Cluttered With Choice? Why less IS often more

I recently went to have my nails ‘done’ at a local Beauty Salon; filled with the excitement of Christmas & New Year socials, yet wondering how on earth I was going to keep my nails looking good whilst preparing food, wrapping presents and finishing up some declutter sessions with Clients! So I booked ahead for a Shellac nail polish – it lasts 2-3 weeks with a glossy finish – perfect!

I’ve had Shellac done several times before, but as I’m a creature of habit when it comes to all things glamorous, it was no surprise that when the pallet of nail colours was presented before me, I panicked! Not 4 or 5 colours to choose from, but more than 40; with more combinations if you were to mix & match 2 colours, or add glitter!

Overwhelmed with the sheer number of colours before me, and feeling that time was now ticking on, I plumped for the same colour I have done every time (bar one occasion when I matched the colour to a dress I was wearing for my birthday!). So out came number 31 ‘Rubble’ and it was duly applied to my nails.

The colour looks perfect and goes with everything, but part of me wondered if it would really have been so bad to have gone for a something different? I could have gone a little sparkly for the festive season, or chosen a redder colour than the simple, understated and completely inoffensive grey/brown than I normally have. But there just was literally too much choice!

Many people find themselves in a similar situation in other areas of life; children playing are often faced with ALL of their toys in one room yet with nothing to do, the woman with a wardrobe full of clothes yet has nothing to wear, the hungry person with a cupboard full of food yet nothing to eat, and the home-worker with a desk overflowing with paperwork but nothing accomplished.  In all of these situations it seems that when people are faced with what seems to be an overwhelming amount of ‘stuff’ (myself included with nail colours) they choose the easy option of avoidance, reverting to their usual decisions, rather than to try something different for a change; something that might bring them new fun, a new outfit, a new recipe or the completion of a long-overdue project.

Think about decluttering your space. Many times Clients have said that that they would rather have turned around and walked away from the mountain of decisions waiting to be made rather than to deal with them, but something inside made them see sense and once we started organising, they couldn’t wait to continue.

So, I would say that maintaining less IS more, for sure.

• Rotate toys in and out of play to keep youngsters fulfilled in play.
• Move out of season clothes from your wardrobe & experiment with different outfits to give your clothes more life.
• Avoid filling your basket with the same foods and try something new.
• Break work down into simple tasks and be more productive.

Avoid being cluttered with too many choices and live a simpler life!