How much time do we spend on our stuff or because of our stuff, and how does decluttering fit into this picture?
I hate to throw stuff out. I have a prolific and creative mind for imagining how I might someday have a use for almost any item. Getting things for free or at a great price has been attractive to me. I have strong sentimental attachments to items linked to people or experiences, and feel that letting them go would be disrespectful and eliminate cues that help me recall the memories. I appreciate having the perfect tool for a task. I am an expert at finding ways to store lots of stuff in a small space in a way that things can be found and accessed.
And, I have reached a point where the space in our modest home has become a constraint on bringing in more stuff. Along with this constraint I am experiencing a shift in my outlook on life, in particular I am questioning myself: On what do I choose to spend my limited time? I now recognize more deeply the reality of having a limited number of years, weeks and hours left to enjoy and to spend on important things in my life.
In this context I recently committed to a “decluttering” project. I am spending not less than 3 hours every week reducing the clutter in the physical and digital spaces of my life. Doing this effort I am becoming more and more conscious of the ways that I have over the years brought stuff into my world and how much time the stuff has and continues to cost me. I would like to spend less of my time focused on my stuff, yet I have had habits contrary to this desire.
To get a better understanding of this picture in a time efficient way I asked Google: “How many discretionary hours do we have to spend in our adult lives? and how much of this is related to the “stuff” in our lives, including obtaining stuff, arranging stuff, and deciding what to do with stuff and getting rid of stuff?” The bottom line of the AI assisted reply I received is that 10-20% of our discretionary time goes to managing “stuff”, including: acquiring, organizing, and decluttering.
Examining these from my own situation and I have identified a few ways that I could reduce the amount of time I spend on stuff.
- Consider whether I really need or want something before deciding to get it.
- Reduce the time spent choosing stuff.
- Consider time spent returning stuff as time spent on stuff.
- Reduce the number of places an item may be stored.
- Always hold the possibility of getting rid of stuff.
- Use a system for getting rid of stuff that minimizes decision time.
- Use methods of getting rid of stuff that consider time required.
I am happy to discuss any of this and to learn from others.