How Much Stuff Do You Have?

How much stuff do you have?  Mrs. Roy means really - how much stuff do you have?  Are you one of those folks who just knows all the drawers and cabinets and tabletops are full or are you one of those folks who knows where everything is all the time?

A few years ago, Mrs. Roy ran across Flylady.net, a great organizational website.  Flylady really changed the way Mrs. Roy looks at things, especially the question about how much stuff we have.  Flylady challenged Mrs. Roy to go through the house and gather like items.  Mrs. Roy had cleaning supplies in every bathroom, the kitchen, the laundry room and the garage.  When it was all gathered, Mrs. Roy discovered she wasn't going to have to buy any cleaning supplies for a long, long time.

The same thing happened with scissors.  There were some in the kitchen, some in the bedroom, some in the living room end table drawer, some in the sewing box, some in the bathroom.  Once they were gathered and put in one place, finding a pair of scissors became a non-issue.

How many extra bars of soap do you have sitting around your house?  Are there some in each bathroom and maybe some in the laundry room cabinet or the linen closet?  What about shampoo and other personal products?  What about tape?  That stuff gets stuck everywhere - and Mrs. Roy's not talking about the adhesive, either. 

The benefits of this exercise are many.  First, if you designate one place for each item, you will always know where to find it.  Second, you will save money by not buying duplicates of things you already have.  Third, you will cut down on clutter all over the house.  Fourth, the peace of mind of not having to search every drawer in the house for the scissors or tape will be wonderful.  Fifth, you will save time by not having to hunt so you will be able to spend more time doing things you enjoy.

So, how much stuff do you have?  Start small; designate a place for the scissors and gather them from everywhere.  Next might be ink pens or cleaning supplies.  Just keep breaking it down and do one or two items at a time; soon you will know exactly how much stuff you have and that will save you time and money every time.

Life is good.