Category Archives: Clutter

Start small…..

Clutter, Easy Living, Life Stressors, positive thinking, Uncategorized, ,

With any task, start small and then see what can grow from it.

Yet so many times we look at things like mountains to be climbed and in double quick time!

We put ourselves under enormous pressures and then beat ourselves up when we cannot achieve. To what end?

Lack of self-esteem, self-loathing, putting ourselves down to others or isolating ourselves from our friends and loved ones.

I have already written about feeling lost, about not recognising myself anymore. I certainly have not discovered a magic bullet, but after talking it out with a good friend I decided to start with my bedside drawer.

“Your what?” you may ask.

A lot has changed in my life and yet I was not making room for those changes, adding to my stress levels from the moment I wake up every morning. So I started with a single drawer.

I made room for the things I need now and anticipate my mornings should run a bit smoother. And after that small start I continued, removing items from my surroundings that no longer serve or define me, making room for those that do.

Two bin bags later, I have a small sense of accomplishment and that is grand.

Lighten The Load

Clutter, Life Stressors, positive thinking, , , ,

Friends of mine are getting ready to sell their house and I have watched, week after week, as they get rid of “stuff” in preparation for the move. Mmm, I thought. So, I came home and looked around, looked at what I would have to pack up if I was to move house.

I have only moved once since getting married and having three children, and when I think about the amount of rubbish I carefully wrapped and packed and then paid (dearly) for a removal company to haul for me, well, it takes my breath away. To avoid making a decision about an item I just brought it with me and, only recently, we found three still unopened boxes of goods in our garage that have been there for eleven years. Boy, they were really important weren’t they!

But it’s not all about changing location. There is a beauty and a clarity to ridding your home, your environment, of items that serve no purpose and drain you of energy by clogging up your cupboards, your wardrobes and, most importantly, your mind. So throw it out.

I have bought all the “storage solutions” on the market, from vacuum bags to pretty wicker baskets and I may as well have thrown my money down the drain. As soon as I store the damned things I instantly forget about them, so, if I do need whatever it is again I end up buying another one!  So throw it out.

Another friend, who is a counsellor and a very good one, reckons we spend the first half of our lives accumulating “stuff”, believing this equates to success and happiness. Then, if we are lucky, we gain a certain wisdom/insight, and spend the second half of our lives trying to get rid of that very same “stuff”, having realised that goods, property, possessions, call it what you will, are usually impediments to true happiness and contentment.  So throw it out.

So I have started slowly. It’s a hoot. I have found things I didn’t even know I had, never mind lost. I threw them out.(donated them). I opened bags of clothes and bags given to me “just in case I could use them”, so I threw them out ( donated them).

Forget your Victoran clutter. You can have my share of it. This is so liberating. Clear spaces equal a clear mind. I even have a place for my car keys now!!