Imagine you were in a room surrounded by all of your earthly possessions and asked to place a green dot on the items that “sparked joy.”
Moments after completing your task, what if all the unlabelled items disappeared from your life forever? This is a question decluttering expert Marie Kondo and other minimalists are, in their own ways, inviting us to ask. They suggest that releasing excess stuff leaves us with more time, money and social connection, while also experiencing less stress. So, how do we begin the process of streamlining our possessions?
The long hours of winter darkness offer a great opportunity to organize your garage, basement and storage locker. In the process, you will no doubt find items that you’d long forgotten about and others you don’t even remember owning. This is the perfect moment to release them to their next life at the thrift store, or into the hands of a friend. While you’re organizing, keep boxes available to toss in giveaways, another for recyclables, along with a small trash bag, lest you be tempted to lazily toss perfectly good knickknacks in the garbage.
What might amaze you at the end of a day or two of sorting is how good it feels to declutter your living space, and how you may not even need that rented storage locker anymore. An organized space full of things that fill you with joy is a great place to spend time with others, to create and to work. You will be able to find what you need with ease and avoid the wasteful and expensive habit of buying doubles of things you already had, but couldn’t find.
We’re becoming increasingly aware of how quickly we are whittling away at the planet’s precious resources. At the same time, most of us realize that more stuff rarely makes us feel better in the long run.
One amazing solution dawning on our horizon lately is the notion of shared ownership. It’s not a new idea. Libraries share books, and our ancestors shared gardens, but how can you tap deeper into the collective wealth?
You can start with something as simple as giving your gently used items to the thrift store, or hosting a clothing exchange party for children’s clothing. It might be something more sacrificial, like downsizing to one car for your household or offering to share your work or studio space.
Tapping into cooperatives and communally owned goods is a growing trend as well. Maybe you can join a community garden, tech hub like Makerspace, textile project drop-in nights at Fibre Space, the Cranberry Pottery Club, or other local collectives sharing knowledge, space and tools.
Letting go of excess can bring unexpected treasures into your life. Enjoy lightening your load.
Let’s Talk Trash is qathet Regional District’s waste-reduction education program.
