Decluttering

A couple of days ago I finished a book called Not for Packrats Only by Don Aslett. It's about how we accumulate clutter, what it does to us, and how to get rid of it and stay rid of it forever. This book is hilarious. I think almost everyone can relate to some of the types of clutter he talks about. He gives all sorts of funny examples and stories, and there are also great illustrations/comics that are hilarious and really get his point across. We're not too bad about clutter, but I still got a lot out of this book and have done several things to get rid of things that are junk or that aren't useful for us--and I'm still going! It's been fun and liberating.

I went through my box of memory things--cards, programs, my first scripture case, pictures/photos, etc. I decided I'm not going to keep every program from every fireside or concert, every brochure or map that we get when we go to a museum or state park, and every birthday card that just has Aunt Helga's signature (I do appreciate getting birthday cards, but it's the thoughtfulness and my relationship with the loved one, not the card, that is important to me) . Some of these do have some significance, and I am going to organize the things that I kept into a binder with sheet protectors, and with these I'm also going to include some thoughts and memories to explain why they are important. (And no, I didn't throw away my first scripture case, even though it is incredibly frayed and I don't use it anymore--because it was a baptism gift from my Grammy and for that reason I still love it.)

I went through a couple of boxes of wedding gifts that we have never used. I decided to take out the vegetable steamer and start using it. If I don't like it or feel like it's undeservingly using up valuable space in my kitchen, I'll get rid of it. I took a knife out of its package and brought it to the kitchen--and I have used it every day since then. It's an awesome knife. I got out some extra measuring spoons and have loved it because I never have to deal with the specific spoon that I want being dirty when I need it. I took out the nice, unused hot pads and some more dishtowels. I found a zillion pillowcases that I'd forgotten about and we put a couple of them on our pillows. I also finally printed some of our wedding photos to put in the empty frames that I've wanted to put up ever since we moved here, and they look great on the top of a couple of our bookshelves--and they're on display, not in a hideous pile, which makes me happy. It's nice to actually be using all the nice things that were just sitting in boxes in K's bedroom before.

One thing I was reminded of was that you have to be careful about saving things for something special or some undefined time in the future. When we got married, at first I thought I would just save our pretty glasses for "sometime"--I'm not sure what I was waiting for. But then I realized that if I kept thinking that way we would never use them and the perfect time for them would never come, so I put them in the cupboard and we use them. If they break (and one already has), it's no big deal because we have another similar set, and I'd rather have that happen than have them sitting in a closet while we keep using the plastic ones forever and ever (because I think they'll probably get lost before they break).

One thing that came up again and again is that clutter is one of the main things that makes your house messy and difficult to clean. It's so annoying and time-consuming to have to move all that clutter around so that you can dust or vacuum or find something you need or get a little cooking space. If you have less stuff, there's lots of open space and you aren't tripping over everything, so your house will be inherently cleaner. You can also use the space that you do have more effectively and fill it with stuff that you want and use. That's something I've been thinking about a lot lately because I've been trying to find space for food storage.

Don devotes an entire chapter to dealing with kids' clutter. There were a lot of things I want to keep in mind, like making sure there are places for all of their things to be put away, giving them toys that encourage creativity and have lots of different uses, not letting them watch lots of TV (where they see commercials for all the "amazing" toys that they then turn and beg you to give them), and asking them to help you if dejunking becomes necessary. One thing I will have to think about is all the artwork they give you--I wouldn't want my kids to think I don't value their creations, but I also would prefer not to have piles and boxes of every single craft they have ever done.

One thing that Don talks about that I've also been thinking about lately is that things aren't the only type of clutter. Our lives can also be cluttered by people (who are negative or who take you away from things or people that should be more important), the internet, pointless conversation, complaining, guilt, jealousy, and the list goes on. I've been putting some thought into how I spend my time and where my energy goes and I'm working on making some changes. I think decluttering will give more meaning to my life and enable me to accomplish more of the things I really want to get done. It will also enable me to show my family by my example what is truly important to me.