Wouldn’t it be great if decluttering were a one-time process? You get rid of all the excess stuff, and then you never have to do it again. Unfortunately, that’s not how clutter works. It just keeps coming back because we keep getting stuff. However, I am trying to bring less in each year, and I try to get rid of more items than I bring in. I’m also trying to repurpose items instead of buying new things.
As I prepare to refine my workspace this fall, I will be going through boxes that I’ve already sorted before. Why go through them again? I do this because I always manage to find something I’m ready to get rid of because it has just sat in the box all this time without being used. The older I get the more I find I can do without stuff I once thought I needed.
I’ve written before about decluttering being a process instead of a one-time activity. Just looking back at older posts reminds me of where I’ve come from in how I think about material items. It feels good to know that my mindset about stuff is maturing, and I’m making people and activities more important than stuff.
Decluttering has taught me how small steps over time make a difference. In turn, this helps me understand how the small writing steps I do each day will eventually make a difference as well. While many things may seem like one-time tasks, they are just part of a bigger process. When we do those one-time tasks as planned, it makes our everyday activities run smoother because we don’t have a task list hanging over our heads to still be completed.
The amazing thing is that decluttering will eventually just feel like several one-time tasks as long as I remain consistent over time. Once a year, I’ll clean out old paperwork. Once a month, I’ll handle recycling. Once a season, I’ll weed out my wardrobe. Consistent decluttering will become a habit that makes life run smoother, and it will remind me that consistency in my writing will make my career run smoother as well.
Look for those learning opportunities when something gives you a different perspective on another activity. When can you apply a method to something else so processes run better? Decluttering has me sitting at my computer today writing blog posts because the process reminded me that I had a long list of ideas I needed to work through. Instead of stressing about thinking up new topics, I just decided to work with what I already had, and that will declutter my list. Keep looking to apply methods that work across different activities.
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Inspirational Verse for the Day:
He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15, CSB)
All Things Subject to Change 