Becoming Organized
Something as of late has provoked me to becoming more organized. I don’t know what it is, but it has reaped some enormous benefits so far and I am looking forward to the culmination of complete organization. I have thrown away quite a bit in the last month or so, things I thought I would need someday, so held onto, and never used. I am still not all the way there, but it is an ongoing process. Eventually, I would like to strip everything down to the bare minimum, with just a couple of extras, like my laptop and a couple of DVDs I actually use. The rest is all going to be either sold, given away, or tossed out, depending on if I can find ways to better dispose of them.
Here is what I have been noticing when it comes to clearing out clutter: You feel better, you are more focused, more relaxed, less agitated about clutter. Clutter can be very distracting, especially when you are trying to do something like write a blog post there is a gigantic mess staring you in the face. I believe the key to organization is giving each and every one of your items a home, a place where they belong, and be sure to keep placing them back in their home after you are done using them. This has two benefits: One is that you will always know where your things are, and two is that those things will not be all over the place, impeding your mood and well-being.
I find getting rid of excess items to be a rewarding process as well. This is especially true if you give those items to others. I remember a saying that goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I agree with that statement to the degree it has worked for me. I am going to start giving away some of the things I do not use regularly because getting rid of them will free up more space for either other things or more oxygen in my room. Oxygen is probably the most precious item for me to have around, so having more room for it is a definite must. The key for me is to figure out which items I will probably never use again, and which ones I will definitely use again. But what is the difference anyway? None of the things I own, besides my laptop, is worth over $100. Every other individual item is worth less than that. So, if I ever need another one of something I have thrown away, I can always get another one, for a nominal fee.
One of my plans is to probably sell some of my DVDs on eBay or sell them to used movie stores. A lot of the movies I have bought seemed like a good idea at the time, but I feel like every time I feel like watching one of them, I say, “Well, it is going to take two hours. Could you possibly put those two hours to better use?” And the answer is usually yes, so I feel like these movies are not really satisfying their space on my desk. The same goes with my bookshelf. Probably more than half the books on there I will never, ever read again, so maybe it is time to make a trip to the library and donate them. I don’t even know why I own books that aren’t something I would use at least once a month, as having them just sit there is a colossal waste of space. All in good time I will bring myself to get rid of the ones that no longer serve me, and if for some reason they do after I get rid of them, I just have to go down to the library and take it out.
It is all a matter of what you need, what you want, and what is just not worth keeping. Then there is a way to systematically organize the things you own into those three categories, trashing the latter and keeping the two first ones, then working on different methods of organizing the things that remain. I think it is a good idea. I have heard that in office buildings, often a person with a messy desk will not get a promotion. The whole thought on that is messy desk, messy life. Your clutter is a representation of who you are, and by clearing it out, you clear out a part of yourself to invite better things to come in its place.
Now where are my keys?
March 14th, 2007 at 12:01 am
Good article. Isn’t it a relief to be free of the burden of too many possessions, and amazing how few we truly need!
Hannah (another person who lives simply)
March 15th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
I enjoy feelings I sense in others when I give them things they could use. This not only helps them, but it also helps me. I recently had a dream where I gave a two-sided flannel shirt with a neat pattern to a strange woman I hadn’t seen before. She was thrilled with that and some jewlery. As we learn to give freely of ourselves, I think it increases our self-worth. This helps to explain why true happiness is linked not to how much we have, but to how much we give in terms of our objects, time and our soul.