De-cluttering My House and Life

Thulaganyo Jankey | Tuesday May 30, 2023 06:00

Otherwise there’s a real possibility of folks wondering whether you don’t have the fare to get back or you are some kind of fugitive running away from the serious city law.

City law is supposed to be more stringent and tougher than village law. So when you spend more than a week at the village and it is not the festive season your relatives keep casting furtive and suspicious glances at you wondering which bank you could have robbed.

I found myself having to reassure folks that I am not running away from the law or anything. Well, obviously there are a few creditors we need to time and again run from and find refuge in the village.

That is allowed in the creditor/debtor relationship and is not against the law.

The ‘working on projects’ this time was to de-clutter my house in the village. I am a borderline hoarder and so I find myself feeling sorry for the torn T-shirt I am throwing out.

I feel a bit cruel to chuck two disintegrating and moth-eaten books in the bin. Why do we have this thing about books having to be treated like sacred objects? Some of them deserve the same respect as a week-old newspaper. How must the poor cracked porridge plate feel? I found myself coursing through a lamentation minefield. Truth is the psychological trauma of losing stuff you have collected over decades and centuries is right at the level of losing your pension to the Ecoplexus Ponzi Scheme.

I have always wondered why we collect so much stuff. Is it because we have lots of shelf space to fill? Is it because our miserable lives are controlled by a huge sentimentality spirit we are not aware of? Or is it because we are too lazy to clear out stuff? Or all of the above? The bottom line is, if I have not needed any of these things in 10 years, it is unlikely that I will any time soon. What's more, even if I suddenly had an overwhelming need for a pair of blunt scissors, I would not have been able to find it in the muddle that was my house. By the time I finished not even Mr Universe could carry my trash. In fact, I think a herd of working elephants might struggle.

The trash in the refuse bags was some big heap that somehow looked much more than the one I took out of the house. There’s the immutable Law of Trash and it goes ‘once you bag trash in refuse bags it will be more than the trash you took out’. How I had peacefully coexisted in the same house with this mountain still beats me. I think we must all de-clutter at one point.

We must de-clutter to free up physical space. We must de-clutter to free up mental space too. Forget an expensive weekend at a resort – all you need to feel great, is to chuck out the stuff you are never going to use again, recycle useable stuff, and reduce the clutter in your life. So, it's a case of refuse, recycle and reduce – the latter also refers to your stress levels.

(For comments, feedback and insults email inkspills1969@gmail.com) Thulaganyo Jankey is a training consultant who runs his own training consultancy that provides training in BQA- accredited courses. His other services include registering consultancies with BQA and developing training courses. Contact him on 74447920 or email ultimaxtraining@gmail.com.