dancingthroughchaos

‘The point of decluttering isn’t to get rid of things you want to keep; it’s to identify those things and then to make space to enjoy those things.’ – Dana K White (author of ‘Decluttering at the Speed of Life’)

I’m sliding slowly and coldly back into UK life; battling against the arctic January temperatures and piling on layers of clothes each morning.  Right now I could easily be mistaken for a walking, talking, teeth-chattering Michelin woman.

I took my chances in town during the first week of January since I needed some essentials.  Biting the bullet, I jostled with the crowds picking over the last remnants of the sales as I struggled to locate the items on my list.

The whole trip was highly unsatisfactory, not only because of the chill wind and the dearth of bargains but I found myself struggling mentally and emotionally with the contrast of my recent time in Africa, particularly in Kenya and Zimbabwe.  In places where people are struggling to put food on their tables there’s something quite obscene about us glibly buying yet another pair of shoes or clothes we don’t really need and will possibly never wear.

I then went through a process that took me from semi-righteous indignation to self-loathing about judging others and assuming motives and circumstances I can’t possibly be sure of those things.  Who knew that shopping could be so fraught with moral dilemmas?

I think we’ve all known for years that the western world has been sucked into lifestyles of unparalleled excess and consumerism.  The fact that a Christmas surge in the retail market has failed to pull it put of a somewhat sluggish year suggests that we are still eager to purchase new items, even if just for Christmas

I recently spoke to the CEO of a charity who told me that while their sales through their charity shops were down last year, their warehouse is currently piled high with ‘stuff’.  It seems we are all streamlining, clearing out, decluttering, down-sizing or generally clearing the decks of our homes to get on with the business of life.

That has to be a good thing, right?  No one needs multiple potato mashers, a stack of old printers, obsolete charger cords, their Year 7 biology notes (I really must chuck those out) or fifteen T-shirts in more or less the same shade of blue.

On the other hand, for the people of Los Angeles right now, some of whom have watched their homes turn to ash as the flames consumed them, there’s utter heartbreak.

Most of my own possessions have been languishing in storage for a number of years so,  inevitably, some of them are probably ruined by now.  I joke that when we eventually get to sort them out, it will either feel like Christmas (‘Wow!  I’d forgotten about this wonderful whatever.  Amazing to see it again!), or I’ll be both baffled and bemused (‘Why on earth did I think this was worth keeping?’).

January feels like a good time to undertake a sort out; to be organised, tidy and set up for whatever the year brings.  Unfortunately, right now it’s way too cold to even consider visiting the storage facility, so that’s currently on hold.

However, I can take steps to declutter my brain, throw out old patterns of thinking that can bog me down in negativity; choose to stop scrolling and read a good book; put on yet another layer (how many is ‘enough’?), and walk in the fresher than fresh air; enjoy listening to music or a good podcast while I cook.  So, while I’m not really a new year resolution person, I know that all of those things are helpful for me to incorporate throughout the year. 

One of my friends has a mantra/saying: Live simply, so others can simply live. That seems like good advice.

[Images from Pixabay]