Shelter is my guiding word for this year. It is a non-striving word. A shelter offers refuge, provides safety, and embraces calm and quiet.
So far, this series of Shelter essays has focused on where I find comfort in places and things. But of course, my most important shelter is my home.
For some, the summer months are a time to be outdoors, enjoying water sports, going to baseball games, outdoor concerts, visiting national parks, camping. All activities that long, sunny days can foster. Actually, I have never really been a Summer Person and as I’ve gotten older the appeal of hot humid days and nights has waned considerably.
So, what is this time good for? I asked myself.
My answer: I have been focusing on taking care of my shelter by sorting and decluttering and divesting myself of Too Much Stuff. Some might call it Swedish Death Cleaning – getting rid of unnecessary belongings so others don’t have to do it after you die.
I want my home, My Shelter, to be clean, uncluttered and uncomplicated. I don’t have a huge home and although over time I have let go of many items, I still have quite a few things packed away in what little storage spaces I do have. There are lots of sentimental items that have accumulated over the years and are the most difficult to let go of.
To that end, I will implement one of the many useful suggestions from Margareta Magnusson, the author of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: save one box or container for the items that mean something to you and you don’t want to let go of but to someone else would mean nothing. This box is to be marked Discard at my Death and Don’t Even Bother to Open It…or something like that.
I do not like mess so I only do a bit at a time. I am not one to pull everything out at once. I’ve tried to address one shelf at a time, one box at a time. It is a bit like an archeological dig as I stumble across items that I don’t even remember having. It is freeing to donate or toss what no longer serves me or my life right now and perhaps could help someone else.
I definitely want to get this project finished, so I have engaged a friend as my Clearing Companion. We have scheduled two hours a day for seven days in August to push through what I have not been able to do on my own and make the Big Clearout a reality. A progress report on that to come.
No matter what transition in life you may be experiencing, in the long run, clearing the clutter is going to be a positive experience.
That is why I keep my mind on my intention of keeping my home – my shelter – a place to relax and refresh. Uncomplicated. Clean. Clutter free.
By Lucy M. Pritchett
P.S. Stay in a unique shelter here.
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