Memory Clutter

We recently signed up to get the OWN Network on our cable channels and we are really enjoying it. OWN is Oprah's new network. She has a lot of interesting programs. I recently watched one that was really good. It was about people who acquire lots things, "clutter", they don't really use any of it but it is hard for them to part with it. The host of the show goes into their homes and teaches them how to evaluate things and get rid of what they really won't ever use.

One of the categories that he dealt with that applied to me was memory clutter. I don't have a lot but that is one thing that is hard for me to get rid of. The host of the show would ask the person he was working with, "can you remember the memory that is attached to this, if you can it needs to go." There are items that are sentimental that you do want to keep but you can't keep everything that has a memory attached to it. I laughed when I was watching this because when we were cleaning out our shop last month we came across a good size box that was full of things from my mom. It was the contents of her desk. Some of it was business papers that we needed to keep several years for legal reasons but she has been dead for 27 years now. There were lots of hand written notes and there was a folder of all her gardening info. Her hand drawn lay out of her last garden and all the flowers and bushes she was planting and where and clippings from seed catalogs of the flowers she wanted to purchase. I still haven't thrown away the garden folder yet but I know I need too.

The host of the show said,"everyone can get rid of 80% of what they have" and I know that is true. I have two drawers of old T-shirts to work in and when I go to those drawers there are always 3 shirts that I choose from. So why do I keep all of the other shirts? They need to go!

When they finished clearing out the room, getting rid of their junk, and then rearranging what was left the room looked great. The clutter was gone, it was an organized peaceful room. A place you wanted to be.

Well, dig a little deeper and get more organized. That's what I plan on doing! :)