Lifestyle, philosophy: decluttering, part 2

Self-tutoring about perspective: the tutor continues about decluttering.

The following is according to my understanding.

I mention decluttering in my post from yesterday and how it can be challenging, including for me. After writing that post, I gathered up some items that my wife decided are no longer needed by us, but definitely aren’t garbage either. I boxed them up, then put said boxes in the back of the van and headed downtown.

My wife had recommended the secondhand store at which to drop off said items. I was a little worried they might not want them, which would be kind of embarrassing.

I pulled up to the Donations door of the place. Just after I’d opened the back hatch, someone came out to greet me: “We can’t take any clothes right now,” they said.

“I don’t think I’ve any clothes among these items,” I responded. Opening the back of the van, I showed them the boxes of decluttered items. I offered to go through them in case there were things they wouldn’t want. “No problem: we sell all that stuff,” they replied. One by one, the representative lifted each box from the back of the van and brought them inside the “Donations” door. It probably took 90 seconds: I was surprised how easy it had been.

One thing that makes decluttering difficult, perhaps, is the mindset it requires, which isn’t necessarily a common one. The perspective needed to assess if something isn’t needed anymore requires thinking about why it was needed in the past. If the item no longer is needed, one has to admit that a period of one’s life has ended. Whether one could have done better or worse with that opportunity, it’s gone now.

Some people don’t have any problem decluttering; I suspect, in fact, that’s a sign of mental health. Whether that’s indeed true might be a topic for a future post:)