Decluttering Challenge: Day 2

Last night I didn't have much time so I only did ten mins of clutter clearing.  In that time I managed to do one underwear draw.  A couple of things struck me:

Wasting money
Clutter clearing can help you save money.  I found a couple of medicine items in my drawer that I had long forgotten I had.  They are the kind of things that I would have purchased again if I needed them.  Finding things you had forgotten you had means you spend less money.

When people are very cluttered they can spend hundreds of pounds a year purchasing things they already have hidden somewhere amongst their clutter.  Trying to find those things would take too much time or sometimes people forget that they even have them.

 Things Represent Something About Us
 The things around us represent something about us (apart from presents which represent something about the people who send them - more on that another day I expect).  Thngs are just symbols.  Sometimes the symbols are useful, sometimes they are just for our visual pleasure. Somtimes they hold us back.

For example a fully equiped kitchen, brimming with tools, gadgets and baking tins can mean a few things:

1. You do a lot of cooking
2. You would like to do a lot of cooking
   
3. You used to do a lot of cooking
   
4. You think you should be doing a lot of cooking
   
5. You think you might do a lot of cooking one day in the future
   
6. People around you think you should, or want you to do lots of cooking
   

In this case only number one is about living in the present.  Number 2 is about wanting something different (more about this another day). You could say that if you have a fully equipped kitchen for any of the other reasons then what you have is a kitchen full of clutter.


What could lots of clutter say about you?

• I'm really busy
• I'm not interested in my home as much as other things in my life
• I'm ill
• I can't be bothered
• I can't let go of the past
• There are so many of us in the house
• I don't like throwing anything away
• I like to keep things just in case
• My possessions make me feel secure
• I don't want to let go of the past
  

Plus ..... there are so many reasons for clutter.  What are yours?

Just living in the present
Really living in the present means being surrounded with only things that represent us now.  For me decluttering last night this was quite a difficult thing.  I found things that don't fit me now but did fit me a year ago.  I'm not planning on loosing lots of weight again any time soon but getting rid of the clothes means accepting myself the way that I am.  It means for me - jumping on the scales to see exactly how much weight I have put on in  a year. Gulp!

So ..... decluttering means facing up to things: about who we are, who we want to be.  And if we want to make changes - that's great.  If we don't - that's great too. Be honest.  Be realistic.