I often get comments from people contradicting my suggestions regarding what to declutter and pleading their case on why they keep certain items or collections of things. Avid readers love their books, baking enthusiasts love a good range of pans and utensils, crafters, like myself, will cater to their craft, perhaps even over cater. There are also shoe lovers out there, fashionistas, modellers, family history caretakers, plant enthusiasts, collectors of all sorts of things…

The purpose of my blog is not to insist that we all live a completely minimalist lifestyle. I don’t, so it would be totally hypocritical of me to suggest such a thing. My intention here is simply to draw your attention to areas of your homes that may need considering when it comes to culling of unused and unloved items. And I am sure your intention here is to consider that advice in a bit to declutter your homes, which is why you read my blog in the first place. I don’t explain this in every article I write because I presume my readers are all aware of this however it doesn’t hurt for me to reinforce this, every now and again, in a post like this.

So lets talk a little about what decluttering is to each individual, because I would hate for people to spend time regretting decluttering items that they loved or were still useful to them, just because I suggested it in a post.  So here are a few examples to explain the concept of what is clutter and what isn’t to the individual.

I have one bottle of perfume is that too few? Some women would think so because they like to mix it up a little, something floral one day, something oriental the next. Some may even think I am very unsophisticated for this. I care little about their opinion because one is enough for me. I am sure also that they would have the same opinion of me because I only use one handbag and it doesn’t match all my shoes. Once again, I don’t care. I find life simpler with less choice.

On the other hand I have a plethora of craft supplies. And although I have way less than I did prior to my decluttering journey there is still an overabundance. To the less creative person my collection would seem ridiculous but to me they are a good variety that allows me to achieve the creativity I desire. It really is my only vice so I am happy to live with that. And I continue to use up supplies that I have no intention of ever replacing.

Someone else may only have two towels, two pair of shoes, one set of sheets but a display cabinet full of china handed down from a relative long passed. So what, minimalism is one thing to one person and something else to another. It is not up to anyone to decide what you care about and what you don’t, what is too much and what is too few.

Anyone reading my blog is here because they want to reduce what they own in order to free themselves of the restrictions that clutter can cause. Space restrictions, time restrictions, cash flow restrictions etc. Having the intention to declutter will set you in the right direction, then I am sure you are all capable of deciding in what areas you want to reduce and by how much. As momentum takes over you may get more adventurous but that is up to you. Be an individual and do it your way.

At the same time, if you are here reading my blog and defending every little thing you own as precious to you, while you home is cluttered to the rafters, then perhaps you need more help than I can give. Hoarding can be a serious issue and professional help is require to overcome such an issue. And in that case I would strongly suggest you seek medical help. Your GP is the first person to turn to and they will refer you on to the professional that can help you best.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown