THE UNEXPECTED JOY OF DOWNSIZING

Decluttering guru PETER WALSH shares how to change your mindset around material possessions

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If your home is like most people’s, it probably contains half-completed projects, an old coffee maker you keep just in case you need it again and gifts gathering dust in cabinets.

Such homes are filled with what I call “un-objects” – things unwanted and unopened, that go unused, are unappreciated or simply unnecessary.

The stuff you own is not only consuming a huge part of your living space, it’s also getting in the way of a different life that would provide more joy than the version you’re now living. A less-stressed, less overwhelmed version of you waits in there somewhere...

Find the real you

Every item in your home is there because you have allowed it into your space. Each has a history, an associated memory and a cost, though you may not recognise them.

Your stuff displays the characteristics about yourself you choose to value. It tells the world, “This is how I imagine myself. This is how I spend my time. This is what I dream about.”