Thursday, October 27, 2011

Declutter


I think that it's come to light that hoarding simply is one of those unforgivable sins in our culture (just think of all those hoarding TV shows that now exist)- the problem is, whether we want to admit it or not, we're all guilty of the crime on some level, and watching others hoard worse than us makes our own hoarding feel a bit more acceptable.

When you look around your living quarters, ask yourself this question: is my junk functional and contributing to my daily life? It's good to be surrounded by items with nostalgic value, and not everything has to be dual purposed. But, how much of our junk exists simply because we once spent money on it, and simply can't bear the thought of parting with it?
Enter the rule of 10%, which is: in your living space (specifically in your home organizers), you always want to reserve 10% of the space, or leave 10% empty to allow for new things to enter your life. If you're always living with no vancancy, you're not opening yourself up to any newness, or clutter will accumulate pretty quick!

To help assist with the decluttering process, consider having an outbox in your home. The outbox doesn't necessarily have to be a box, but an area that can house items that are ready to be parted with. Think of the outbox as a tool to help you seperate first, and to remove the item from your home later. Give any item in your outbox a week's stay, to allow you to process whether or not you're ready for the item to be removed from your life. After a week, consider whether the process worked and if you're ready to part with it, or if you feel it has substantial enough value to remain in your home.

Decluttering is an avid choice, and requires very little work- but rather, the emotional choice of letting go of the things around us. But, in reality, if you haven't used an item or appreciated it within the past 3 months, there's a strong chance that the item is ready to be decluttered from your life.

If our homes are a reflection of our lives and our personal journeys, perhaps having too much stuff, and leaving no room for growth or change speaks volumes as to who we are as people. Give yourself 10%- it will go a long way.

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