The Costs of Clutter
Most of us have some clutter in our lives. Having some clutter isn’t the problem. The problem is that many of us have too much and instead of our having control of the clutter, the clutter has control of us. Many people don’t realize that broken, unwanted, unused and excessive things are clutter. And, they don’t realize that it’s weighing them down and costing them… a lot. Clutter costs us in many ways:
- Physically—physical stress related to health problems (e.g. allergies, mold related, rodent related, etc.), wasted energy and loss of energy…
- Emotionally—emotional stress, feeling out of control, discouraged, dissatisfied…
- Socially—missed appointments and commitments, missed important meetings and events, missed opportunities because of shame and embarrassment…
- Financially—buy unneeded items and on impulse, pay late fees…
- Spiritually—lost peace, harmony, and what is important to you…
- Time—24 hours in a day is never enough…
Do you know that the costs could all be triggered even in just one situation? Let me demonstrate how with an example.
Let’s imagine that your propensity to keep clutter resulted in your not being able to find an important item—such as your car keys. This caused you to be really stressed out as you frantically search for them. Can you feel that knot in your stomach? Or that tension headache starting? Then you snap at someone you care about because you’re feeling frustrated about losing those keys… and you are mad at yourself, too, for losing then again. You know with certainty that you’ll be late (again!) arriving at the cafe to meet dear friends for coffee. You also know, that if you’re too late they will have had their coffee and be gone by the time you get there.
Yup!—the costs of clutter coming rushing at you as you sadly realize—once you finally get to the café—that your friends left before you arrived. You notice the peace that you felt upon getting out of bed this morning and the excitement you felt about seeing friends has long since evaporated. Once again, you berate yourself for the disorganization in your life and you sadly go back home… quietly calculating the time, energy and money you wasted to get there as you take two tablets for your headache.
What is your clutter costing you?
