Around this time
of year, and in the early Autumn, I always have the deepest urge to get
space-clearing and de-cluttering. Maybe it’s connected to the instinct to nest
down as we turn inwards when the darker days get deeper, maybe it’s to do with
the onset of the Festive season – thinking about the inevitable influx of
paraphernalia that comes with that, not to mention new things the children will
receive come Christmas time… whatever it is, there is a strong urge to get my
house in order, clear some space and make way for the new.
In our family we
are all hoarders by nature it would seem, and it is very easy for our home to
become very crowded, very quickly. I for one, love to be surrounded with
colour, beautiful trinkets, things the children have made, photos, mementoes,
crafting items… this is what makes my world feel homely, cosy and secure as
well as enlivened and energised.
Yet I know it is
very fashionable to de-clutter, and to inhabit simpler, more minimal spaces. I
understand the sentiment of this – our modern lives are so over-saturated with
stuff, things, tech, and the general busy-ness of day-to-day life, that a
quieter living space offers a solution to this – calming our minds and freeing
us from material burden. But my hoarder-mind
is slightly suspicious of this trend too! Are we being encouraged to discard
items simply to make way for buying more? Is this just a trick of our
instant-gratification throw-away consumer culture where much desired objects
have ever shorter shelf-lives? Can’t items beloved to our hearts however old and
battered they be hold space in our homes too?
I do agree that
there is a fine balance to be struck – clutter gathers stuck energy and the
atmosphere in our home certainly feels lighter, clearer, calmer, after a good
de-clutter. The process itself, as well as the clear space afterwards, can be
uplifting too.
But, my
hoarder-self cries - objects have meaning! I think this idea as a core-belief
is something that is intrinsically part of the creative phyche. Many an artists’
studio are strewn with curios of all natures, sizes and hues, as well as objects
that might one day be useful. There is both a practical and sentimental element
to this – objects inspire feelings, memories and ideas as well as being
something that hold the potential to be turned into and become a part of something
else – a bigger creative venture, project or endeavour.
Certainly when it comes to de-cluttering the children’s bedrooms – many a parent will know that the mere hint of a toy being ‘re-homed’ brings about new-found love for the said toy, and within moments new games are sparked – games that can then last a week, a month if allowed (i.e. the toy isn’t thrown away afterall!).
So, it’s a delicate process – de-cluttering – and one that in and of itself, requires a creative mindset. Some things, just head straight for the bin, the recycling, the charity shop, whatever, and I feel that instant lift and sense of being un-burdened. This new found sense of clarity can free-up energy for creating and making, as well as the physical space to do so too. But other items and objects… well, they seem to ask that I pause and wonder… muse a while over their place in my universe – what memories do they spark, what might I use them for. What creativity to they inspire? A creative conversation unfolds in which possibilities reveal themselves, and even if all I’m really doing whilst ‘de-cluttering’ is ‘re-shuffling’ - creating new little altars around the home that bring renewed purpose and joy - the item I am saving from the scrapheap becomes one less thing to burden someone else’s living space, or end up in land-fill! I can still feel lighter, free-er in the process.
Certainly when it comes to de-cluttering the children’s bedrooms – many a parent will know that the mere hint of a toy being ‘re-homed’ brings about new-found love for the said toy, and within moments new games are sparked – games that can then last a week, a month if allowed (i.e. the toy isn’t thrown away afterall!).
So, it’s a delicate process – de-cluttering – and one that in and of itself, requires a creative mindset. Some things, just head straight for the bin, the recycling, the charity shop, whatever, and I feel that instant lift and sense of being un-burdened. This new found sense of clarity can free-up energy for creating and making, as well as the physical space to do so too. But other items and objects… well, they seem to ask that I pause and wonder… muse a while over their place in my universe – what memories do they spark, what might I use them for. What creativity to they inspire? A creative conversation unfolds in which possibilities reveal themselves, and even if all I’m really doing whilst ‘de-cluttering’ is ‘re-shuffling’ - creating new little altars around the home that bring renewed purpose and joy - the item I am saving from the scrapheap becomes one less thing to burden someone else’s living space, or end up in land-fill! I can still feel lighter, free-er in the process.
The blue glass candle-holder in the picture has found its way back to me after sitting in my parent’s loft for 20 years or so. I had given up attachment to it long ago, but now that it is here again I see that it reflects so many other little things in our creative home – the colours I often put in my painting/art works, the blue glass candle bottles on the dining table, the numerous stars hanging around the place. And it has become a focus for our weekly gratitude practice that we hold around the dinner table every Sunday evening. It’s been fun to see how the past over-laps and infuses the present even in the tiny objects of our lives, and I’m grateful in a way that this has come back to me.
So, I will carry on with my seasonal de-cluttering. But I might just go about it with a little less panic, a little more mindfulness, and relieve myself of the pressure of having to get rid of it all right now! All whilst still making space and taking a fresh new look at all our old and treasured bits of homely clutter!
