Spring Cleaning 2014
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photo from Gardenista.com
I’m doing a gradual Spring Cleaning as I write this. There is a lot to do so I’m pacing myself. Sure it’s work, but the annual scrubbing, sweeping, and purging is a cathartic experience. My spring cleaning list consist of cleaning out the basement, selling & donating stuff, washing all the windows, repairing broken items, and it goes on and on. Clutter can just creep up on you and its a natural fact of life. We hold on to stuff because we have that little voice in our head that wants us to hold on to stuff “because we might need it”. We are now suffocating our life under an accumulation of small and large possessions (and its upkeep) that no longer serve us. In addition we live in a consumeristic society so its really hard not to end up with clutter. Those of us who live with clutter do so because it’s a physical expression of an emotional disorder (more on that later.)
The secret to dealing with clutter and changing your life is to realize that a) you don’t need as much stuff, and b) that by having less you are opening your life up, lightening it and creating an environment that will allow you to grow and reach your greatest potential. It’s not about letting go, its about how much more life you can have. For example books are a great source of clutter. Now don’t get me wrong I love books and have a lot of them, while books are great resources and markers of experience, we all tend to hold on to more than we actually use. My husband holds on tightly to his! In order to declutter them, we need to realize that books are collections of memories and old thoughts, not new ones. Holding onto old books doesn’t allow you to create space for new ideas and ways of thinking to come into your life.
Holding onto anything that doesn’t have a working role in your home won’t allow you to create new space for anything new to come into your life–things, jobs, people, opportunities, etc. Even as we bring new things in, we need to bring old things out. In this way, we ensure life flows in our lives. So, the secret to decluttering is to create a pleasing and efficient organizing system for each of your areas and then never allowing them to fill up. You always want to leave at least 10% empty space. One in one out. That’s your space for newness to come into your life. A friend is implementing this into her life but she’s gone overboard as she’s getting rid of 80% of her stuff just so that she will be certain that anything new will come into her life. This is pure folly. You can find a balance and just follow the golden 10% rule.