Ed note: I don’t know about you but cluttering depends on my mood. Some days it just fun to just, well, clutter. Other times, it’s time for the OCD cleanup. Also, watching colleagues manage their clutter was quite interesting. There’s the neat and tidy desk vs. the huge piles of documents. I’m not sure who was more stressed – but it does take time to clean up all that mess. And who wants to get all stressed about that!
Thanks to Ann M who sent this in from a UW publication: “In a time when people are more stressed out than ever, it makes sense that minimalism, the tiny house movement, #vanlife and the KonMari method are taking over our social media feeds and podcast libraries. All these lifestyles promote some version of: get rid of stuff you don’t really need and have a clutter-free home so you can live a simpler, more joyful life. But can decluttering really make you feel more content?
Yes, according to Brenna Renn, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and acting assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington.
“I do think that we are hardwired as humans to look for patterns in our environment and to find comfort in predictable patterns and occurrences,” Renn says. “That may be the underpinning of where this interest in decluttering is coming from. If we can make our home environments these predictable environments, it might support our mental health.”
That said, here’s what you should know before deciding to spend the weekend cleaning out your closets.
May I suggest the wonderful book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. It references the Swedish wish of NOT leaving our family, friends, and unknown others the huge task of cleaning up after us when we are gone. Author, Margareta Magnusson, also gives wonderful help as to how to begin the process and why going through photos and letters should be taken on LAST until we have dealt with other things first. (Hint: we can get lost in photos/letters, etc because of the memories they hold and therefore delay getting to the 4 extra sets of sheets, 9 white blouses we do not really need, etc) . I really recommend this 109 page easy- to- read book. Maybe there should be a Declutter Interest Group at Skyline where people can read the book and then take some months to continue meeting and share with each other how they are progressing. There’s nothing like a support group when members are really focused together.