“Don’t Just Declutter, De-own.”

I visualized our family’s new home to be beautiful, organized and cozy. As I’m typing this, I’m also having coffee in the formal dining room and this is my view:

The dream is looking like a nightmare. OMG. The stuff we have accumulated in our previous small condo is scary! Cover your eyes (insert “See No Evil Monkey” icon here)!!!

I knew we had a lot of things but until you see the full view of everything, you have no idea. Weaving through years of accumulated objects brought up fond memories and appreciation for objects we once cared enough to bring into our lives. Gifts from friends and loved ones. Press kits and more gifts. Pieces of art that were either given, bought or made. Cherished books. Framed photos we no longer had the wall space to hang. Objects that were sure to be collectible one day like my first generation iPhone. Furniture I’d been holding onto for years, sure that I would eventually use it. But would I really? When?

The good news is, despite being a hoarder, I am unattached to things. I can chuck anything out in a heartbeat and not feel sentimental about it. I guess being the shopper that I am, I know that whatever I throw out or if something gets lost, I can always find a way to buy them again if needed.

I love this poster:

Panalo.

I also came across Becoming a Minimalist’s blog about decluttering and de-owning. When I first read the word “de-own” I thought it was some New Age-y term like Gwyneth Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling“, haha! After I read the blog, BOOM! It made sense. I’m loving the idea of “de-owning!”

Reblogged:

Don’t Just Declutter, De-own.

Written by Joshua Becker

“Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.” – Twitter / Facebook

We are a culture drowning in our possessions. We take in more and more (holiday, birthdays, sales, needs), but rarely find opportunity to discard of it. As a result, our homes fill up with more and more 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 (without removing it) is always only a temporary solution. By definition, organizing possessions is an action that must be repeated over and over and over again.

At its heart, organizing is simply rearranging. And though we may find storage solutions today, we are quickly forced to find new ones as early as tomorrow. Additionally, organizing our stuff (without removing it) has some other major shortcomings that are rarely considered:

It doesn’t benefit anyone else. The possessions we rarely use sit on shelves in our basements, attics, and garages… even while some of our closest friends desperately need them.

It doesn’t solve our debt problems. It never addresses the underlying issue that we just buy too much stuff. In fact, many times, the act of rearranging our stuff even costs us more as we purchase containers, storage units, or larger homes to house it.

It doesn’t turn back our desire for more. The simple act of organizing our things into boxes, plastic bins, or extra closets doesn’t turn back our desire to purchase more things.  The culture-driven inclination to find happiness in our possessions is rarely thwarted in any way through the process.

It doesn’t force us to evaluate our lives. While rearranging our stuff may cause us to look at each of our possessions, it does not force us to evaluate them—especially if we are just putting them in boxes and closing the lids. On the other hand, removing possessions from our home forces questions of passion, values, and what’s truly most important to us.

It accomplishes little in paving the way for other changes. Organizing may provide a temporary lift to our attitude. It clears a room and subsequently clears our mind, but rarely paves the way for healthy, major lifestyle changes. Our house is too small, our income is too little, and we still can’t find enough time in the day. We may have rearranged our stuff… but not our lives.

On the other hand, the act of removing possessions from our home accomplishes many of those purposes. It is not a temporary solution that must be repeated. 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, happiness, and abundance in owning less. And removing ourselves from the all-consuming desire to own more creates opportunity for significant life change to take place.

As you seek to get your home (and life) organized, challenge yourself to remove the unneeded things in your home. Rid yourself of the extra weight in a permanent manner. Carry a trash bag from room-to-room. See how big of a donation pile you can make. Or help eliminate debt by selling them. It doesn’t matter so much how you remove them, as long as you do. For it is far better to de-own than declutter.

After having coffee I will start editing our stuff and I will be ruthless. My passion for having a stylish and organized house is greater than my hoarder self.

The garage sale of a lifetime is also brewing. Everything we don’t need must go. Tune in.