Your home may be that clean, organized and spacious in the first few years of its occupancy, but possessions would naturally begin to pile and fill up almost every nook of your abode as years go by. You start accumulating things through your own purchase or by being given gifts and freebies. Here are five effective ways by which you can reduce your stuff and avoid overloading your spaces and storage.
1. Have your own shopping mantra, such as "Needs before wants." Identify where your weaknesses are and be ready to firmly face them. Let the thought of having a clutter-free, organized and spacious home motivate you. Be able to apply those short but powerful words or phrases while you are shopping.
2. Learn the art of saying "No, thank you" to free stuff. Just say them, smile and move on. Consider well if you really need them. Do not let yourself be deceived by the thought that they are just small items. Once they get into your front door, getting rid of them may not be that easy anymore.
3. Discourage gift-giving in a polite manner. If you are trying to cut down on your possessions to give more room to your small home, or simply just to live a simple life, share and let this information be known to your family and friends, but in a friendly tone. Once they are aware of your purpose and goal, they will be properly guided when thinking of giving you a gift.
4. Be a model. Show a good example by setting the tone for the amount and type of gifts you also give others. If you are too generous to be giving tons of gifts to friends and loved ones, then they would likely feel that you expect to receive the same from them too. You also may begin a tradition of giving away consumables (food items, gift certificates to a gym), experiences (tickets to a theme park, trip to an art gallery), and donations (to the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity or other charitable institutions). Opt for these instead of items that will just be lying around the house.
5. Be appreciative and expressive. Make sure to send your heartfelt gratitude for the gifts given to you. Thank the giver, not for the item itself, but for the thought and effort of spending time to shop for and nicely presenting the gift to you. If you don't want to feel guilty of having to give the item away, especially when others would be needing and using them more than you do, then you may take a photo of yourself with that gift. However, it will be perfectly alright for family heirlooms such as art works, jewelry, knitted items and quilts, to be returned to the giver or given to other members and relatives, to keep up with the family tradition of passing them to the next generation.
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