The art of decluttering

“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming NOW, not for the person we were in the PAST” Marie Kondo

About a year or so ago I started doing a systematic decluttering of our home: getting rid of all the stuff that didn’t bring joy or was useful. In so doing, we are restoring order and simplifying our lives as this continues to be work in progress. It involved going through each room meditatively and allowing the divine spirit of simplicity, order, harmony and beauty accompany you. It meant picking up an item and asking the question, “Are you useful?” Do you “spark joy”? (as decluttering Queen, Marie Kondo, would say). Sometimes, you would pick up a keepsake that would tug at your heartstrings because of its sentimental value but it is neither useful nor beautiful. This item gave you joy and served a purpose in your past but it should move on now and make a life somewhere else.

The decluttering process is a systematic activity which is cold and callous and involves pen and paper and progressively going through one room at a time until the job is done. You can have three piles: stuff to keep(only those that are useful and beautiful), stuff to sell or give away to thrift shops and items that can be scrapped.

There is an ancient metaphysical law that states and which Bryant H McGill puts so nicely: “Abundance is a process of letting go; that which is empty can receive.” In other words, you need to create some vacuum so that you can receive more. How can more good come into our lives if there is no space for it? We create the vacuum by giving away what we no longer need but that which will serve others better.

The blue Willow pattern china dinner set that was the bees knees a few decades ago doesn’t quite suit your casual dining style anymore, neither does the punch bowl set or the ceramic rammikins that hasn’t seen the light of day in the last two score years or so. The blue jumpsuit that you bought 12 years ago which is two sizes smaller and you have been waiting to fit into. And do we really need three full, steel embossed cutlery sets? These all got to go. I promise you there’s another life somewhere else for them.

Many studies show that whatever physical clutter we see every day, be it a messy desk, jam-packed closets or overstuffed drawers , takes up most of our attention. Thus, instead of us just focusing on the task at hand or attracting positive energy, these clutters compete for our attention which often results in us not investing the full focus to the activity that needs our attention at that time.

I am not into the extreme decluttering trend of creating the stark minimalist look - I find that too clinical and sterile. However, establishing order where you just have enough of what you need and where each item has a place that can be found immediately is such a liberating and cleansing feeling.

Decluttering has many health benefits: it helps you let go of the past, it creates a peaceful mood as visually your surroundings look cleaner and more organised, it saves you time and makes you more productive as you are not wasting time searching for things, it reduces stress and anxiety and it infuses you with energy to do more of the activities you enjoy doing. Most importantly, you create abundance to enter your life because of the new space you have created.

I am still progressively working through the different rooms in my home and hope I have encouraged you to make a start if you haven’t already. As the new week unfolds, surround yourself with things that are useful and that “sparks your joy”. Have a fantastic week, folks!