Not getting too deep into anything today because my will to live has been sapped by grading papers and trying to make heads or tails out of some students’ writing. My brain kind of hurts.
So instead, you get my overview of Stuff. As in, stuff and things. Literally.
I have a love/dislike relationship with stuff – and by this, I mean anything from clothing to small appliances to food to cleaning supplies… Basically, anything in my apartment that has physical dimensions and is not me.
I know I need stuff. I also know I don’t want a lot of extraneous stuff. And a lot of the time, I think I have too much stuff. But then, when I start digging into the details, I realize that a lot of it is either essential (see: food), or necessary to live a civilized life (see: cleaning supplies, also soap).
So I accept that – reluctantly – and instead focus on trying to reduce the amount of unnecessary stuff in my life. I like to think I’ve done a pretty good job, and yet… when I look around my apartment (or in my closet, or my cabinets) I feel overwhelmed with all of it. But I still can’t identify truly unnecessary things to donate and/or get rid of, much of the time. So I’m left with the feeling of overwhelm.
I’m not sure if I DO have a lot of stuff in comparison to others, or that it’s just more… compressed here? I don’t have a ton of storage space. Everything not in the bathroom or bedroom is in the same large room (kitchen, office, living room, and workout space). So a lot of it is visible All. The. Time. I’m starting to think that this visual overload is contributing to my minor sense of panic, and being overwhelmed by it all.
Not that I can change that. Which means I need to adjust my mindset, to recognize that some things are essential. Yes, I can get rid of the extras, but a lot of the time it just doesn’t make sense to get rid of things that I use regularly.
I’m hoping to upgrade some of my storage options (bins, boxes, etc.) to help with this. Of course, that means buying more stuff to organize but… I’m trying to tell myself it’ll be worth it in the end.
It will be worth it in the end, right?
Any tips for living in small spaces and keeping my mind off of All the Stuff? Please?
Happy Sunday, everyone.
I try to minimize stuff in my life, but when I moved from a one bedroom apartment to a small house, I didn’t have much trouble filling the space if you know what I’m saying. So I’ve got no answer. I think that being in a small space to start with is the best defense against accumulating too much stuff, so you’ve got that covered.
Good point – the less I buy, the better! I do think we get things to fill the space we are in – or, in my case, get rid of things that don’t fit in the space we are in. I need to work on the clutter – seen and unseen – that just grates on me, though. I think that’s what’s bugging me, if I were to put a finer point on it.
OH MY GOSH! I feel this. We have big open spaces in this house and the clutter! It totally triggers me.
I cannot even imagine big open spaces. Wow. And with the kids, too – I can control the clutter (or, well, I have only myself to blame!). But you have 6 other people contributing! Yeeks. Sending you strength. 😉
I am a huge fan of baskets and bins and things with doors. IKEA is my best friend in all of this and as much as possible I like to use storage options that allow me to keep what I need without having to see it all the time! Like instead of having a lot of open hooks in our entryway, we put in an IKEA Pax wardrobe. I can fit in a LOT of stuff, but also close the doors completely so it looks relatively neat and tidy AND I have a place for all the things we need for everyday life.
IKEA… I also love them. There is one not super-close, but close enough that a Saturday trip would be pretty darn easy. The challenge is getting up the courage to go – and then to buy things. (I have to determine if I am frugal or merely cheap… in this case, I think “frugal” is okay and “cheap” [i.e. not buying something that will be helpful] is not a great choice.) I do have some baskets but they’re kind of legacy baskets from my life before, and I don’t love them. Your comment makes me think that maybe I should find some baskets or bins that I like and donate the others. 🙂
That was exactly where my brain was going as I read this – bins and boxes to organize and hide the necessary stuff will help! I feel this way too and our house has WAY too much. I come from a family whose love language is gifts and they are always giving me things and I just have way too much. I would much rather skip all the gifts this year (except, you know, for those few things I need LOL 😉 ).
Oh, Kim. THIS: “I come from a family whose love language is gifts…”
YES YES YES. This is me – and this is what actually prompted that post! My loving parents – whose love language is definitely “gifts” – had sent me a one-cup coffee maker that I was curious about… curious about! Not ready to buy! They are so generous and honestly? The coffee maker is lovely. But it’s one. more. thing. in this apartment. I did put it in a cabinet when I am not using it, and that helps but ooff… I feel you!
The only rule of cleaning that I live by is that the floor is not a storage spot. If it can’t fit in a closet, a piece of furniture (wardrobe, chest, dresser, etc.), then we don’t have space for it. This has been somewhat limiting, but it does mean that we have space in our house. Also, we have a 4BR house for two people, so I rarely have to make decisions about something because of space. Don’t listen to me.
I am a person who throw everything away the second it displease me, though. Especially if it displeases me because I don’t have space for it. LOL.
Oooh, I like your rule – and I live by it, actually, now that I look around. Four bedrooms. Wow. I had no idea that your house hid that many rooms!
I, too, tend to be pretty quick to donate/trash when something isn’t working for me. Why keep it around??
Clutter drives me nuts, but I’m not great at getting rid of it. I have bins of clothes in my bedroom that I need to store in the basement. That means I need to make room in the basement storage room, which is next to impossible. Good luck.
Clutter inertia is frustrating, for sure. I have things stored in closets that just need to be sorted and donated, and have I taken the first step? (I’ll let you answer that one…)
I can relate to this so much. I feel overwhelmed with stuff sometimes but can’t decide if it’s just because we don’t have much (storage) space and I see it all the time or if I seriously have a lot to declutter?!
THIS. This is exactly it. I think the (lack of) space doesn’t help, but… I also think I have a low bar for “There’s too much stuff here!” I’m also of the opinion that if it’s not working for me, I’m not wearing it, or using it, then it needs to go to someone else. Why should I store it when someone else will love it and use it?
I have a small space and I am anti-clutter but it still sneaks in, doesn’t it? I use those cube bookshelves from Target (I have 4, lol) and they are used as my bookshelves BUT ALSO to store stuff. I have a ton of fabric bins that I shove all manner of things in. I even have them grouped into categories of clutter. HA. If we lived closer, I would invite myself over to help organize your space. It’s my favorite thing!
Elisabeth mentioned bins with lids, too, and I think this might help me. For various reasons, I use a bunch of open bins in my closet (Dresser issues, sigh…) and I think if I were able to put more of those clothes in bins, it would help a lot. Not to mention, they’d be stackable. Win-win. 🙂
And yes, please come over and organize my things. Please. (it’s a high of 31 tomorrow so you may want to postpone a few months… ;>)
I hear you! I can’t give any advice on small-space storage solutions – I live in a biggish house and I have too many frigging bookshelves, which means there’s never enough space for everything else.
As I’ve gotten older, my tolerance for clutter in my visual field has lessened. I used to be able to sit and read or cook or whatever in the midst of chaos, and now I have to clean up at least everything in the vicinity before I can start.
I have a love/hate relationship with stuff also. I have too much stuff. I want less stuff. I also get ridiculously attached to stuff. I am trying to improve – last year was the longest sustained campaign I’ve managed to sustain for cleaning up and getting rid of stuff and making an appreciable difference. But still…too much stuff.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the “clutter in my visual field” comment. That’s one of the main issues for me – I can’t escape it because my space is so small! So every time I open the closet door, I am confronted with a lot of, well, stuff. Stuff that I’m going to use, wear, eat, or drink (depending on which closet it is :>), but stuff, nonetheless.
I do remember your clutter busting and think a dedicated campaign may help me, too.