The Power of Less
This is a repost of an article I wrote not too long after our housefire last year.
It probably sounds like a cheesy self-help title, but it isn’t any less true. While the fire was stressful and the ensuing fallout even more so, it’s interesting to see the effect of owning less. Right now, my husband and I are staying in a living room at my mother’s house. Since many of our things were destroyed or packed up by the salvage company, we don’t have much. All of our clothes fit in one singular bureau. I have three pairs of shoes, while my husband only has two pairs. I stack them neatly next to the door. It’s so easy to keep everything tidy, when I have a limited number of things to tend. I never realized it, but the over abundance of things made it difficult at our old house.
In January of last year, my grandfather had a stroke, so his house had to be sold in order to pay for his care. Because we liked the house, my husband and I purchased it in the spring. Unfortunately, all of my grandfather’s things were still in the house when we moved in. As you can imagine, we had double, sometimes triple, of everything. My mother insisted that we put the things we didn’t want in the garage so she could go through them later. Later, as it were, never came. There were plenty of things still in the house that we didn’t need but couldn’t get rid of.
When the fire ripped through the upstairs, many things were burned, but more things were destroyed by water damage. In the following week, most of our things have been packed into boxes by the cleaning crew. I’ve found that there are few things I “need.” I would suggest that you get this freedom for yourself, but without the fire, of course.
1. Limit the number of “repeat” items you need. How many different novelty mugs do you need?
2. Weed out your wardrobe. Choose a reasonable number of blouses, shirts, pants, etc. Then, go through all of your clothes. Figure out which pieces you really love, limiting yourself to your reasonable number. Get rid of the rest.
3. Ask yourself about everything you own. Do you love it? If not, are you keeping it for actual sentimental reasons or because you feel that you should? Don’t let things take space in your life out of obligation or guilt.
4. Once you’ve decided what to get rid of, take it immediately to your car. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Take it to a local charity as soon as is feasible. If you’ve opted to have a yard sale, be warned that the stock pile is wily and may take over quickly. I find that I benefit more from the tax deduction and the mental relief.
Once the house is rebuilt and we can move back in, I have a new plan. I will go through every box and evaluate whether we really need what is in the box. Nothing will be allowed back in that is useless or unloved. Owning things means have more responsibilities to “stuff.” The less things means more freedom: the power of less.
Do you have any experience in the power of less? Do you have any purging suggestions?
























