AT HOME — Clutter: It's Something To Think About
By Loraine Page
COLUMNIST
When the new year began over two weeks ago, I resolved to think about clutter. The clutter in my home, specifically. It always disheartens me, but not deeply enough to do anything about it.
But I'm committed to giving it more thought. The sages say everything begins with a thought, so maybe I'm on track for change.
What is clutter? I always like to start with a definition. If we (I've included you now) learn what it is first, we can solve it later. If it is something to solve. I will eventually want to know if I can prevent it. If not prevent it altogether, maybe recast it into something aesthetically pleasing? I'm open to possibilities.
The Cambridge Dictionary says “clutter is a lot of objects in a state of being untidy.” I guess I have a lot of objects but not as many as I used to. My current home is smaller and over the years I've made trips to Goodwill. I think we all have.
So, I have things. But I need them.
For instance, my cat's toys are a necessity. When she gets bored — like when she couldn't go out during the snow and ice and freezing temps we experienced recently — I play with her, and we use those toys.
Do I need to leave the toys spread out across the living room floor when we're done? I don't know. Maybe she likes it that way.
My junk room, I will admit, is messier than intended. I keep my collage materials in there on a table from Home Depot. In order to reach the collage stuff — innumerable magazine cutouts, glue, scissors, canvases, and finished collages — I step over empty boxes, rolls of wrapping paper, colorful bows, my winter jacket, bubble wrap, and whatnot.
It's like the space itself is turning into a collage.
I have a lot of books. I used to have more but I've given them away. I keep my already-read books in bookcases, in no particular order because I like to be surprised when I reach in and grab one. But I never do "grab one." My new books are on the sofa with me, where I read them.
Why am I keeping the already-read ones?
I have not accumulated an excess of clothes, though I know people who have. They have walk-in closets that barely have room for all the Amazon purchases. Even shoes are purchased online. How do they even know the shoes will fit?
I can laugh at this. I laughed pretty hard when comedian Ronny Chieng poked fun at all the online purchasing going on. “Americans have so much STUFF,” he shouted. “So much ABUNDANCE. So OUT OF CONTROL!”
I was giddy with laughter. Because that's not me. But is what I do any better? I don't respect the clothes I have. I leave them on the bedroom floor because they are easier to find there. Or at least that's what I tell myself.
The truth is my “stuff” is always “in a state of being untidy.” Seeing truth is the result when you fully commit to thinking about something.
I thought about the time in our history when we had a decluttering guru helping us out. Marie Kondo came onto the American clutter scene in 2011. She was the queen of what she terms “tidying up.”
Her first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, is what inspired all of us men, women, young, old — to declutter. Whether it was kitchen clutter or garage chaos, her magic worked.
One image from her method has stayed with me. It was socks rolled gently and placed in rows in a drawer.
She recommends it for sweaters too. In fact for all our clothes. It speaks to me. Not on a practical level — yet — but on a deeper one. I want to do that for my clothes.
I've forgotten much of what Marie wrote in that book, so I googled her basic organizing advice.
Here is what I found:
Pick up each item you own and ask yourself if it brings you joy. If it does, keep it.
Put it in a place where it is visible, accessible, and easy to grab.
And then put it back where it belongs.
It is certainly food for thought, as they say.
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