Why it is hard to let go of stuff and why it is easier to hoard things in our life. To simplify our life and be more free, we need to keep only items we need, and use often.
When we start decluttering, it is overwhelming to go through it all. There are many reasons we hold on to stuff such as;
1. It holds past, precious memory of your childhood, your first time living alone, or first love, first trip, or all firsts you did in your life. It is hard to let go of those memories.
2. We have spend too much money on it.
3. We may need it someday syndrome keeps us getting rid of stuff.
4. If we have kids, it is little hard to simplify. (Not impossible, just hard)
5. We do not know where to begin.
6. We think our current system works, why fix it? It is part of your comfort zone.
7. It takes too much effort and time to clean it all.
8. It will be clutter again, why bother?
9. It might be valuable in 10 years, we can sell it then at better price. We are not hoarder, we are collector.
10. We’ll just move in to a bigger place, or buy more storage system to place it all.
11. We as a species always hoarded things to survive since early days , so what we are doing is natural process. Blame early ancestor (early human) for our hoarding habits.
My biggest problem is kids ever changing stuff and “I may need it someday” syndrome and I have to work hard to overcome it. What are your reasons for holding on to your stuff? How do you overcome those reasons?
Zengirl
For my hubby, the reason to hold onto things is definitely sentimental. He can never let go of things that belonged to people he has loved. For me, the reason is usually that I haven't gotten around to getting rid of it yet, or I have a project in mind for it. I usually do complete the project someday, it just might take awhile ;)! Thanks for the reminder that hoarding complicates our lives unnecessarily.
Betsy,
Sentimental things are harder to let go for sure. Reusing things for creative way is good too, but sometimes I keep too much it.
My biggest problem is Kid's overgrowing toys and clothes. It is constant purging.
Thanks for stopping to comment always.