I thought that this was a very interesting article and it gave me a new perspective on looking at my "things." Although I am not a minimalist, per se, the quote at the beginning of the article gave me pause to think :)
http://www.becomingminimalist.com/2012/01/02/dont-just-declutter-de-own/
Thoughts?
When I first started this journey, I wanted more organization, nothing else. Upon reading various things online, I began to feel suffocated and so my mission became to clear the air, let energy flow more freely. I still didn't quite have the terminology right but the feeling of cleansing was stronger than owning. I guess I have always deowned while simultaneously decluttering (and I perceive decluttering and uncluttering as two slightly different concepts), but I can also sense from the readers' comments on the article that people have very different reasons for embarking on their respective journeys, which may then lead to conflicts regarding ownership (provided they were not ready in their hearts but it was more a necessity such as moving a long distance). Interesting topic though!
"owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more" - very subjective statement and exactly what I would expect to read on a site called "becoming minimalist."
Since I don't want to be a minimalist, obv. I disagree with the statement. :-) And I think de-owning is NOT something different from de-cluttering. Those of us here, at least, do not for the most part look at de-cluttering as mere *rearranging.*
We are actually trying to reduce the total volume of stuff in our lives. We are not just moving it around.
@ chacha...I agree, de-owning and decluttering are one and the same for some of us that have really been at it for a while...however, I have noticed in a few of the threads that people, mostly newbies, are doing more re-organizing rather than decluttering/de-owning. It seems that "organizing" may be the first step in decluttering possibly? I know it was my first step because I never dreamed of throwing anything out way back when. Just thought it would give a new way to look at "stuff" for the newcomers. :)
Well, it's easy to think it just needs organizing, and then when you get it partly organized it's like WHOAH why do we have 5 can openers?
@ Rosa...that is SO TRUE (and funny! :) For me it was, "um, there are only two of us, we don't entertain, why do we have 37 (albeit neatly stacked) dinner plates...hmmmmmm!?"
Well, since it's from a minimalism website I don't expect a different tone, but I must admit that the "minimalism is best, extreme minimalism is holy" viewpoint which is promoted at some sites does bother me a bit.
There needs to be room for those of us who embrace the concept of "enough". I want just enough to please me, and just enough not to stress me out, and that's right for me. That "enough" point will be different for everyone from the extreme minimalist to the hoarder-in-recovery and all of us in between.
I also agree with the above posts that organization is often the first step to de-owning items. You *can't* know you have five can openers if you don't have them all in one place!
The dictionary definition of clutter is disorganized, jumbled, disorderly stuff. . . not necessarily too much stuff, just "messy" stuff. And most "advice" is geared towards straightening it up rather than throwing it out.
For me, often some level of organizing my clutter is a first step in paring it down -- as noted, until I get them all together in one place, I don't actually realize that I have five can openers. The next step is to recognize that I only need one. A lot of people never get to that step.
I think that most of us who frequent this forum are more counter-cultural than we realize even when, like myself, we are far from being or aspiring to be minimalists. Most people I know have a very different relationship to stuff -- more is better.
As a self-described minimalist, many minimalists also think of themselves in terms of having "enough". Minimalist does not always mean one suitcase, white walls, etc (That would be extreme minimalism). It is simply having what you need to live and make you happy, no more no less. For some that might mean 100 things, others thousands. Please don't hate on them just because they go the minimalist route instead of the uncluttering route (which very much align). The difference is more word choice than viewpoint.
I think organising is a valuable step on the decluttering route. Getting all the like things together is a great way of working out what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
That being said - I do also think that an essential part of decluttering, is de-owning something. that owning something isn't enough reason for it to be here. Not talking about things that makes up happy or remember or be sentimental - they have a purpose. I'm talking about things de-owning things we keep for convoluted reasons that have nothing to do with our lives, and way more to do with guilt.
For me decluttering is not only organizing but also getting rid of too much - and the next step is to bring in less. I've always been pretty organized and orderly but as I've become more aware of "stuff" I've become more conscious of what I bring into my home in the first place.
Am I a minimalist? No, far from it. To me they are at the far end of the spectrum that is uncluttered living. After all minimalist comes from minimal and that means "least, smallest" so they live with the least amount of stuff they need. I am aware that I live with a lot more stuff then I actually need. Does my stuff suffocate me? No. Does it sometimes bother me? Yes, and that is why I'm still slowly going through things - organizing and discarding and of course not buying things I don't really need or love in the first place.
I think that is what the article is talking about - that if you only organize and never actually think about what is coming into your home (or getting rid of things you don't need or love) you will always have too much and feel overwhelmed by your stuff.
o i adore getting rid of it!
much more than organising it!
bunches of stuff...no matter how beautifully organised and maintained it is...simply doesn't suit me, personally.
When reading the topic of this thread I thought this would be about the fact that a lot of people seem to scan all their papers and then consider them "decluttered" even though they still own all of it, just in digital form. :P
I try to de-own most things and since I started decluttering I've thought a lot about just owning. How when we see something pretty we want to own it. Showing love for your friends and family is a lot about giving them stuff. It's sort of funny to analyze.
@Swede, although I see you meant your comment in a lighthearted, friendly manner, as a person scanning all my papers, I have to chime in and say that it is more of a stepping stool to help with actually removing items.
The act of scanning takes some time, so it forces me to make decisions about the papers, many of which end up in the trash before being scanned. And then for me the physical papers themselves, over the years of lugging them everywhere, have been imbued with a sort of power, so for the papers I choose to scan and not throw away immediately, scanning them allows me to break that emotional bond with the physical object and then evaluate the content on its own merit.
I suppose it is just an individual quirk...but it seems to be working well for me...
Interesting to think about, though....
It's funny, but I always thought de-owning WAS decluttering; I didn't distinguish. If they are not the same, then decluttering would be just organizing or hiding the objects (I just changed that word "objects" from "junk"--attitude showing). Or maybe it means putting things in their proper place. Anyway, it is far easier todeclutter if one has eliminated excess. We have to remember that some people actually like having objects all around them and don't feel choked by them.
@Sleepykitten - yes, I meant it in a cheeky/funny way. Glad you didn't take it the wrong way.
I think it's great using the scanning as a stepping stone towards de-owning. It just makes me worried when I read entries on how people spend hours scanning stuff and articles they want to read when it might be quicker just to read it and bin it. I guess I'm lucky to have a job that doesn't require me to keep any papers at home at all (actually, it would be illegal for me to bring anything home haha), I don't have kids, I have no bank loans, I don't run my own business and I do not own a house or a car so the amount of paper I have to keep is pretty small. Also, in Sweden it is illegal to put ads/catalogues and such in my mailbox if I put a "no junk mail"-sticker on it so that makes it really easy when it comes to staying on top of incoming papers as well. That being said, I've had to struggle with the paper mountains as well (it has prob been my clutter area of doom) but I am f i n a l l y at a level where I feel like I won the war on paper. :)
I do think that the paper vs. digital when it comes to decluttered/de-owning is an interesting subject. Yes, I do think digital clutter is "better" as it is easier to move around etc... But I don't think it's healthy to have a digital dumping ground that is never re-visited. Like the physical stuff - what is the purpose of "owning" it then?
It depends - I have a large collection of things I want to scan in before I throw them out - simply because if I had the space I'd want to keep them. (Craft magazines).
I'd also prefer to scan my tax receipts and so on to be able to throw out all those annoying pieces of paper - where receipts and statements are stuff I have to keep for the tax department.
Ideally, I'd like my home to be a primarily paperless office. Working my way towards that.
My junk mail doesn't make it in the door, and I don't keep birthday cards or Christmas cards after I've answered them, so the only paper that's in the apartment is business stuff.
I think scanning can be a useful thing for a declutterer - but it can be mis-used like most other organisation tools.
I've even a thought that one day I might scan in all my family photos and throw out the photos and albums.
Point of Reference: I work as a computer programmer so the computer holds no terror for me.
i was really surprised that one can understand "to unclutter" as a different thing than "to de-own". i was wondering how to reduce clutter without de-owning it... my thoughts:
- if you organize/ tidy up clutter, it´s still clutter. just organized clutter :)
- if you scan clutter, it is also still clutter. but if you scan documents/ books/ articles/ pictures or rib music-CDs that you love or need (and therefor is not clutter) you reduce the physical stuff while keeping the content. this was an important step for me. i have had a lot of shelves with copies of books that i need to refer to (uni stuff) and i also had a large music collection and many pictures that i love. books, picture albums or CDs are one of many possible "data storage mediums" and i prefer the digital version. i scan a lot but i keep in mind not to scan clutter, so uncluttering is the first step, scanning the second one. it´s de-owing stuff while keeping the content, seems to be a silver bullet to me :)
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