.
EVERYBODY seems to want the same thing, no matter your tase in things or personal style –
More Space!
Is this true for you?
I discovered something fascinating about human behavior…
After having seen the insides of more household cupboards than any sane person ever should, I saw the same pattern over and over again.
We, the lot of us, keep accumulating certain things. I don’t know why, it seems there are certain things we JUST can’t get enough of. We keep adding to the pile, more and more.
In the end it feels like our cupboards are shrinking, and we say – I don’t have enough space…
But the reality is simple. If we are honest with ourselves, the back of our cupboards are stuffed with stuff we never use. And there are a handful of items that we’re particularly guilty of owning simply too many of.
Do you want to guess what those things are?
Let’s start with something unemotional…
BATH TOWELS
Come on, out with it, how many towels do you have?
A few years back as we started packing for our big move to the States, I gathered all our towels. It was a shocking pile. I don’t know the number, but given that we’re only four people living in the house, we had enough towels to dry an army.
Do you know the magic number of towels you need?
(Source)
Two towels per person. That’s all you need.
Seriously.
Reducing the number of towels you have, is an easy and unemotional way to create more space in your linen cupboard. And your animal shelter will be so happy to take those extras.
This one is an easy – get up and DO IT RIGHT NOW.
You’ll be walking around with a smile all day long.
While you’re facing the linen closet, ask yourself…
Why do you have 17 bed linen sets?
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BED LINEN
Admit it. You have a favorite set. Why do you have all those others then?
Sleep on your best set, and keep one extra set.
ONE
Do you have any idea how much lighter your linen closet is going to feel? And your heart.
You’ll never go back.
And another amazing thing will happen – you won’t get that nagging urge to buy another set on the random ever again. And when the time comes that you truly need another set, you’ll buy only the best. And it will last you a lifetime. And you will sleep so much better.
Only one extra set. Just try it.
On to the kitchen.
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MUGS
Oh the ODD-MUG culture.
I remember the first time I saw the chaotic jumble of random coffee mugs in the cupboard of an Air B&B kitchen, and thought OK, I guess the owners booted all their ugly orphan mugs to the beach house. It felt a bit awkward to pick a mug that obviously had a personal connection with someone associated with the house, grrr.
Then soon I realized ugly mugs don’t get sent to the beach house. They’re in every house!
It’s a THING!
I can’t get over it.
Isn’t it time to evaluate your mug situation?
The question is – WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC NUMBER?
Seriously, how many mugs do you really need?
Is it 6?
I should not give you any excuses to add more things to your cupboards, but in case you feel you’re ready for a more grown-up mug situation…
How about a set of similar mugs – in a color, texture, thickness and weight that feels just perfect. In the exact number you need. Nothing more. Meaning, let the others GO!
You will get such a kick out of it every morning.
Hmmm…OK
I have a confession to make.
In a former life I had a weakness for, and accumulated a fine number of tea and espresso sets – because back then we had proper tea parties, and after after dinner coffee in dainty cups, you know. Haha. With our big move I let most of it go, and it wasn’t easy. But today I feel so light when I open our cups drawer. The picture above – it’s mine. 🙂
For our household we need 3 x cappuccino cups with saucers, 3 x espresso cups, 3 x slim tea mugs, and 3 x chunky mugs for hot chocolate. Yes, I did keep one set of teacups, but I’m working on it…
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WATER BOTTLES
Hot and cold thermo flasks, sippy cups, you name it. I’m not even spending much time on this one. You know it’s a problem.
Everyone has their favorite. There’s no reason anyone should have more than one.
Decide which one and part with the rest.
Your cupboard space is precious.
The end.
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TEA
I don’t know why, but it feels we’re all guilty of simply having too many different types of tea.
We get them as gifts, and we simply cannot stop buying them.
It’s a compulsion.
How many do you really drink? Is it worth taking up all that space in your kitchen?
I grew up with the simplicity of having only two types – an English black tea, and unflavored Rooibos. So easy. An now I’ve completely fallen off the rails. Half a drawer full of teas I never drink.
How about we all something amazing, let’s keep only the ones you absolutely love, and gift the rest.
Before they go stale!
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PLASTIC CONTAINERS
The Tupperware drawer, an archeological site of stained, smelly, mismatched, broken, and forgotten pieces of plastic. Containers without lids, lids without containers – it’s a puzzle piece.
It’s a pandemic!
If you don’t keep a tight lid on these gremlins, they’ll gobble you up, you, and your kitchen, and all the food. There’s no good ending.
Here’s the truth, and you’re not going to like it.
ONE lunch container per person. If you really need it
ONE curated set of containers for left overs.
Something like 2 x big, and 6 x medium. That should be enough?
That’s it, my friends.
QUICK TIP: Here’s how. First, get rid of all the junk pieces, old take-out containers, the yoghurt tubs – why are you even keeping them? Then anything mismatched, broken, stained, or sad.
Live with your new reduced collection for a month to see what you really need.
If you honestly do need to replace a few, please, please, please, for the sake of the planet STOP BUYING PLASTIC.
– Glass for left overs. It’s much more eco-friendly, safe, non-staining, durable. AND sexy.
– Metal for lunch boxes.
– And only 2 different sizes. The more size variety, the harder to keep it organized.
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CLEANING SUPPLIES
This may or may not be such a big problem, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of either way.
Marketing for cleaning products are the worst. I have never been able to understand the constant flood of expensive adds to guilt us into buying yet another cleaning product. They always promise to solve all our problems with happy families smiling in the background.
I bet, if you dare to dive into the cabinet under your sink, you’ll be shocked to see how many multiples of the same kind of product you have.
It’s not your fault.
But let’s face it, you really just need the following:
– ONE glass surface cleaner
– ONE multi-surface cleaner
And while you’re thinking about it, aim for less harmful chemicals. I have found that baking soda solves a LOT of my problems.
BEAUTY PRODUCTS
This is embarrassing.
After years of denial, when I eventually braved the dark bowels of my vanity cabinet – do you know what I found? Among excessive amounts of other things, sealed and still in their cute little packaging boxes, nine pots of night creams. Nine!
I know how it happened. One day, a very long time ago, I realized I was low on night cream. Then, for the next several years, every time I encountered any form of night cream that looked remotely promising – I’d buy it just in case I find myself in the middle of the night stranded without night cream.
My vanity cupboard was so full and chaotic, I had no idea what was going on. So guess what, – I just kept buying!
(This is my vanity cabinet after a recent major declutter session 🙂
Beauty products come in small containers, and they seem to multiply by themselves.
They also come with eternal promises of youth and beauty. So we buy these products enthusiastically, and after a few times we stop using them. The bottle is still mostly full, so it stays. A next bottle of promise gets in. Same thing. Before you know it your cupboard is a chaotic mess, and you end up with 9 perfectly good pots of night cream you didn’t know you have. And that are past their sell-by-date.
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CLOTHES
Do I need to even mention this?
We all, the lot of us, have too much clothes. You now it, and I know it. This is a topic for an entire different post, so I want you to do something radical with me right now.
1 Go to your closet.
2 Find 5 items you know in your heart you never wear. You want to, but you don’t. Maybe you spent a lot of money on it, maybe you looked SOOO good in it, 20 years ago. But it doesn’t fit anymore. It’s OK.
3 GET IT OUT. It’s sending you negative messages all the time.
Donate – someone will love it.
(Disney)
To close.
If you take one message from this post, it’s this:
Be more mindful in what you bring into your home, and what you keep.
Be kind to yourself.
Space is not the problem
You simply have too much stuff.
Here’s where it gets interesting….
and it is not even about the space in any way.
Through our life we accumulate A LOT of things. If we don’t edit our things regularly, they become stale and sometimes harmful, stirring negative feelings of guilt + failure.
Think about the gifts we get…and don’t like or never use – but we hang on to in anyway, feeling guilty.
Things from our past…when we were younger, happier, thinner.
And now these things only stir negative feelings our way.
OK, now I’m getting far too serious.
JUST LET IT GO…
I have a task for you.
– Look around in your cupboards and drawers.
– Count how many multiples you have of everyday things
– Ask yourself – what is the number you truly need
– Let go of the rest
– Feel light and free
Let us know what you find!
Happy day!
Mia
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