okay, if you’re careful. A few examples of things we’ve chosen to have more of are:
- Pizza pans – We have two because one pizza is never enough for our family (and we prefer using a pizza pan over a baking sheet).
- Vehicles – We lived with one car for about 6 months and we were able to make it work fairly well, however it did cause challenges, ultimately making us decide that keeping two cars is necessary for this season of our life.
- Extra blankets & pillows – Whether it’s a cold day or a child’s fort in progress, these items get used a lot in our house so we have more than a few of them. We did get rid of several when we simplified, but we’ve chosen to keep quite a few, including all the personal quilts and blankets made by people we love.
So how do you decide if it’s actually simpler keep more of something? You can apply the criteria that we do.
- Does having more save you frustration and the use of time or money? You’ll need to determine if the cost of having the item provides the benefit you’re looking for.
- Do you use it OFTEN? Meaning regularly-at least once a week.
- Are you able to easily keep it in the space you have? That is, is the item easily accessible and not “stored” somewhere hard to grab when you need it?
- Do you ABSOLUTELY love it? It can be easy to decide that you “love” many of your things. But I encourage you to be extremely selective and choose only things you absolutely love.
They key is to figure out what “less stuff” looks like for you. And if having more of a few things keeps your life simple, then go for it!I’d love to hear what you have more of because it keeps your life simple. Send me a note and share!Blessings,Lisa