Decluttering the Past & Discovering Simplicity Aboard Day Dream
This past year has been a big one for decluttering and clearing space in my life. I didn’t set out for it to be that way, but deciding to live on a boat meant I had to take a serious look at all our ‘stuff’. From there, one thing led to another. I suppose I felt spurred on by the sense of freedom and space each decluttering session brought.
The initial items we decluttered were our furniture, and when I say decluttered, I really mean sold. We couldn’t take a bed, couch or even a chair with us, so it all had to go. We could have put things in storage, but I didn’t like the idea of returning to live on land and having a shed full of furniture which may or may not have been damaged by rats, rain, mould or cockroaches. Better to sell what we had and use those resources to make improvements to the boat, we decided.
So away it went, listed on Gumtree and sold one by one. That process took about two and a half months. And I’m happy to say Gumtree was an excellent tool for finding people who happily paid for and picked up our things. I didn’t have any ‘difficult customers’ and felt grateful for every item sold.
Next I knew it was time to tackle my wardrobe. I felt isolated in Tamworth, and op shopping became my only face-to-face social interaction. I became almost addicted. In fact, I probably was addicted to op shopping if I’m truthful! I didn’t buy a lot, but it was an enjoyable outing mid-week while Andrew was at work. So my wardrobe had grown.
I also lost my personal sense of style when I put on ‘contentment weight’ after getting married. I found many clothes and proportions I’d relied on previously, no longer suited my body shape. Having a little round belly was a new thing, and I’m not talking about being pregnant. I was rounder all over!
So this was an opportunity to sift through my wardrobe with an eye to simplifying and streamlining my life when it came to getting dressed in the morning. I was looking forward to feeling good when I put on my clothes, instead of uncomfortable in my own skin due to them not fitting properly or not suiting my style.
With a new lifestyle on the boat, I also needed clothes to suit our practical, hands-on activities, without being cumbersome or plain dangerous. Long flowing skirts didn’t make the cut (much as I love Nina’s flowing style from “Offspring.”) Many of my clothes found their way back to the op shops, coming full circle.
Next, I decluttered my phone. I deleted contacts I didn’t even know. I deleted apps taking up valuable storage space. And I deleted music I didn’t listen to. I also turned off the automatic downloads for my favourite podcast since we don’t have unlimited wifi on the boat.
Files and papers were next. The only things we have in storage are in my Mum’s place, so I wanted to streamline my tax archives, letters, printed photos and miscellaneous papers. That was just a matter of going through things one by one. It took a while but felt lighter and so much more organised afterwards.
My desk-top and laptop computers were next. I deleted at least 15,000 photos (I take a LOT of digital photos when I travel for reference materials for paintings) and that made such a difference to how I felt about looking at my remaining pictures (much more inclined).
Finally, I decided to declutter my diaries and notebooks.
This was the most conflicted I felt during the whole decluttering process. Many people had told me over the years to keep my diaries when I wanted to burn them or toss them away, saying I would regret it if I got rid of them.
But the thing was, many of the diaries were full of sad memories, difficult emotions, and past losses. They were written in the manner Julia Cameron teaches in The Artist’s Way called Morning Pages, which are a brain dump, stream-of-consciousness, keep-your-hand-moving process. They weren’t neat little memories of travels and adventures, written with the intention to record moments to read again. Instead they were a tool for me to process thoughts, feelings and priorities at the time of writing. Their purpose, I realised, had been fulfilled in the writing, not the re-reading.
Once I realised that, I decided to let 80% of them go. And it felt wonderful. So much lighter. Occasionally I wonder what I might have missed in those pages, or a little part of me worries if I want to write a memoir down the track that I’ve lost a vast resource of material. But then when I check in with my heart, I feel release. Gratitude for the emotional space I’ve opened up.
All that remain from my piles and piles of writings are diaries of my travels when I was a child, with cute little snippets of adventures through Zimbabwe, The Middle East, America and Israel. Plus a few which contain happier memories from my adult years. Little insights into how I’ve grown and places I’ve been.
The emotional release I felt from letting my morning pages go was unexpectedly freeing. I didn’t have to keep going back over past pain, trying to figure it out or remember the lessons. Instead, I could trust I knew what I needed to know, and I can discover it anew if I need to in the future. Letting the past go was a physical release, and seeing the notebooks piled up high in a wheelie bin was a huge relief.
Do you feel drawn to decluttering? It’s such a popular thing these days. We have access to masses of items at low prices, more than ever in history, and we’re filling our homes like never before. Our grandparents didn’t have such choice, or the funds to acquire them (at least that was the case for my grandparents). We’re in a new time in history in that sense, so decluttering is only natural with our current culture so focused on consuming.
What’s calling to your heart most strongly to declutter first? How can you make it simple, rewarding and doable? I hope you find inspiration to trust yourself and know what your heart wants will lead you home. It doesn’t have to be scary, you can listen to your intuition and know what supports you in this moment of your life, not worrying if you’ll forget the past or not be prepared for the future.
I feel so much lighter having less stuff. Like the world is easier to traverse with less weight, new relationships have space to blossom, it’s so much easier to get dressed in the morning, and resources (money, energy, focus and space) can be directed towards my heart’s true priorities, like writing, creating, making new friends and enjoying time with loved ones. May you find a little place to declutter too, if that lights you up. Start small and build from there. If you’d like a great resource I returned to for encouragement and tips on the process, I highly recommend Marie Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.”
What do you feel like decluttering in your life? I’d love you to share with me!
~ Nicola