I had a close relative who was a hoarder and following her death, I spent days going through her belongings which were crammed into every storage space around the house, the garage and store room, bagging up her clutter to be donated to the church. It was a grim and grimy task and I will never forget the sombre experience.
Hoarding is now considered to be a mental disorder. A hoarder is defined as someone who "acquires an excessive number of items and stores them in a chaotic manner, resulting in unmanageable amounts of clutter. The items may be of little or no monetary value."
For many years that followed, I lived out of a suitcase, moving frequently and leaving a light footprint on this earth. But in recent years, life intervened. I gained a career, a home, a husband and children and suddenly, I was surrounded by clutter and had joined the proverbial rat race.
I have been reflecting recently on my priorities and decided that I must reconnect with my strong desire to live a simple, minimalist life. This entails change and I have taken the first steps on that journey.
I am a huge fan of Marie Kondo who has written books about decluttering, including "The life changing magic of tidying". Her method is infused with both Japanese culture and Buddhist values.
I shall also read the "Little book of Hygge" and "The Monk's guide to Cleaning" next to inspire me and shall keep you posted on my journey.
(Image: pixabay.com)
(Source: nhs.uk)