Uncluttered: Week 2 – Less (Take 2)

Posted onAuthorJoyce Moy

I’m enjoying taking my time going through this course again, and getting uncluttered. Last time, I went faster through the areas that didn’t have as much stuff. I wasn’t really intentional or thinking through what to do with the items. This second week is about the case for less. I won’t argue against this case. I have seen how much joy and freedom it has brought to so many people when they let go of their things. Next week is when the room-to-room decluttering starts. (Read the Note about this blog series in the Week 1 post.)

Week 2: Less – What do you see?…[W]hich rooms contain the most clutter?

The Short Answer

Yes, there is more clutter than I’d like there to be right now. The “office” is our catch-all space with the most clutter.

My Case for Less

For this week, Joshua makes a case for less. As I have mentioned before, there is a lot of information available out there about the benefits of owning less. It can certainly be hard to imagine your life without ____. But everything we own is a decision. We will need to decide where to store it, and for how long. And then if we end up not using it, we will need to decide what to do with it. Things can also be a burden/worry, distraction, or even a hazard.

So, if you already have lots of other stuff on your mind, owning less can certainly be a weight lifted off your shoulders. I know this to be true for many of the older and wiser folks who have been in The Declutter Community. They have helped their own parents declutter things during their life or after they have passed. Many have also helped friends with this task. As they have sorted through their own items, most have received the okay from their children to toss old toys, artwork, trophies, and other sentimental items. It is sad at first, but knowing that their children will not have to sift through more than they need to when that time comes, they have often shared a sense of relief after going through the stacks and boxes. And rarely has anyone come back to remember an item that has been moved along.

Photo by Jorge Urosa: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-white-and-black-text-board-9129539/

Other Thoughts on The Case for Less

Depending on your history with stuff, it might be easy or hard to get uncluttered. But that’s okay. Wherever you are in your journey, just start. There is a strong case for less even when there are plenty of good reasons for more. I know about those “just in case” items. They might be duplicates just in case the other breaks. Or maybe we need these items just in case we have friends over and need extras. Perhaps we would save someone else from owning an item just in case they need it and we could lend them something.

It’s not going to be easy. I know many of us have hobbies that require lots of parts and accessories. I might not have time to doodle all the time but when I do, I will need to have all those pencils, markers, and sketchbooks. We have a crocheter in the house and that is an involved craft with hooks of various sizes, lots and lots and lots of yarn, and eyeballs for amigurumis. And some people have pastimes like sports, woodworking, music, or looming that involve big items that need to be stored.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-brown-basket-on-top-of-a-stack-of-yarn-5788488/

All that to say, you don’t have to give up what you love to do but you have to consider if it’s really worth storing if you don’t use it, or maybe you can adjust your priorities to add it back into your life. (That may be another post for another day.) An uncluttered home can still include these beloved treasures but something else will have to go. Those in The Declutter Community who press on know their goals and show up to do the work. They have days when they are sick, a loved one is sick, work goes long, or they were just unmotivated. BUT the next day is a new day and they get back to it.

Most of us genuinely desire others to find the same freedom and joy living simply that we have experienced. – Joshua Becker, Uncluttered course

One Last Thing

While none of the wildfires have been super close to us, we know quite a few people who were evacuated from their homes last year when the fires raged. They had to quickly decide what to take with them for an unknown number of days. It was not certain if there would be a home to go back to. This was my (yearly) reminder that none of my stuff is really all that important. If I didn’t have something, I could either replace it or I could do without it.

What do you see? Is there more clutter than you imagined? Or less? Which rooms get used the most? And which rooms contain the most clutter?

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