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Create a peaceful, organized home through systems, so your house *stays* organized. You don't need bins, you need a system!

Why are we so attached to Stuff?

Stuff kind of runs our lives. Here's a laugh and three approaches for dealing with it.

May 4, 2023

Note from Rebecca: There’s been a cold going around our family, and now it’s my turn, so this week’s newsletter is lightweight, late, and cold medicine-influenced.

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I recently came across George Carlin’s hot take on Stuff and couldn’t stop laughing:

Your house is a pile of stuff with a cover on it. That’s all your house is: a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.

*Cough cough* Hits a little close to home!

There’s all kinds of psychology tied up with our stuff — research shows clutter raises cortisol levels in women, and hoarding is closely tied to depression, anxiety and OCD.

Whenever I get a little self-conscious that I have enough to say about Stuff to justify a whole newsletter, I remind myself about this. Stuff is a big deal to humans!

I recently came across a delineation of Stuff Management on Instagram and really liked it, so thought I’d add my own spin and save these definitions for future reference:

Declutter — get rid of stuff
Organize — make what’s there pretty
Systematize — do the daily work to maintain your home (my favorite thing)

I think we need all 3 approaches to effectively run a household, and it’s helpful to know which of these you’re focusing on at a given time. I’ll be referring back to this framework for sure.

Link Love

I’m going to start sharing some of my favorite links from the week:

Here’s why clutter, maximalism, and overhead lights might be stressful to you — you could be an HSP (I know I’m one!)
I just learned about body doubling, a productivity strategy popular with the ADHD crowd
What I’m reading: Overstory, by Richard Powers. I’m only halfway through and already look at trees completely differently. He manages to pack so much story and character into chapters that read like short stories. I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know.

Other posts you may enjoy:

Why do you need household systems?

Why I don’t post (much) organization porn - safe for work!

Keeping my car clean with a habit loop

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