I’ve written about decluttering quite a bit on the blog–but what’s my inspiration behind it?
When I was fresh out of college, living in the Bay Area, I lugged a LOT of items out to California from my childhood/high school/college days. Items that, it turned out, were pretty useless now that I was adult with a job and wedding to plan. Whether it was totally outdated clothes and shoes, the bike I never rode and later gave away, or kitchen gadgets like three different mixers–I could have taken less than half of what I moved with and been completely fine. Probably better, since I wouldn’t have been trying to squeeze things into every corner of a one-bedroom apartment!… Read More »
Last month, in the midst of my own major post-holiday declutter, I learned a new-to-me term: osoji, which Google tells me literally means “big clean” in Japanese. It’s not a new tradition at all, however–it dates back to circa 800 A.D. At that time, the Imperial Court was ritually cleansed of soot at the end of each year to welcome the deity of the new year (
Happy December, friends! Can you believe it’s the last month of 2024? This year absolutely flew by for us–pregnancy and election notwithstanding–and I’ve just about wrapped up my holiday shopping 🙂 I’m ready to settle in for a month of festivities with (ideally) low stress and Christmas to-do’s.
The art of emotional detachment from possessions is a lifelong pursuit. It’s learning how to appreciate an item for its functionality and/or beauty, without hanging onto it for purely sentimental reasons long after its usefulness or beauty has disappeared. There are very few things that should remain with us for life.
Paper clutter… the bane of every homemaker’s existence. We receive more every day in the mail, kids’ backpacks, art projects made at home, etc. Paring down to the necessities feels almost impossible due to the sheer bulk of paper we receive and store in our homes.