The different Dimensions of Clutter
I learned early on that nothing should be thrown away, as it would come handy – sooner or later.
So, I gathered things over the years. And stored them in different parts of the house.
And, they occupied a lot of space. They occupied my time too, as people at home and I had to clean them and arrange them.
And they became an eyesore. And a source of stress.
About a year back, I read about Marie Kondo and her passion for decluttering and tidying up. It made enormous sense. The pursuit of too many things blocks us from achieving things of substance.
It became obvious to me that I lead a cluttered lifestyle in other areas as well:
- The greatest clutter is in the mind. There are tens of thousands of thoughts marauding through the mind, vying for attention and always taking me away from living the present moment.
- I often multi-tasked with the aim of accomplishing more, but ended up neither here nor there.
- I was swamped with so much of information that there was a yearning for information diet.
- I consumed more than I needed and could digest.
- Above all, I watched so much of news on TV that I became numb with the trivia.
- And felt claustrophobic with the never-ending stream of unwelcome mails in my inbox.
- To add to all these, I had to content with the unwanted clutter gathering dust in various parts of the house!
More reading and research has convinced me of the many benefits of moving towards a minimalist lifestyle starting with decluttering.
The Lure of Decluttering and Minimalism
It became obvious to me that we can save a lot of time every month if they didn’t spend time on:
Cleaning, categorizing and rearranging things that have no use or value. And, looking for misplaced items or spending endless hours shopping to buy them. And, working extra hours to make the payments for them…..
Statistics show that getting rid of clutter eliminates up to 40% of housework and that executives can save a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour daily in an organized place.
And, a decluttered, well-organised and minimalist home can save us 15+ hours a month!
Decluttering is how we naturally progress towards minimalism, treasuring the things that spark joy or value and discarding things that we do not need or cherish.
Just as music is made by silences between notes, emptiness between things defines the objects in them.
Even the most beautiful art cannot manifest its beauty amidst clutter.
The Japanese have a word (ma) for the empty or negative spaces between objects – enhancing beauty of an object.
I ought to change track – if only to have greater control over my time and peace of mind.
Start with decluttering and enjoy cleaning that lasts a long time.
Being in the cleaning industry, it made even more sense to plump for decluttering and minimalism.
I saw that clutter in homes made it almost impossible to maintain the excellent cleaning done.
Dust accumulates on the multitude of things within a few days of cleaning. And things get back to square one, in no time.
On the other hand, an uncluttered home looks tidy almost always.
It is invigorating to live in a home which do not bear the weight of the burdens of the past.
I wanted to share with our clients and community outside about permanently living in a very tidy home by decluttering.
That is why I made this 10-minute video about the 5-step-formula for living in an ultra-clean home.
Here are the 5 steps discussed in the video to declutter and create a minimalist lifestyle.
- Declutter
Classify the hundreds of items in your home into three clusters of what you will 1) keep, 2) sell/donate, and 3) trash. - Optimize
Rearrange furniture aesthetically, getting the best out of the available space. Get the assistance of our space design expert, if needed. He will help you arrange your furniture optimally and aesthetically.
- Design
Introduce very subtle changes to give the interiors of your home a facelift through creative and inexpensive means – following the principles of minimalism. Get your home painted in soothing colours. Service Square has the expertise to go about this.
- Organize
Arrange all the items you need and cherish, in the right places in the right order, in attractive containers.
- Deep Clean
One-time deep cleaning embellishes all the effort you have put in! Have your home cleaned using safe, green technology products, by the staff of Service Square, who put their heart into their work.
Service Square is ready with the people and the processes to help our customers through these steps.
The path we will pave and walk on
When we declutter and remove the excess as a matter of principle, a shift in perspective invariably occurs, which will lead to further lifestyle changes, affecting the way we think and behave.
The small steps I have taken to declutter and live surrounded by things that spark joy, have made small changes in the way I think and approach life.
But this is only a beginning. And I intend to travel on this road. I admit, I have some way to go to claim I am living the lifestyle of a minimalist.
The ultimate aim of walking on the path of decluttering and minimalism is to be able to live in the moment, not ravaged by the march of thousands of thoughts every day.
And to focus my saved time and attention on relationships rather than the stuffs of life.
I will keep sharing with my circle of customers and friends about the difference minimalism is making in my life. And also, in the lives of our customers.
I will share honestly without telling things for effect.