Clean up your life
The more stuff you have, the more you want to add....
I am not a psychologist, but I am an expert by experience. I think this statement is true. At least the opposite is true for us 🙃
Because when you look around your house after getting rid of unused / unnecessary things, you appreciate the things that are still there all the more: chosen with care, because they have real importance and value to you. And you get less and less need to clutter up your home with new "junk".
We also made a practical agreement with each other and with ourselves: for everything that comes in, something else must go out....
Cleaning up was the first action for us in making our lives more simple: combing our house and getting rid of everything we didn't really need. Really need is open to many interpretations, of course, but just start, and you'll gradually find that your standards shift from "I need everything I have" toward "I need almost nothing".
If you can do the tidying with someone, be critical of each other (and, of course, always critical and honest with yourself). Each time, ask yourself and the other person the question: why do you need that? And what for? And how often? Can you also borrow it, or rent it, or own it with others? Asking the why question five times in a row helps to get to the essence (or lack thereof).
In this way, we have given a lot of unnecessary, barely used items a new life, by giving them away, swapping or selling them, to people who can put them to good use. This way you not only clean up your home, but you also boost the 2nd hand / exchange economy.
Little possession is little worry. And do you know how nice it is to have a tidy house? You can literally and figuratively breathe much easier.
Plus another important advantage: you suddenly see very well if and how much space you have left in your home. For us, it was clear very quickly that we didn't feel comfortable in a house that was too big, so we moved (much) smaller a few years later.
Tip: Repeat the tidying action at least once a year. You'll find that you get better and better at it.
Next: Your food
Artwork: Shelter
In the bay of placidity
searching for shelter
from the noise of this day
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