There is just something about an organized, clean space. Decluttering and becoming more “minimalist” in my life has given my brain space to be more creative and productive.

When we move to Florida from Texas the amount of “stuff” that we had accumulated was appalling. Granted, a lot of it was useful things from my business, but the amount of personal clutter was a bit surprising. The process of selling/donating about 80% of our things before we moved made it feel even more like we were starting over.

When I pulled into the parking lot on our storage unit in St. Pete with our two dogs, the truck and U-Haul full of things we thought we needed to bring from Texas Brett, who had moved to Florida 5 weeks earlier, was surprised at the amount of “stuff” I had decided to keep. Honestly, I thought that I had done really good at getting rid of what I did…lol.

After unloading (and filling up) the storage unit and then living in fully furnished Airbnb for 6 months before we bought our house, I realized how many things we did not need. Even after moving into our house this year our storage unit was mostly full. Yes, we bought furniture and replaced some kitchen items, but how were there so many boxes that I couldn’t even remember what was in them? It was truly bugging me, so I decided last month that storage was going bye bye.

We emptied and canceled the unit and then stared at our very full dining room of “stuff” for a couple of weeks before working up the nerve to tackle it head on last weekend. And it felt amazing. Like, I had a sudden burst of energy after we finished. Brett did not get said burst of energy and thought I was crazy (not a new thought for him I’m sure). I found some treasures, yes, but I would say that another 80% of the stuff I thought we needed back in Texas did not serve me any longer.

Long story short. We live in a society that values consumption and that is okay if that brings you joy. I find that I am the opposite. Less brings me joy. Less gives me clarity. Less frees up my time and space for things that matter to me. Less keeps me sane. I challenge you to try and declutter a space in your life. Even if it’s one drawer in your kitchen or the junk emails on your phone. I can almost guarantee that it will feel good.