A fallacy is a false idea that many people believe is true. Here are 5 false ideas I believed to be true about what is convenient and what would make my life easier. They all fall under three categories:
Believing that having more inventory would be convenient (It’s not)
Believing that having more things out would be convenient (It’s not)
Believing that doing something less frequently saves time (It doesn’t)
1. More Clothes Would Equal More To Wear
I used to believe I needed many different pieces of clothing to have more options. But I was frequently standing in front of my very full closet and thinking “What should I wear?”. This thought was frequently followed by another thought “I should go shopping this weekend because I need something more.”. But more never solved the issue. Less did. Only when I touched every single clothing item I own and saved only the ones that made me feel positive feelings, did my struggles of what to wear end. As an added bonus I realized the clothes I chose to keep worked well together because it turns out I have three colors that I like to wear. I’m happy to report I no longer waste time standing in front of my closet.
2. More Clothes, Sheets, Towels Would Equal Less Laundry
I’m guilty of spending too much time browsing cute childrens’ clothes online. I constantly need to remind myself they really don’t need that much. Unfortunately, the cuter the outfit the less likely it is my children will actually need it. Sad but true. Nowadays, I’m mostly able to stave off the urge to buy my children more clothes than they need because I know from experience how much more work that creates for me.
More clothes equal more clothes to be washed, more clothes to be dried, more clothes to be folded or hanged. More clothes equal more to manage and I would rather manage something else.
We often get more than we need because we search for security. A three weeks worth of everything you might possibly need to wear might bring you false security. It would also bring burden, stress, and overwhelm. Maybe even resentment. Because three weeks’ worth of everything you might possibly need would be a mountain. And you can’t fit a mountain into your washing machine. The machine can only take small loads at a time and that is also the appropriate amount for us humans in my experience. Otherwise, the task becomes too big, you never have enough time to finish it and you just dread doing it for days. But one load we can tackle any day.
3. Having Things Just In Case Would Make Me Feel Secure And Prepared
There is a line here. You do need extra toilet paper. But do you have to have enough to last you a year? No. It’s also nice to have a well-packed pantry so you don’t need to run to the grocery store every night to pick up a missing ingredient. But do you need enough pasta for the whole family for the next sixty days? No.
There comes a point when storing things just in case actually becomes a hindrance. When there is too much, it’s hard to store it. When there is too much, it hides whatever else you’re looking for. When there is too much, you simply don’t remember owning it in the first place. And so you end up buying some more.
For the items that we are holding on to purely because we fear we might need them one day, we can consider how difficult would it be to replace them should we need them in the future? How much would it cost? If the item is readily available and doesn’t cost too much then we shouldn’t burden our homes and minds with it.
That’s right. Every item also takes space in our minds. And if it doesn’t then we didn’t even know it was there and we might as well pass it on right now.
4. Having Everything Out Would Be Convenient
It is true that things need to be close to where they are used. They need to be easily accessible and they need to be easily put back, too. But they don’t all need to be on the kitchen counters or coffee table or...floor, no! If everything is out it creates clutter and very quickly it becomes hard to distinguish between the things we really need and the other things that just magically start joining the crowd. Clutter loves clutter.
Too many things out also creates visual clutter. I used to believe that every kitchen appliance I use daily, or let’s say weekly(ish), should live on the kitchen counter. Frankly, they had no other place because I had never assigned them a home other than the kitchen counter. But this meant I had less space for actually preparing food. The overall vibe was cluttered. Cleaning the surfaces seemed like a bigger job than it needed to be. Now I love wiping down an empty kitchen counter. Oh, the joy!
5. Dedicating A Day For Cleaning Would Be Convenient
I’m not sure I necessarily believed this. More accurately I just never really planned how and when I should clean my home. I had an example from my childhood home that the vacuum cleaner should come out every weekend. As an adult, I reserved ALL cleaning for the weekend. That’s when you have the time to do it all, right?! But come the weekend and I would find myself wanting to do other things, not cleaning. After going through the whole week without doing any cleaning whatsoever, the task seemed overwhelmingly big and daunting.
What I had failed to notice as a child was that my parents tidied and cleaned all the time, even if the vacuum only came out during the weekends. After every meal, they cleaned the kitchen. They always wiped the counters, swept the floors if necessary. They always put things back where they belonged. It was part of their everyday life. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to transmit this knowledge to me. I needed help from YouTube.
It also must be mentioned that a big part of the problem was that I simply owned too many things. If every closet, drawer, and nook is full of stuff, putting things away becomes a hassle and it’s easy to feel defeated even before the actual cleaning has started.
Now I firmly believe it is MUCH easier to wipe things down right away. To put things back right away. Then, taking out the vacuum during the weekend will not spoil your weekend mood. Or you can get a robot vacuum.