Many people are caught up in their lives (and their possessions). They feel like the more that they do they more they own, the better off they are. Better off, really? According to whom? That couldn’t be farther from the truth in my humble opinion.

In fact, minimizing and decluttering can be a great way to get rid of all (or most) of the stuff in your life. This involves saying goodbye to items that don’t bring you value or particularly mean too much to you.

So, why should you own less stuff? Here are some of my favorite reasons to own less stuff.

1. Once you get rid of all of the extra clutter, you may realize that you actually have more space than you thought!

Clutter can take up a lot of space. Once you start to get rid of it, you might find that your living room or kitchen is so roomy. When you have less stuff to fill a space, you won’t feel the need to find a bigger apartment or home the next go around. This is a huge problem I see in why people are in debt – they keep collecting things only to buy bigger homes to stuff all their crap in. It’s a vicious cycle!

2. In fact, some people even find themselves looking for a smaller home because they don’t need all of the extra space.

You may realize that you would be happier in a smaller home – doesn’t that sound nice? This can also be more affordable for you and your family. I also see a lot of people having an easier time with a fun life changing decision like moving to another country for a few months or living in an RV when they realize how little they actually need on a daily basis.

3. It is easier to clean when you don’t have things laying everywhere.

You won’t be spending as much time tidying up and cleaning a home than you did when you had to move items around to do so. When I used to live in a 1,100 square foot house, I had all kinds of tiny pieces of art on the walls and tables that I loved. However, what I couldn’t stand was the cleaning and dusting of these art pieces and having to move stuff around to clean it. So I decided to get rid of or give away most of my art pieces, and I kept only the ones I truly loved. This way I kept the things I love but also cut down on my cleaning time. Instead of moving five little ceramic pieces to dust a shelf, it’s only one or two.

4. This means that you can easily invite guests over (without stressing about it).

Most people don’t have people over because of all of the cleaning that they have to do first. However, if your home isn’t filled with items, it won’t take long to have it ready for people to come on over. This has been a long-time battle for me because I love to have a fresh smelling, clean house when we have guests over. I am embarrassed if I don’t. I used to sweep, mop, dust, bathrooms, sweep the porch, fresh flowers, etc and that wasn’t including keeping the kitchen clean while I cooked! I know, insane. There are two parts that helped me come back down to Earth in this area. One was to get rid of the clutter, this really does make the house look clean even when it wasn’t to my OCD standards. I also minimized which cleaning tasks I “have” to do before a guest comes over. I chose sweeping (my Labrador dog=constant shedding), cleaning the bathrooms, and lighting a candle. 3 hours cut down to 30 minutes! Minimizing my “do or die” before guests come over was not easy to let go of! But it did give me the satisfaction of a clean, smelly good home without the stress I was putting on myself. Everything I talk about in the Status Foe is about becoming aware of your life and actions, and this means being aware of what brings me anxiety. The pressure I put on myself before we had guests over was my own doing, therefore I can adjust my own doings. This realization is so powerful!

5. It is also much easier to find things.

People whose homes and garages are filled with clutter spend hours looking for items when they lose them. If your home isn’t filled with unnecessary things, you are less likely to lose anything. If you do, it isn’t hard to find them because everything is already in the right place.

6. You will probably have less anxiety.

When your home isn’t filled to the brim, you don’t have to stress about the mess every time that you look around. Instead, you can take these moments and do something you have always wanted to do – like breathe! You can mindfully play with your kids, go to that exercise class, or start reading that book that has sat on your nightstand for months (anyone else experience this?). You will find that you are much happier and relaxed once you get rid of your clutter.

Clutter reminds us of the unnecessary things we don’t want to do with our time. Don’t agree with me? Then why has that room sat there being a drop zone for months? It’s because you don’t want to or don’t have the time to go through that stuff and clean it. You just want it gone or the clutter fairy to wave their little wand. But for the last few months every time you walk by that space, you think of all the things you need to do to clear it out. This is exhausts you, you feel guilt, a stream of negative thoughts and emotions pop up, and you head to the refrigerator to look for answers. You have the power to minimize this anxiety!

7. You will have more time with your family.

Once you get rid of all of the clutter and mess, cleaning won’t take as long, and you will be able to spend this time with your loved ones.

That alone is a great reason to get rid of the things that are taking over your life so that you can enjoy the people that you love so much.

Once you start getting rid of some of the clutter in your life, you are going to be amazed. You may even realize that you have plenty of room in your home (or you might want to buy a smaller and more affordable home or an RV and travel around the US).

You may also start having people over again because it is much easier to keep an uncluttered space clean than one that is filled to the brim. A half an hour and your home will be ready to go!

You never know, you might also realize that you are less stressed than you were before. You don’t have to look around and get upset over all of the mess around the home. You can simply relax and enjoy the moment in front of you, instead of thinking of what you need to do next. You might even find yourself spending more time with your family instead of your possessions.

Tell me in the comments why you love having less stuff!

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