Welcome to Experiences, Not Things

Ever feel in an endless cycle of purchasing then decluttering? That's where our life has been for far too long. Even though I've been decluttering for years, often I feel overwhelmed with the magnitude of STUFF in this house.

How did it get here? Where did it all come from?

Look in the mirror. I BOUGHT IT!

Some decluttering is manditory. My lovely daughter WILL grow out of her clothes and get to old for some of her toys. I will wear out some of the products I use everyday and, hopefully, get too skinny to fit into any of my jeans. And some items we buy aren't meant to last a long time or be used over and over again. I already know that once I put together a jigsaw puzzle, I need to pass it along to someone else because I won't want to put it together again. Still I have to admit that far too many USEFUL items are leaving my house on too frequent a basis. I need to stop the cycle.

Step 1: Buy fresh and only buy what we need AT THE MOMENT.

I come from an inventory management background. I'll call this 'just-in-time' purchasing. No more buying ahead, stocking up, or buying a back-up. Let me explain. For years I've followed the 'pantry principal' and firmly believe in the benefits of it. However, I've not been organizing and using our stock so all those stocked items are going to waste. I need to streamline first. I can always go back to stockpiling later.

Step 2: Continue decluttering and use up what we already have on hand.

The concept is to 'shop at home first'.

Step 3: If I purchase an item, the item that it is replacing goes out the door.

This is an old concept of decluttering and one I haven't used nearly enough. After all, if I'm buying new walking shoes, why toss my old favorites? I could always use those for painting the house or gardening. The problem is, I probably have three pairs of shoes that I could paint the house in and I don't garden.

The rules:

1) Don't add to my clutter or someone else's. Buy experiences, not things. An experience is anything that doesn't ADD to my stash of items that I have to store in my house. I can go out to eat. I can treat someone to a trip to the museum. We can go horseback riding. I can even get my hair done. As long as I'm not bringing something home in a little shopping bag, it is an experience.

2) Purchase fresh foods and consumables. Purchase what we need, when we need it. Obviously, some food items are packed in multiples. I'm not going to the store to buy ONE slice of bread a day. However, I will buy ONE loaf of bread, not one and a second one for 'just in case'.

3) If I purchase a non-consumable item, it's replacement goes out the door. The easiest example of this is clothing. I really do NOT need another pair of jeans so if I buy a new pair of jeans, a pair that is already in my closet has to go.

You are welcome to follow me and my little family on this journey.