Did you get rid of too much? Navigating the Post-Purge Shopping Trap
Mia called me after going on a major shopping spree. 🛍
She had resolved to declutter her home, and she had been making great progress. She had been taking a full carload of stuff to the donation center almost every weekend for a month.
But all of a sudden, she found herself with a full Amazon cart and boxes littering the entryway of her home.
She couldn’t figure out why she found herself filling her decluttered spaces with more stuff. What was going on?
I call this shopping spree “Rebound Clutter.”
Rebound Clutter is what happens when we purge too much at one time, or when we get rid of things that we weren’t ready to say goodbye to.
This might happen because you get into a hyperfocus during an organizing project. Or maybe someone was helping you purge and you felt pressured to get rid of more than you were comfortable with. Or if you have to get rid of things you love because they were damaged.
If you use clutter as a form of comfort, it’s really common to do this.
When we are pushed beyond our comfort, it’s a totally reasonable desire to try to “fill up” what you perceive you lost with new things.
But this tendency also can lead to stress and frustration. It adds more stuff for you to have to manage, it can strain your finances, and it can cause your inner critic to pop up and tell you that you’re never going to get organized
Here are a few things you can do when you feel the impulse to shop for some Rebound Clutter after you’ve done a deep purge:
1-Aknowledge that you’re feeling a pull to acquire Rebound Clutter.
2-Remind yourself that you don’t have to get rid of anything that you don’t want to until you’re ready (no matter what anyone else says…pro-organizer, friend, family, anyone!)
3-Make a list of 10 things you can do that would make you feel comforted and cared for, instead of buying more stuff. (ie. Bubble bath, ask your partner to cuddle you, go watch a sunset, take yourself out for an ice cream cone). When you have the impulse to comfort yourself with more stuff, do something from your Comfort List instead.
4-Journal about the feelings that are coming up for you around releasing more items than you really wanted to.
Rebound Clutter can be challenging. But I know you’ve got what it takes to move beyond this organizing challenge.
Comment below and let me know if there was a time you got rid of more than you were comfortable with.
Sending you a huge hug.
