Last week on the blogging trail I chucked out a load of burdensome
mindsets from my back pack. This week, I
decided, it’s time to tackle the actual physical stuff that clutters my desk,
my shelves and my drawers – and hence my mindset.
I’d say I am a pretty organized person – I have my neatly
labeled files, my tidily arranged storage boxes, in theory a place for
everything… but the reality is, that despite my best efforts, it just gets out
of hand. A few days of busyness, and lo and behold, the inevitable piles of
paper, the stacks of books, the this’s and that’s, mushroom like magic, like
mutant viruses intent on conquering my space.
Now, I know it’s me… only me who prints the paper and buys
the books and acquires all this stuff and brings it in to my space….. and
believe me I have tried almost every known system for dealing with it. Over the
years I have probably purchased at least a dozen books on organizing your life,
de cluttering, feng shui, etc., and yet
wherever I look, office, living room, bedroom closet, and of course my sock
drawer… there is always just way too much STUFF! And did I say books?
Speaking of books, I happened upon this little gem over the
weekend – The life-changing magic of
tidying up – the Japanese art of de cluttering and organizing by Marie
Kondo. Her revolutionary method, which challenges the conventional little-by-little
approach to de-cluttering, advocates a once and for all system that, she promises, leads to lasting results.
This caught my attention. Although I came to the conclusion
that lightening my metaphorical backpack on the blogging trail was a daily
practice, I’m not so sure that de -cluttering as a daily practice actually
works. It really hasn’t worked for me, and judging by the fact that Marie
Kondo’s book has sold over 2 million copies, I don’t think it works for most of
us either.
So, I’ve decided to set my sights this week on liberating
myself from the too much stuff of life, for once and for all. Sound unrealistic
or overly ambitious? Perhaps. Yet I know
from past experience with short lived de-cluttering results, that it feels so
freeing, so spacious, so fresh…. to have a clean desk and a minimal amount of
stuff.
So starting today, until I’m done, I’m following Marie
Kondo’s advice. “Start by discarding, all
at once, intensely and completely.”
It will be interesting to see where this leads. Want to join
me dear reader?
