Letting go of stuff is more than organizing—it's the first real choice toward emotional freedom, mental clarity, and personal agency.
"The space that truly belongs to you starts with what you let go of."
What Are You Holding On To?
The average American household owns over 300,000 items.
Yet we regularly use only a fraction of them—less than 10%.
(Source: LA Times, 2014)
Still, we hesitate to let go.
Why?
French author Dominique Loreau puts it simply:
“We don’t use things because we need them. We use them because we have them.”
Letting go isn’t just about tossing stuff—it’s about taking a step away from the life you’ve been living.
That’s why decluttering requires courage.
You’re not just giving up items. You’re making a different choice.
More Storage Bins, Less Space—And the Stress of Moving
Let me share a personal story.
When I lived in LA with a roommate, our apartment was small.
To organize better, I bought yet another IKEA cube shelf.
But it didn’t fit well, so I added plastic drawers from Target.
Soon enough, the space felt cramped and cluttered—almost suffocating.
I found myself thinking,
“Do I need to move to a bigger place?”
But the truth was, I didn’t need more space.
I needed fewer things.
Why Can’t We Let Go?
Psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman calls it loss aversion.
“We feel the pain of losing something twice as intensely as the pleasure of gaining something.”
So even when we know something is useless,
we keep it—just in case, because it cost money, because it has a story.
And this is especially true for our generation.
We admire minimalist aesthetics on social media—clean desks, capsule wardrobes—but we keep buying organizing bins, home décor, and storage hacks.
According to Bankrate (2023),
“74% of Millennials and Gen Z regret impulse purchases—especially for home organization and décor.”
Your Home Reflects Your Mind
Mental clarity starts with physical space.
Psychologist Sherrie Bourg Carter writes in Psychology Today (2012):
“Clutter causes stress and reduces focus and creativity.”
That was true for me.
Once I started letting go, I could think more clearly.
Mornings became easier. I stopped wasting time on outfit decisions.
And most of all, I started seeing what truly mattered to me.
The Real Waste Is Not the Object, But the Weight of Holding On
Dominique Loreau wrote:
“Clinging to useless things—that’s the real waste.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I used to keep clothes I never wore, gadgets I no longer used,
sentimental items from chapters I had long moved on from.
And all of it quietly drained my energy.
Decluttering wasn’t about tidiness.
It was about reclaiming my time, my clarity, and my control.
Try This Today: One Thing a Day
You don’t have to overhaul your entire life.
Start small—start real.
Here are a few simple ways to begin:
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Donate three pieces of clothing you haven’t worn in a year.
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Return that impulsive Amazon purchase still sitting unopened.
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Open the bin under your bed and let go of just one thing.
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Recycle a storage box that’s taking up more space than it saves.
One small act can reset your entire mindset.
“When you own less, you become more of yourself.”
– Based on my experience, and Dominique Loreau’s philosophy
What About You?
Is there something you’ve been holding onto, not because you need it—but because it’s hard to let go?
Have you ever bought one too many storage bins,
only to realize the solution wasn’t more space—but fewer things?
Share your story below.
Decluttering isn’t just about stuff—it’s about redefining your relationship with your life.
Next in the Smart Mind Series:
"Smart Mind 101 : Food Is Not an Emotion – The Minimalism of Eating Habits"
I’ll share how I broke the binge-and-restrict cycle and found emotional freedom through food choices.
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