I once had a conversation with my cousin about clutter and how we both tend to over-donate to Goodwill in an attempt to not end up buried alive beneath our own piles of stuff. Apparently we were subconsciously rebelling against out mothers (who are sisters) by making sure that we didn't accumulate so much stuff that it overwhelmed our respective homes. (As a disclaimer, I don't know about my aunt but my own mother has gotten this much more under control in the last few years.)
I think that clutter is something that haunts and perplexes many of us on some level. For the past decade, I have lived in a very small house. It's not so small as to be considered a tiny house but many of my friends have larger apartments than my house. I joke with people that my bathroom is the size of a small walk-in closet and that my kitchen is the size of the average bathroom. However, I enjoy the small carbon footprint and the fact that my utility bills are minimal.
Last summer, I discovered Simple Living: 30 Days to Less Stuff & More Life. This book takes a great approach in that it breaks down the de-cluttering process into simple steps that you can do each day, as opposed to trying to do it all at once, getting overwhelmed, and then giving up. This book and the process that ensued from reading it have definitely been a journey for me. I find myself revisiting areas of my house that I thought were dealt with. My shopping habits have changed as well; I have become very mindful about what I spend my money on and what I bring into my home. I'm not anywhere near the point where Lorilee is in her life (not ready to take off and travel, trade my paying job for non-profit volunteering) but I am closer than I was a year ago.
Another author that I have enjoyed and found very helpful is Karen Kingston. Her books Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui and Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui (now out of print but still available used) have made a difference in how I view possessions and the space in my house.
After reading Kingston's books, I created my own annual rituals...donating any unused items once a year and releasing one old item in my closet for each new item that I acquired. But since I read Simple Living, I have been actively de-cluttering for about a year now and have made some major progress on the main floor of my house. My basement, however, is another story. There isn't much in my basement and in fact one room is almost entirely empty. But there are other areas that I haven't touched. I present to you Exhibit A, my dilapidated filing cabinet.
Not only was this filing cabinet full to the brim, but it hadn't even been opened in at least a good year and a half. What on earth could I possibly be storing that was so important to keep if I hadn't needed to access any of it for that long?
I decided to find out. With a box for keeping, a box for shredding and a box for recycling, I sat down and got to work. And I couldn't believe what I had in there...pay stubs from 15 years ago, the lease agreement from my first apartment, manuals for small appliances that I don't even own any more! Seriously?!?
When it was all said and done, I had 2 bags of recycling and 2 bags of shredding. Everything else that was worth keeping has now been reorganized into this one filing box...
...which is much more portable than the 4-drawer metal filing cabinet. This was definitely a day well spent!
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