Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. (William Morris)
If you want to have a serene, uncluttered space, this is a brilliant mantra to keep in mind when you are thinking about bringing anything new home.
Before you decide to accumulate anything at all, stop and think whether you will truly treasure the item or whether it will be useful enough to earn a place in your environment.
Often we bring items home just because it was a great deal or a free giveaway. I cannot count how many canvas tote bags I now own for this very reason. Ditto with baseball caps. Most of these things I would never have chosen to buy. I have to think seriously about just how many are necessary and do some culling.
Without curbing the inflow of stuff, we will never be able to live in the kind of organized, calm and beautiful environment we crave.