My job may be all about organization and decluttering, but I cannot say enough times that it is not about "the stuff." I have been in more cluttered homes than I can count, and the one factor I see in every single situation is people whose lives hinge on what they own instead of who they are. These people have lost their way. They no longer own their stuff - their stuff owns them. I am convinced that this is more the norm than the exception in this country. At some point, we started to believe that the more we own, the better off we are. In times past and in other cultures, people believe that one of the worst things that can happen is for someone to be possessed, to have a demon exercise power over you. Isn't that what being inundated with possessions is - being possessed?

 

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This is why I don't care that much about "the stuff." The stuff is secondary to what interests me, what challenges me, what drives me to do what I do. What I see every day are people who have lost their way in their own homes. Who are buried - literally and metaphorically - by what they own. You have no chance of being who you want to be, your best self, unless you dig out from under the weight of your clutter.

Getting organized for the sake of getting organized is a waste of time. Getting organized because it helps you live a richer, less stressed, happier, and more focused life, now that's a goal worth pursuing. If you are not organized or if you are struggling with clutter, you are spending too much time just getting through the day. You are not thriving, just surviving. Every single person I have worked with has had a moment of blinding insight where they suddenly redefine their relationship to what they own. No permanent change can happen without this shift.

You only have one life to live. How you live that life is your choice. As far as I know, no one has ever had "I wish I had bought more stuff" inscribed on their tombstone. What you own can easily blind you to who you are and what you can be. What I do and what I invite you to do is not just about organizing your closets or your garage or your sock drawer. It's about you and the life you can live. Declutter, get organized, and watch a whole world you hadn't noticed open up before you.

From IT’S ALL TOO MUCH by Peter Walsh.  Copyright © 2007 by Peter Walsh. Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.