Last week, Larry and I decided to celebrate the new year by cleaning out the garage. As we put items into the trash or in a pile to be donated to a thrift store, I wondered why we hadn't done so before. Without its clutter of things we didn't use, didn't need, and didn't want, the garage was far more functional than it had been. We could actually get out of the car without fear of bumping into something!
Judging from the number of home and family magazines that feature articles on conquering clutter, controlling clutter, and doing away with clutter, we are not alone. Clutter happens to the best of us. It creeps upon us with quiet insidiousness. I have a number of areas in the house that collect clutter: the garage, obviously, the kitchen counter, a guest bedroom where I put things "just for now."
Clutter zaps energy, stifles creativity, and just makes us feel generally yucky all over. Yet getting rid of it is hard work, both physically and emotionally. We wonder if we should toss that old lamp that doesn't work. What if we were to need it some day? After all, it could be fixed. We agonize over throwing away that gardening tool even though we haven't gardened in years (make that decades). And so it goes.
The irony is that when we do bring ourselves to get rid of the things that no longer suit our lifestyle, we feel so much better.
Joy for today: ridding ourselves of clutter.
Yes! Yes! A thousand times, Yes!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you were able to rid the garage of some clutter. I know doing that does bring some joy to me.
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