Six Secrets To A Decluttered Life

Clutter at work or home is a bit like invisible smoke: you just aren’t breathing well. Your energy is low and disturbed but you assign it to other reasons. And it’s easy to hide away all the mess in folders, drawers, cupboards, storerooms, lofts and move onto the next important thing. In India, we are surrounded by clutter outside our homes: haphazard billboards, exposed electric wires, plastic and garbage heaps: entering clean spaces uplifts us, seeing organised places calms us.

Once upon a time, only the wealthy had clutter- think baroque palaces. Today everybody and their pet have toys, photographs, books, clothes in multiples that tumble about as new stuff comes in. Offices are often crammed with paperwork, furniture and files: I recall walking into the junkyard of betacam tapes at Doordarshan, Mandi House in the early 90s and wondering how they ever found the right one to play out. Whenever we travel, we bring back clutter - do you recall the feeling of wonder at why you liked this item so much in another locale and now it seems very out of place?

How did we get here: China producing cheap goods? The convenience of online shopping options? Economic freedom? Larger homes? Infinite media persuasion? Retail therapy?

Is a deep hunger for a lost connection that brings on this compulsive buying?

On the flip side, Decluttering is a profound act. You acknowledge what you really want. You acknowledge who you are. What serves you? What brings joy? Your physical world begins to reflect you. Your space invites you to express yourself.

I have been decluttering for the last 7 years: at first reluctantly, now more enthusiastically. I have set free the burden of many crazy decisions- like my collection of sequins bought with the dream of embellishing many things, my hordes of books since childhood that were regularly dusted but never read, my collection of stamps, feathers, single earrings and a zillion such things that filled up my home-museum. When I finally let go, it freed up my life.

Here are some tips from my journey:

1. Wearables: Anything you have not worn for the last one year is redundant and should be released. What you choose to retain must be kept with all coordinates in easy reach.

2. Decorative: Does the attention move over many things registering nothing or does it find an area of interest. Plonking a bunch of pretty things does less than one beautiful item to gaze and enjoy.

3. Organizers: I learnt even trays are organizers- putting like-minded things in a tray works- like my collection of teas, or Indian spices, herbs… All the things you choose to keep must have their space and stored with respect. The time spent on organisers and storing things well will give you joy for a very long time.

4. Gifting and Releasing: We hold on to things for nostalgic reasons when they can actually serve other people. The joy of donating is uplifting. Find a home for all the things that once served you well.

5. Papers: Retain only these- what you are using now and those that have perpetual use (like property papers, cheque books, FD’s and suchlike). Use the digital non space to effectively lose all clutter causing piles of papers.

6. Define places: After constantly misplacing keys and knickknacks, I have now a space and organiser for things. Giving a definite place for everything. Close your eyes and think of anything and the place where it’s lying will come back to you.

In the last decade, reclaiming space has been my greatest achievement. It has had a detoxifying effect on my life. It has changed the bell jar sense of clutter to a liberated life- the outer bring sunshine into the inner world.

I wish you this freedom from the oppression of things.