(19) What I learned about clearing clutter

It’s getting worse every day. Not the clutter. The obsession with clearing it. I suspect soon that I’ll actually own very little (anyone who has actually visited my house will be spitting out their tea with laughter as I am famous for my collections of ‘stuff’)

However I do go through purges and I had one over the summer where I gave over 200 books to my local library. It was a great idea of my lovely mother (thanks Ma) who, when I mentioned some years back I wanted rid of my many books, recoiled in horror. It is totally against both of my parents’ very essence to get rid of books and they have a house full of fascinating tomes to prove it. But not me – I figure that when I’m done with a topic, I’m pretty much ready to move on, so want to send the books on to their next owners. Mum then suggested giving them to the local library where they not only can be enjoyed usefully by hundreds of other people but (possibly crucially for someone like my Ma) could be borrowed back if ever they were missed. I’ve been donating unwanted books ever since and, needless to say, I’ve never yet felt the desire to borrow one back.

So next – clothes. Again, I’m fairly good about this too. The old Pareto’s Law of 20% of clothes being worn 80% of the time really does keep me in check as to what I actually wear and how often. And will actually prompt me to wear more of my wardrobe more often. I also have a pretty good idea (after 40+ years!) of what I like to wear so strictly no variations from the ‘uniform’ means no impulse buys, no fashion faux-pas and no ‘it looked OK at the time’ moments. My weakness for coats and bags (from charity shops natch) does present itself from time to time, but I figure if that’s my only vice then I’m doing pretty well!

It’s the other stuff I have trouble clearing (and I don’t mean my daughter’s stuff as she’s well versed in the rotation of ‘things’). The stuff you’ve collected all your life: the concrete heart shape made by your first serious boyfriend, the wonderful Aboriginal prints and other stunning items collected from travels around the world, the tiny glass knick-knacks and other curios you’ve inherited, the stuff your college friends made that reminds you of the good old days, ridiculous amounts of notebooks and scribbling from nearly thirty years of obsessive writing, photos, photos, photos!!!

I recall an old phrase: Keep nothing that isn’t useful or beautiful. This phrase has really helped me shift a lot of accumulated stuff over the years – and more to the point prevents me from acquiring a whole heap of new stuff. But now I have been noticing another version of the phrase: Keep nothing that isn’t useful or beautiful or joyful. Now this I like a whole lot more.

I suspect I could survive quite nicely as a Buddhist, eschewing all worldly goods and living unencumbered by possessions. Stop laughing – I think that really would be great. But, for now, I can survive the clutter by modifying the phrase thus: Keep nothing that isn’t useful or joyful.

As I cast my beady eye around my house today I shall keep the ‘joyful’ part of that phrase uppermost in my mind …

Pareto’s Principle or The 80/20 Rule

ParetoPrinciple

Fancy learning an interesting little rule that actually governs much of what we do in life? Pareto’s Principle can be applied to work, travel, friends, even your wardrobe!

Click the link above, try it out and let me know where you find it in your life!