Julie Peak Of The Precise Place On How Simplifying & Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier
An Interview With Drew Gerber
Assess your priorities — Determine what truly fulfills you and remove the activities that don’t.
We live in a time of great excess. We have access to fast fashion, fast food, and fast everything. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. How can we simplify and focus on what’s important? How can we let go of all the clutter and excess and find true happiness? In this interview series, we are talking to coaches, mental health experts, and authors who share insights, stories, and personal anecdotes about “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make Us Happier.” As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Julie Peak.
She is a professional organizer and declutter expert in Charlotte, NC. She serves as a Board Member for the National Association of Productivity & Organizing and has helped people reclaim their homes, time and energy by letting go of clutter.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
Thank you so much for the opportunity! Ever since I was a child, I have been organizing and helping others get organized. For some, organizing is just putting an item back where it belongs. But for me, it is much more than that — it is about restoring people’s lives. Through some of life’s most challenging moments, my space was the only thing I had control over. Simplifying and organizing my space brought me peace and clarity when the world around me was chaotic. It was then I realized the power of an organized space and its abilities to transform lives and wanted to share that with others.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Well, the most interesting story that has happened to me since starting my career as a professional organizer is my own personal relationship with stuff. I have always been organized and my “stuff” has been neatly placed in bins and baskets. But after working with others and helping them organize their stuff, I became overwhelmed by my own stuff. Space for my stuff wasn’t an issue, but my reasons for keeping certain items needed to be reexamined. It was then that I started to aggressively decluttering my own home. I began to really think about why we purchase things, why we keep certain things and what our stuff says about us. This insightfulness was a real turning point in my business model and how to engage with my clients and their stuff.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, I am currently working on creating a mini online course to help people understand their clutter and buying habits. From my work in the field there is a strong correlation between one’s clutter and their buying habits. Once you begin to understand the connection between the two, only then, can you conquer clutter and disorganization once and for all.
Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier”?
I have experienced firsthand through my work as a professional organizer how organizing, simplifying and decluttering changes lives. My clients are happier and lighter after simplifying and decluttering. They are experiencing new freedoms, they never had before, after learning to let go of clutter.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. We live in a time of excess. We have access to so much. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. Can you articulate for our readers a few reasons why all of our possessions are not giving us happiness?
First and foremost, you are not your stuff. You are you, and things are things. If we are honest with ourselves many of the possessions, we own were purchased to project a certain image or “aspirational” self. We fall victim to very clever advertising and marketing and are left filling unfulfilled when the “promised” item doesn’t deliver. We are told the American dream is a big house, nice car, white picketed fence with two kids and a dog. Many people are working their lives away to acquire more, but are missing what is truly important. The truth is, products will never make us into something we are not, yet we feel compelled to buy and keep stuff that holds a promise. The promise to make us happier, prettier, better parent or more organized. If your things haven’t delivered on their promises yet, it may be time to let them go.
On a broader societal level, how do you think this excessiveness may be harming our communities and society?
When goods are easily available there can be a lack of regard for the waste that is produced, both physical and environmental. We can now click a button and have items delivered within days or minutes. This is drastically different than 40 years ago. There isn’t much thought given to if the item is really needed or just wanted. Moreover, once the items are no longer useful, needed or wanted they are disposed without much thought of the environmental footprint.
The irony of struggling with happiness in modern times is glaring. In many places in the world today, we have more than ever before in history. Yet despite this, so many people are unhappy. Why is simplifying a solution? How would simplifying help people to access happiness?
When you simplify and declutter, you begin to see what is really important. When you are no longer cleaning, maintaining, repairing, and organizing clutter you have more time to focus on the things that really matter to you. You will experience less stress, anxiety, and replace those feelings with more joy and energy. When you are no longer consumed with the desire to acquire more stuff, you will begin to appreciate simple joys and experience true gratitude.
Can you share some insights from your own experience? Where in your life have you transformed yourself from not having enough to finally experiencing enough? For example, many people feel they don’t have enough money. Yet, people define abundance differently, and often, those with the least money can feel the most abundant. Where in your health, wealth, or relationships have you transformed your life?
Over the past few years, I have experienced a lot of loss in my life. I lost my mother unexpectedly and with that loss came a shift in my perspective on having enough. Not only do things no longer matter when you experience a great loss, but once you begin to realize all you do have is when you can begin to truly experience enough. My transformation took place when I stopped the race to acquire more, stopped comparing myself to others, and stopped spending time in stores looking for fulfillment. When you become consciously aware of all you have and not all you are lacking you will experience “enough”. Things that truly matter are not found in a store.
People, places, and things shape our lives. For example, your friends generate conversations that influence you. Where you live impacts what you eat and how you spend your time. The “things” in your life, like phones, technology, or books impact your recreation. Can you tell us a little about how people, places, and things in your own life impact your experience of “experiencing enough?”
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with the Amish. I remember traveling as a young girl through Pennsylvania, on my way to visit family in New York, and seeing my first horse and buggy and wanting to know more about how the Amish lived. My mind was blown away at how they were able to live such “simple” lives in a world that was so modern. I would ask myself “Why wouldn’t they want cars, electronics or even modern machinery to make their lives easier?’. I compared their lives to my definition of “enough”, and it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I began to understand that they have long understood, what many of us will never experience, that material possessions don’t bring happiness and actually have the tendency to interrupt deeper connections with others.
What advice would you give to younger people about “experiencing enough?”
Once your basic needs are met (food, water, clothing and shelter) you have enough and everything else is a want. Don’t determine your “enough” by clever marketers, advertisers or the latest trends.
This is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and research, can you share your “five ways we can simplify and declutter our lives to make us happier?”
- Assess your priorities — Determine what truly fulfills you and remove the activities that don’t.
- Shift your mindset- Think more intentionally about the things you own and purchase.
- Declutter, Declutter, Declutter- Use it or lose it. Learn to let go of stuff that is no longer serving you. Don’t just eliminate physical clutter, examine mental and emotional clutter too.
- Organize- Knowing what you have and being able to locate it easily, will keep you from making unnecessary purchases.
- Protect your space- Don’t undo your hard work. Limit what enters your home. Ask yourself a few questions before you make a purchase “Do I need this”, “Will this item add value to my life”, if the answer is NO rethink if you really need it.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would suggest that people embrace a lifestyle around intentionally living. A lifestyle that is less focused on material possessions and more about one’s values and what makes them joyful.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Instagram.com/thepreciseplace and www.thepreciseplace.com
Thank you so much for these insights. This was so inspiring, and so important!
About The Interviewer: For 30 years, Drew Gerber has been inspiring those who want to change the world. Drew is the CEO of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., a full-service PR agency lauded by PR Week and Good Morning America. Wasabi Publicity, Inc. is a global marketing company that supports industry leaders, change agents, unconventional thinkers, companies and organizations that strive to make a difference. Whether it’s branding, traditional PR or social media marketing, every campaign is instilled with passion, creativity and brilliance to powerfully tell their clients’ story and amplify their intentions in the world. Schedule a free consultation at WasabiPublicity.com/Choosing-Publicity
