How much space do two people need? What about three? Four? Five?

 

The average American home is 2,600 square feet, according to the 2013 Census Bureau. That’s pretty big, considering the average American family is 2.6 people per household. If I am doing math correctly, that means that each person gets 1,000 square feet to himself. That’s 1,000 square feet to clean, too.

 

Do you really need that much space? If you have that much space, do you really need to fill it with stuff?

 

I understand that it is our innate human desire to gather, accumulate, and nest, but that doesn’t mean I agree it is necessary in 2016. Just like it is our innate human response to fight or flee, it doesn’t mean we always have to react with either response.

 

In the same way, we don’t need to go into massive debt so that we can own 1,000 square feet, not including a garage, just to store stuff that we don’t use. That’s a bit silly, isn’t it?

 

Currently, I’m living in an apartment, but my husband and I are saving money for a house, and if I had my way, that house would be tiny—something cross between a tiny house on wheels and a storybook cottage. Currently, we don’t have our own garage or a private basement space. But when we do own our own house, which will inevitably come with a basement and a garage (we live in the Midwest), I don’t plan on being an Average American.

 

Let me be clear: I don’t judge people who own a lot of stuff or have a large house. I grew up in a large home with a massive backyard (by city standards) and I had plenty of toys, clothes, shoes, food, and love. My parents have a lot of stuff, and their desire to hold on to their stuff stems from their childhood experiences with stuff, or lack of stuff, really. Like I stated earlier, I understand our innate desire to hold on to stuff and hunker down—I really do—but I also believe we have an innate desire to live a life of meaning, to find our purpose and contribute to society in positive ways. And I believe that our obsession with stuff often stands in the way of fulfilling our purpose.

 

Suffice to say, the average American does have a lot of stuff, and a basement, and a garage… and with all that stuff and all that space, we have got to clean it some day!

 

So, here are some tips to help you Spring Clean your garage and basement (otherwise known as the bowels of hell).

 

 

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