According to a recent study, 60% of adults don’t believe there are enough hours in the day to get everything done.
That’s a lot of people.
There are likely two causes for this statistic: 1) We’re trying to do much or 2) Our tasks are taking more time than we think they should.
I suppose there is a third: There aren’t actually enough hours in the day… but that amount hasn’t changed for quite a few years so that’s probably not it.
There’s no doubt in my mind that some people simply try to do or want to do too much. And there’s also no doubt in my mind that some stages of life require more of us than others (a new parent for example).
But there are also times when it just feels like life should be running a bit more efficient than it does. We sense, at the end of the day, that we should have been able to accomplish more than we did. And that reality can feel like “not enough hours in the day.”
Sometimes this is a result of wasting too much time on things that don’t matter. And that is a conversation—but I’ll save it for another day.
Today, I want to offer you a new and helpful idea. Sometimes the very things we accumulate because we think they will help us save time, don’t. Even worse, they begin to steal more and more of our time.
Consider, for example, the possessions we buy and store in our homes. Rarely do we buy an item because we want extra burden. We buy things and keep things because we think our lives will run more efficiently if we have more.
But an over accumulation of physical items in our homes robs us of time. Very subtly, they detract from our goals and purpose. They ultimately add burden and stress. And the more we own, often times, the less time we have available to us.
Here are 9 Things to Reduce in Your Home to Save You Time
1. Clothes
Among the most immediately life-changing areas to declutter in your home is your wardrobe. Owning fewer clothes will change your life overnight. Fewer clothes mean fewer decisions each morning, an easier laundry cycle, and less time spent shopping. If there’s any doubt in your mind that owning less will save you time, start here.
2. Kitchenware
It’s so interesting how many kitchen gadgets and supplies we buy to increase our efficiency that just end up collecting dust and cluttering up our workspaces. Reducing the number of seldom-used kitchen gadgets can streamline meal preparation and cleanup, making the kitchen a more functional space for cooking. This can also be applied to Tupperware, dishware, and even your pantry.
3. Toys
Toys are important, you should have some for your kids. But you should also know that research suggests that children benefit from deeper, more imaginative play when they have fewer toys. This not only nurtures their creativity but also means less time spent tidying up at the end of the day—and the less you own, the easier it becomes for your kids to help with it.
4. Decorations
I hope you can see from this list so far, I’m not talking about owning nothing in our homes. I’m suggesting a few areas where if we chose to own less, we could save more time. With that in mind, I want to include decorations on this list. Keep your most meaningful and inspiring, of course. But keeping fewer decorations in your home translates to less time dusting and rearranging, offering more moments to enjoy the most beautiful and significant of our decorations.
5. Self-Care Supplies
A curated selection of self-care items that truly make us feel our best is far more valuable than a cabinet overflowing with half-used products. This focus not only declutters our space but also our routines, allowing us to savor our self-care practices fully. Spend more time caring for yourself and less time trying to decide how.
6. Furniture
When we select furniture for our homes, each piece should have a purpose and a place. Over-furnishing can lead to crowded spaces, which in turn take longer to clean and maintain. Streamlining furniture allows for a more spacious environment, easier cleaning, and less physical and visual clutter. This creates a calm and welcoming space, giving us more time to relax and less to worry about.
7. Cleaning Supplies
Often, we accumulate a wide array of cleaning products, each promising to tackle specific tasks around our homes. Rather than making the cleaning process easier, it makes it more burdensome and time-consuming. We’ve found in our home that just a few multi-use cleaning products work better than a mountain of things cluttering up our cabinet space. By reducing our cleaning arsenal to a few effective, multipurpose products, we can simplify our cleaning routine, free up storage space, and reduce the time spent on selecting the right tool for each job.
8. Garage Clutter
A garage should be a functional space, one that supports our daily routines rather than hinders them. Take special note over the next couple days if the items you’ve collected in your garage slow the efficiency of the space—harder to park, tougher to walk around, makes finding things you need more difficult. If so, you might be surprised how much time you can save in your day by cleaning it up a bit.
9. Televisions/Digital Screens
The average American over the age of 15 watches three hours of television per day. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time each day for rest and relaxation. But that doesn’t have to be in front of a television (or screen of any kind). If you want more time in your day, here’s one of the best ways to find it: Watch less television.
If you are among the 60% of people who wish there was more time in the day, I’ve got a solution for you: Own less.
So much of what we desire to be true of our lives can be found on the other side of owning less:
Less debt, more living.
Less cleaning, more time.
Less clutter, more purpose.
Less busy, more calm.
Less stress, more freedom.
And yes, more hours in the day. Or, at least, that’s what it will feel like.