By Maida Korte
“Her apartment in Stockholm might look as if a bomb had gone off in it, but mentally Salander was extremely well organized.”
? Stieg Larsson
Ever since reading Garrison Keillor’s essay on spring cleaning I have been moved by his description of Diane beating a rug during what was more of a cleaning rampage than a ritual. She beat that rug to pay homage to “heroic women who took up arms against the dull, slug-footed, lazy lumps and lie-abouts who were all too ready to accept filth as a way of life.” (Keillor) A worthy description if there ever was one, of what comes upon a person when enough is enough. Emptying out a closet to bring organization out of chaos is not something to be sauntered through: it takes courage, and like Diane, a ruthless mindset. For me, all of this started the day I opened an armoire and a pile of eight games fell out, spilling a rain-shower of cards and dice onto my head. This is why playing trivial pursuit has our team answering questions like, “Which animal did Australian soldiers fight in 1932?” While the other team is asked, “Where does Malibu Barbie live?”
Isn’t January the land of fresh starts? I should say so, and for about seven days, fourteen hours, and thirty minutes we pump that iron and run that mile. Then a sluggish wintry hue of gray takes over our countenances and we stumble and ultimately fall back into the chair of desperation where fitness dreams come to die. Well, I offer a new way to flush out our systems and provide a launching pad into the land of accomplishment. We want purpose and direction and new goals added to our lives, but first comes the purge. So, grab your nearest headlamp and open that cabinet where you normally stare dully at the front row of items while the things in the back languish alone and forgotten.
There are three steps to a successful house-hold purging and this is true whether it is a linen closet, a baking cabinet, or a tool shed. Strict adherence to these steps will ensure a soulful satisfaction that will have you calling up family members asking them to come over and look inside your closets. “Open that door – go ahead, open it!” I have taken to posting pictures of my sock drawer on Instagram, and you will too.
Step One:
Leave emotion at the curb. This is no time for a melancholy reflection on your past intentions to take up mountain biking. You live in the flattest part of America. Leave it, sell it, pitch it. The moment you let a vague notion of perhaps needing those ripped towels that hog the entire top three shelves of your linen closet because you planned to cut them up into squares and use them to start a business in the garage of staining old furniture, stop! You had your chance, now let it go. There are only two options: Throw away or give away. Some will insert here ‘sell.’ Do not go there as your sell pile will grow until it mimics Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout’s pile of garbage. (Silverstein) Stubbornness will ensue and you will be right back where you started with clutter climbing to the ceiling. Beat that pile senseless since it is indeed ‘the cause of all your troubles.’ (Keillor)
Step Two:
Set aside a day. A few years ago, I decided to do what I dubbed, ‘my paper project.’ For the next three months you could not walk in our lower-level family room because of the piles I had created on the floor. When I finally put on my ‘I’ve had it’ sweatshirt, I finished it in a day and held a party to observe the empty floor. My guests did not know what they were looking at, but we all noted the nice flow of traffic. Stretching out your clutter outrage will water it down and you will wain in your resolve. Mark a day on the calendar and call your clutter sponsor to keep you accountable.
Step Three:
Everything in its place. There are things you will keep and use out of the sheer delight that finding seven containers of Q-tips brings a person. You will need a place for these so that you do not keep buying things you don’t need. Finding items you do use in copious quantities is nice, but it is nicer to have the amount you need and no more. Freeing up space as you plan your necessary repeat purchases will feel exhilarating. Spices will be reachable, towels will be folded rather than stuffed on shelves, laundry will be simpler and dishes will be used and appreciated. I think this is the most important aspect of your purge day. There is a place for sentiment in the platter your grand-mother gave you, but use it. Put it in a special place, and take it out and use it in honor of her memory. In so doing, you can tell the story of her pot-roast and your family will smile in remembrance.
Organization in a home brings more than uncluttered space, and the gift-result is an uncluttered mind. As the days become weeks become months, spreading a trajectory before us of new experiences and growing relationships, keeping our minds clear of the dust-balls of home chaos is a great platform on which to build our dreams.