This started as a reply but now isn't!
Jan. 18th, 2011 01:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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unclutterI began to write in reply to people who were going to move, and was in solidarity but also wanted to point out that I feel some of the articals (even ones that I posted here), may be too extreme or missing the point or simply have a point of "empty everything out" as opposed to fine-tuning it more. What do you guys think on this theme?
Yup, my partner and I are moving from some places that are not finished and bulging with stuff (my old house which still has a lot of my valued things in it, my boss's 150-year-old office building that he just sold to a really creepy person who is pushing us out ASAP, my office rented downtown that I haven't been to in a couple of years since I had an accident, etc.), plus this apartment we have been in for half a year maybe, plus the fact that my partner and I plan to buy a house together somewhere else, which will require pruning everything from at least the old house and this one and any incidental things that I may have stashed in the office I have worked at daily for over 15 years, etc. It is amazing the amount and categories of crap I have, and how a lot of it is pretty much "me saving it for smarter generations" or "for those who would appreciate it" or even as sort of magical talismans. To me, some of the unclutter articles are ruthless and maybe miss the point: sure, if someone wants zero crap or belongings, it can be done, but then is the person's life utterly impoverished of things that evoke good feelings and memories and actual links to other time periods? I firmly believe that, say, a coin from 1957 or 2009 or 1678 *has* some of the energy of that time, because it was around then. My body was not necessarily around for all those time periods, and so it does not have a material link like that.
Additionally, when I lived in a dangerous area a year or so back for a long time, I *intentionally* packed the house with clutter, so that if people came in to steal stuff (they did), it would be harder for them to see something of value, and also I hoarded disposable stuff like recyclables that I planned to get rid of sometime as an extra layer of energetic insulation, in a way. I didn't want the cootie vibes of people, their noise and the petty criminals that actually came into the downstairs of the house and yard, and whatever cootie vibes some people swore were from ghosts etc., just roaming around unrestricted. Of course, I had nice Buddha statues and stuff too to combat the bad energy and try to balance it out, but I actually felt that it served a purpose in its way.
Can anyone relate to this? To me, it's pretty much the same as having extra fat on your body to keep you feeling safer from other people's energy or intentions etc.
Yup, my partner and I are moving from some places that are not finished and bulging with stuff (my old house which still has a lot of my valued things in it, my boss's 150-year-old office building that he just sold to a really creepy person who is pushing us out ASAP, my office rented downtown that I haven't been to in a couple of years since I had an accident, etc.), plus this apartment we have been in for half a year maybe, plus the fact that my partner and I plan to buy a house together somewhere else, which will require pruning everything from at least the old house and this one and any incidental things that I may have stashed in the office I have worked at daily for over 15 years, etc. It is amazing the amount and categories of crap I have, and how a lot of it is pretty much "me saving it for smarter generations" or "for those who would appreciate it" or even as sort of magical talismans. To me, some of the unclutter articles are ruthless and maybe miss the point: sure, if someone wants zero crap or belongings, it can be done, but then is the person's life utterly impoverished of things that evoke good feelings and memories and actual links to other time periods? I firmly believe that, say, a coin from 1957 or 2009 or 1678 *has* some of the energy of that time, because it was around then. My body was not necessarily around for all those time periods, and so it does not have a material link like that.
Additionally, when I lived in a dangerous area a year or so back for a long time, I *intentionally* packed the house with clutter, so that if people came in to steal stuff (they did), it would be harder for them to see something of value, and also I hoarded disposable stuff like recyclables that I planned to get rid of sometime as an extra layer of energetic insulation, in a way. I didn't want the cootie vibes of people, their noise and the petty criminals that actually came into the downstairs of the house and yard, and whatever cootie vibes some people swore were from ghosts etc., just roaming around unrestricted. Of course, I had nice Buddha statues and stuff too to combat the bad energy and try to balance it out, but I actually felt that it served a purpose in its way.
Can anyone relate to this? To me, it's pretty much the same as having extra fat on your body to keep you feeling safer from other people's energy or intentions etc.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-18 07:57 pm (UTC)Yeah, me too. I have a lot of crafts stuff, and I do periodically go through it and give away stuff I'm not going to use--but I'm not going to stop doing crafts, or become a person who gives away or sells everything they make. I'm not going to switch entirely to ebooks. I just want to have less stuff I don't use/don't need/don't like, stuff that's mildly amusing but doesn't really evoke deep memories. And I want the stuff I do have to be organized and easy to find--I'm finding a certain amount of duplication as I sort through things, due to me forgetting I had something, or not being able to find it. I'm not going for minimalism, just organization and efficiency. If I can find the stuff I need quickly I have more time to do crafts.
When my mom finally got my dad to move out, she soon ended up putting a big pile of furniture and boxes on the side of the garage he used to park his car. I think after the time we got back from vacation and found him in the living room. Clutter can definitely be protective (I personally do not believe in stuff having magical properties, but to each their own).
Of course, now my dad is dead and she wants me to help her declutter her house while she still has some energy. One doesn't necessarily need the same clutter all the time.