The Joy Of Recluttering
I have a little line of...stuff...along my kitchen windows. All of it means something to me.
There's an ashtray my friend M. bought me at La Coupole in Paris, a little black porcelain statue (the kind they don't make anymore), subway tokens, two corks, a framed photo I took at Café de Flore, an Italian glass thingie from Q, a framed photo from the American Civil War era, an old harmonica, a framed photo of my late doggie Lucy...and that's not even everything.
Here are a few of those items.
It's my window, my house, and it's a line of things that are very personal and wonderful memory-evoking to me. And it's cluttered as hell to somebody who's a minimalist.
Lydia Slater writes at The Telegraph about burning out on decluttering (per Maria Kondo/"KonMari" and all that shoveling through possessions and wondering whether something "sparks joy"):
With a lifted heart, I binned all the plastic storage boxes along with the library of decluttering books. They no longer sparked joy. With this new, relaxed approach in mind, I went looking for my own design philosopher. I found her in the shape of the interior decorator and writer Rita Konig.Visiting her west London apartment for an interior-design workshop, I found pictures hung to the ceiling, walls painted in rich colours, and lamps, books and quirky ornaments on every surface.
In short, it was the home of my dreams: the cosiest and most appealing place one could imagine.
Naturally, she too disapproves of the minimalist aesthetic.
'People are afraid of their own stuff,' she tells me. 'My feeling is that you have to give in to your own taste and style, because you were born with it. So often, when they declutter, people throw away the things that make their house their own. I think it's rather a shame, this Ikea life.'
Far from merely being clutter, one's furniture and ornaments delineate and define space, she says. 'If you add a console table to your hall, for instance, you turn it from a corridor into a room.' Inspired, I returned home with permission to fill it with more stuff.
...That's not to say that one should not declutter at all; but the goal is not, as I once believed, to end up with as little as possible. 'Part of the joy of decluttering,' says Konig wisely, 'is to reclutter. It's about giving the good stuff more space. I want to empty my bookcase so I can fill it with new things that I love - I'm looking for some brass pears.'
I do see the merits of going through stuff and getting rid of stuff to clean up a space. I'm doing some of that now. At the same time, I'd rather be reading or writing than pick through every single object in a drawer. My joke about the AlkonMari method of decluttering: "Strike a match and run."
via @KTSchreib
There is something very liberating about knowing what you have and where it is. Nothing is so frustrating to me as hunting frantically for something I need at the moment, not finding it, and realizing two weeks later I have three of them.
Staying just a little bit organized saves time, and money. Well worth the effort.
Isab at January 1, 2017 11:17 PM
I rescue stuff from dumpsters, yard sales and thrift stores. Sometimes I keep it, sometimes I give it away and sometimes, I return it. I like what ere I look upon and my looks go everywhere.
But once or twice a year, I get rid of the worn-out, the unneeded and the un-used.
KateC at January 1, 2017 11:24 PM
I like being organized. A place for everything and everything in it's place. But I have a wife and kids. The wife likes change. Old is no good, in with the new. So move things around. The kids are under 5. So every toy needs to be somewhere on the floor at all times. I figure I'll get things organized later. Maybe 20 years later.
Ben at January 2, 2017 4:27 AM
My "sock" thief is after my small infrequently used tools. I look in two or three of the "obvious" places and then just go to Lowes and spend $10 on a new whatever.
(Of course later when I'm deciding where the most "obvious" spot is to put this new tool I find some of the ones I bought last year.)
Bob in Texas at January 2, 2017 5:39 AM
Marie Kondo would surely tell you to keep your momentos as they clearly spark joy for you.
Carey at January 2, 2017 6:18 AM
Clutter = the lived in look.
Uncluttered = does anyone really live here?
charles at January 2, 2017 8:22 AM
Visiting her west London apartment for an interior-design workshop, I found pictures hung to the ceiling, walls painted in rich colours, and lamps, books and quirky ornaments on every surface.
In short, it was the home of my dreams: the cosiest and most appealing place one could imagine.
Naturally, she too disapproves of the minimalist aesthetic.
One of my favorite comebacks (having to do with architecture but you can apply it to interiors & stuff too)...
Modernist architect Mies van der Rohe's famously stated "Less is more."
Architect Robert Venturi's rejoinder was "Less is a bore."
I used to know a couple here in Seattle who had a lot of art in their home, especially colorful art and figurines from Mexico. It was very visually striking but their home never felt cozy to me (although it certainly wasn't boring.) It was like being in an art museum.
JD at January 2, 2017 12:22 PM
I'm terrible about clutter myself, but there's plenty to be said for being able to walk through any place blindfolded and not trip over anything. Or not having to do acrobatics to get to a window or a bookcase when you need to. Besides, when you're used to clutter, it's too easy to drop something on the floor that could become a serious hazard, such as a glossy magazine. Anyone might break a leg that way, which is why it's a good idea not to allow young family members to collect too much stuff to begin with - it makes cleaning all the harder. Besides, multiple objects that collect dust create a germ-filled atmosphere - and some people are just allergic to dust.
lenona at January 3, 2017 9:26 AM
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