It would be nice to declutter my life

[Originally published in Woodbury Bulletin on 6/26/2007]

When I came to the United States in 1991, I had a couple of suitcases of stuff.

Sixteen years later - after two kids, six job changes, four moves in three states, and especially after moving into the current new house in Woodbury six years ago - the stuff in possession is more than a couple of truck loads now.

I don’t say it with any pride, but with a lot of concern.

Even though I don’t do much shopping, stuff in my house keeps growing and accumulating. I am a detail oriented and organized person. However, there are still countless times when I feel overwhelmed because I can’t find things I am looking for. Things disappear and get lost somewhere in the cluttered house.

As I spent more time organizing things and looking for things, as I feel more overwhelmed than ever by the stuff overflowing everywhere in the house, my concern starts to grow as well.

I realized that a peaceful mind can’t thrive in a cluttered environment. I really need to simplify and declutter my life in order to have less stress and more peace. I need to choose an intentional living and live my life on purpose.

What would a simplified and clutter-free life look like?

As I spend less time on things not so important, I would have more time to do the things I really want to do.

As I have less stuff to organize and keep, I would be able to find things more easily and without much effort and digging.

As my house is kept organized and tidy all the time, I would be able to invite people to my house without being embarrassed and feeling the burden of having to spend a lot of time on cleaning up.

As less things get accumulated which causes less physical and emotional stress, I would feel more relaxed and enjoy life better.

As the energy flows freely through me and the environment around me, I would feel more connected to the Spirit and be more creative and inspired (in-spirit).

As physical and emotional decluttering frees my mind of negative thoughts and feelings, I would be more mindful and be able to live more in the present.

This is the kind of life I would like to have. This is something I need to get started and work on.

There is both good and bad news for me to achieve this goal.

The good news is I know the difference between needs and wants. I don’t have any desire to keep up with the Joneses.

I don’t have the instant gratification mentality. And best of all, as my age increases, my desire for buying things decreases. Lately I don’t do much shopping.

But the bad news is I am a packrat. Even though I wasn’t born or grew up during the Great Depression in the 1930s, I experienced living conditions far worse than the Great Depression.

I was born in the 1960s and grew up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

The Depression-era mentality I have developed results in clutter accumulation, because I feel I need to keep everything.

I feel guilty to throw away or waste anything. So my house is packed with items I don’t need or use but can’t bear to part with.

Recognizing and acknowledging a problem is the first step towards solving the problem. It’s a big step to realize and admit that I have a clutter problem and that needs to be dealt with sooner or later.

By decluttering my physical environment, I will have less stress.

By decluttering my mind, I will have more peace. The end results I desire and have in mind will hopefully give me some motivation to get started.

In a future column, I will talk about Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese art of placement and how it can help decluttering our lives.