Amerikkalaisessa mediassa puhutaan tällä hetkellä runsaasti aiheesta nimeltään decluttering. Decluttering tarkoittaa vapaasti käännettynä jaloissa pyörivien tavaroiden järjestelyä.
Aihe on kiinnostava penninvenyttäjien kannalta, sillä levällään ympäri asuntoa makaavat tarpeettomat tavarat aiheuttavat jatkuvasti tilaa viedessään kuluja. Vuokra-asunnoissa tämän tilan hinta on vieläpä helppo laskea. Tavaroiden järjestelyn sijasta paras vaihtoehto olisi usein tarpeettomien tavaroiden myyminen. Monasti tämä on kuitenkin hankalaa. Tavaroihin liittyy usein hyvin voimakkaita tunteita.
Näiden tunteiden käsittelyyn iskee Peter Walshin kirja ”It’s all too much”. Seuraavassa ote Merlin Mannin tästä kirjasta tekemästä arvostelusta:
”It’s All Too Much is a terrific book that inverts the typical approach to dealing with existential kipple. Rather than helping you find new places and novel ways to ”organize” all your crap, author Peter Walsh encourages you to explore why you ever kept all that junk in the first place. Does it reflect a fantasy waistline or a long-abandoned career? What about this ”priceless” relic of a late loved one that’s been sitting in a moldy trash bag for 10 years? Be honest: what place do these things have in the life that you imagine for yourself? Because, if the stuff you accumulate isn’t actively helping get you closer to a life you truly want, then it’s getting in the way, and it needs to go. Period.”
Seuraavassa joitakin lainauksia kirjasta:
”Imagine the life you want to live. I cannot think of a sentence that has had more impact on the lives of people I have worked with. … When clutter fills your home, not only does it block your space, but it also blocks your vision.”
”I know it sounds strange, but if you start by focusing on the clutter, you will never get organized. Getting truly organized is rarely about ”the stuff.” This is the bottom line: If your stuff and the way it is organized is getting you to your goals… fantastic. But if it’s impeding your vision for the the life you want, then why is it in your home? Why is it in your life? Why do you cling to it? For me, this is the only starting point in dealing with clutter.”
”Most things that you save for the future represent hopes and dreams. But the money, space, and energy you spend trying to create a specific future are wasted. We can’t control what tomorrow will bring. Those things we hoard for an imaginary future do little other than limit our possibilities and stunt our growth. When I urge you to get rid of them, I’m not telling you to discard your hopes and dreams. It’s actually quite the opposite. Because if you throw out the stuff that does a rather shabby job of representing your hopes and dreams, you actually create room to make dreams come true.”
Linkki (via Boing Boing)