Clearing the Clutter

It’s my daily ritual since last few months.

1. Open the wardrobe.
2. Stare at the neatly stacked pile of clothes.
3. Try to select a dress for the day.
4. No dress is selected.

The selection of a dress to wear was getting difficult every time I open my wardrobe. It has been happening almost every day now. Oh… I am fully fed up with this condition now. Sounds familiar ?

As per dictionary, “things that are where they are not wanted or needed and make a place untidy“ are clutter. So by this definition,everything in the almirah is nothing but clutter.

Totally fed up to the extent of committing suicide. 😛 . But being very brave by nature, I decided to get rid of all the clutter in one stroke . How should I go about it? The only parameter, I followed was to keep clothes bought 2 months ago. (Please note, it doesn’t include my sari collection.) And voila I did it.  💪

I brought out everything from my wardrobe and piled them on my bed. There were  approximately 100 pieces from my wardrobe. All were in excellent conditions. Some were as old as 7 to 8 years in sync with fashion (my fashion sense is always ahead of times) .

So you see, I take good care of my things and myself too. 😚. I had shoes 🥿 as old as 30+ years in my shoe rack, still wearable and in good condition.

From the age of my wardrobe clothes, the best outcome which is very clearly shouting loud from the rooftop is that my size constant has been constant since last decade. That’s quite an achievement and it needs a pat at my back. 😉

I asked my house help and her daughter to pick up whatever they like and is of any use to them. They lightened the pile by almost 20 pieces. Remaining cloths I packed in 2 bedsheets ( no such big bags available) and took them to the “Blind School”. It’s an NGO in Ahmedabad which takes old clothes (refurbish them if needed) and sell them to generate cash flow to run their schemes. Their only condition is that clothes should be wearable and not torn. It’s not a dumping ground for non wearable clothing. Perfect. I have been bringing my clothes and other household articles and gadgets here since quite some time now.

They have a tailoring workshop.I once spoke to the lady, who was managing this workshop about what do they do with these old stuff.She told me that they first check the condition of each and every cloth and then evaluate the style and fashion quotient as almost half of the clothes donated are of old style. They restyle and make them fashionable before putting up for sale.

She also told me that they also take old furniture, fridge, AC or any other gadget, furniture , computers etc. in working conditions only. They have a shop through which they sell to people who need them but can’t afford a brand new one.

To keep self-respect of the people who need them and also for the NGO to be self reliant, they sell it through this outlet.

After emptying my wardrobe, I felt so light and delighted. Decluttering is a good exercise. After decluttering I find that the simple uncluttered life with less stuff is better than the life with overstuffed almirahs. The decluttering journey takes you to a life of benefits – fewer possessions, less to organize and clean, more money for things you may want to do.

A minimalist life is easier and happier.

If it’s not easy to give away whole wardrobe, there are many creative ways to do so.

1. Give away one item each day. 365 items gone in an year. We all know, how time flies.
2. Easiest way is to fill a large trash bag with the clothes or anything small in household which you were not very happy with. Start with small.
3. Look for things which were not used since long time and lying in the same place for long.

Over the years, we keep on adding clutter mentally as well as physically. It’s easier to throw away the physical clutter than mental clutter.

Decluttering of mind from unwanted mental baggage is essential to keep motivated, focused and productive. The three major steps for mental decluttering is to set priorities, to let go and to write down daily thoughts. Writing down every day help to free up stress from cognitive resources for other mental activities like stress management more effectively. Writing in a daily diary also helps to manage anxiety and cope up with depression as it’s a healthy outlet to release bottled emotions.

Decluttering of workspace, deep breathing exercises, sharing thoughts and being decisive also help in mental decluttering.

Few pics are from Google.