Buying things for our home was once second nature. It just wouldn’t be a complete weekend without the purchase of a few picture frames or an assortment of thrifted mix and match cutlery or that cute pair of scissors. Ah, retail therapy: that familiar rush of seeing, liking, grabbing and buying anything wonderful that crosses our paths.
When it came to acquiring things for the home, we would choose items based on their sense of warmth, their beauty and their character. This vague trio of criteria left us substantial leeway for justifying the purchase of things we didn’t need.
It wasn’t until our major spring clean a year ago that we were forced to face the truth about the things we’ve gathered. Given a decade, our habits could result in a cringe-worthy episode of “Hoarders. Why did I think a pancake pan was a good idea, when we are aspiring to a healthy lifestyle? What on earth was I planning to do with three, yes, three, soccer balls at any given time?
De-cluttering our home was hard work. Apart from the physical demand of lifting, sorting and packing things, the self judgement and shame was overwhelming. Here was something about sitting on the floor,dividing large mounds of junk into smaller mounds of junk, and sneezing through the layers of dust coated, useless paraphernalia, that created the perfect conditions for soul searching.
Finally, came acceptance. In between a trio of hello kitty erasers and multi-coloured giant balloons in their original packaging, I realised we didn’t need more things for my space to feel beautiful, loved and homely. We needed less. We needed self -control. We needed to be selective in decoration and disciplined in organisation. We needed to actively manage the look and feel of our home. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
With that in mind, removing the clutter from our lives lifted a weight from our shoulders. We still don’t always get it right. There are those guilty buys we have indulged in now and then against better judgement. And let me not speak of that drawer in the kitchen filled with “miscellaneous items”.
In spite of that, we now plan where new items will go, how they will look in our spaces, and whether they will meets the checklist:
1. Do we need it?
2. Do we already have something like it?
3. Where will it go?
4. How will it look?
5. Can we afford it?
6. How will we feel about it in a year?
This has made a difference to our home. We feel responsible and fond of the fewer things we have carefully chosen for the house. De-cluttering was trying, but once we went through the process, we felt empowered, in control and more in love with the new and improved, cared-for space we live in today.
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