Tag: Health

6 Simple Ways To Practice Self Care At Work

Two of the focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. As many of us spend our adult lives pursuing our careers, we must also think about how to do so in the most healthy ways possible. Depending upon what your career involves, you should consider what you can do to maintain yourself self to maximize both your performance and your health. The following contributed post is entitled, 6 Simple Ways To Practice Self Care At Work.

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Over the last several years, employee burnout has been on the rise. The term refers to becoming exhausted, overwhelmed, or unwell due to work. According to a survey cited in Thrive Global, ‘60% of office workers in the United States and Canada feel burned out.’ The study’s respondents pointed to impossible deadlines, large workloads, pressure, and breaks amongst the contributing factors.

Your own job might involve reasonable workloads and deadlines, yet this doesn’t mean it’s not possible to become stressed. To reduce your stress levels throughout the working week, it’s important to establish a self-care regime. Whether you commute or work from home, these simple steps will set you up to practice self-care at work.

1 . Meal-prep

Most of us can appreciate that a good self-care regime involves eating healthy and nutritious food. If you pre-plan your meals, it’s easier to establish and follow a healthy regime. Prepare or plan your lunches on the Sunday before the week has begun. Spend time researching new healthy recipes, and use apps such as ‘Noom’ or ‘YogicFoods’ for some inspiration.

2. Perfect your space

Working in a dull and unattractive looking environment does nothing for your morale and well being. Try to perfect your working space as much as you can. According to a survey in ZenBooth, ’46 % of professionals said office design impacted heavily on their productivity.’ Another study by The World Green Building Council found that ’69 % of businesses that implemented healthy building features reported improvements in employee satisfaction and engagement.’ These healthy features included good ventilation, lighting, attractive interiors, plants, and collaborative workspaces.

3. Occasional Telecommuting

An Owl Labs study found that’ full-time remote workers reported being happy in their jobs 22% more than workers who are never remote.’ Perhaps the current COVID-19 lockdown has ruined the fun of working from home! Nevertheless, when things return to ‘normal,’ keeping the odd telecommute day here and there is highly beneficial for your well being.

4. Inventive breaks

It’s vital to take regular breaks throughout the working day to avoid burnout. If you want to improve your self-care, you’ve got to get a little inventive with your breaks. Use them wisely to do activities which help you to relax. If you’re working from home, it could be a quick sunbathe in the garden! You could try a brief work out, meditation session, or reading a book? Instead, you might take time to write a reflective passage in a journal or maybe take a walk in the park. Whatever helps you to feel peaceful, make sure that you practice these activities, throughout your day.

5. Set boundaries

Set boundaries for yourself and with your co-workers about how much work you can realistically take on. Juggling too many projects at the same time is bound to affect the quality and stress you out. It’s essential to aim high, yet set yourself realistic expectations about what you can achieve.

6. Prioritise health & safety

It’s vital to pay close attention to health and safety to look after yourself during the working week. Review your health and safety training often, and report anything that you are unhappy with. Even in an office role, for instance, it’s important to use ergonomic furniture to stop yourself from sustaining an injury. If you are unfortunate enough to become injured at work, you’ll need an excellent personal injury lawyer behind you. Companies such as Hadley Law Firm provide some great services.

Dealing With A Drastic Change In Your Healthcare Business’ Day To Day

Three of the focuses of my blog are Current Events, Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic/Crisis has created drastic changes for healthcare businesses. Whenever something happens that imparts systematic changes, it’s important to understand how to deal with them. The following contributed post is entitled, Dealing With A Drastic Change In Your Healthcare Business’ Day To Day.

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Whenever something needs to change within a business, the company itself can have a bit of an overhaul. But when it comes to a healthcare business, there’s a lot more back and forth to go through – operations management can get very complicated when both health and wellbeing are involved.

So, considering the current global pandemic, and the need for change within the healthcare sector around the globe, let’s go into a little more detail about making a drastic change. The day to day in a healthcare business can be highly unpredictable anyway, but especially so in times like these.

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Come Up with a Strategy

Your patients still need to know you care. And without knowing what you’re going to do over the next few months – without a plan – you won’t be able to keep up with the tide of patients you might not even think about having to accommodate for usually.

A strategy is going to be essential right now, and it might be hard to come up with on your own. Thankfully, Healthcare Consulting companies are out there, and are looking to band together to help you make an effective yet drastic change to your daily operations. Put this kind of resource to good use; healthcare is all about lending a hand.

Pick Up on Technology

Technology is one of the main things that can help your healthcare business to cope during difficult times. Tech has revolutionised the healthcare sector in the modern era; more people have access to regular and quality healthcare simply because they can talk to a doctor online, and almost everyone has an internet connection.

Which is why it’s key to focus on your tech capability right now – what would you be able to do with the digital strategy you’re already putting to good use in your business? You can’t be sure you’ll have the chance to upgrade right now, so you’ll need to focus on what you do have.

How many virtual appointments could help keep patients safe and at home? Can you have at least two to three people man the phones at all times? Can you use an online delivery service for medications?

Think About Costs

And finally, operations management in healthcare is all about knowing where the costs are going to be, and how you can cope with them. You can use data analysis to work out where the big and recurring costs are, so do this first.

Then, if you don’t already have an emergency fund in place, or a form of insurance that you’ve paid into over the years, be sure to reach out for donations and/or for government aid. You and your workers are on the front lines during a time like this, so ensure you have a portal for people to lend their aid through right now.

Dealing with a drastic change in a healthcare business’ day to day is one of the hardest things. Make sure you know the drill above.

How To Make Health Insurance More Affordable

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Health/Wellness. A major personal cost depending on your stage in life and circumstance is healthcare. Most people don’t understand their premiums and how to manage the costs but it can be done. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Make Health Insurance More Affordable.

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Getting insured is the best way to afford healthcare – but what if you can’t afford health insurance? While rates can be expensive, there are a number of cheaper insurance options out there. Here are just several ways in which you can lower the cost of health insurance.

Check if you’re eligible for Medicare or Medicaid

There are federal and state programs in place across America that could help to pay for some or all of your health insurance. These are only eligible to certain people however.

Medicare is eligible for those over 65 and those with disabilities – while you must still pay a contribution, this program could allow most of your insurance to be paid for you. There are a number of different plans out there ranging from Medicare Plan A to Medicare Plan G. These each offer a different level of coverage.

Medicaid is meanwhile eligible to those with a low income, pregnant women and people with certain disabilities – participants pay little to nothing for coverage providing they meet requirements. This is largely state funded, unlike Medicare, so can vary a little from state to state.

Talk to your employer

Many employers offer health insurance to employees as a company benefit, often making contributions to help lower the cost. If your employer does not offer this, you could try talking to them about the possibility of setting up a scheme. Even if they contribute only a tiny amount to it, it will still save you some money and it has tax benefits for your employer.

Join organizations with health insurance perks

Aside from working for a company that offers health insurance, you may also be able to gain access to cheap health insurance by becoming a member of certain organizations. This includes state farm bureaus, university alumni associations and automotive clubs such as the AAA.

Raise your deductible and use a HSA

A high deductible plan can also save you money. The deductible is the amount of money you’re willing to pay out of your own pocket before asking an insurer for help in the event that you need to pay for healthcare. It could mean that you still end up paying for most minor healthcare, but you’ll still get some assistance if you need major treatment such as surgery.

A HSA (Health Savings Account) could help you to pay your deductible. This is a savings account in which your earnings are contributed on a regular basis. The main benefit of such accounts is that you don’t have to pay tax on any earnings that are put in these savings accounts.

Start living more healthily

Health insurers tend to ask a number of questions about applicants’ lifestyle in order to get an idea of how healthy you are. If you smoke, drink heavily and do little exercise, you could find that your rates are higher – this is because there’s a greater risk you’ll need to claim insurance for healthcare.

While you can lie about your lifestyle to gain access to cheaper rates, this could backfire if you’re found out. Start living more healthily so that you can honestly take advantage of cheap insurance – less health problems could also mean less health insurance claims in the future, which means cheaper future rates.

Believe It Or Not, The Current Public Health Crisis Is An Opportunity For Health Care Providers

Three focuses of my blog are Current Events, Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Throughout history, vast opportunities have been created out of crisis situations and the Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic is no different. One area that is in the eye of this storm is the healthcare sector. The following contributed post is entitled, Believe It Or Not, The Current Public Health Crisis Is An Opportunity For Health Care Providers.

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With COVID-19 spreading like wildfire across the planet, the eyes of the world are on the medical sector. People are watching the industry like never before and, frankly, forcing it to do new things.

Take clinical trials, for instance. Usually, these take years to set up, conduct, and publish. But in the current context, they’re taking a matter of weeks. The nature of the emergency requires it.

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The same applies to vaccines and drugs. It used to take the FDA the length of a career to approve specific medicines. Now the CDC is recommending that some Americans take virtually untested drugs in the desperate fight against COVID-19.

What is interesting about the current episode is the giant leaps that the medical establishment can make when it absolutely has to. Most of the time, it is sclerotic, dormant, and apathetic to the needs of patients. But when you suddenly add the scrutiny of public attention, things change fast. All of a sudden, you CAN deliver life-saving drugs in just a matter of weeks. Odd, isn’t it?

Of course, all this chicanery has a lot of people asking why this rate of progress wasn’t possible before.

Expect all the usual weasel words at this point. “There are processes that we must follow.” “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.” “We have the best healthcare system in the world.”

But, of course, everyone is going to remember this episode and demand that the sector change in the future. When the bureaucracy gets out of the way, it appears to improve patient satisfaction. Why can’t that continue?

Public attitudes will undoubtedly change going forward, creating opportunities for specific providers in the industry who stay on top of the current situation. People are looking for outfits that they can trust to get the job done – and without bankrupting them.

Shift Your Business Model

The opportunities for healthcare providers who get their message right, therefore, is tremendous. Already, we see big shifts in how the industry operates. Some clinics are offering patients flat fees for consultations, instead of milking the insurance system.

Others are looking for ways to make medical services subscription-based. You continue paying your doctor to keep you healthy. When you get ill, you stop paying and only resume payments once you’re back to normal.

Healthcare providers are also going to have to think much more about their hygiene messaging. While keeping things clean is important at any time, it is even more so in the aftermath of a pandemic.

Offer Patient Direction

Healthcare providers that can provide patients with clear guidance in the current crisis will be those that most successfully build their brands. Those who really understand how to react to the needs of their patients will emerge as a shining example to the rest of the industry. At times like these, patients need a considerable amount of help. Many people will still be getting sick from regular illnesses and need medical attention. Clinics who can orchestrate an effective response will be those that gain the most trust in the community.

3 Great Resources To Help Improve Your Mental Health

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. Maintaining your mental health is critical, arguably more so than maintaining your physical health. Most people don’t think about it though or know how to do it. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Great Resources To Help Improve Your Mental Health.

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Maintaining good mental health is just as important as looking after your physical health. We are all likely to experience some form of mental health issues at some point in our lives, but as long as you know how to deal with it effectively, you can come out of the other side much stronger.

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There are plenty of lifestyle changes that you can make, but it is also important that you make use of the resources that are available to you. There are so many great resources that can teach you more about mental health so you understand the root cause of your issues, and some resources that can give you good advice on improving your mental health. These are some of the best resources that can help you manage your mental health.

The Internet

The internet is a huge source of information and there is so much about mental health on there. There are sites like Prosperity Alaska that have loads of great articles about mental health and wellness, with so many great tips on improving your mental health. Reading these kinds of sites will help you to find new ways to change your habits and lifestyle for better long term mental health.

You can also find a lot of information about the causes and symptoms of mental health issues, which helps you to identify when you may have a problem. However, there is a lot of bad information on the internet, so it is important that you find official medical bodies so you know that you are getting good advice.

Books

There are a lot of great books out there that can help you to improve your mental health. In a lot of cases, it helps to know that other people have experienced the same problems as you and found ways to deal with them. You can learn from their experience and try some of the methods that they found useful, which is why books about mental health are such an effective resource. There are books that cover a lot of different things, like managing stress, dealing with anxiety, reaching your full potential, and dealing with traumatic life events. Not everything that you find in these books will be applicable to you, but if you are having a hard time, you should try reading some books about mental health.

Your Doctor

The best place to go for advice about mental health is always your doctor. Even though it is good to make lifestyle changes and find your own advice, you should always see a medical professional if things are getting on top of you. They will be able to prescribe medications that can be very useful, and they will also help you to find other treatments, like talking therapies, which are so effective when trying to deal with mental health problems.

If you make good use of these resources, you will find it a lot easier to manage your mental health and avoid any serious issues in the future.

Practical Tips For Supporting Vulnerable People Who Are Self-Isolating

Two key focuses of my blog are Current Events and Health/Wellness. As our world is dealing with the Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic, people are being asked to practice “Social Distancing” and self-isolation. These new Coronavirus strategies aren’t necessarily healthy for people who are self-isolating even though they are necessary. The following contributed post is entitled, Practical Tips For Supporting Vulnerable People Who Are Self-Isolating.

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We live in scary and uncertain times. The coronavirus will have far-reaching effects not just for our healthcare system but for the global economy and business to say nothing of the potential long-term sociological effects. Yet, for those of us who make a living from caring for society’s most vulnerable, or those of us who care for elderly or infirm loved ones, our thoughts turn not to ourselves, but to those who rely on us. If you care for someone who is self-isolated, elderly or sick with a compromised immune system, whether you’re a medical professional or just a loving relative, here are some practical tips for protecting our most vulnerable and isolated in this difficult time.

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Encourage healthy eating

Those who are isolated tend to be less inclined to cook for themselves. Moreover, those who are in a state of stress or anxiety may experience a dramatic decline in appetite. At best, vulnerable people may sustain themselves with a variety of highly processed sugary, fatty or salty convenience foods. At worst they may eat nothing at all.

It’s essential to encourage, or even facilitate, healthy eating. Ensure that they eat a diet that is balanced with a good nutrient to calorie ratio. Make sure they have access to as much fresh fruit and veggies as possible. Not only is fresh produce packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein, it also contains phytonutrients which are believed to support immune function.

Plus, let’s not forget, food is a source of enjoyment as well as fuel for our bodies. Sharing delicious home cooked meals can make a huge difference to someone’s day.

Encourage them to wash their hands properly

We all know how important hand washing is in the current climate. As much as people seem to think that stockpiling alcoholic hand sanitizer will insulate them from the risk of coronavirus, there’s really no substitute for good old fashioned soap and water. In fact, the very act of washing your hands literally tears viruses apart. Viruses come packaged in a wall of fats and proteins. Soaps dissolve the bonds that hold viral cells together so when you wash your hands, you’re not just washing them down the drain, you’re wiping them out.

However, our charges who experience diminished cognitive functions or neurological impediments such as dementia may not be willing or able to wash their hands regularly. Where possible, it’s vital to ensure that they understand and use the proper hand washing technique. Medical professionals will already be well aware of this but family carers can check it out here. Where it’s not possible to educate your charge on proper hand washing technique, it’s up to you to ensure that their hands are clean especially before eating.

Ensure that they are continuously monitored

As hard and as diligently as you work to protect the person or people you care for, it’s okay to admit that you’re only human. Fortunately, technology can lend a helping hand to monitor charges even when you’re not on the premises. Continuous EEG monitoring equipment is appropriate both for home and hospital use. It offers real time monitoring of brain activity 24/7 to give carers peace of mind and inform ongoing therapy options. It can track seizure activity, provide a steady stream of data for review by your charge’s doctor or specialist physician and help medical professionals to make fast and effective decisions pertaining to therapies or drug treatments.

Help them feel cared for and supported

We’ve yet to encounter the true sociological cost of self-isolation. As friends and family members become separated from one another and married couples experience potential cabin fever that can put a strain on their relationship, we can expect to see some serious social fallout as a result of the coronavirus. However, for the people in your care, it may compound their existing feelings of isolation and vulnerability. The elderly and infirm are among the most isolated in our society and the most prone to anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts.

As such, perhaps one of the most important things medical professionals and family members can do is be there for our charges socially. Keep them chatting, let them know you’re available. Ask how they’re feeling and encourage them to share their thoughts and experiences with you.

Your emotional support, compassion and availability may be just as lifesaving as your health and hygiene precautions or the medication you administer.

This current pandemic can exacerbate the sense of isolation felt by the isolated and make them even more vulnerable. In this climate, the support you lend them is more important than ever!

Avoid Health Hazards At Work

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. While we go to work to earn a living, there are also multiple health hazards depending on the workplace. There’s a lot of planning that management has to think about to prevent these hazards. The following contributed post is entitled, Avoid Health Hazards At Work.

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There are many hazards that can occur in the workplace and if they are not properly dealt with, it could cause a big problem and you could be paying out for compensation, insurance and more. Offices will contain health and safety hazards which need to be monitored and controlled, even outside the office. For example if you have poor paving and someone trips and breaks their ankle, you need to ensure that you have a good working environment outside also. Looking at concrete replacement could be something for you to look at https://www.keflatwork.com/concrete-repair-replacement/ to ensure that your paving is perfect.

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But inside the workplace, you will certainly find that offices need to have hazards identified and there must be risk assessments carried out to be sure that the right measures are in place and can be implemented just in case something occurs. You must secure your office http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBigWordsBlogSite/~3/nA54f2JImMg/. Here are the most common things and hazards that you will find inside the office:

● Poor or inadequate lighting, people could trip, fall, drop things
● Ergonomic hazards;
● Extremes of temperature, if the heating is broken, it could lead to cold-related illnesses or vice versa for hot.
● Manual handling hazards which may include machinery
● Tripping and falling hazards such as poor placement of furniture, boxes being left or equipment not properly stored.
● Electrical hazards, sockets, wires, poor electrical systems that aren’t tested etc.
● Contagious illnesses spread by sick workers, because workers feel they cannot stay home and take a sick day for fear of getting behind or leaving other workers in the lurch
● Fire hazards, poor fire exits, or none at all, no real route to get out of the way should there be a fire
● Chemical hazards, cleaning products or any toxic products left around or not stored properly, or falling into the wrong hands.
● Stress hazards such as high stress jobs, tight deadlines and poor working environments that can make people suffer stress and anxiety. Stress at work is a huge thing as you can read about further here https://qz.com/work/1443824/stress-at-work-is-a-dangerous-health-hazard/

All health and safety hazards must be properly identified, and then you will need to ensure that there is a risk assessed and that then you can implement the new rules and regulations to keep your workers safe. To do this you need to look at the likelihood of the risks causing any serious injury and then prove that you have put the necessary things in place to stop them from occurring. Workers may file a complaint if this is not done or things don’t change, after all they too want to protect themselves from issues within the workplace.

Then, once the systems are implemented, you must control the measures, keep an eye on them and monitor them closely as it is essential that you keep on top of them all to ensure that they remain effective for some time and that nothing is sliding back into old ways. Moving forwards will help everyone and ensure a more productive workspace, inside and outside of the working office. You can find more information online about how to implement this but it’s also best to assess yourself first.

Is Your Home Keeping Your Healthy Or Making You Sick?

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. While our homes are supposed to be safe spaces where we can retreat from the world, they can also be sources of injury, pain and sickness. This is something most people don’t think about. The following contributed post is entitled, Is Your Home Keeping Your Healthy Or Making You Sick?

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When it comes to improving our health, we need to think about more than just the changes we make to our own bodies. We need to think about how our environment affects our health as well. For that reason, we’re going to take a look at the impact that our home can have on us, how it can make us healthy, how it can make us sick, and how to make better use of it.

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You may have more guests than you realize
No one wants pests in their home. That much should be a given. However, many may underestimate just how much harm pests can really do once they’re inside. Their droppings, urine, and other dander can lead to a major risk of allergies and respiratory illnesses. Other pests are disease carriers. Read more here about how to identify whether you might have pests in your home, and what to do about them if you do. There are many pests you may be able to ward off without professional help.

How clean is clean?
If you’re very health conscious, then you’re also likely to be very clean conscious. You want to get rid of bacteria that could get you sick, but what do you use to do it? Common household cleaning products could contain more dangerous ingredients than you might realize. Some can cause irritation, others can exacerbate respiratory issues, and some are even linked to cancer. Learn here about the household cleaning ingredients we should all be much more aware of, as well as some the alternatives that could be much healthier for you and your home.

How well do you manage your air quality?
The very air we breathe is going to have an impact on our health. As such, the home plays an important role in creating a boundary between us and the outside world. If that boundary fails, we can let in all the allergens, not to mention the damp, that can slowly make the air in our home more dangerous. Learn more about keeping the roof repaired and sealing off air gaps to protect the boundary of your home. You shouldn’t simply let the outdoors come in when it wants.

Home is where the head is
When it comes to your mental health, the home can have just as profound an impact on that, as well. For instance, a cluttered, messy home has been shown to increase symptoms and feelings of stress significantly in people. More importantly, the home should act as a comforting haven that you’re glad to return to after a day of dealing with work and other responsibilities. Ways to make your home more welcoming can include incorporating more personal aspects of decor, such as photos, and making use of aromatherapy candles to help relax.

You can’t avoid every malady with the tips above, but it does raise the important question of how our homes contribute to our health. Make sure you take care of your home and it will take better care of you.

(Big and Small) Lifestyle Changes for Better Mental Health

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. Arguably our most important aspect of health is our mental health. There things we can do to maintain and foster good mental health. The following contributed post is entitled, (Big and Small) Lifestyle Changes for Better Mental Health.

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So many of us struggle with our mental health that is is becoming a very serious epidemic. Obviously, if you are feeling very unwell, it is useful to visit a doctor or therapist and see what they have to offer, but there are lots of lifestyle changes, with big and small, that if you are able, could help you to live a happier, healthier less stressful life too.

Combining doctor’s advice with the following ideas may prove to be useful to you on your wellness journey…

Eat an Enhanced Diet

Although it’s unlikely to be the whole story, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that the way we eat can impact upon our mental wellbeing, as we all know it does with our physical health. Whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains have been found to boost mood, as have omega-3 rich foods, while trans fats and junk food have been found to be unhelpful, perhaps due to the fact that they change the bacteria in our guts for the worse. So, by adding more good foods and reducing the number of unhealthy foods we eat, we can easily increase our sense of wellbeing.

Change Your Job

If you do a job that you hate, which is hard work for you and which sees you get few rewards, it’s easy to start feeling stressed out, anxious and depressed. It’s a big step, but if you feel able to take the leap, retraining for a job you know you’ll love could be just what you need to get you out of your funk. Whether you find farming land for sale and ditch the office for a life living on the land or you quit the call center and start work in the office, shaking up your work so that it’s more in line with who you are could be the start of things looking up. Be brave.

Meditating

Meditating is something you can do in 5-15 minutes each day, but it can be completely transformational for your mental health. Learning how to be more mindful; how to go with the flow more; and how to stop identifying with every negative thought you have, can bring you a peace of mind you never thought possible. Meditation has been shown to improve symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, so make it a part of your everyday life.

Travel the World

Taking off and traveling the world might not be practical, and if you’re feeling very mentally well, it might not feel remotely possible, but seeing more of the world when you are able to do so, can really help boost your mental health. Seeing new things and having new experiences can shock you back into the present and put life into perspective for you. It can teach you new things about yourself and show you what you’re really made of. Even if you can only travel to the next state, getting out of your current environment could do you the world of good.

Make as many positive changes, as big or small as you can manage, and your wellness levels will soon start to soar!

How to Manage Your Relationship With Stuff

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. A key aspect to our lives is our living space. Sometimes our living space becomes unhealthy to our attachment to items and things. There’s a healthy balance to managing your belongings and your living space. The following contributed post is entitled, How to Manage Your Relationship With Stuff.

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‘Stuff’ was a big topic in 2019 and it’s no surprise that 2020 is set to continue the conversation. As we watch the planet change due to our activities, it is natural to question the wisdom that has gone before. Challenging how we live and what we accumulate along the way is a sensible start but it isn’t as simple as throwing everything away and starting again. In fact, that would be a disaster!

Learning to manage your relationship with stuff is about more than being tidy. You need to learn the difference between needs and wants, better understand terms like quality and value for money and only then begin to live with a little less.

How Much Stuff Do I Already Have?

There are some incredible statistics out there that really show how we relate to stuff. For example, the average American home has doubled in size over the last 50 years and now contains around 300,000 items. Just trying to imagine that is quite difficult but if you consider the number of pens, pots, pans and pairs of pants you own, you can see how quickly the numbers add up – and we’ve not even considered the rest of the alphabet yet!

Another interesting statistic claims that 10% of Americans also rent off-site storage. This is madness when you consider that you could get a simple residential shed from twin city sheds for your garden but even crazier when you ask how often these people actually use those belongings (almost never). So why do people continue to pay to store things they don’t need? Because they don’t have a healthy relationship with stuff or really know what they need.

Having stuff makes us feel successful and safe. Knowing that you have a thing – even if you never use it – is reassuring because it might come in useful in the future. But that way lies hoarding and an unhealthy obsession with gathering and holding onto stuff. The classic item is a pair of trousers you are going to slim into at some point in the future. You keep hold of them because they cement the idea that a “better you” is possible and you need to be prepared for that eventuality. But, of course, the future never comes.

How Much Stuff Do I Actually Need?

The amount of stuff you personally need depends entirely on who you are and what you want to achieve. If you are an artist, for example, you might have a lot of stuff so that you can pursue your work. If you are a parent, you will probably have more toys than you think you need but your kids will insist otherwise! If you are a determined and radical minimalist, you might have just a few important things and little else.

There are a few ways to realize that you have more stuff than you need but perhaps the most obvious is that there is stuff everywhere. When you literally can’t put things away because there is no storage left, you need to reconsider what you need and what can go.

Imagine for a second that your home is completely empty – what do you need? When you start writing your list, you will quickly find that the number of items racks up. But, when you then go around your house, you will see how many items didn’t make the list but are still there. These are the items that you should now think about more ruthlessly. You don’t need them, so do you really want them?

Learning to Live With Less

Buying less is a great way to save money, space and sanity. When you stop bringing more and more unnecessary stuff into your house, the space you have will feel a lot bigger and calmer. But how do you curb the tide of stuff?

One good idea is to start focusing on experiences instead of things. This is really popular with younger people who value experience far more than things. There are a few interesting suggestions as to why but perhaps the most interesting is that millennials were watching in 2008 when the markets crashed and suddenly people didn’t own their stuff anymore. It seems like a natural response to choose experiences, where the memory will last a lifetime, when you can’t rely on keeping your stuff forever. This generation has also grown up with a sharing economy, endless pressure to update social media showing off an incredible lifestyle and genuinely can’t afford to accumulate stuff anyway!

By focusing on experience, you can also add value to your life. Investing in travel or education or a particular passion will bring you far more joy than buying more and more stuff to fill up your house. Of course, as your interests change, you might find yourself purchasing items to explore a particular passion or hobby. But what is important is that you recognize when your interest is spent and it’s time to get rid and move on.

Selecting the Right Stuff

When you are comfortable living with less, it’s important that you then learn to select the right stuff. Instead of buying a variety of things in the interim, making do with what you have and then investing on the things you really want is far smarter. A little of something perfect is often preferable to a lot of something imperfect.

Quality and value for money are the key phrases here. Buying something of a high quality is often more expensive but if it lasts longer than comparable products, it is a good investment. This is one of the reasons smart spending is so important. Saving up and spending more can actually save you money in the long term.

When you are less dependent on stuff for your happiness, you own less clutter and value experience more, you are likely to be happier, healthier and calmer. But don’t try to change your lifestyle completely overnight. Like any relationship, your relationship with stuff takes time to build and will always include a bit of negotiation!