Many new year’s resolutions include getting in shape, or physically fit. For home work out routines, it makes sense to purchase fitness equipment. Asking for a stationary bike, treadmill or all-in-one home gyms are common Christmas gift requests.
Maybe it wasn’t a gift request or a new year’s resolution. You may have inherited a piece of fitness equipment. Maybe a family member wanted to downsize, so they asked if you wanted their elliptical trainer. You thought, yea I want to get in shape and this may provide the motivation to get me going.
Your intentions are good going into this healthy endeavor. You find a great space in your home where your new fitness equipment will live and move it to its new home. A plan is created and you begin your regular workout routine.
As time goes on, you use your fitness equipment less and less. This could be for a lot of reasons. Maybe the newness wore off, you may have made an impulsive new year’s resolution, or you can’t find the time to fit your routine into your hectic schedule. Whatever the reason, now you have an unused item in your home taking up valuable space.
I see large unused pieces of fitness equipment in so many homes of family members, friends and clients. Actually, I guess it is being used, but not in the way it’s intended – it’s now used as storage. Articles of clothing and other items are draped over handles, or piled on benches or the treads, or precariously balanced on handles.
I’m pretty sure I don’t need to state the obvious, but I will – using fitness equipment is not ideal for storage. The piles and draped clothing will rapidly become clutter, and clutter is not your friend, it causes stress. Doing this also prohibits its intended use.
So, stop using fitness equipment for storage. The idea is to keep it clear of clutter as an incentive to use it.
However, if you know you won’t use that stationary bike, now or in the future, find it a new home. Sell it, donate it, or gift it to someone who will use it for it’s intended purpose.
