A professional organizer done with stuff? Hardly a news flash. Yet the reason for bringing this to your attention for the first newsletter of the new decade goes beyond clutter. It’s about the far-reaching impact of each and every purchase you make.
You might think, “What does what I buy have to do with anybody else?” and “So what if my house is cluttered, that only affects me and my family.”
Think again.
Each product we buy has a story. It involves far more people than you might imagine. For example, you buy a shirt:
Who designed the shirt? How did he/she get to work that day? By car or public transportation?
Who oversaw the quality control as it was made in a factory, probably far, far away? He/she had to get to work somehow as well.
Who drove it to the department store or boutique? Or did it go by plane, train or ship?
Who arranged the product on the floor so you would see it?
And finally there’s you, the one who bought it and brought it home, possibly to be added to the multiple other shoes, shirts, dresses, ties, trousers already in your possession?
A lot of work goes into every item we buy, long before we ever take it out of its packaging. Some of the items we purchase might have been created in dangerous conditions.
All of the items we purchase put a stress on the environment of some kind. That includes the impact of the people commuting to and from work for all the various jobs required to bring a product to market and to the consumer—consumers also had to use some sort of transportation to get to the store, too.
All of these variables contribute stress to our environment. And that’s before it ever gets inside your home. Once there, you will hopefully use it. You might not. Then it becomes clutter until you decide to donate the item or dispose of it. Then the impact of removing your purchase goes back out into the world and our environment.
Do you see the vicious cycle one small purchase starts and the impact it creates? Will it make you think a little more about your next impulse buy? Your purchase and its impact really do involve more than your home.
Speaking of impact and home, how can you positively impact your home in 2020? Why not start with a declutter? Give me a call at give me a call at 508-246-6120.
