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Clutter in the garage

Declutter to Avoid being Frozen in Time and Place

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Decluttering will be the easiest for you to tackle, today. Tomorrow, and with each passing day, the process will be more challenging.

The longer we postpone accomplishing a task, the more difficult it becomes. Our thoughts about getting it done—mental clutter—raises our stress level. The older we grow, the busier we get and the more quickly we tire.

Making time now to declutter gives us control over what we keep, sell, gift to others, or toss. We don’t want a flood, fire, earthquake, or other calamity to dictate the destruction of our sentimental family mementos.

Decluttering now also means we reduce our consumption of want-to-have but do-not-need items. These items that bring short-term joy, not only clutter our space, they deplete our finances, and ultimately make our lives more stressful. You’d be surprised how great the burden when we carry more stuff than we need.

I found this quote (source unknown) particularly impactful: move away from attachment to the stuff of life and toward a way of life.

And yet, I see so many, frozen in time and place—trapped by their possessions. I grew up in a household of too much stuff. My parents could not say no. The lessons of unburdening their home of 45 years of possessions have contributed to my ongoing process of letting go and acquiring only what I need.

Whether it’s the physical stuff that occupies our space or the mental clutter that clouds our thoughts, we are weighed down—anchored. Until we declutter, we will be unable to move toward a freer way of life.

Cluttered paperwork on work table

While progress is slow, such as when my (now ex-) husband I were going through my late father’s paperwork as his brain became increasingly riddled by dementia and later, Alzheimer’s, the pace will pick up. While unexpected gifts such as The U.S. Savings Bonds Windfall, are rare, the gift we receive with each step we take, will make the process go quicker. It’s uncanny, how that works, but we need to start, now.

Only then will we melt the icy grip of our possessions (mental and physical) and clear space in order to may enjoy more of what life has to offer.

Human create information - The Chive

How will I ever get through all this information?

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Humans create a LOT of information - The ChiveDuring the late sixties, I had a couple of pen pals. During the summer months, we’d keep in touch by writing letters to one another on pretty stationary. Since their stationary looked better than mine did, I made up for it with my calligraphy-like penmanship in different colors.

We’ll come back to the good old days in a moment.

WHAT HAPPENED during the last forty-five years?

Word is: there’s just too much information!

Actually, that’s more than a word–it’s a sentence–an exclamation, to be exact.

Why do we feel so overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious?  AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHH!

When will we ever get through all this information?

The truth is we won’t. Period. I have trouble admitting this.

I still think I can do it all.

Perhaps, I’m stuck with memories of the long days during childhood. The days felt endless–especially, during the school year. Life would last forever.

Now, in my fifties, the days, weeks, months, and seasons move so fast, I have to nail the clocks on the wall to prevent them from flying off. How can I hold onto time when the clocks can’t?

Reality pushes us to decide what we can do.

I just want to reminisce as I reflect once more.

The older we are the less time we have to spread across all the things we want to do. Like the friend who has a terminal diagnosis, our limited lifetime forces us to decide where we want to focus our attention.

Time does not judge. It marches on. We can’t save some for a rainy day. Time keeps moving rain or shine.

It’s up to us to decide how we want to use our time.

I will reflect on my past. I will skim other information. I will save some things, but I will get rid of most.

The numbers in these articles are eye opening. They help us to better face reality.

There’s just too much information to keep up.

Can we ever go back to the Good Old Days?

My two pen pals and I wrote three letters every two weeks. At least, that’s the letter-writing pace we set at the start of summer. By the mid-summer (a blink of an eye in Wisconsin), that number had dropped to one every two weeks. Still, we eagerly anticipated a letter from the mailman (that’s what we called mail carriers back then). Sometimes, there was no mail and he walked by our home.

We hardly write letters by hand anymore. Who has the time? We’re too busy emailing back and forth. Some of us write dozens of emails daily while others write at least one.

When LIFE grows too overwhelming and you feel like a Model T trying to keep up on one of Los Angeles’ freeways, consider the speed at which information is growing–from a Model T’s 20 to 40 miles per hour to satellites traveling at 17,500 miles per hour!

It’s getting harder and harder to jump off the information super highway and it’s also harder to keep up to speed.

Photo credit: The CHIVE  Facts that show just how far the human race has come. One of 32 photos.

 

 

The Cost of Content Clutter Infographic from Newstex

Infographic by: Newstex.