Gratitude Day #12: An ability of mine, decluttering

I was once a hoarder, I used to keep every smallest thing you’d imagine, and stuff would pile up and I’d get overwhelmed with it all and wonder why I was so stressed. I moved from one house to another carrying ridiculous amounts of stuff without really ever questioning whether I really needed it all.

Then the switch flipped about 7 years ago when I had to move from a big place to a much smaller one, I needed to make really tough calls about the stuff I kept. My life changed entirely after that. I realised that by having less stuff, I felt less stressed, less overwhelmed and more productive with my time. I wasn’t searching for hours for things in junk drawers. I fell in love with how I felt. I decluttered everything, my clothes, my kitchen, my dreaded “utilities” drawer, the papers I kept “just in case”, I did it all. My rule was if I hadn’t used it in the last year and I’m unlikely to use it in the next 6 months, it was out.

I learned that it’s less about the quantity of stuff I owned, and more about how they serve me. I’m so grateful for learning this, it’s given my lockdown a purpose, I feel so much lighter.