For sure one person's clutter is another person's treasured collection! But not putting things back into their allotted place drives me mad... Of course, I never do this 😂 only my husband 😂😂
Absolutely. If everything has a place to go back to home definitely runs smoother, maybe a gentle reminder is needed 😁 thank you for reading and commenting!
You should know I have spent many years trying to figure this out too. I just gave away 18 stuffed animals my kids don't play with to a kindergarten. There still are 23 or more left to overcrowd our bed... almost impossible to keep organized 🙈😜 What's worse is I only bought about 25% of it myself. The large majority were the ones my mother kept from my childhood... I was so relieved when they were off on their way to that kindergarten...!
Anyway, what I want to say is: Feng Shui (and decluttering) is Asian philosophy. It is wrong to sell decluttering without the underlying philosophy.
From Iran to Japan cleaning is not seen as annoying work, as something only dumb people should do for a job. Everyone does it. Even the men.
It is seen as making your surroundings ready for life. You clean to be able to focus properly on what is important. You declutter to train one skill: knowing what is important in your life. You organize to be able to start your day.
I am not sure I explained it properly, so if you have any questions, just answer to the comment 😅
I absolutely love that philosophy, modern decluttering information I see on the internet is brutal. We’re led to believe we need to organise everything from the kids toys to spices. Decluttering is an ambiguous act, but if you break it down for what it is cleaning, tidying or getting rid of things is so much easier to understand, far less guilt and probably closer to the philosophy you mention. After 18 years have you solved the keeping your home tidy problem?
No. I live in a mostly tidy space. I haven't solved it. But to be fair to myself our space is far too small for us. That is a huge part of it.
What I think I did solve is the emotional problem. I used to be very annoyed with the fact that you need to clean every week. That I needed to put at least 20 toys back in their place only to be able to clean the floor. And on a normal day more than 10 things someone else just dropped somewhere...
Now I see it just as part of life. Shunmyo Masuno "Zen, The Art of Simple Living" helped me a lot!
I'll be exploring all of that on my own substack 🙈 I know you're not supposed to say... but it fits too well...
Yes the emotional problems are really the issue not clutter and if I’m honest it only triggers people because of a wobbly nervous system, I have written about this too, also the pressure society puts us under to have advert perfect homes isn’t necessary and it’s ok not to tidy up after everyone, I have written about this too 😆. And you should 100% say what you want to say, there are no rules only the ones you create ourselves. I’d absolutely love to read your work. Thanks for sharing the book too.
I do not understand the obsession with over-organizing a space that is naturally cluttered with good intention--like a pantry. I crave organization, but why do we need to buy a bunch of plastic containers and jars to rehome our already packaged goods??? Maybe this is a US thing, but it's so unnecessary.
Because that makes someone money!? Homes can be tidy and organised however we like, but the standard set is so high and unachievable for a ‘normal’ home it can make us feel crappy and think we need to buy more containers, tubs, books to tell us how to keep a home the person writing has never seen. Guilt is a shitty marketing tool which decluttering tends to be based on. You do you, your home your rules 🙌🏼
Decluttering feels like yet another marketing tactic to make us feel like shite and buy organisers to make our stuff acceptable (and often smaller/quiter). Alarm bells ring for me when people talk about purging; smaller edits, discipline and curation. If all that stuff floats your boat - hurrah! But if it makes you feel a bit queasy, a bit judged, a bit - wait - my house needs a weight-loss jab and a glow-up? Who needs all of that ...
I went to see what the vv important influencer was all about and the most interesting thing I found was in the comments - one of which concluded that influencer-led home styling is the new fast fashion. However, if you Google 'men and collecting' .... of course that is different - collecting is a manly skill lol - no mention of dusting!
Yep you’re so right, fast fashion for homes, everyone has the same book they’ll never read, the right vase and lamp. Not good for creating a home or our planet. Ok now I need to google men and collecting… thank you! 💛
For sure one person's clutter is another person's treasured collection! But not putting things back into their allotted place drives me mad... Of course, I never do this 😂 only my husband 😂😂
Absolutely. If everything has a place to go back to home definitely runs smoother, maybe a gentle reminder is needed 😁 thank you for reading and commenting!
You should know I have spent many years trying to figure this out too. I just gave away 18 stuffed animals my kids don't play with to a kindergarten. There still are 23 or more left to overcrowd our bed... almost impossible to keep organized 🙈😜 What's worse is I only bought about 25% of it myself. The large majority were the ones my mother kept from my childhood... I was so relieved when they were off on their way to that kindergarten...!
Anyway, what I want to say is: Feng Shui (and decluttering) is Asian philosophy. It is wrong to sell decluttering without the underlying philosophy.
From Iran to Japan cleaning is not seen as annoying work, as something only dumb people should do for a job. Everyone does it. Even the men.
It is seen as making your surroundings ready for life. You clean to be able to focus properly on what is important. You declutter to train one skill: knowing what is important in your life. You organize to be able to start your day.
I am not sure I explained it properly, so if you have any questions, just answer to the comment 😅
I absolutely love that philosophy, modern decluttering information I see on the internet is brutal. We’re led to believe we need to organise everything from the kids toys to spices. Decluttering is an ambiguous act, but if you break it down for what it is cleaning, tidying or getting rid of things is so much easier to understand, far less guilt and probably closer to the philosophy you mention. After 18 years have you solved the keeping your home tidy problem?
No. I live in a mostly tidy space. I haven't solved it. But to be fair to myself our space is far too small for us. That is a huge part of it.
What I think I did solve is the emotional problem. I used to be very annoyed with the fact that you need to clean every week. That I needed to put at least 20 toys back in their place only to be able to clean the floor. And on a normal day more than 10 things someone else just dropped somewhere...
Now I see it just as part of life. Shunmyo Masuno "Zen, The Art of Simple Living" helped me a lot!
I'll be exploring all of that on my own substack 🙈 I know you're not supposed to say... but it fits too well...
Yes the emotional problems are really the issue not clutter and if I’m honest it only triggers people because of a wobbly nervous system, I have written about this too, also the pressure society puts us under to have advert perfect homes isn’t necessary and it’s ok not to tidy up after everyone, I have written about this too 😆. And you should 100% say what you want to say, there are no rules only the ones you create ourselves. I’d absolutely love to read your work. Thanks for sharing the book too.
I do not understand the obsession with over-organizing a space that is naturally cluttered with good intention--like a pantry. I crave organization, but why do we need to buy a bunch of plastic containers and jars to rehome our already packaged goods??? Maybe this is a US thing, but it's so unnecessary.
Because that makes someone money!? Homes can be tidy and organised however we like, but the standard set is so high and unachievable for a ‘normal’ home it can make us feel crappy and think we need to buy more containers, tubs, books to tell us how to keep a home the person writing has never seen. Guilt is a shitty marketing tool which decluttering tends to be based on. You do you, your home your rules 🙌🏼
Decluttering feels like yet another marketing tactic to make us feel like shite and buy organisers to make our stuff acceptable (and often smaller/quiter). Alarm bells ring for me when people talk about purging; smaller edits, discipline and curation. If all that stuff floats your boat - hurrah! But if it makes you feel a bit queasy, a bit judged, a bit - wait - my house needs a weight-loss jab and a glow-up? Who needs all of that ...
Well said, Elaine! And why is all this stuff aimed at women? I don’t see my husband stressing about decluttering?!? Thank you for reading 💛
I went to see what the vv important influencer was all about and the most interesting thing I found was in the comments - one of which concluded that influencer-led home styling is the new fast fashion. However, if you Google 'men and collecting' .... of course that is different - collecting is a manly skill lol - no mention of dusting!
Yep you’re so right, fast fashion for homes, everyone has the same book they’ll never read, the right vase and lamp. Not good for creating a home or our planet. Ok now I need to google men and collecting… thank you! 💛
Absobloominglutely.
🤣🙌🏼