Menopause and the need to clear clutter…
Article by
Aisling Grimley.
Now don’t get too excited - I’m only talking about the material goods in this blog…..we’ll look at bigger issues like relationships another time.
Clearing clutter can make you feel physically and mentally lighter
The 3 levels of attachment to material goods
I think that, when it comes to “stuff”, the world is probably divided into 3 breeds: the horders, the minimalist super de-clutterers and the half-way housers, like myself. Some would call us plain messy.
I got an insight into decluttering many years ago when my friend Blaithin Boylan called over to give me some advice, by request of course. She’s one of the super de-clutterers as you may have guessed. She whizzed around the house with quite a few looks of horror and some moments of stunned silence.
Tackle one area at a time
She was like one of those TV House experts, minus the rubber gloves. The message was clear: the house needed help! Her advice? Take it one room at a time and start with the kitchen. The mission was to get rid of all the visible clutter! There should be no stuff on top of cupboards, my kitchen window sill must be cleared (at the time it was covered in the baby's bottles), more storage systems, more baskets were needed. Her face said it all - Urgent Action Needed Now!
Start with a small area such as a kitchen drawer.
Feeling lighter mentally and physically
Where to begin? Cookbooks I no longer use; nearly empty bottles of out of date condiments; manuals for appliances that have long since been replaced; 'neat piles' of useless things that needed editing; cutlery not quite good enough to use…..you know the stuff I’m talking about.
When I was finished there was a lot more storage space in our kitchen than I thought - space that could now house things that were living on valuable counter space - the orange juicer, the blender. Maybe we didn’t need that kitchen extension after all.
The thing that amazed me about clearing my kitchen was that when it was done, I felt physically and mentally lighter, happier too - even when I wasn’t at home! It was a total revelation. Also, having established a good and attainable tidiness level it was relatively easy to maintain. A bit like my recent blog on the Family Meal Plan, I find that once you do the work of putting the system in place, the day to day implementation is easier than you might expect.
Are you in need of inspiration?
With a busy household, of course, the place gets messy and things pile up in the default ‘dumping grounds’. So we all need an inspirational boost from time to time. Last Christmas I got a present of Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. Some would consider this an offensive present from their husband but being honest I must say I loved it. Stuck in bed with the flu after Christmas I read the book and leapt out of bed from time to time to clear a drawer or bathroom cabinet.
I found that Karen Kingston had some brilliant guidance. The principal ideas that drove me on were:
- Clutter is stuck energy – move the stuff and shift your own energy.
- Don’t keep things ‘just in case’ – e.g. if you lose that stone you’ll be delighted to buy new clothes; dump the fish tank – you can buy another if you get a fish again.
- Getting rid of things makes space for new and better things to come into your life.
- A clear out can be a quick way to more disposable income. Gather loose change, use vouchers, maybe sell stuff?
- Often just after we get rid of something we realise we actually need it and regret the decision. She says we invent that need and recommends that if necessary you replace the goods and move on.
- Don’t hold onto things that bring your energy down e.g. clothes that never worked, books you never finished, DIY projects you spent money on but didn’t finish – all out the door!
- If you are feeling down or stuck, take a small and easy area to declutter e.g. the bathroom cabinet or the sock drawer.
My system involves two black bags: one for the bin and one for the charity shop. If I’m dithering about parting with something, my mantra is to wish my stuff ‘a long and happy life with someone else!’
In a long winded way my decluttering phase last January led to the establishment of this website but I’ll tell you about that another time.
Whether you are a diehard hoarder who can defend the need to hold onto stuff or you have a great decluttering system, please let me know what you think? I’d love to hear other points of view.
