You may be suffering from too much STUFF if you: 

• Have sinks full of dishes
• Cluttered counters
• Overfull refrigerator/pantry
• Expired food
• Drawers that won’t open or close
• Tables that are used for clutter
• Too much furniture that’s just used to hold more clutter
• Too many cleaning supplies that didn’t really work

Do you have some of these things? Truth is, you’re not alone! There’s actual research by UCLA-affiliated social sciences that have concluded that American families are OVERWHELMED by the clutter that they’ve accumulated in their homes. 

I am one of them!!! I’ve been going through ALL of our house and just looking at the sheer volume of CRAP that has accumulated astounds me. WHY do we have two juicers that have hardly been used? A standing mixer, a food processor, two blenders, 2 cappuccino machines, a mandolin, a veggie spiralizer, and MORE…and that’s just our kitchen! 

So I’ve been on a hard core mission to downsize. Get rid of the crap, get rid of the clutter. I’ve joined a few buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook for my town, and have made over $500 just selling some of our junk! The feeling is seriously AMAZING to get rid of some of this stuff. 

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The truth is—it’s just STUFF. Most people will be surprised on just how LITTLE they can survive with. You don’t NEED an entire closet full of clothes. You don’t NEED an entire cabinet for spices. 

You may or may not know this, but I’ve lived in different parts of Africa…and to say that those experiences changed my life would be a HUGE understatement. I remember one of my friends coming over to my house because I was going to cook her her first cheeseburger, and she was amazed at how many spices I had in the cabinet. I asked her what she cooked with, and she said salt! It’s all they could afford. It was a wake up moment for me…just something as little as spices I’ve been taking for granted. 

I’ve met people with literally ONLY the clothes on their backs. With one pair of shoes that are falling apart. And over here in the US, we are being CONSUMED by our crap. 

Doesn’t seem right, does it? Why am I talking about this now? 

In all honesty, the consumerism in America this time of year drives me NUTS. When I came back from Africa the first time, it was the day before Thanksgiving. The day before we give thanks for everything we have, then we go and spend money we don’t have buying a bunch of crap we don’t need. It’s nuts, right? 

If you want to join me, I’m going to clear out the crap and journey more towards minimalism. 

Why? 

For a lot of reasons…first off I want to be a good steward of the money that God has blessed me with, and spend it only on the stuff that I NEED…not unnecessary purchases. 

But for other reasons too…living in a cluttered home can cause a constant source of stress! Anxiety over clutter can interfere with sleep and can even lead to weight gain! Clutter also drains us of our time! Those who live in cluttered houses spend MORE time looking for stuff like their keys, bills, etc. 

There are a LOT of great blogs about Living a Minimalist Life that you can find to get started. If you’re ready to join me on a quest for less CRAP and more FREEDOM, you can head on over to my pinterest, where I’ve pinned a lot of great posts where you can start. 

http://www.pinterest.com/rachelngom/minimalist-living/

Are you with me? 

And if you want to take things to another level…I’ve been thinking about doing a refugee fast/diet…where for 3 days I will eat like many refugees all over the world and donate to some of my favorite organizations. If you want to learn more about that, just email me at clientcare@fitwithrachel.com and I’ll send you deets =)

Source: nourishingminimalism.com

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Rachel Ngom’s Blog
Email: Clientcare@fitwithrachel.com

“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” Tony Robbins

PS. If you’re not living the life you want, are feeling stressed about your finances and need support to lose weight, this is what you need.

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