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Amber’s Home and Office Organizing Blog index

A List Changes Everything

Preventing Clutter from Coming through the Front Door

Today my husband and I finished leading a 7 week financial course at our church. It covered basics such as debt, giving, saving, spending plans, and overall ways to be a good steward with money. Today’s discussion reminded me of a great organizing principle. As we talked about contentment and buying only what you need (not what you want) the group came up with a suggestion. The tip was to go shopping with a list. Always have a list. I had to smile because that would really help those of us who find ourselves with too much stuff in our homes. Some homes accumulate more stuff than other homes and perhaps having a concrete shopping list of the things we need, would prevent accumulation and clutter. If we counted what’s in the cart that wasn’t on the list, I wonder what percentage would show unnecessary items. 

I’ve wrote about putting on blinders before. You know... the ones horses wear so they stay focused. Figuratively, wearing blinders prevents us from getting distracted or sidetracked while organizing. I think we could benefit from wearing blinders when we shop as well. Getting caught up on sale racks, special promotion shelves, and seasonal specials is just what the advertisers and marketers want us to do. You have to agree, Target is notorious for this. There are so many cute items and so many deals and sales. My technique is to shop as fast as possible and shop with a list. If not, I fall prey to discontentment and start to believe I need everything they’re trying to sell me to be happy. By shopping quickly, I don’t have time to look at stuff that will end up as clutter at home. New items feed satisfaction or happiness for such a short time. Soon, we need to shop again to feel satisfied and happy again. It’s a vicious cycle. 

So I encourage you to start making lists. Start shopping with lists. And start putting back items that land in your cart that weren’t on your list to begin with. Try it for one week, one month. See what happens and let us know!  

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