Honestly, I usually mark the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend as the “official” start of my new year. By then, my tree is down, my holiday decorations are put away… my apartment is cleaned and vacuumed.
Not so this year, I’ve been busy — ironically, writing, pitching a TV show, and fielding all the lovely social media comments on my Washington Post article about decluttering.
Read the article and you’ll see that I credit at least some of the productivity to decluttering. It’s true – my headspace is clearer – and (because there’s less “stuff” around), tasks seem less daunting. That said, keeping clutter down is a practice, not a once-in-a-lifetime thing. The MAJOR decluttering effort got most of my things organized and helped me create some ideal “procedures” around kitchen clean-up (while and immediately after cooking), what comes in (paper clutter is the worst), etc.
But I’m finding out that decluttering is a practice… So no big decluttering “resolution” – instead, I’m going to work on my own 2018 “evolution” and get into the vigilant habit of not allowing clutter to build up again …
Illustration credit: the brilliant Jonathan Allardyce for The Washington Post and this article exclusively. I’m using it here only to promote the article – click on the link for more of Jonathan’s work.
So I read your article about declittering because I need to… and what do I do ? I cut out your article and put it in my ‘save articles ‘ drawer. Which is full to the rim,,, ya think I need help ?????
And yes, I will start, thanks to you, one thing at a time and I’ll let you know in a year where I’m at ?! Thanks, Sabine Willhoit
Thanks for reading the article, Sabine! And good luck with the decluttering. It’s HARD, but worth it!