It’s all about having the Right Stuff!

When I was in my 20’s I went on a whirlwind tour of Europe. In six weeks’ time, a friend and I toured 16 cities in 8 different countries all while backpacking. Before I left I stuffed all my favorite clothes and accessories, including luxuries like an army grade blow-up mattress, into my oversized backpack. Whatever didn’t fit I crammed into a huge hip-high American Tourister suitcase with wheels. I had read that I could store it in a locker at the train stations in the cities we planned on visiting. Upon our arrival in Paris, we discovered that all the lockers were sealed and unusable due to bomb threats. Our lives became an obstacle course as we navigated the new language, currency, and culture all the while clinging to this suitcase full of our prized “stuff”.

Where should we go next was dictated by our need for a storage locker. We were advised that Amsterdam had lockers where we could store the suitcase. The cabby who took us back to the station charged us extra for using the trunk for the suitcase. The American Tourister became an entity and force bigger than the two of us. It had needs and they began to overshadow ours. We found that the storage lockers in Amsterdam let you feed enough money for only 24 hours of storage time, not indefinitely as we had hoped. Over the course of the next few days, we rushed back to the locker to buy more time until …what? Did I really need this “stuff”?

At one point in time, I thought these things defined me. But now I was becoming someone different, someone, who wanted to be free to enjoy my trip. I contemplated my attachment to these things from my past that no longer served me. I imagined dragging this American Tourister filled with my “old stuff” throughout Europe. I began to wonder how much I was willing to sacrifice in my present travels to hang on to my past.

One late night we reached the end of the line at the Amsterdam train station where our campground was. As I struggled to pull the wheeled suitcase across the cobbled stone plaza, I almost ran into an art installation before me. It was a 3-dimensional suitcase about 3 times the size of mine and it was made out of red clay bricks. It looked heavy. It looked as though someone decided it was a burden and abandoned it before continuing on their journey. At that moment, I willed my suitcase to spontaneously combust.

We returned to the train station the next day and placed the American Tourister in its final locker. We put enough coins in the slot guaranteeing it would open in less than 30 minutes. The locker area was riddled with people lingering about watching and waiting for some poor soul who didn’t make it back to retrieve his things. It was like a game of musical chairs. Which locker will buzz next and will I be close enough to pounce on its contents?

When the allotted storage time expired, our locker buzzed announcing “free stuff” and it popped open. Several people were at the ready. We watched as a vagrant and a young college student pulled the Tourister out, spilling its contents onto the cold hard floor. Shrieks of joy rang out as the homeless man fondled the blow-up mattress, and the young girl held my once favorite clothes up to her body with a smile on her face. Something that caused us so much grief was the source of incredible happiness for these people. There was nothing more freeing at that moment than the realization that I had put the past behind me and was free to live in the present moment unburdened. When I eventually returned to the States, I didn’t miss my once prized possessions. I had a multitude of memories that unlike “stuff” can never be replaced.

Is your stuff keeping you from having the life you want? When your mindset changes from hanging on to the past to living in the present, your behavior will follow. At every turn, ask yourself, does this serve me now? Do I love it? Do I use it? Do I really need it? Would someone else use, wear, or appreciate this item more than I do?

Sometimes the hardest part is getting started. Set a timer for 10 minutes and decide to use that limited amount of time to make decisions regarding your stuff.  Do not overwhelm yourself. Start with a drawer, not the entire desk.  Start with a portion of your clothes rack. Do not pull all your clothes out of the closet. Seek good enough over striving for perfection. You might find that when the timer goes off, you don’t want to stop. Organizing is its own reward.

Be patient with yourself. You will have setbacks. Rome was not built in one day, just as your adventure in organizing will not be over after one session. It is a mindful, daily choice that you make in favor of yourself having a more rewarding life now and in the future. If you need help, enlist a friend or professional organizer to keep you on track. Soon it will become a habit and a new way of thinking. Before you know it, you will be living the life you want here and now.

Read more about my organizing philosophy in posts from my blog, especially- Book Review of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tyding Up. And also in my recent international podcast!

I wish I wrote The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up!

As a professional organizer for over 20 years, Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up puts into words my organizing philosophy.

“When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order too.”

A Japanese cleaning consultant, Kondo has revolutionized the concept of simplified living. The book is an international bestseller because her KonMari Method helps people grasp the transformational magic that comes when you tidy up.

Before Kondo’s book, most people would consider organizing one room at a time. But Kondo’s concept involves organizing by category, not by room. She recommends tackling each category in the following order: Clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous and finally mementos. To get started, her method directs you to take every piece of clothing in your home and place in one pile to sort. This may overwhelm the average American whose clothing might look more like a mountain instead of a manageable pile. You can modify her advice by working with one person’s clothing at a time.

The next step is to determine what to keep and what to let go of. Kondo advocates taking each item in hand and asking: “Does this spark joy? If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. Keep only those things that speak to your heart.” In theory, this is a great concept. In reality, though, many might find that every single pair of their 100 shoes sparks joy. Or a book lover might love all their 2,000 books despite the fact they are unlikely to read them again. In this regard, Kondo suggests a limited “Hall of Fame” collection comprised of your favorites.

Be prepared for some unusual advice regarding your relationship with your stuff. Kondo encourages thanking each item for their service before tossing it. She also frowns on rolling your socks together because they need rest and how can they rest like that? And hang the clothes you own on hangers if you think it would make the clothes happier.

In regards to paper, Kondo’s rule of thumb is “discard everything.” She recommends only keeping what you are currently working on, need to keep for a period of time and papers that need to be kept indefinitely. These papers need to be kept in one place only. Her book also includes advice on a list of miscellaneous items from broken appliances to small change.

Kondo charms with her client stories which makes it an interesting read and reference book. I definitely think it could make it into your “Hall of Fame” book collection if you choose to read it!

Hope you enjoy this interview I had with Dan Hutcheson of the podcast “Discover Your Talent, Do What You Love”

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=50233185&refid=asa