Just for a minute, try to imagine your dream home. Visualise the interior, as you walk through the house in your mind’s eye, imagine each room. Is there any dust? Anything stored under beds? Are the wardrobes and rooms well-organised? I guess there is zero clutter in any imaginary home.
I’d love if someone came into my house, ideally while I’m away, and did a huge clear-out. I’d return to an almost empty home and only have what I need. I doubt that I’d miss anything once it’s gone but I can’t imagine anyone volunteering to wade through my bookshelves, crammed with books as yet unread (tsundoku*) and do spring clean!
We can hoard anything –food, medicines, clothes, books, electronics, videos (even if we no longer have a video-cassette player). Some houses have a drawer full of whatchamacallits or a lifetime of ornaments or baby toys that belong to now adult children or a closet full of tired sheets or hard towels (so you can exfoliate as you dry!) …the list is endless.
When any house is full, it can be difficult to find important things. Advantages to clearing areas of your home include having fewer things to dust or tidy and having way more space. I’m not the only person with unnecessary items at home and I think everyone benefits from regular decluttering.
Why do we hold onto things that we haven’t used or worn for ages but are reluctant to part with? Decluttering can be difficult. We often feel that we must keep things in case we find a use for them in the future. Because clothes were expensive, we can feel attached to them and it can be hard to let them go. We give more value to our possessions than someone else would.
If you want to declutter ask someone to help. Others have no emotional attachment to your belongings neither did they pay for them and so will find it easier to clear them for / with you.
We might think our stuff is valuable but ask yourself whether you’ve used it in the past year and whether you would buy it if you didn’t own it!
Start decluttering by spending a few minutes every day clearing one small area at a time e.g. medicine cabinet, kitchen cupboard, drawer, shelf, storage box etc. Give your lovely clothes to women’s refuges, Direct Provision centres, homeless shelters, or charity shops. When it comes to nostalgic children’s books or old toys, give them to your adult child (and resist the urge to ask what they did with them). Take photographs of documents and store them online. Save on physical storage space and keep minimalist living in mind as you do your clear-out.
Once an area is clear, change your behaviour. Keep newly-tidied areas clutter-free. Put things back in their place after use. Be disciplined.
Start decluttering today. Begin by taking baby steps and just like a baby, whenever you fall down, get back up and keep on going.
Separately, and on a serious note, if you feel that in need of support, free-text HELLO to 50808 which is a free 24/7 text service, providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support for an emotional crisis.
*tsundoku is acquiring reading materials and allowing them to pile up at home without reading them of which I am guilty!
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