I’ve come to accept that our society only wants solutions in pill form. If it can’t be swallowed, we probably won’t try it. Rather than fight this phenomena, I’ve decided to try to capitalize on it. Valtrex, Viagra, Levitra, Enzyte, Prozac, Lipitor, why not have one pill that covers everything that could ever go wrong? Welcome to Et Cetra.
Earlier on Oprah this month, Peter Walsh explored the relationship between being overweight and living in a cluttered home. While the show gave great insight, they only touched upon the underlying cause of that very correlation between clutter and excess weight.
The only way to gain weight is to bring more food into your body than you burn off. The net result of “In – Out = You”. The same is true with a cluttered house. If you’re buying more than you’re getting rid of, the clutter will grow. You can organize around it. You can create a system. But you have to stop the net influx of stuff into your home, or the clutter will become a problem eventually.
Your home is no different than your body. If clutter is piling up, it’s not because you don’t like cleaning. If your waist expands, it’s not because you don’t like exercising. It’s because you’re not dealing with something else in your life. The clutter or the fat, or both, are merely a symptom of some underlying unhappiness you have in your life. And you’re not addressing it.
Fat is fat, and it all looks the same. But you can dissect your clutter to get at the root of some of that unhappiness. If you’re holding on to your great grandmother’s china set, and it’s sitting in boxes in your basement, it’s not enriching your life. And you’re not honoring your ancestors by having their stuff in your basement. When you look at this old box, what does it make you feel? Why are you really keeping this? If it really does have value, then either get that value for it, or treat it like it’s valuable. Your home has value, regardless of what’s in the basement. And that’s value we want back.
Take the valuables and sort them out. If they’re worth money, get the money for them. If they have sentimental value, make a place to display them properly. You will quickly find there’s only so much room in your home for sentimentality. When displays start impeding on other displays, it’s time to decide. Which ones should stay, and how much of each should you keep? Clean the space, walk out for a few minutes, and re-enter the space with a fresh mind. How does it fit together, and which collectibles and memorabilia have more meaning in this part of your home?
When you start to get rid of what doesn’t belong, you might get an idea for why you were holding on to these objects in the first place. Most of us fill emotional needs with quick fixes. They’re easy and they get us through the moment. Whether its food, shopping, sugar, alcohol, or even sex, we chase that short term rush instead of dealing with the emotions we’re having. And we don’t even notice. As you investigate your own home’s clutter, think about how it got there, and whether you honestly even wanted it at the time you brought it in to your home.
