Collect Yourself
“What I need is more clutter.”
Said by exactly nobody.
Planning a move to Glen Lennox, or just want to bring a little more order into your life? There’s a trend that’s gaining popularity worldwide: minimalism. In modern living, it’s the new black.
Studying interior design magazines makes us yearn for those perfect rooms where every element is strategically and intentionally placed. Clean sight lines, a lack of clutter and the calm of having everything in its place have a soothing effect. But then life happens and quietly, unobtrusively, objects begin to accumulate in our homes – the standing lamp an aunt left you, a native throw blanket from that mountain weekend and the cedar chest that looked so cool in the store. Soon your tidy abode takes on the look of a knick-knack shop.
Which raises the question: why do we have so much stuff? There are plenty of articles, blogs, books and essays exploring why we tend to fill our homes with things we don’t really need, but there’s still no consensus. Currently, no fewer than three reality TV shows feature hoarders and their neuroses. But hang on, dear reader – nobody’s accusing you of being a hoarder. This blog is merely meant to highlight the satisfaction you’ll experience (not to mention the money you can save) when you break the habit of unconsidered buying and collecting.
It can be amazingly freeing to banish stuff you don’t need or want and instill a little order in your home. You could hire someone to purge your possessions, but all you need is the desire, the time and the follow-through. It doesn’t even have to happen all at once—you can set yourself up with color-coded Post-It notes and start labeling things to keep or toss. If you haven’t used something in a few months, chances are you won’t. But someone else will.
Pick up some extra cash by posting your excess items on Craigslist. Or donate them to one of the many local charitable organizations and get a tax deduction – The PTA Thrift Store and Habitat for Humanity’s Restore are just two local resale options that will help do you some good and do some good for others. (If you notice the urge to take a spin through the store – “Look at all this stuff I can save money on!” – resist!)
You know those boxes you saved from your online purchases in case you needed them? Well, now you finally do. Use them to gather your shoes, tools, clothes, lamps, whatever, and when you’re out anyway, plan your route to include a drop-off at any thrift store along the way. At first, it may be hard to part with that ironic-but-unnecessary Leg Lamp from “A Christmas Story,” but with every item you let go, the easier it gets.
Cutting your clutter is a gift to yourself that keeps on giving. Once your newly clutter-free persona has emerged, it will be that much easier to enjoy your space at Chapel Hill’s Link Apartments® Linden.