More of Less – My Plan to Be Whole Again

Clutter has always been an issue for me. I’ve always wanted to save things whether it’s in files or drawers or under my bed. It’s been a long road trying to get rid of my possessions that I really have not needed anymore. Reading the more of Les by James clear really sets my mind focused on getting rid of the clutter. One of the surprisingly nice thing about cleaning up clutter is the treasure you for hidden and forgotten about . Like cash.

I’ve been investing in my mind at the gym on hoopla, which my library offers me to get books digitally or audiobooks which I can listen to. This book, the more of less, really hit home for me. It wasn’t until about chapter 8 when I really saw the connection when he was talking about a woman who had written to him who had MS, just like my story. She talked about how the clutter just added additional stress that was unnecessary. Just like this woman, that’s when it really hit home.

My house has always been filled with clutter, but now with a seven-year-old with an abundance of toys who he is either outgrown or has just gotten to board to play with. It’s always a fight over abundance and minimal lysing things that we just don’t use anymore. These things, someone necessary, some just put in the wrong place, just get in my way. There is nothing more stressful than something that is physically in your way that you have to move being onto crutches, or just visual clutter that distract you from anything that you need to get accomplished. It’s just an age of distraction with all these media components in your life, like iPhones on and you have that is distraction and then you have this visual clutter that’s all around you.  Chapter 8 was it for me. But I read through the book with great interest learning tips on decluttering, but also in the value of minimalism and having much less in your life and being giving to people who need it more than you.

I started with sort of a brain map, it was a map of my house and all the rooms that I needed to tackle, then I would prioritize the ones that were more important to me. There was a particular area that always stood out in my mind. It was the area when I come up my stairs, I live upstairs, and head into my kitchen and there is a counter right above my junk drawer, which had turned into a junk counter, just piles of stuff that were supposed to go to someplace else, or I was supposed to look through, it was just a ginormous pile of procrastination. It was a priority for me to get this visual out of my way, so that when I come upstairs my mind is free and I can go where I need to. This was my kitchen, but a particular problem area. I just dumped everything in a box, and went through one by one. I would move things I would throw things away or I would give him away. That was my plan. Because this is also my media station where I recharge my iPads, my iPhone, chargers for my digital devices. This is my recharging station. I have cleaned it out a lot and freak out when anybody just stick something on the counter. This is going to be my sacred space. But at least I’ve drilled it down to one area that is very very important for me.

I don’t need a visual reminder that I have to clean out my life. So this book really helped me start the process and until my son goes back to school next week, and I have more time on my hands, then I will really tackle it. But at least I have a plan now. More of less really changed my thinking, and let me know that I was not alone. There was nothing wrong with me I was perfectly human and this was a problem that everybody has but just does not want to admit. Sometimes I feel like I’m too critical or cranky or OCD, but it’s been a real challenge for me to get my life in order so that I can move through it with ease. That’s not just a mess. That’s just life. And it made me feel whole again. There is nothing wrong with me.