The month of December is important in many ways. In the first place, it shows that the year is coming to an end. We take stock of what we have been doing during the previous months.
December is also the month of festivals. While we are eagerly waiting for the Christmas festival, everybody seems to be in a holiday mood. The month is also important in another aspect. This is the ideal time to unclutter our homes, workplaces and minds.
Parents and children may have been collecting empty boxes, yoghurt cups, broken furniture, old clothes and shoes. Some people do not throw away their outdated eye glasses and worn-out tyres.
Unwanted stuff
Their garages are not used for parking their vehicles, but to dump old manual typewriters, used exercise books and heaps of old newspapers. All these show that you have a household clutter problem. You are not alone when it comes to collecting clutter. Almost everybody is guilty of collecting much unwanted stuff or they may be living in a state of chaos.
Clutter makes your living space uncomfortable and depressing. As a result, you may have to waste your precious time looking for items which are really necessary. Unknown to us, clutter can even cost our money. For instance, people keep on buying various items they already have. When your home is filled with clutter, living there can be a problem. Therefore, sensible people devote sometime in December to take control of clutter in their homes.
Most housewives and retired people have a readymade excuse for amassing clutter. They would say the things they collect may be needed some day. Similarly, some of the items they collect may have a tremendous sentimental value. Nobody wants to part with such items because they produce a sense of joy. However, those who had given them are not going to ask what happened to the gifts they had given. In short, you cannot keep every token of friendship in your house. If you choose to do so, you will live in a virtual warehouse.
Another problem in uncluttering is that you may not be able to decide what to keep and what to throw away. The simple rule to follow is that if you are not using something on a regular basis, you can throw it away. For instance, you may be having an old manual typewriter which you have not used for decades. As people no longer use manual typewriters, you can get rid of it easily. The same rule applies to old sewing machines. If you are not using them, dispose of them. You can either give them away or sell them.
You can reduce clutter if you find the best place for everything. The items you use regularly –scissors, cello-tapes, gum, rulers, envelopes, papers and similar items – should be kept in an easily accessible place. A dictionary should not be kept under lock and key. It should be readily available when you wish to check the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Even when letters arrive, file important ones and toss the junk.
Many housewives have a tough time with plastic containers. Some of them are so attractive that you do not feel like throwing them away. If you decide to keep all the plastic containers, your house will turn out to be a junkyard. You can easily dispose of them for recycling. In major cities, there are people who collect empty plastic containers to be sent for recycling.
Sentimental reasons
When children grow up, they throw away their old clothes. Some mothers have the habit of keeping them for sentimental reasons. Clothes you or your children no longer wear should be recycled into the hands of someone who needs them. There are some voluntary organisations which collect old clothes to be distributed free to needy people in remote villages. If you have any extra books and magazines, donate them to a library.
When fountain pens were fashionable, my table drawer was full of them. Unlike ballpoint pens, you do not feel like throwing them away. Most well-known writers used to keep their old pens. This is quite justifiable because you do not need much space to keep some old pens. As an old-timer, I still use fountain pens for my writing.
Every one of us can limit the number of items that contribute to overall clutter. There is no use of collecting old magazines and newspapers because we can buy the latest issues easily. Old newspapers can be recycled and some book sellers are willing to buy past issues of magazines. They have a marginal market value. A filing cabinet is a clutter-buster. It is the perfect place to keep important documents, stationery and photographs. I have seen grandfather clocks in some old houses. Most of the clocks are beyond repairs and owners keep them for prestige. If a clock does not show the correct time, it serves no purpose. In addition to grandfather clocks, there may be so many other items which clutter your house. Make an appointment with yourself to spend a few hours uncluttering your house. The payoffs will include a greater sense of freedom, more time to manage your affairs and a better home environment.
Readymade demand
Some of the non-antique collectibles have a readymade demand in foreign countries. Items ranging from old plastic dolls and Beatles memorabilia have turned into a multimillion dollar industry. A superman prize-ring, offered as part of a promotion for the superman comics in 1940 sold for $125,000 in 1992. Perhaps, you too can turn your clutter into cash.
There is almost no end for the junk that can become treasure particularly in foreign countries. However, the situation in developing countries such as Sri Lanka is quite different. Although there are antique dealers, they usually do not buy non-antique collectibles. Therefore, the only option is to donate or get rid of your clutter in the ways discussed above.
I still remember what a cleaning woman told me a few years ago. “I always remind my clients of the shame of having a messy house and trigger their middle-class guilt about getting someone else to do their dirty work.” This clearly shows another aspect of the clutter problem. Some people still do not know what to keep and what to throw away.
