Our neighbors down the street are moving out. The moving truck and storage POD have been away from your house since the early hours of the morning. Lots of commotion when they take things out to carry or put away.
The day is beautiful, the sun is shining brightly with a light breeze. It seems more spring than winter. You couldn’t ask for a better day to move in. Don’t worry about rain or cold.
With my windows open for fresh air, I could hear their thumping and grunting, as they shoved and maneuvered their stuff out of their house and into the waiting open doors.
As I stood and watched from this vantage point, I wondered…
If I had to move, what would I need? How many boxes would I need to pack all my things? How many hours of preparation? What size truck would you need? How long to download and save everything?
And how many trips to Goodwill or the dump to get rid of all the excess?
I must admit it gave me the creeps to think about it. After 17 years here, the longest I have lived anywhere, we have accumulated much more than when we arrived.
We have managed to fill every room and closet in our house with more things than we would ever need in several lifetimes. Things that seemed useful, necessary and necessary when we bought or saved them.
Each room has wall to wall furniture. A wall was opened and we managed to fill it with another bookcase, table, cabinet, sofa or chair.
Over the years we have moved the rooms around to give them a fresh new perspective. We got rid of a much-loved (can you say well-worn?) couch and replaced it with two chairs. Gone was the coffee table, which had become more of a nuisance than a necessary piece of furniture. And he moved various pieces from one room to another, which often meant the back-breaking work of managing stairs.
Now I wonder: What if, back then, instead of handling the stairs with yet another object, we had gotten rid of it?
Much of what we have, we don’t really need or use anymore. Our bedrooms and closets, not to mention the garage, could be downsized to hold much less. In fact, much of what we have in our 2,000 square foot home could be scaled down to fit under 1,000 square feet.
So why not do that, you ask?
Good question. He is one that I say to myself, as I wander around my house, opening cupboards and cupboards, “What the hell is in here and why do I need it?”
Just to be clear and not to mislead, I too am a work in progress. Those who follow my weekly “Tidy Up Tuesdays” on Facebook Live, or watch my YouTube videos on the subject, may think I have it all figured out.
I have to laugh at the idea, because, here’s the real truth…
You are never done.
The process of cleaning, cleaning, ordering and organizing clutter is a DAILY task, routine and commitment. There is no “one and done” when it comes to your stuff.
Even if you were to reduce your possessions to 52 items (as some minimalists do), you still have to decide at each moment what those 52 items will be. What if a new interest or item comes up? What are you going to give up to have it? What are you going to throw? What will you keep? Or, will you now turn it into 53 articles?
Most of us would simply increase the number of items we own or currently own.
If you’re ready to cut down on your stuff, here’s where I’d guide you to start: Visualize.
Yes, even before you take action to purge, sort, organize, visualize what you want that area to look like when it’s done.
Don’t go shopping for containers. Don’t build more shelves. Do not throw indiscriminately. Do not store it in a closet or move it to another room.
Stop. Take a deep breath and decide what you really want there. What would be the ideal? What’s its purpose?
And keep in mind the most important thing: tidying up is a daily task that requires vision, focus, intention and diligence.
But for now, just for today, let’s start with your vision.