3067: Why You Should Give Away 50% of Your Stuff by Courtney Carver of Be More With Less on Decluttering

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Episode 3067:

Courtney Carver of Be More With Less.com shares her transformative journey of decluttering, advocating for giving away 50% of one's possessions. She addresses common fears associated with decluttering and highlights the mental clarity, space optimization, and emotional freedom gained from living with less.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://bemorewithless.com/50/

Quotes to ponder:

"Give away 50% of your stuff because it will never love you back."

"I’ve learned that living with less is a blessing and not a sacrifice."

Episode references:

Courtney Carver books: https://bemorewithless.com/books/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[00:00.000 --> 00:30.000] It's a Minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily, episode 3067. Why you should give away 50% of your stuff. By cornycarver of bemorewithless.com. And I'm Justin Malik. Happy Monday, this is where I read to you from some of the best blogs I can find and get permission from, covering personal development, minimalism, happiness, productivity, all sorts of stuff on this show. And we cover a bunch of other topics in the Optimal Living Daily podcast network, [00:30.000 --> 00:43.000] and check out those shows if you like this one. You can find all of them by searching for Optimal Living Daily in your podcast app. But for now, let's get right to our Minimalist Monday post and start optimizing your life. [00:43.000 --> 00:53.000] Why you should give away 50% of your stuff. By cornycarver of bemorewithless.com [01:14.000 --> 01:41.000] 50% is a great place to start. It sounds extreme, but once you start moving from room to room and removing the things that don't matter and that you don't care about, you'll reach the halfway point sooner than you think. You can probably do an initial sweep and box up 10 to 15% of your stuff and not even notice it's missing. The next round might be a little tougher, but the lightness you feel from the first pass will motivate you to keep going. [01:41.000 --> 02:09.000] Banish your biggest fears about giving away 50%. I'm afraid I won't know what to give away or where to start. You won't know until you start, so just start. Walk through your home with a small box and fill it with meaningless objects that you are tired of dusting. Give the box away. Repeat. I'm afraid I will buy everything back. When you're faced with empty shelves and rooms, you might be afraid that you'll want to fill the space up again. [02:09.000 --> 02:36.000] It's okay to feel that, but instead of giving in, sit with the empty space. Think about how you would rather spend your money and time. Let the empty space give you permission to decide what you really want out of life. It probably isn't more stuff. I'm afraid of hurting someone's feelings. Giving away things that were important to other people might be hurtful. Have meaningful conversations about why you want to declutter. Offer to return things if that is appropriate. [02:37.000 --> 02:47.000] Be kind and gentle, but firm in your commitment to live with less. People love you for you. If they love you for what you keep or don't keep, rethink the relationship. [02:48.000 --> 03:02.000] I'm afraid I might forget the past. Your stuff tells a story and letting it go might feel a little bit like letting go of who you are. Write your story or photograph your stuff that makes up that story before you give it away. [03:02.000 --> 03:26.000] Holding onto it prevents you from living and writing new stories. You are not your stuff. I'm afraid I might need something just in case. Box up your most important just in case items and put them in an unmarked box for 30 days. If you don't need it, and especially if you don't remember what it is, give it away without looking in the box. You need less than you think. [03:27.000 --> 03:47.000] I'm afraid that I'll realize how much time and money I've wasted. If this is your fear, you've already realized it and faced it. Don't waste one more second or dollar on stuff that you don't care about. If you don't give it away now, you will continue to spend time and money on things only because you feel bad about buying it in the first place. Stop it. [03:48.000 --> 04:07.000] I'm afraid that giving it away before it is used up is environmentally irresponsible. Chances are there is more life to your stuff and it is just as likely that someone else needs it more than you do. You don't have to throw your stuff in a landfill. Instead, research organizations that will get your stuff in the right hands. [04:07.000 --> 04:36.000] I'm afraid people will judge me or think I am weird. What someone else thinks about you is not who you are. Surround yourself with people who support you and lift you up. People will think you are weird and that's okay. 50% of your stuff is less than you think. You can get there without counting too. Take a picture of all the rooms in your home. Don't forget the storage spaces. After a few rounds of decluttering, take new pictures and compare. [04:37.000 --> 05:05.000] Once 50% is gone, you will have more information to decide if life is better. If it is, try another 50%. Why you should give away 50% of your stuff? Give away 50% of your stuff and give the most important things a chance to rise to the surface. Give away 50% of your stuff and discover mental clarity to choose how you really want to live your life. Give away 50% of your stuff so you can live in a smaller space. [05:05.000 --> 05:31.000] Give away 50% of your stuff so you discover that you are not your stuff. And give away 50% of your stuff because it will never love you back. The real eye-opener for me was when I couldn't remember most of the things I gave away. I've never searched for something that I didn't keep or felt like I made a mistake giving things away. I've learned that living with less is a blessing and not a sacrifice. [05:35.000 --> 05:45.000] You just listened to the post titled, Why You Should Give Away 50% of Your Stuff by Korny Carver of BeMoreWithLess.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. [05:45.000 --> 06:01.000] One of the best things you can do for your kids is to teach them how to manage money. And this should be started when they're little. And that's why I'm so excited to tell you about the sponsor of today's episode, Go Henry by Acorns. The smart debit card and learning app for kids 6 to 18. [06:02.000 --> 06:24.000] Go Henry helps kids learn about all things money. Earning, spending, saving, budgeting, and so much more. You can even track their chores and pay their allowance right in the Go Henry app. And with their Go Henry debit card, they can put their skills to use in the real world. Plus, parents can set spend limits and get real-time notifications whenever their kids use their cards. [06:24.000 --> 06:34.000] I seriously wish I had this as a kid. I had to learn about money the hard way as an adult. If my parents had set me up with Go Henry as a kid, learning to adult would have been so much easier. [06:34.000 --> 06:46.000] Set your kids up for success and get started today at gohenry.com slash old. Terms and conditions apply. Renews from $4.99 per month unless cancelled. [06:47.000 --> 07:12.000] Thank you to Courtney. I've been narrating her work since April of 2016, pretty close to the beginning of this podcast. And like she said, 50% can definitely sound like a lot of stuff to get rid of. But if you actually go through your home and look at everything there, starting with one room for sanity's sake, I'd really be shocked if you actually used more than 50% of the stuff in that area on a regular basis. [07:12.000 --> 07:25.000] It might sound like a lot, but odds are it really isn't that crazy. I think the bigger issue is that if it sounds like a ton or like a huge amount of work, then we're likely not going to begin. It's just too daunting. [07:25.000 --> 07:41.000] That's why we've heard a bunch of different methods across many different minimalism articles on this show. So as an example, the minimalists have a couple of ideas. One is a packing party, where you literally box up everything you own, and then slowly unbox stuff, only at the same time. [07:42.000 --> 07:53.000] So that like a year down the road you can see what you actually use. Everything left in the boxes is unlikely to be used since you went through every season of the year and still haven't touched that stuff. [07:53.000 --> 08:10.000] It's another extreme example, as it isn't easy to box up everything you own. But another example is the minimalism game where you simply donate, sell, or trash one item on the first of the month, two items on the second day of the month, and so on for the entire month. [08:11.000 --> 08:23.000] Maybe that's more inspiring and motivating for you. Whatever the case, I really do believe that less stuff is less stress. So think about your space, and if it's working for you, thank you for being here. It really means a lot. [08:23.000 --> 08:32.000] I'll be curating articles for you again here tomorrow, so have a great rest of your day and start your week, and I'll see you in the Tuesday show, where your optimal life awaits. Transcription results written to '/home/forge/transcribe3.sonicengage.com/releases/20240204160217' directory