It is not stuff that I’m keeping “just-in-case” when I know deep down that “just-in-case” will never happen. It is not stuff that makes me feel guilty, or remorseful.

What my “enough” is not: it is not stuff languishing in the back of the cupboard. My “enough” means several different sized baking tins it means a collection of glass jars for food storage and preserving it means more than one pair of shoes. My “enough” is everything that I need, and nothing more. I’m not interested in pursuing as little as possible, or being able to count my possessions, or fit them into one suitcase. My driving force has always been to find my “enough”. Rather than wasting my energy feeling guilty and remorseful about those choices, I used this energy to find new homes for the things I no longer used. I made peace with my stuff, and my past choices. A way that didn’t involve car boot-fulls of stuff to the tip, or black bin liners dumped in the nearest charity bin with more that a little doubt that any of those items would get re-sold. If I don’t need it, it isn’t coming in…because it will only be something to deal with (and stress over) later.Īfter years of battling with trying to let go knowing that my stuff was taking up my time, energy and space, but feeling powerless to act, I’ve found my own way.

Even the act of giving things away has really cemented in me the understanding that if I don’t want to create waste, I have to think very carefully about what I let through my front door. There is no need to send anything to landfill – so long as you have the patience and the commitment to seek out new homes for the things you no longer require. After all, it’s taking up space, time and energy, and for what?! It isn’t being used!ĭecluttering doesn’t have to mean throwing stuff away, though. In my journey towards living with less waste, I’ve learned that owning stuff we don’t use, don’t like and don’t need is as much a waste as throwing it away. Last week I talked about how I’d successfully decluttered my wardrobe (after many attempts and years of trying).

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