Friday, March 13, 2009

What Dreams May Come

I have dreams about what my life would be like with less clutter. The open feeling of clear counter tops. The organized shelves. The ease with which I will find every thing.

There will be more space in my life for stillness, for reflection, for relationship. There will be time for reading and enjoying and relaxing. Creativity will flow.

Open. Expansive. Free. Relaxed.

But somehow I just never seem to be able to get rid of enough stuff, organize it fast enough, put things where they belong.

The dream is probably all a lie, anyways. Even if my home were impeccable I'd probably still feel stressed and overworked and guilty for sitting with a book and forget where I put my keys.

Right?

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25% more Monday Missions in every jar!

Mondays Mission is to write a post in the style of a food label. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. Or maybe that's because I haven't had breakfast yet.

18 comments:

Chantal said...

I want the same thing. I tell myself these things when I find the decluttering overwhelming. I guess the biggest "reason" to continue the process for me is when I hear those clutter gurus say that an uncluttered house takes 60% less time to clean. I have to hold on to this dream or I will lose my mind. :)

thailandchani said...

I don't have a lot of "stuff".. but find a certain degree of comfort in my clutter. When it's time to get rid of it, it goes... but I wouldn't like a house without any at all.

As for the guilt thing.. I don't know. I'm just not wired that way. :)



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Anonymous said...

Are you sure it's you? Because the clutter here comes from a husband who thinks "everything in its place" means "right here where I can see it all the time."

Melissa said...

I dream of a non cluttered home. But I dread the day it happens because that will be the day my kids are no longer home. Sad indeed.

kayerj said...

I'm in that zen life *poof* oh right it's just a dream!

A food label--I'm headed to the cupboard to see how they look

flutter said...

this post made me sigh in a beautiful way

Tina said...

Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one. Sometimes that is all it takes to make it a little better.

Susanne said...

Creating space is an on-going process but every time I managed to do it, it was definitely worth it.

As for where you put your keys, there's an easy solution: always put them in the same place... (I bet you didn't think of that one, didn't you?)

Aunt Becky said...

In a word, yes. But maybe that's just me. My house is impossibly dirty right now and there's no good end in sight.

And it's driving me insane.

Tania said...

Unless you live alone, as soon as you declutter, someone else will come along and clutter the space you just created. Leave the clutter where it is.

Anonymous said...

i have the same dream. and the same problem.

Kyla said...

I think the same thing...but I know, I'd hate living like that. This cluttered life works for us, even though I wish it was different at times.

imbeingheldhostage said...

I dream of a less cluttered life too-- unfortunately all of these people that live with me don't share the same dream...

Woman in a Window said...

I shakes down the clutter, throw it out, arrange what's left and two minutes into kids, it finds its way back round.

Mad said...

Kinda sort of a maybe Monday Mission:
http://madhattermommy.blogspot.com/2009/03/hey-ho-for-blog-post.html

Also, as soon as it starts to thaw here, I plan to send you maple syrup. My province is the 2nd largest producer of maple syrup in the world.

E said...

I have this fantasy where I live in a Buddhist white house with minimal furniture and a few well chosen paintings. But then given a week I am back in the gypsy caravan with red walls paintings and pictures hanging everywhere, long beaded scarves draped across tables and just stuff everywhere you look.
I think we have a set clutter button and no matter what we revert to form.
I am a Moroccan Gypsy with a tag sale going in in every room apparently

niobe said...

Not that my house is pefectly clean or decluttered by any means, but it makes me feel so much better to organize and get rid of stuff. So, even if you never get all the way there, the process can be freeing. Or so I've found.

alejna said...

I sometimes visit single friends who live in sparse appartments, and I get jealous of how little stuff they have. Our culture teaches us to think we need more stuff. I find myself longing for less, but too busy to get there.

Have I ever told you about my experience hiring a professional organizer? She helped me sort out and get rid of heaps of things a few years back. I need help again.