Less is More (part 1)

It sounds counterintuitive.  How could less be more?  I wouldn't have believed it, had I not experienced it myself.  I didn't set out to become a minimalist.  But as I got rid of my stuff, in preparing for my move, I found that I gained more than I lost. 

Time.  I had more time as a result of less stuff.  We spend a great portion of our days washing, folding, picking up, cleaning and organizing stuff.  Fewer clothes, fewer toys, fewer towels, fewer papers, fewer movies, fewer video games, fewer yard supplies... How much more time would we gain with less stuff to wash, fold, pick up, clean, and organize? 
How much time do we waste looking for something we lost because it was in a pile that we hadn't dealt with?  When there is less stuff, things are easily found.  Really things are rarely lost because everything is out in the open, plainly seen.

Money.  I once had a friend tell me that she was going out to buy a new wallpaper stripper because the one she owned was lost in her basement.  Why do we end up with so many multiples of things?  Maybe we can't find what we need when we need it?  Maybe we don't even remember that we have it.
And if we intention to have less from the start, we save money on the things we chose not to buy.

Relationships.  Relationships are better with less stuff.  Since having less stuff, my home is naturally cleaner.  There aren't messes or things needing picked up. We can be ready for company in 15 minutes.  Just wipe down the kitchen counters, spiff up the bathroom, vacuum and we are ready to go. 
Relationships also grow as a result of having more time.  Time to play games with our kids.  Time to go out for a cup of coffee.  Spending time enjoying relationships instead of managing stuff.
Contentment.  More contentment as a result of less stuff because if you have more time, money and better relationships, contentment will come too.  Content because the day was simple instead of hurried.  We didn't spend 15 minutes looking for that library book.  Instead we chatted with a friend.  We didn't have to pay for the library book we couldn't find.  Instead we bought the friend coffee. 

No life is not perfect with less stuff.  But I would be bold enough to tell you, in my experience, life is better with less stuff.