The Ultimate Spring Cleaning: Decluttering the Things Albertans Go Into Debt to Store
Spring is the perfect time to get organized and declutter your home from unused items. Did you know that the average home contains roughly 300,000 items? In my work, I often hear from Calgarians who “just need a storage solution” or that their space is not big enough. More often than not, we don’t need more space; we need less stuff.
We hold on to expensive clothes because it feels wasteful to let go, we hoard unwanted gifts out of guilt, and the inherited fine china out of obligation. The truth is, we are not getting our money back by keeping these things and our memories are not stored inside the physical objects.
It is also quietly draining our bank accounts. We think of our overstuffed closets and packed garages as harmless byproducts of modern life, but the economic reality in our province tells a different story. According to recent Equifax data, Albertans carry the highest average non-mortgage consumer debt in all of Canada, sitting at nearly $24,254 per person. We are literally going into debt to buy things we don’t need. Once those items cross our thresholds, the spending doesn’t stop. The Canadian self-storage industry is booming, now valued at over $4 billion with more than 116 million square feet of rentable space across the country. We are actively paying monthly rent just to house the overflow of our possessions, sacrificing our financial freedom to protect things we rarely use.
How Too Much Stuff Is Bad for Us
This excess isn’t just financially draining; it is mentally exhausting. Researchers at UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families discovered a direct link between the number of possessions in a home and elevated levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone. This cortisol spike disproportionately affects women, who often carry the cognitive load of managing the household. When your home is chaotic, your nervous system cannot rest.
The Solution
Use spring cleaning to your advantage. Warmer weather, birds chirping, and tulips blooming give our brains a boost of motivation — a desire to act after a long winter hibernation. It is a perfect opportunity to declutter and use all that energy towards something that can bring major positive change into our lives.
The most powerful decluttering technique starts before you even open a closet door: schedule a donation pick-up. Go online and book a Diabetes Canada donation pick-up. Having somebody come on a certain day to pick up your donations for a good cause gives you a strict deadline and a good feeling of knowing that your belongings are going to someone who needs them, which greatly helps during the decision-making phase. Also, it is a major help for you, because all you have to do is put your donations outside your door, without having to load the car and drive to drop it off (especially if you don’t own a vehicle).
Over the next week, as you sort through your spaces, apply a simple rule: if an item has not served a functional purpose or brought you profound joy during this past winter, or if you don’t see yourself using it this spring and summer, it is taking away from your life. Put it in the donation box. By forcing yourself to fill those boxes before the truck arrives, you avoid the delayed decision trap and take immediate, decisive action.
The Freedom of Less
As a professional organizer, I see the life-changing power of clearing clutter every day. When clients finally let go, they report feeling instantly lighter, happier, inspired and energized. Our environment dictates how we live, how we treat our families, and how we view ourselves. By clearing the physical clutter, we aren’t just tidying the house, we are gaining time, space and mental freedom.
Marta Parfan is a Calgary-based professional organizer and the founder of Well Arranged Home (wellarrangedhome.com). Instagram: @well_arranged_home
