Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter

Are You Rich?

I just finished a book in which the author wrote that if you make $45,000 a year and spend $40,000 you are rich, whereas if you earn $500,000 but spend $600,000 you are poor. Of course, that might be a stretch in New York City, but I see his point. Moreover, I like this because not only does it make me realize that I am rich, but also because the corollary is that if you have more stuff than space, you have clutter, whereas if you have less stuff than space, you don’t.

I always say that clutter is individual and everybody’s situation is different. But I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that how much space you have makes a difference. If you have five people in a one-bedroom apartment, you’re going to have to be really strict about how much stuff everyone has and where it goes. On the other hand, if three people are living in a five-story townhouse, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep things looking uncluttered.

There’s no judgement here, it’s just physics. I can make your stuff more organized and I can help you use your space more efficiently, but there is no magical dust I can sprinkle on your stuff to make it take up less space.

So, get honest. Assess your space. Is it legitimately tight? You can be organized, but if your apartment is small and you are trying to store skateboards and tricycles, it’s probably not going to look like a design magazine, and you’ll need to be vigilant about weeding and decluttering regularly.

And if you’ve managed to fill up a large home, don’t resort to a renovation. Spend a few hours getting rid of old stuff that is lingering only because you “have the space” and you’ll feel like you have a brand-new place.

Any space can be organized, and we can all benefit from a little decluttering. And if you clear a shelf or empty a drawer, you might realize just how rich you really are.