My house has always been full of clutter—clean and generally tidy, but cluttered. Now that we have a toddler in the house, the clutter levels are at an all-time high. I didn’t realise exactly how many ‘things’ and exactly how much ‘stuff’ would accompany the arrival of The Bean. Not that I’m blaming her of course, I’ve always been a hoarder.
I have tried for years to get on top of my hoarding tendencies using de-cluttering techniques and frequent cleanouts to keep everything under control. I gain enormous satisfaction cleaning out a drawer or cupboard, but of course once I’ve made my way through the entire house it’s time to start the whole process again.
With extreme weather conditions and bushfire alerts in the region over the last few days I was prompted to do my annual-ish tour of the house with my camera to take photos of rooms and inside cupboards just in case the unthinkable happened.
While wandering through the house something struck me—there’s not actually that much in my house I would feel compelled to save in an emergency. Amongst all of the clutter I have some very precious things, not least of all my photos, but almost everything else is replaceable. A few years ago I would have been brought to my knees by the fear of losing everything, but now I find my attitude has shifted. As long as our family (pets included) are safe, then nothing else really matters.
To ease my anxiety I packed a single suitcase before leaving for work today with the bare bones of my possessions, the things that I simply could not bear to lose. When I discovered that my most precious material items fit into a single suitcase it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It gave me cause to reflect on the things that really do matter, and how very grateful I am for the simple things in life.
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