It’s been more than three months since the shutdown hit in Massachusetts. During that period, many of you were confined to your homes, only going out to the market for necessities.
What differences have you noticed over this period in your home life?
Sure, you may be working from home instead of the office. Take-out has replaced dining out; Netflix rather than going to the movies. But as you look around your home—specifically, checking out your closets, your kitchen cabinets and other storage places–what do you notice?
If you’re like many Americans going through this pandemic that could be one of a few things. First, you may notice there are a lot of things you just don’t use. Second, when you aren’t able to go out to stores unless it’s a necessity, you probably buy a lot less stuff. That probably means you’re not making space for things in your storage areas as much.
Consumer spending over the past few months reflects this trend. In his Becoming Minimalist blog, Joshua Becker noted:
Retail sales were down 16% last month. The largest monthly drop on record. To put that into context, the largest recorded single month decrease prior to April was a record 8.7%. In March of this year. Two months in a row of record-setting drops in retail sales.
That type of drop makes sense in a pandemic. It also reflects the enormous amount of time and money we spend going out to buy things, a decent portion of which take up way too much space in our closets, drawers, shelves and cabinets. It also takes up a good deal of our time in buying items and then storing and caring for those items.
As we have simplified our lives the past few months, we have the rare opportunity to ask another very simple question:
How important was it to you to buy those items before Covid?
As you’re walking through your home, You may notice something you may not have seen before—space. How does that make you feel? Does it change your mood? In what way?
For many of you, the extra space is a byproduct of needing to be more functional in your home. That could mean clearing out old files in the office, going through old clothes, or deciding which piece of furniture was just taking up room or acting as storage and then putting it out on the curb or stashing it somewhere for a future listing on Facebook Marketplace.
If you stop and really think about it, this shutdown has been a self-learning period in many areas. We have all had the chance to think about what’s really important and how critically important your health and family are. But in addition to that, you probably have learned another lesson: how to be comfortable or more comfortable in our own space without the assistance of stuff and the other items we purchase.
When I work with a client that’s a huge part of what I teach. And it’s something I can help you with if you need some assistance in getting your home, office and other living spaces to be more manageable. Just drop me a line by clicking the button below or call me at 508-246-6120.
