stuff

There is Stuff.

Stuff is all great things you bought, got, borrowed, subscribed to, created or inherited. You keep them in your life, in your head, in your body, in your wardrobe, in your house, in your car, at your work, on your computer, and so on.

Stuff.

Stuff is magnetic. It has this remarkable property that the more you own the more is attracted to.

Stuff.  More Stuff, please come.

Stuff collection begins slowly but it does not take long before it arrives in huge volumes. The growth curve is speedy exponential. Having some Stuff, you can surely rely on more in no time.

Stuff.

Stuff hates empty spaces. Very much. It occupies every little corner it finds. No space should be left alone. For sure, there is Stuff to fill it!

Free Stuff. Welcome to the Stuff Club.

Free Stuff is especially good at it. It loves to spread all over the space in the name of being Useful or Lovable.

We all love Free Stuff, don’t we?

Oh, Stuff! Your precious Stuff.

Food.
Clothes.
Shoes.
Toys.
Tools.
Books.
Files.
Gadgets.
Computers.
Phones.

Stuff. Your lovely Stuff.

Thoughts.
Emotions.
Ideas.
Creations.
Products.
Deliverables.

Stuff.

And then you need wardrobes, desks, shelves, furniture, and space to keep your Stuff. You need to collect it, sort it, shape it, clean it, organize it and move it around. You need the time to store the Stuff once and then you need even more time to maintain Stuff as long as it is there. You need to do it in your house, in your wardrobes, in your garden, in your car, in your head, in your body or at your job. Simply everywhere.

Stuff. Your lovely Stuff.

Of course, you can completely neglect this process and let Stuff occupy random places it likes, but you will soon stop living comfortably. Or you get nuts by being overloaded with your precious collections in all places.

Stuff.

How did it happen that you have become such a talented Stuff Collector?

Well… You’ve simply started to take pride and joy in owning Stuff.

Stuff. You own Stuff.

So you have Stuff. Lots of Stuff.

Interesting Stuff. Cool Stuff. Beautiful Stuff. Useful Stuff. Funny Stuff. Working Stuff. Broken Stuff.

Stuff in all shapes, forms and colors. And more.

Stuff.

You can show off with your Stuff. Only few have so much quality Stuff as you do, don’t they?

Stuff. Quality Stuff, indeed!

But…

Do you still have the time to enjoy life?

“I need you so much”, says Stuff.

Or do you spend your free time organizing, cleaning, or sorting your Stuff? Stuff asks for the attention, doesn’t it? It loves to be pampered. Oh, yes!

Stuff.

Stuff is attachment.

The more you posses, the less free you are to abandon old things and start new ones.

Stuff.  Of course, needed.

Some stuff is necessary.
Some stuff is useful.
Some stuff is nice.
Some stuff is valuable.
Some stuff makes life comfortable.

Yet, there is lots of Stuff you rarely use or need. Yet you keep it.

In hope. Just in case. Maybe. Perhaps one day… Or you have forgotten you had it or abandoned it.

Stuff.

Too much stuff becomes clutter and makes you feel stuck. In projects. In work. In life.

Stuff.

It starts innocently. One, two or three things are left where they don’t belong. Then a few more follow.

Stuff. A small pile of things.

And there is suddenly a pile of clothes. To be sorted, washed or ironed. Not to forget the new clothes you have just bought. To be placed in your wardrobe.

Stuff.

And there is a pile of books. To be considered, looked at or read. And of course you need an ipad/kindle to read your books on the go. To save the time you don’t have anyway..

Stuff. Another small pile of things.

And there is a pile of files in the computer. And a huge inbox of unread emails. To be read, thought over, edited or answered.

Stuff.

And there is music, movies, photos, presentations, texts, conversations, and so on. Huge amounts. You need extra mechanisms to store your Stuff, extra backup and storage discs.

Stuff. Yet another pile of Stuff.

And there is a pile of ideas. To be thought over, investigated and worked upon. Or abandoned.

Stuff.

And there is this negative chatterbox in your head. To be kept quiet.

Stuff. Wow, even more Stuff here.

And there is a pile of everything that fits nowhere, but is everywhere. Old pens, watches, paper clips, tapes, hard discs, CDs, cameras, screen monitors, etc.

Stuff.

And before you notice your precious Stuff slowly becomes clutter, preventing you from gaining clarity, maintaining focus and taking action.

Stuff. Flooded with Stuff.

Stuff is there in all places in various sizes and quantities waiting for your attention and handling. Stuff depends on you. And you depend on Stuff.

Stuff.

So, you are overwhelmed and paralyzed with inaction.Yet you know that the only way is to face your Stuff head-on.

De-Stuff.

De-stuffing is unavoidable. Yet, you hate it. But, no, no, no. No other choice is there, I’m afraid.

As you find the time to welcome your Stuff, you have to find the time to kick your Stuff out of your life, your head, your work, your home, your car and so on. It will not leave you otherwise. Stuff is faithful to death.

De-Stuff.

The best approach to de-Stuffing is to maintain it as a regular Process and make it as fun or interesting as possible (to play as a child).

De-Stuff.

Throwing away things that served us well may be painful. Yet, it has to be done to make the space for new ideas or things. As inflow is continuously at work, similarly outflow should be.

De-Stuff.

You need to establish clear rules and limits where and how Stuff enters your life. And protect yourself from Stuff.

De-Stuff.

Say goodbye to the old and unnecessary things in your life. Whatever it is which does not serve you any more.

De-Stuff.

Clothes. Shoes. Toys. Tools. Books. Files. Gadgets. Computers. Phones. Thoughts. Emotions. Ideas. Creations. Products.

De-Stuff.

Time is more precious than Stuff.

The more Stuff you have the more time it takes for its handling and maintaining.

De-Stuff.

So before you collect any new gorgeous Stuff, ask yourself whether you really, really, really need it. If not, let it occupy the space of some other passionate Stuff Collector. Not you, this time.

De-Stuff.

What do your prefer: live for Stuff or live to become?

My answer is simple. And yours?

De-Stuff.

Choose what matters: Clarity, Simplicity, Space, Focus and Clean Solutions.

Live Stuff free.

And you will stop being stuck.
 
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Recommended reading:
If you need a good motivation for de-cluttering, the Clutter busting book by Brooks Palmer is of great help. It will help you to understand how clutter blocks your progress in life. Organizing From the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern is a fantastic book that will help you to devise a system that works for you. Both highly recommended.
 

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Photo copyright by Moyan Brenn. Photo available under the Creative Commons license on Flickr.

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