Purge...ON Purpose!

If you're like me, you may have a tendency to collect things. We as society collect things. Lots of things - the tangible and intangible. 

If you're also like me, you don't realize how much "stuff" we accumulate and, as a result, if we are not careful, we will begin to experience negative side effects and outcomes.  

This blog will address the WHAT, WHY, SIDE EFFECTS and BENEFITS to PURGE...ON PURPOSE! In a follow up blog we will discuss details about HOW to PURGE...ON PURPOSE!

The process of purging can be a physical and emotional strain. Many of us do not have a disciplined approach to the purging process. Usually it's something we don't do enough. Many wait months or years.

The TANGIBLE Stuff...

Let's first consider these stats for the PHYSICAL stuff and what clutter and physical chaos in our life is costing us and also consider whether the value of becoming more organized is worth our time and effort!

• There are 300,000 items in the average American home. (LA Times)
• Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on nonessential goods — in other words, items we don't need. (The Wall Street Journal)
• 80% of what we keep we never use. (National Association of Professional Organizers - NAPO)
• We wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time. The rest hangs there, just in case. (NAPO)
• The demand for self storage doubled from 1994 to 2004. (Self Storage Association - SSA)
• 1 out of every 10 Americans rent offsite storage—the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry over the past four decades. (New York Times and SSA)
• The U.S. has ~50,000 storage facilities, more than five times the number of Starbucks. (New York Times and SSA)
• 80% of the papers we file, we never refer to again. (Small Business Administration)
• People waste six weeks annually searching for important documents lost in among the clutter. (Wall Street Journal)
• Over the course of our lifetime, we will spend a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days searching for misplaced items.The research found we lose up to nine items every day — or 198,743 in a lifetime. Phones, keys, sunglasses, and paperwork top the list (The Daily Mail).
• 23% of adults pay bills late and incur late fees because they can’t find their bills. (Harris Interactive)
• We consume twice as many material goods today as we did 50 years ago. (The Story of Stuff)
• The average 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 12 daily. (The Telegraph)
• 3.1% of the world’s children live in America, but they own 40% of the toys consumed globally. (UCLA)
• American women own 30 outfits—one for every day of the month. In 1930, that figure was nine. (Forbes)
• Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches ($100 billion) than on higher education. (Psychology Today)
• Shopping malls outnumber high schools. And 93% of teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite pastime. (Affluenza)
• Women spend more than eight years of their lives shopping. (The Daily Mail)

So What Do We Collect?

• Stuff
• Data

Numerous articles talk about how unhealthy it is to be attached to possessions. When we find ourselves wrapped up in the things we have we also find ourselves suffering a great deal when these possessions are lost. If I lose everything, I want to be able to pick myself up and keep it moving.

Why Do We Collect?

A study - “Truly, Madly, Deeply: Consumers in the Throes of Material Possession Love” - says loneliness is to blame. Material possession love, as they define it, involves an attachment that incorporates passion, intimacy, and commitment. When marriages don’t have all three of those - someone will seek other outlets. 

The INTANGIBLE Stuff...
Truth be told what's really debilitating is the stuff we collect that is not physical. It's the emotional stuff that can really bog us down and much like the garage, basement, closets and attic it can become over whelming. It includes: negative thoughts, resentment, and inability to "let go" of the past - that may include bad choices,  the perception whether real or imagined of wrongs done  to us.

Consider the data points from the National Institute for Mental Health and others:

• ~1 in 5 adults in the U.S. — 43.8 million, or 18.5% — experiences mental illness in a given year. 
• ~1 in 25 adults in the U.S. — 9.8 million, or 4.0% — experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. 
• ~1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.
• 1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.
• 2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.
• 6.9% of adults in the U.S. — 16 million — had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
• 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive -compulsive disorder and specific phobias.
• Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5% — 10.2 million adults — had a co-occurring mental illness.​
• Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year. (The American Journal of Psychiatry)
• Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic (mild but long-term form of depression) and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults aged 18–44. (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The Department of Health & Human Services.)
• Individuals living with serious mental illness face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions.17 Adults in the U.S. living with serious mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than others, largely due to treatable medical conditions. (National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Council)
• Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14­–21 and older who are served by special education drop out — the highest dropout rate of any disability group. (U.S. Department of Education)
• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.,20 the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–1421 and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24. (Center for Disease Control)
• More than 90% of children who die by suicide have a mental health condition. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs)

Impacts in the Workplace

At the core, the negative impacts of not purging at work are dramatic. Some of these were highlighted in the previous blog -  Conflict...ON Purpose!

What Happens When We Collect Too Much and Can't Let Go?

Stress - Living a life surrounded by the tangible AND intangible clutter is not a step toward balance it's a step toward stress. Your living environment can cause some serious strain on you emotionally.  For me, I get to a place where I feel stuck. My productivity falls off and the clutter just keeps building. When I feel that way, I know that getting rid of some things can only cause me relief. 

Resentment - The longer I experience stress and do NOT deal with it - i.e. PURGE - the resentment builds. Think of a pot of water that comes to a boil...it does not happen immediately but the longer heat is applied the water WILL come to a boil. Resentment is kind of like that.

Frustration - I need releases. If not frustration builds. - which is why I usually work out 5-6 days a week, meditate and pray daily, listen to faith-based sermons, inspirational talks and usually positive radio / TV programming.

Disharmony - if you are in a relationship, have a family, or are part of a team...this cluttered life will invariably cause disharmony. 

Depression - prolonged periods of the stress, frustration and disharmony will eventually lead to depression.

Inability to Concentrate - Our brains simply get overstimulated and cannot put energy into processing the clutter along with completing complicated mental tasks.

Diminished Mental Processing - this is like a domino effect...stress, disharmony reduced ability to process information.
 
Reduced Productivity - need I say more...

Benefits of Purging:

Freedom! You will feel free! As a matter of fact, getting rid of the PHYSICAL clutter would eliminate 40% of the housework in the average home. (National Soap & Detergent Association) Systematically getting rid of the EMOTIONAL clutter would be PRICELESS!

Space! Allow the space (virtual or physical) for something new and great to come into your life. In essence, purging can help you discover the REAL you.

Ability to "Roll with It"! Like water off the back of a duck as the tangible / intangible things threaten to clutter your life you will find it usually will not! You have momentum to keep it in check.

Improved performance! Mentally and physically you will feel alert / engaged / liberated / energetic. 

Better Mental State!  The quality of our relationships, our positive emotions, resilience, satisfaction with life, or the realization of our potential will be enormous!

Reduced load! The ability to deal with the PHYSICAL clutter will help save you time and money especially when it comes time to move - which ~13% of the U.S. population does EACH year! (U.S. Postal Service) The ability to deal with the EMOTIONAL clutter will be as if a weight has been lifted! You and I will be able to not only move on BUT thrive!

Teachable moment! How we handle our clutter is great to be able to demonstrate to our loved ones and those we work. We will be able to demonstrate the value of "things". If they have their own clutter - like "toys" they haven’t played with in years - this is a great time to show them how you purge. How you handle clutter could be a defining factor to a child and team's development.

Other Related Positive Outcomes:

• Increased energy
• Reduced stress rids the body of waste
• Clearer thinking
• Lighter feeling
• Anti-aging benefits
• Improved sense of wellbeing
• Able to concentrate
• Feel more creative
• Sound sleep
• Positive mood
• Focus more clearly on your goals!

Bottom line: by doing the PURGE...ON PURPOSE and holding onto LESS is an invitation to freedom, intentionality, and passion. It can be discovered at your nearest drop-off center, counseling center, workout facility, mediation center, church, mosque or synagogue. Purge away (clothes, excess, baggage, problems and people) and welcome in the new!

Look out for a follow up blog when we will discuss details about HOW to PURGE...ON PURPOSE!

My best to your quest!
​
Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

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