Why You Have Too Much Stuff, and 5 Ways to Effectively Declutter Your Life

In an age of instant-gratification and abundance, one might wonder why some 40 percent of Americans suffer from either depression or anxiety. It is a pretty paradox: we have everything we want, except peace of mind. 

Is it possible we have too much stuff? According to the US Department of Energy, one out of four houses with two-car garages keeps so much stuff in it they can’t even fit a car in the garage. 

Yes, I think that’s too much stuff. It’s no secret that physical clutter creates a mental burden that can affect your emotional and physical well-being, so why does this happen?

If you are a human being with a home, you have stuff. And if you have been living for any length of time, you have likely accumulated a lot of stuff. Yet, as we grow, we change, and most of our stuff eventually becomes irrelevant to our lives; so we buy new things.

If you are not one of the few who keeps clutter in check with regular, rigorous purging, you probably hold onto too much stuff, and it ends up cluttering your house.

Why do we keep too much stuff?

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When we attach sentiment to our possessions, we often allow clutter to accumulate without realizing it. We find things hard to let go of for many reasons:

If these sound like reasonable excuses to keep something, your reasoning may be flawed. 

Stuff weighs us down. It silently torments us just by sitting there. We worry about it; we feel guilty, sad, resentful, or taxed with responsibility for it. By letting go of the excess (and most of it is excess) we can move forward with freedom and clarity. 

Case in point, my Grandpa Dick met many interesting people in his work as a limo driver. He once told me about a wealthy Swedish woman that he would drive to the airport. She had recently lost all her possessions, yet she was lighthearted and cheerful as if she hadn’t a care in the world. 

Now, set’s look at that list again:

Modify your consumer mindset

The average American spends nearly $3,000 annually on impulse-buying. That’s stuff we weren’t even shopping for in the first place! Be on guard against manipulative marketing ploys:

Learn to play the waiting game. A sudden interest might hold you for a week, a month, perhaps two; but if you wait long enough, even an obsession will fade. Money saved. Clutter prevented.

Instead of running out to buy everything you need for a task, or even a meal, take a look around your house and see what you already have. If you have something close, can you make it work?

Many people turn to shopping to relieve stress, improve mood, and reduce anxiety. While the short-term benefits can be considerable, in the long run, retail therapy is an expensive habit that drags you down. Instead:

How often do you bring something home only to wonder, “Why did I buy this?” Make a point of evaluating each item under consideration by asking yourself:

Track your spending for one week to see how much money goes to non-essential items. Try to reduce that amount the following week. Eventually you can set goals like “No Buy November,” or “Just Essentials July,” to achieve one “low-buy year” after another. 

Enjoy the savings by investing in truly valuable things—like education, experiences, personal growth, and healthy, organic foods—that will enrich your life in lasting ways. In other words, focus on what you can do with your money rather than what you can have.