[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_animation=”none” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_empty_space][blockquote text=”“How can you see all the beauty in life when you’re busy taking care of all the things you own? I believe clutter is keeping too many of us from living well. Let’s change that.” -Erica Layne” show_quote_icon=”yes” text_color=”#c1a61b”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]The Japanese call it Suteru! or “throw away” and it’s the answer to TMS or Too Much Stuff syndrome. De-cluttering sounds a bit less threatening and was the topic of a long-running BBC2 TV series called The Life Laundry in which the film crew liberated hoarders from the paralysing accumulations of things.
TMS goes to heart of a paradox in consumer society. We love acquiring stuff: clothes, books, music, ornaments, and electronic gear. Unfortunately, the other frugal side of our nature refuses to get rid of our possessions – it seems wasteful to part with them and before we know it, we are mired in clutter.
Suteru! is the title of a best-selling book by Nagisa Tatsumi translated into The Art of Discarding. According to Nagasi, holding onto things from the past we no longer use, holds us back from our current selves, in addition to the depressing untidiness they cause.
Astoundingly, some psychologists say that decluttering gives a psychological boost to weight loss![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”5850″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_animation=”none” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]If you find yourself hunting desperately for a document amid stuffed files or unable to find the pair of trousers you want in a crammed wardrobe, maybe it’s time to learn the art of throwing away.
Why do we hoard possessions and in extreme cases allow clutter to take over our homes? It can be the way that we attach undue emotional importance to objects. They remind us of people dear to us or of special occasions. Hanging onto them brings back memories, but it also pulls us back to the past rather than being in the present.
Another reason is that we over-estimate the usefulness of the object yet fail to make object the object useful. The outdated jacket you mean to alter but never do, or the table with the broken leg that’s waiting in the garage to get mended. Understanding this can help us to see clutter for what it is. Clutter doesn’t have to be thrown away – it can be recycled and made useful by resourceful or needy folk, taken to charity shops or sold at a car boot sale. Of course, there is always the temptation to acquire more stuff if you attend one of these, which you have to resist at all costs![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5853″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_animation=”none” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]So how do you make a start on clutter cleansing?
- Parting with possessions can be quite emotionally tiring, so it’s a good idea to tackle one area, or even one drawer at a time.
- Tidying things into storage boxes is not necessarily the answer; it simply hides objects from sight and puts off getting rid of them.
- Hanging onto things ‘in case’ you might need them, has more to do with that security blanket feeling than with practicality – out with them!
- Try on the clothes at the back of the cupboard you never wear – if they don’t look or feel right it’s time to part with them.
- If you are a hoarder and am unable to get yourself to part with your prized possessions, enlist the help of a “chucker” to help with the clearance. My Mum used to sort things into three piles 1) keep, 2) maybe and 3) you must be joking!
- No need to feel guilty about decluttering when there are charity shops and car boot sales. Your discards can be turned into cash.
- Once you have sorted out an area, you will discover how liberating it is to declutter and you will be enthused to carry on doing more.
- Ask your children if they want all the certificates, drawings, and awards from their childhood. Better still – hand them over for them to do with it what they will.
Life with less stuff is exponentially easier than life with too much![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_text_separator title=”About the authors”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_animation=”none” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Paul Britton a planning consultant and Marianne Heron a Life Coach founded The Bridge to fulfilling retirement some ten years ago motivated by a conviction born of their own bad retirement experiences and those of contemporaries that there is a need to prepare people for the major life transition from full-time career to retirement. They have gained experience and insight into this life stage through delivering pre-retirement courses in South Africa.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_animation=”none” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5851″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Marianne is a journalist, Life Coach and author of a number of books. Her main career was with the Irish Independent newspaper based in Dublin as a feauture writer and latterly as Feature Editor. Later in retirerment dividing her time between Ireland and South africa she qualified as a LIfe Coach with the South African College of Applied Pyschology. Based on her training and difficulty in adjusting to retirment and those of contemporaries, she co-founded The Bridge to fulfilling Retirement with business partner Paul Britton which offers pre-retirement courses. She is now based full time in Ireland and continues in the field of retirement planning and remains active as an asscoiate to The Bridge to fullfiling Retirment.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5852″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]After a successful career in Conservation, Paul was pushed into early retirement at 60. In spite of establishing a thriving consultancy and making more money than he had ever dreamed of, he hit an all-time low at about six months into retirement. His research into the psychology of retirement over the past 10 years, revealed that he was not alone and that disillusionment and depression in retirement can effect up to one third of retirees. Thus he and Marianne present workshops and motivational talks to guide retirees to a fulfilling retirement by rewiring their lives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_animation=”none” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]For more information have a look at our website; www.fulfillingretirement.co.za or contact Paul on horizons@polka.co.za
Their book: Rewire your future. Is available on Amazon.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]
