Keep stuff moving with the one-in, one-out rule.

It has happened. A contestant on a reality dating show had to cut their time short in a beautiful location with a budding romance on their horizon due to constipation. That got me thinking about the importance of keeping things moving, even with our stuff.

Sam, a contestant on this season of the Bachelor in Paradise, had to leave the show after ten days of no movement. It became a medical issue that she needed to go home to address. The person she made a connection with tried their best to assist by bringing her a, "poo poo platter" and showing her some exercises to no avail.

Enter the old one-in, one-out rule.

This rule may not get you out of clutter, depending on your environments' clutter starting point, but it will keep your current level of clutter at bay. Want to know what your current level of clutter is?! There's a scale for that. Here's the link to self evaluate your own environment.

The way it works is in the name. When you bring something new into your home, you must remove something to make room for it. Removing something that provides the same purpose (like swapping out a new lamp for an old lamp or a mug for a mug) is best. Don't cheat your home and get rid of a dried up pen when you've brought in a new ottoman (with storage to hold more stuff). Think spatially and trade out similar sized stuff when using the one-in, one-out rule.

Clutter adds up and can hinder the functionality of your space. In the above graphic, you see clutter start to bottleneck. When you aren't donating or otherwise getting items out of your home at the same rate that you are bringing things in, you start to get into trouble.

Try the one-in, one-out method on for a month or a season. The benefits of starting one of these decluttering rules is that it makes you think before you bring stuff home with you. Where are you going to put it? What do you have to let go of to allow it to fit? Are you willing to let go of something else to make room for it and if not, you should, "store it at the store."

It's important to keep things moving so you don't get backed up physically and emotionally. Keeping your clutter under control means you may not need to call in a professional, unlike Sam who needed to go home for a medical delivery of her (their words, not mine), "poo baby."

Keep things moving by adopting the one-in, one-out rule.
You are enough and you have enough, thank you for reading!