With fear that lately I have started to sound like some of the nuns I remember from my school days, preaching hell and damnation day in day out, I thought I might write something a little more upbeat today.
I’d like to point out the joy that can be found in decluttering your home. This joy can be appreciated from day one, not just at the end of the journey. See if you can identify with the joy of…..
- A Fresh Start – It is never too late to begin a new phase in your life. Cut yourself some slack and don’t dwell on the past. Acknowledge the things you got right and learn the lesson of your follies but either way do not dwell on the regrets, just enjoy the fresh start you are making.
- More Space – It really does feel good as the clutter starts to disappear and you begin to feel the freedom of the empty space growing around you. This feeling can be appreciated from the very first item and increases over time. Take a moment to focus on that freedom with every little piece of clutter you choose to remove and the process will be one filled with joy rather than dread.
- Less Maintenance – It stands to reason that the fewer items cluttering up your home, the easier it is to keep your surroundings clean and tidy. Every item you remove is one less thing you need to maintain in any way whether dusting, cleaning or storing. Also house cleaning will be simpler if there are fewer items to be moved in order to access the surface under them such as benches and floors. And ya gotta love that!
- Guilt Relief – We generally carry a burden of guilt for every item associated with the waste of money involved with its acquisition and lack of use. For every one of these items that leaves our home there is a relief from that guilt so long as we have learned the lesson of needless waste.
- Giving Back – Whether we sell items to grateful buyers on eBay, donate items to charity, give items away to friends and family or find a way to recycle them there is an good feeling that accompanies that action. Focus on these good feelings and it will spur you on in your quest.
- Appreciation – You will find that you have a higher appreciation for the items you choose to keep and their role in your household.
- Being Environmentally Responsible – For every unnecessary item you don’t purchase and for every item that you liberate to someone who might need it, you are doing a small deed to save the environment. For every item that is manufactured there is a cost whether in natural resources or carbon emissions, so the less you contribute to the supply and demand of these products the better hope there is for our planet’s survival.
- Simplifying -There is more to this topic than the title implies. I will elaborate in a separate post tomorrow but rest assured there is plenty of joy to be found by simplifying.
ITEM 284 OF 365 LESS THINGS
A few more odds and ends for the donation box
5 Things I am grateful for today
- Sick pay – I couldn’t work yesterday as it is a bit hard to sell furniture without a voice.
- Freedom of choice – This is something we take for granted in Western society.
- Roast dinner – They are so easy to make and so yummy to eat.
- Art – This is something everyone in my family enjoys and can share the interest.
- Kisses – They really are the cure for everything.
At every bullet point I was nodding and saying, “Yup, yup…that’s right, Colleen!” I love the idea of the ‘fresh start’. Training myself to say that every morning is a new day and a new opportunity is a happy place to live. Decluttering a little every day is the same–a new opportunity to make more room and less cleaning. Oh I love the thought of less cleaning!
Hi Willow,
I love the thought of less cleaning too. More and more often lately I look at my house on cleaning day (I try to do the bulk of my cleaning one day a week) and think – I’ll just do a light clean this week the place isn’t looking too bad. Or maybe I am just getting lazy. LOL! No really, the first rule of cleaning is – If it isn’t dirty don’t clean it. You can waste a lot of effort cleaning things unnecessarily.
Good post. A big yes for each point.
Great flower pictures you are putting on each post. You sure take good ones.
Hi Deb J,
I am glad you enjoyed it. I thought of it as inspiration for any newcomers out there and a good reminder to all those who might be losing heart.
I am also glad you are enjoying the flowers. It was amazing that they turned out as well as they did because it was a bit breezy that day and the stems kept moving so I was lucky that anything ended up in focus.
I have another benefit – a clearer mind.
I have been decluttering my apartment for about six months and am nearly finished. Now, when I want an item I know where it is and I don’t have to climb over things or move things out the way in cupboards, only to find that what I wanted isn’t in that cupboard anyway.
I find I am much calmer now that I don’t spend so much time trying to work out where things are or spending time staring at piles of clutter saying to myself “I really should clean that up”.
Hi Isabella,
thank you for leaving a comment. It is always nice to add a new voice to the mix here at 365lessthings.
I couldn’t agree more with what you had to say – clearer surroundings give you a clearer mind – less time worrying about the mess, less time trying to remember where things are in the mess and less time procrastinating about cleaning up the mess. Makes me feel tired just thinking about all that mind clutter.
I’m another who is looking forward to easier cleaning. That said, they are ALL good points.
Your pictures are wonderful. So much colour!
Hi Jo,
easier cleaning, two words that are a match made in heaven. No cleaning would be better but until I will the lottery that isn’t going to happen.
I am glad you are enjoying the flower photos. I had fun taking them and met a lovely lady along the way. I will have to try to photograph some of the local birds as well. We have rosella, kookaburras, magpies, blue mountain lorikeets, sulfur crested cockatoos, black cockatoos, galahs and topknot pigeons just to name a few.
Great post, and am looking forward to tomorrow’s. I’ve been going through the last four boxes of old files and giving the shredder (borrowed my mom’s) the workout of its life. So happy to not leave that crap around for the future 🙂
Hi Meg,
you have the right attitude. Focus on the satisfaction of the end result rather than the effort of the task at hand.
I enjoyed your post. Life is SO much easier when there’s a place for everything, and everything in its place.
My husband “collects” a lot of things, and he tends to leave them lying around. I’m always trying to get one step ahead of him, because I can’t stand clutter, but sometimes it’s a challenge.
I find that fall gives me a brand new “push” to make sure that our house is decluttered and organized for the winter.
I love your blog!
Hi Becky,
I can see from your blog that you have been decluttering for a while now. It must be frustrating at times when your spouse is the opposite of you when it comes to clutter. I have a neighbour who says that even when she puts her partners stuff in the bin (we’re talking rubbish here old newspapers and the like) he goes and gets them out. I told her to come down and put it in my bin, hopefully he won’t look there.
I am glad you are enjoying my blog and likewise I enjoy the comments I get from my wonderful readers.