Out of clutter, find simplicity. –Albert Einstein
Anyone who knows me, knows that I despise clutter of any kind. I’m forever picking up stuff that isn’t where it belongs, always looking for new organization ideas, relentlessly tidying up my desk and the areas around me, and not always being super-kind to my husband (who is less clutter-averse than I am) when he leaves things out.
Maybe that makes me a perfectionist or a compulsive hot mess--I don’t know. What I do know is that when I have taken the time to clear the space around me, I have cleared a space to breathe, and think, and create. With fewer things occupying the valuable real estate of my life, I can focus on what happens on the inside. I’m not pouring my energy into finding the thing I misplaced. I’m not frantically trying to choose between the four identical things I have because I forgot I had three and so I bought another. I’m not worrying so much.
What I know about clutter is that it also takes up brain-space, and it takes up soul-space, and I don’t want to be captive to it.
There are a million and one de-cluttering websites out there, but the simplest way I have found to do it, is to ask three questions about whatever it is that takes up space in my life:
Does it have a current useful purpose?
Does it bring me joy?
Am I keeping it because I am worried about what someone else will think if I get rid of it?
If it does not have a current (not past or future) purpose, or it does not bring me joy, or I am keeping it out of a sense of obligation or worry, I don’t need it. This applies to all kinds of things, from clothes and objects and calendar items to relationships and obligations. Clarity comes from shedding anything that fills my life for no good reason. I'm not perfect at it yet, but I'm working at it.
It’s hard work, but it's worth it for me.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I despise clutter of any kind. I’m forever picking up stuff that isn’t where it belongs, always looking for new organization ideas, relentlessly tidying up my desk and the areas around me, and not always being super-kind to my husband (who is less clutter-averse than I am) when he leaves things out.
Maybe that makes me a perfectionist or a compulsive hot mess--I don’t know. What I do know is that when I have taken the time to clear the space around me, I have cleared a space to breathe, and think, and create. With fewer things occupying the valuable real estate of my life, I can focus on what happens on the inside. I’m not pouring my energy into finding the thing I misplaced. I’m not frantically trying to choose between the four identical things I have because I forgot I had three and so I bought another. I’m not worrying so much.
What I know about clutter is that it also takes up brain-space, and it takes up soul-space, and I don’t want to be captive to it.
There are a million and one de-cluttering websites out there, but the simplest way I have found to do it, is to ask three questions about whatever it is that takes up space in my life:
Does it have a current useful purpose?
Does it bring me joy?
Am I keeping it because I am worried about what someone else will think if I get rid of it?
If it does not have a current (not past or future) purpose, or it does not bring me joy, or I am keeping it out of a sense of obligation or worry, I don’t need it. This applies to all kinds of things, from clothes and objects and calendar items to relationships and obligations. Clarity comes from shedding anything that fills my life for no good reason. I'm not perfect at it yet, but I'm working at it.
It’s hard work, but it's worth it for me.
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