sketches of the mind

Jamey’s post about German DJ’s and their living rooms prompted me to write about my own living space ie. my bedroom. Naturally the first thing I did was the following quiz:

I’m a little surprised at my result in that quiz because my room does not look like a room that belongs to somebody with a clear Zen-like mind at all.

One of my goals for last weekend was to clean my room. I’m a firm believer that I function better, am at peace and more calm, in an uncluttered space.

It didn’t happen. I’m not going to dwell on it or put a negative spin on it, nor am I going to berate myself for not doing it. Instead I will set a new goal:

I will dedicate at least ten minutes per day this week to cleaning my room.

Decluttering is a process, and it starts from inside your mind. Last time I went through a decluttering session I noticed how easy it is to fall into a trap of thinking that something is of value, be it sentimental or other, or maybe it could be of use sometime in the near future. Fact is, I probably haven’t touched any of the items that I chose not to throw out since that day.

I’m a pack rat, or hoarder, by nature. My intention is to change that behaviour.

When I’ve got to jump over bags and dodge boxes on the floor on a daily basis then I know that something’s got to give. I can only stand living in a cyclone-affected area for so long.

The author of blog Journey to Self Improvement echoes my thoughts exactly:

I believe a need to hold onto old possessions, even when they aren’t in use, equates a tendency to dwell on the past. In order for my mental health to be at its finest, I need to focus on the here and now. It’s easy to get caught up in memories and fantasize about what the future might hold. Unfortunately, that will get me nowhere.
A clean, organized environment will be one of the beginning steps I will take to clean and organize my mind.

So how does decluttering work? It’s got to be an ongoing system, built into a regular routine. Zen Mind offers some great tips on how to declutter. I absolutely agree with the requirement to be merciless when going through a decluttering activity. That’s not something that I was very comfortable with in the past. However I do realise that material items are just that - material items. What we emotionally or intellectually attach to such items is up to us. It’s always a choice.

OrganizedHome.com suggests that:

Clutter tolerance seems to run a fever cycle, much like the flu. Every so often, the cluttered household will become intolerable, sparking the home manager to brief, massive anti-clutter spasms. Piles will be shifted, boxes will be filled, stuff will be stashed–until the fever breaks. Then the clutter tide flows back in, confusion redoubled because of the flushed and furious attempts to get a grip in a hurry.

Just as clutter arises gradually, over time, so it must be fought gradually and over time. Beating clutter requires building new habits, applying new organizational methods, and creating new household routines. The clutter cure takes time, and can’t be short-cut.

Resist the temptation to go all-out in fevered, short-term sorties against clutter. Like the fable of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the declutter race.

Who would have thought that a seemingly simple act of cleaning a room required so much effort, physically and mentally? Well it does, and I welcome the challenge.