Clutter can be stressful, especially if you want your home to be a place where you can relax or feel inspired to write. Yet when you’re feeling overwhelmed it can be hard to know where to start.
This year is proving to be a challenge. It’s a season of change for me and I still don’t know what the next chapter looks like.
After watching several Netflix shows and seeing the home transformations on the likes of Queer Eye, I found myself questioning if a bit of decluttering might aid my creativity and help me design the next season of my life.
While I’m not one to blindly believe reality TV, the promise of a few small changes making a big impact on my outlook on life was an attractive one. No harm in trying, right?
Perhaps it’s the fact that when the rest of your life feels out of your control, the one thing you do have power to change is the environment you live in.
So I decided to begin by looking at my belongings with fresh eyes.
I’m in my decluttering era, darling
Since the Fab Five weren’t about to show up at my house to give me a hand I turned to podcasts for guidance.
On The Art of Decluttering I found plenty of tips on where to start, how to choose what to let go of and how to organise what you keep. Not only that, but having it in my ears while I clean has given me the motivation to start and continue the process.
It’s like having a friend with you as you tidy, which is a lot easier than doing it alone.
There are plenty of methods out there, from the famous Marie Kondo to my most recent discovery The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, a concept that got me thinking.
No one likes to talk about death but, as tabu as it is, it’s a topic that affects us all sooner or later. Swedish Death Cleaning reminds us we can’t take any of our stuff with us in the end.
While I firmly hope I continue in good health and will be well into my nineties before I say goodbye to this Earth, tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.
If we think we still have forever, we’ll put things off, we’ll worry more, we’ll be less present, we’ll postpone change… So if now is all we have, let’s make the most of it.
Use the good cutlery every day, bring out the posh tea set, wear the fancy clothes, drink the good wine, display the mementos so they can be admired!
What’s the point of having things if we don’t use them? They just take up space and create clutter.
This philosophy has me questioning every item I own. Do I need it? Do I use it? Do I want it? Does it add value to my life? Would someone else be glad I kept this?
Decluttering in this manner is a way to focus on what’s really important. And it does seem to be that those who are more aware of death get far more out of life.
Tackle your writing clutter
As I’ve been considering what I have, what I need and what would better serve someone else, I’ve found one area of my life disproportionately full of stuff I don’t want to let go of: writing.
The number of pens, notebooks, notepads, pieces of paper and post-its with scribbled ideas that fill my desk, drawers and shelves has just grown over time.
How many pens do I have? No idea. How many do I use? Only one at a time. Can I ever find a good pen when I need one? Not always.
What about all the empty notebooks? Will I get around to using them someday? Maybe, maybe not.
I’ve never even attempted to declutter them before because I’d never contemplated any of it might need getting rid of. Stationary and anything writing related was an automatic keep.
I’m not saying I’m about to say goodbye to all my writing bits and bobs, but I find it interesting that I haven’t even considered it until now.
If I sort through my wardrobe from time to time, why would this area be any different?
The benefits of a clutter free life
It’s been proven that a tidy desk can help get your ideas flowing again when you’re stuck in a bit of a creative rut.
Our brains can get used to living among mess and we don’t realise how much it’s stressing us out until it’s gone. Clearing surfaces has made such a difference!
Yet it’s not only the results that are helping me find peace in my home, it’s the process, too.
While I’ve been exploring my relationship to my belongings I’ve discovered quite a lot about myself, who I used to be and who I want to become.
What is it I want and what things help or hinder me in trying to achieve it? The answer will look different for everybody.
One reason why I also enjoyed the Cluterbugs podcast is that it establishes 4 types of organisers. Are you more detail oriented or are you a general categories person? Do you prefer everything out of sight or are you a visual organiser?
Depending on your answers you’ll benefit more from one system or another and it will help keep your space clutter free for longer.
When it comes to how you declutter and organise, it all depends on the person, their needs, their habits and routines. Do you know yours?
I want to declutter but don’t know where to start
I’m no expert, but I’ve binged enough tips to pass on a few. For starters, I recommend finding a podcast of your own to play in the background as you tidy.
I’ve loved how they have 15-20 minute episodes full of tips for specific zones or items that are harder to declutter, such as sentimental items.
Whatever area you’re tidying, these basics have helped me loads:
- Make the easy decisions first and start with rubbish. Wrappers, tissues, old tea bags… anything you can put straight in a bin bag will get the momentum flowing. Starting is the hardest part!
- Start small, choose one area to begin with not the whole room or the whole house. You can do flat surfaces or your top draw o a particularly messy shelf. Pick one and go from there.
- Make binary decisions like stay/go first, then you can worry later about how to organise what stays and where to recycle, donate or throw away what goes. It makes decisions easier and helps you not get stuck before you’ve started.
- Questions are really helpful and necessary, too. Why am I keeping this? When was the last time I used it? Is it helping me live more in accordance with my values and goals? These and other questions can help us reflect on the items we own and whether or not we need to keep them.
I’ve sold, donated and recycled several bags of stuff so far and I keep finding new items I don’t need or want. I’ve also found spring cleaning (or regular cleaning) is a lot easier when you don’t have to move things first.
Little by little I’m freeing up space both in my home and my mind, a fresh start for a new season.
What would you like to declutter from your life? What are you looking forward to in this next season?
The Spanish Berry 