Have you seen that show Hoarders? I haven't watched it but the advertisements make my skin crawl. I honestly don't know how people live with tons of crap.
In the past 10 years I have moved 6 times- the 6th time this past week. It's not really a conscious decision to keep moving but it just happened to work out that way. With each move I found I was throwing more stuff out and moving less and less. At that point in my life, I was practicing non-attachment and didn't even know it.
Now I'm not saying go out and get rid of all of your things but every 6 or 12 months take inventory of what you have and decide if it's something you need or is it just taking up space.
Clutter makes your life and your space messy and complicated. You know that great feeling you have after cleaning out your closet- that's how it feels when your surroundings are clean, simple and organized.
Here are a few tips for keeping things uncomplicated:
Books, DVD's, CD's or any other kind of Media- Lord of the Rings was so cool when it first came out but four years later How to Speak Elvish is just not getting that much face time. So if you haven't picked it up in a year or you've lost interest in it, sell it. Amazon makes it so simple to sell your unwanted items and you can make quite a few dollars doing it.
Clothes- I used to be one of those people that kept everything. It either belonged to the school of one day I'll fit into it or I'll hold on to it just in case I need a bigger size. Living in the present moment is not just about your mental state, it's also about your wardrobe. If it doesn't fit and it hasn't in a year get rid of it. If you owned it when you were 18- bin it. If you look at it and cannot understand for the life of you why you bought it, say goodbye. But don't throw your clothes or shoes out. Put them in bags and donate them. There are drop off bins everywhere and there is always someone who could use them.
Furniture: Is it old, ratty or a horrifying shade of hot pink? Do you have TV's from the black and white era? Is your garage full of bikes that never get ridden? Throw away the old stuff and give what's in decent shape to goodwill.
Cleaning house is really about taking stock of your life. Where are you now? How different are you from the person you were 2, 3 or 5 years ago. The past is gone and letting go of it also means letting go of the physical clutter that comes with it.
Remember you are not tossing away the memorable stuff just the junk that you've been carrying with you. Take a moment to really look around your home - what are the things you really need versus the stuff that's just taking up space.
I thought I had really made progress in 10 years and I still had 25 bags of donations and trash this time around. Not to mention I have sold over $500 in books, cd's and dvd's I no longer use.
You don't have to trash your whole house but see if there are little steps you can start to take to simplify your life. Remember once you de-clutter the physical, the mental is soon to follow!
