It’s Not What You’ve Got, It’s How You Use It

We’ve all heard the saying, right? That it’s not how much you’ve, uh, got, it’s what you do with it?

Turns out, that’s true for more than fun-times partners. It’s also true for your stuff.

There are about a billion decluttering gurus at this point who are absolutely drooling over the chance to tell you that the best way to have a clean, tidy house is just simply to not have any stuff in there. And that’s a great theory, but here’s the problem.

I don’t want you to have a clean, tidy house. I mean, I do. But I want you to have a home you love spending time in. And unless your favorite activity is picking dust particles off of empty bookshelves with a teeny tiny pair of purse tweezers, I’m guessing you don’t want to live in a home with no stuff in it.

You want to live in a home that’s got stuff you love, stuff you need, and space to use and appreciate them.

So here’s where I deviate from the decluttering gurus. When you know how to manage your stuff, how and where to store it effectively, how to evaluate what you want to hang onto and what could find a better home elsewhere (or in the trash), and how to feel good about prioritizing your things that way, you stop worrying about how much stuff you have. You run your home again, instead of letting your stuff be in charge.

It’s okay to have hobbies that take up a lot of room. I would know – I’m a quilter. I’ve got a fabric stash that would probably last me the next 40 years (assuming I stop buying new fabric today, and to that I say, yeah right).

It’s okay to love the stuff in your home and enjoy sharing space with it. When you walk into a room, you should be able to see things you love. Maybe that’s empty walls and spacious surfaces, and maybe that’s tchotchkes and mementos and collectibles. You get to decide, but if you’ve been scrolling through decluttering video after decluttering video, feeling your chest tighten up just thinking about having to throw out all your treasures for an ounce of peace, I want you to know that you don’t have to get rid of all your stuff to have space in your home to enjoy the things you love.

After all, it’s not about how much you’ve got. It’s about what you do with it.