I'm Starting a Clutter Free Life

If you have known me well enough from childhood, you will know that once in my life, I had lived in a trash can. From time to time, I still do. Like Oscar the Grouch, there are some trash in life that I just can't live without. However, that has started to change in the past four years or so. I had started a to live a clutter free life - at least physically.

I grew up secretly envious of some friends' houses which are small yet so clean and tidy. Perhaps my parents don't even know about this. We had a big house back in the province but there was something in it that I just didn't understand. We couldn't keep it organize and clean all the time. One factor was the location of our house. It was right along the highway and our roads were not even asphalted until about 15 years after? It was very dusty all the time. But it wasn't what makes it chaotic to my eyes. It's the clutter.

Anyway, I grew up, eventually lived in the city, got married and had a kid. The nightmare seems to have followed me even to my adulthood although things have dramatically improved. We no longer live along a dusty highway and our house is already clean. Yes clean.. but not clutter free.

Perhaps you are trying to figure out just how cluttered it is. I am not talking about crampled papers or dirty laundry scattered all throughout the house. I am referring to the things in our home that we don't actually need: broken toys, outgrown clothing, plastic spoons collected from Jollibee and Mcdonalds, paper napkins from the coffee shop, scratched CD, name it! I even had folded Chippy and Mr. Chips plastics in my drawer!

See, these are the clutters I am referring to. I had a hard time outgrowing them.

Mysteriously (I'd say mysteriously because I can't recall how the change started), things had changed dramatically. Oh, I recall, it started when some emotional baggage were put down and blessings started to came in and we could afford to buy the things that we really needed (and wanted). I started to unpack the house and gave out all the still useful stuff to our yayas and neighbors. I started to simplify things. I loved it and keep it that way every now and then.

I realized that the reason of all the clutter in our house (including our old, old house) is 'LETTING GO'. I simply couldn't let go of most things in life. I held on to my old clothes in the hope that it will still fit me after a few months but ended up giving them away after two years. I held on to that broken phone in the hope that I could still have it fixed. I hold on to the old magazines thinking I will still need them in the future for reference or for my son's school project. I hold on to small gadget boxes expecting to use it as a box for Christmas gifts. Oh, dear!

After such realization, I make it a point to clear out our home from stuff we don't need and either give them out or auction them at super low, low prices. I once donated a bagful to Gawad Kalinga, thanks to Len! I gave out used school bags and school shoes to my son's friends who can hardly afford it. Those that are useless, I threw them away and give the benefit to our "basureros". They resell boxes, busted appliances and plastics to the junkshop.

Goody, it made my life better. It made cleaning easier. It brings in more blessings, I swear!

Then, just when I thought I have more or less a near clutter free life (although I still slip at times), I just got across this awesome ZENHABITS website (just an hour ago) and the first thing that struck me is the article about EMAIL ZEN: Clear up your Inbox.

Whew! I got so ashamed of myself. I thought I have done so much. Go read the article and clean up your Inbox. I just did! I deleted every folder I have without even taking a peek at what's inside. I deleted everything in my Inbox without second thoughts and promised myself I will never regret it. The next thing I'll do is delete all my other email addresses. It wasn't mentioned in that article but I'm going to do it next. See, I wouldn't want to delete them because I can't let go of them.

It is just one article I have read and it had slapped me in right on my face. I am expecting more slappings as I will start to dig in what's more to do to make my life clutter free.

Would you come and join me?