Go forth and de-clutter!
Published on 23rd October 2014 by Diana NadinSome people love it, to others it’s anathema – I’m talking about the process of de-cluttering.
My mum was a hoarder (in an inoffensive sort of way). She worked for an auctioneer and, as a child, our house was always packed with beautiful, but mismatched, furniture. Her wardrobe bulged with clothes that she could never bring herself to send to a jumble sale and, as she got older, we had to keep a close eye on her fridge to check that food wasn’t well past its sell-by date!
I think that influenced my views on de-cluttering – I’ll nail my colours to the mast here and admit that I love it. With clothes I work on a ‘one in/one out’ policy (if I buy a new item, something must go to the charity shop). And, when I’m stressed I find myself clearing out kitchen cupboards or sorting out and throwing away things in drawers all around the house.
OK, that makes me sound like a mad woman – or a bit obsessive to say the least (and my husband might agree). But I don’t take it to extremes. I just do enough to ensure that there’s not so much clutter in my life that it starts eating up my time as well as the space in my house.
And clutter does eat up time.
If you can’t find the skirt that you want to wear today – you waste time searching for it.
If you can’t find that bill you need to pay because it’s under a pile of other correspondence – ditto.
If you can’t locate the file you need to refer to before making a phone call it slows you down.
And if you can’t find the garlic crusher in your kitchen drawer because there are three zesters, a pizza cutter, a pack of birthday cake candles and six corkscrews on top of it…
None of this is the end of the world, but it just reinforces the point that keeping things tidy and organised isn’t just about aesthetics – it’s also has an impact on how effectively we manage our time. And let’s be honest, most of us could do with more than 24 hours in a day!