Lately I’ve been all about clearing out the clutter in my head. It was weighing me down and spinning me side-ways! Getting reconnected with mindfulness meditation and stepping up my exercise routine have been crucial steps to handle my over-the-top prednisone induced ADD. Seriously, both have made a huge difference while I adapt to that crazy-making medication.
Yesterday I felt like doing something a little different. There is a corner of my bedroom that I’ve ignored for far too long. As I wrote yesterday’s post I realized I really would feel better if I just took on that little corner of my life.
It’s a weird little niche that is a clutter magnet. It’s where all the paperbacks I’ve read collect, photos of the kids that haven’t been properly framed pile up, a yarn bag from seven years ago when I thought I’d take up knitting, knick knacks that were given as party favors and I don’t have the heart to throw out. It’s the junk drawer of my otherwise clutter-free bedroom. Every time I looked at it, which is every day, I thought, “I should clean that out.”
I didn’t realize how much it had been bothering me. It wasn’t exactly like an episode of Hoarders after all.
Just half an hour, a couple of garbage bags, a roll of paper towels and a lot of Pledge dusting spray later, I had reclaimed my space and felt mahvelous dahling! Just mahvelous! I should have taken before and after photos! The junk was in the garbage bags (discard), a pile of books went to the library (donate), and I “found” some CDs of classical music, gifts from my father I thought I had lost (keep). Imagine that.
I was rewarded ten-fold for something so simple. Now I’m on the prowl for my next ‘fix’! What will it be? The cabinet under the bathroom sink? A file drawer in my home office desk? The basement? OK, let’s not go overboard!
As long as my zealousness stays under control and I don’t put more than 30 minutes aside to de-clutter on any given day, this might actually be fun AND good for me. How many things can you say that about?
Here are a couple of good related articles and a book highly recommend by Jane Brody, Health reporter for the New York Times:
The Health Benefits of De-Cluttering
It’s Time to Say Goodbye to All That Stuff
The Hoarder in You: How to live a happier healthier uncluttered life
