We are a culture drowning in our possessions. We take in more and more (holiday, birthdays, sales, needs), but rarely find an opportunity to get rid of it. As a result, our homes fill up with so much stuff. And because we believe the best solution is to find organizational tools to manage all of it, we seek out bigger containers or more efficient organizational tips and tricks. But simply organizing our stuff must be repeated over and over.
At its heart, organizing is simply rearranging. And though we may find storage solutions to- day, we are quickly forced to find new ones as early as tomorrow. Additionally, organizing has some other major shortcomings that are rarely considered. For example, it doesn't benefit anyone else. The possessions we rarely use sit on shelves in our basements or garages, even while some of our closest friends desperately need them.
On the other hand, the act of getting rid of stuff from our home accomplishes many purposes. It is not a temporary solution. It is an action of permanence-once an item has been removed, it is removed completely. Whether we re-sell our 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 turn back our desire for more as we find freedom and happiness in owning less. And removing ourselves from the all-consuming desire to own more creates opportunities for significant life changes to take place.
If you're struggling with how to get rid of stuff, you can first challenge yourself to remove the unneeded things in your home, carry a trash bag from room-to-room, see how big of a donation pile you can make, and even eliminate debt by selling what you no longer need.
It doesn't matter how you remove them, for it is far better to remove than to always organize.