In this post I am exploring this idea that we keep things because we can. Before clients hire us, we meet them in person to discuss their needs and see their homes. I can’t tell you how often we hear, during these visits, the following words: “I just don’t understand how we accumulated this much stuff!” At this point the client will often throw up their arms in confusion. They just don’t get it – how there is suddenly so much to deal with? It didn’t seem like that much at the time.

Are you trying to declutter and get organized? The best way to fail at this is to try to tackle too much all at once. If you say to me: “I’m spending all day Saturday getting rid of stuff” then there’s one thing I know for certain: on Saturday you will not get rid of anything at all.

This is another article in a series exploring the top reasons we keep stuff, according to David Ekerdt, professor of sociology and gerontology at the University of Kansas. Dr. Ekerdt has spent his career interviewing and studying people, digging into their attachment to their belongings and trying to understand why we love our things so much. He developed this list of the top reasons we keep things:

This is another post in a series exploring the top reasons we keep stuff, according to David Ekerdt, professor of sociology and gerontology at the University of Kansas. Dr. Ekerdt has spent his career interviewing and studying people, digging into their attachment to their belongings and trying to understand why we hang onto our things so much. He developed this list of the top reasons we keep things: