Clutter Awareness Week is March 21-27, 2021. Think of it as a great way to kick off your spring cleaning.
I find that as I continue to clear clutter, I feel lighter. Having too many things distract and frustrate me. I just don’t need as many possessions at this stage of my life. I just keep digging deeper each year in evaluating what I use in my home. Recently, I decided to let go of a large dictionary that I have had since the 1970s and have not cracked open in several decades. Afterall, I can look up words on Google, so why was it clogging my shelf space?
Even though I have been in the process of decluttering for about a decade, I still find pockets of stuff I overlooked or avoided. It is really time to tackle these projects now while I am still not free to roam the world due to COVID-19 restrictions. It won’t get easier or any more fun after we are beyond the pandemic. Furthermore, I am getting older, and I don’t want to leave a lot of stuff for my kids to deal with. From Lighter Living, “No matter what stage you are in, acknowledging that our possessions, homes, and affairs can be problematic to those we leave behind is the first step toward taking proactive measures to reduce potential chaos and strife among those destined to deal with it.”
I encourage you to take this week as a prompt to deal with a closet, cabinet or box of stuff that you have put off dealing with for too long. Toss it, donate it, sell it or give it to someone who can use it. Gather some momentum and create decluttering habits. I used to sort things every Tuesday. Now that I have downsized and been practicing tidying up, I do it less often. Clutter can creep back into my life if I am not careful, so I regularly do another sweep of the house with each new season. Spring is here, so I am cleaning and clearing now.
Schedule a day or hour to clear an area of your home today. Step by step, you can make a dent in the quantity of your stuff and keep the quality, meaningful things that you use and love. First is awareness and then take action. If not now, when?
Lighter Living: Declutter. Organize. Simplify. is an easy to read book to support your efforts to reduce the amount of stuff in your life and home.
