Are You Stuck In An Endless Decluttering Loop? - Lisa E Betz
No matter how good you are at decluttering, it doesn’t take long before the house is disorganized mess once again. So annoying, right? If you’re tired of decluttering again and again, these tips will help you break free from the endless decluttering loop.
What causes the endless decluttering loop?
It happens because decluttering deals with the symptoms, not the underlying issues that invite more clutter into your home.
And what is our number one problem?
So long as INFLOW equals or exceeds OUTFLOW, we will never escape the accumulation of excess stuff.
We have all adopted some unhelpful mindsets that tempt us to purchase stuff we don’t really need. Combine that with our reluctance to let possessions go, and we have a problem.
On top of our inflow and outflow issues, we may also need to alter some household habits to help us keep clutter from taking over our homes. More on that in an upcoming post.
3 purchasing habits that keep us stuck in the endless decluttering loop
Why do we have too much stuff in our homes and our lives?
Because it’s far too easy to buy stuff.
Because advertisers work very hard to tempt us to buy stuff.
And because we’re surrounded by messages that owning a certain thing will make us happier, more successful, more attractive, or more accepted.
Those are powerful forces. We must battle against to bring our INFLOW into balance (and into budget).
Here are three common habits that often create an INFLOW imbalance:
- Retail therapy
- Impulse shopping
- Going for a good deal (that isn’t)
Retail therapy, aka “I can shop my way to happiness”
Every advertiser knows that hitting us at an emotional level is a very effective way to tempt us into buying. But they’re selling a lie.
Because studies have proven over and over that buying things rarely provides us with the amount of happiness we expect. And those happy feelings fade all too quickly.
Leaving us with unnecessary debt and unnecessary clutter.
“Emotional spending is the act of buying things based on how you’re feeling, rather than with logic or necessity. It may feel good, but like a sugar high, the crash can be hard and costly.” ~ Caitlin Harper at Mywellbeing.com
Tips to kick the retail therapy habit
- Clarify why you want to spend less. Identifying what you would rather spend the money on is a much better motivator than just avoiding the guilt of spending too much. When you have a saving goal (such as a nice vacation), it helps you make wise choices.
- Identify your triggers. What drives you to crave retail therapy? Boredom? Loneliness? Stress? Sadness? Knowing what emotional hole you are trying to fill is the first step toward finding a better antidote. You may need to track your spending for a week or two to uncover your triggers.
- Reduce the temptation. Unsubscribe from the sources that most tempt you to purchase shiny new things. Magazines, social media channels, newsletters, manufacturer’s sale alerts, etc. Block websites or remove apps from sites you know you can’t resist.
- Find replacement activities. What else can you do to feel better? Talk with a friend? Exercise? Work out your frustration by painting?
Impulse vs. intentional purchases
One-click shopping makes it FAR TOO EASY to spend money impulsively. And most of those impulse purchases aren’t things we truly need or want. They were merely something that caught our attention in a weak moment.
The antidote for impulse purchasing is learning to become an intentional shopper.
Tips to become a more intentional shopper
- Create purchasing friction. Manufactures strive for “frictionless shopping.” They want to make it so easy that buyers complete the purchase before they stop to think. If internet shopping is your impulse downfall, remove stored credit cards and one-click apps so you actually have to get up, fetch your wallet, and type the number in manually. This tiny bit of friction helps you pause to consider if the purchase is worth the effort.
- Window shop without the wallet. If you love window shopping with friends, fine. But leave your wallet at home. Bring enough cash to cover lunch or one fun purchase, but leave the credit cards at home so you aren’t tempted with impulse purchases.
- Figure out what you need before you shop. A grocery list helps us avoid impulse food purchases. In a similar manner, we should consider what we need before setting out to shop for clothes, jewelry, or other items. That way, we are intentionally searching for items that will fill out our wardrobe rather than buying yet another cute gray T-shirt just because it caught our eye.
When a good deal isn’t such a good deal
Some of us can’t pass up a good deal. We see something on sale and buy it without considering whether we need it. But a really great price on an item we don’t need in the first place isn’t saving money. It’s just adding clutter.
If you love the thrill of bargain hunting, yard sales, thrift stores, clearance racks and bulk discounters may be clutter-producing danger zones for you!
I’m not saying avoid them. Rather, be intentional about shopping for deals. Only buy things that will meet a specific need.
True story: A coworker of my husband’s owns four toasters because his mother can’t pass up a yard sale and keeps buying him yet another “perfectly good” toaster. Stop the madness!
When a good deal isn’t such a good deal, part two
In our haste to find a quick fix to our latest problem, we often rush to the internet and order some inexpensive thing that looks like it will do the job. Only that cheap fix usually doesn’t work quite like we’d hoped (or the ad copy promised).
So, we spend more money on something else (hopefully after doing a bit more research this time). Thus, the quick fix quickly becomes useless clutter. Sigh.
What inflow habit do you need to work on to escape the endless decluttering loop?
I hope these tips help you discover where your inflow is out of balance so you can begin to waste less money on nonessential stuff and spend less time putting it away. Again.
