Why You Should Get Rid of 100 Items

I'm really getting into a minimalism thing lately. I've been discovering the power behind the words, “Less is more.” I think most of us would agree that we have too much stuff. Almost all of us would acknowledge that we have items that have no sentimental value to us and have been sitting hidden away somewhere in our house for years, unused. I saw an Internet challenge going around recently that encouraged people to get rid of 100 things this month. Sound like a lot? You'd probably be surprised how easy it is. I've been going through my house bit by bit and throwing away or donating the things I've been holding onto unnecessarily. So to encourage you to take on this challenge, I present to you four benefits of having an uncluttered house:

1. You will get more out of what you own if it is accessible and easy-to-see.

This is nearly impossible to do if you have so much stuff that it is crammed into closets or stacked in large, impossible piles. I discovered this recently when I was cleaning out my kitchen and found a casserole dish I didn't know I had because it had been shoved in a dark corner of my kitchen cabinets. Interestingly enough, I had been looking for just such a casserole dish the night before while I was making dinner. It had probably been sitting in that cabinet for years, untouched.

2. Minimalism leads to easier upkeep and more frequent cleaning (because it's easier).

Do you have that one space that you HATE dusting? It's probably because it has dozens of miniscule trinkets to move and dust individually. Minimize these areas. It's okay to have some. It's even better if they're displayed in a china cabinet where they won't collect as much dust. I find that the less I have, the more likely I am to clean. If you have so much stuff that you feel like it's controlling you, it's time to purge.

3. You will buy more purposefully.

As you clean out, you'll come across things you bought on a whim and never used. You'll discover you have multiples of something that you bought on different occasions because you thought the other one was lost. And you'll find stuff that looked good on the shelves but that lost their appeal after you brought them home. You will learn to ask yourself questions as you shop, such as: “Where will this item be in 5 years?” “How often will I use this item?” “Will this item be difficult to clean?”, etc. I am still working on this, personally. I get the “I Wants,” as my mother used to call them. But I am slowly realizing that the less I buy, the more years there will be between “decluttering phases.” And you better believe you'll save some coin!

4. Future generations will be left with memories, not endless piles of stuff to sort through.

Okay, this one is slightly gloomy, but consider what things are precious and will be handed down to your children when you die, and what things they will go through and say, “What is this? I don't remember Mom or Dad having this. Is it important?” Maybe you ended up with 4 sets of china, but one set belonged to your great-great grandmother when she immigrated from Germany. The easiest way to denote the importance of that china set is by getting rid of the other ones (if you don't use them, of course). I have more tips regarding this, but I'll save that for a future entry!

Well, I hope that's sufficient motivation for you to get rid of 100 items! It doesn't have to be 100—set a goal that's reasonable for you. In my next entry, I'll give you some tips on decluttering. Aaaand this has officially become a Mom Blog. (Okay, it was probably official a long time ago.)

Exhibit A. The contents of my "toiletries shelf" in the linen closet, most of which I couldn't see and hadn't touched in years, BEFORE:

And AFTER: