Let’s pick up from where we left off yesterday with A Different Kind of Abundance, Part I.

If you live in a house full of stuff that isn’t really important to you—or doesn’t reflect who you are—right now is a great time to begin imagining a home that feels full of peace (instead of full of stuff).

Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” I agree! With simplicity and organization in your home, you can begin to create the lifestyle you really want.

My guidelines for owning possessions are: you either love it (it makes you smile or has a wonderful memory attached to it) or you use it (it has a utilitarian purpose).

The ideal scenario is when you love and use a thing.
Some examples:
• a piece of quality cookware that you saved up for and enjoy making meals with
• that favorite shirt that you feel great in and that you wear to meetings
• the prized golf club that upgrades your game and that helps you hit a long, straight drive
The more of these items the better (obviously!)

I define clutter as anything that is: disliked, unused, in excess, broken, obsolete, disorganized or makes you uncomfortable. Whew! How many things in your home does that apply to?

Clutter doesn’t just suddenly appear. It gets that way over time, and it’s the biggest enemy of space. If there’s too much to take in, your personal space becomes absorbed causing you to feel “boxed in” (sometimes with literal boxes of stuff). You sense that “this room is too small” and you retreat because it’s overwhelming. Clutter “roots” you in a home, cuts off breathing space, and leaves you little or no room to grow. You become like a houseplant that’s “root bound”.

Most people use only 20% of what they own, 80% of the time (it’s called the Pareto Principle). Make that 20% matter! When you have a lot of possessions, you don’t own them, they “own” you. You move them, store them, clean them, possibly insure them and at points probably trip over them.

It’s really overwhelming for most people to think about doing more with less. The process of tackling a new lifestyle is daunting, and like most things in life, it’s a process. You can’t twitch your nose like Samantha in Bewitched and “magic” your home into a calm, organized, “less is more” space. It takes effort.

At the end of the day, there’s more to life than taking care of stuff—REALLY important things like relationships, breathing space, joy and peace in your home.  Allow yourself to evolve, change and readjust. Live with what you love and use daily, and begin the process of thinking about it as a different kind of abundance!

Next, we’ll continue with how to move forward to create serenity and intentional living in your home.
Kay

Blog: peacefullhome.com
Twitter: @kaymclane
Instagram: @peace_full_home
Facebook: facebook.com/kayspeacefullhome

©2018 peace full home®/intentional living