Feeling Claustrophobic? Your Stuff is Taking Up Too Much Space
Looking at a picture of my friend’s home gym the other day that he’d posted on his blog, I noticed something quite profound and contacted him.
“When did you last use your gym?” I asked.
“It must be a year now.”
“I can tell.”
“What do you mean?” He replied sheepishly.
“It looks like you have a new walk-in wardrobe.”
His gym seemed to have become a washing line to dry all his laundry.
Provocatively I said, “You must own one of the most expensive clothing racks in the country.”
“You’re right there. I could actually do with a bit more space.”
Many of us buy goods with the best intentions of getting fit or chasing potential hobbies that we have a sudden, but often, fleeting interest in.
These items tend to take up a lot of space and begin to squeeze us out of our rooms. Even worse, it becomes so difficult to clean around the stuff.
Once that stuff starts taking up physical space, it also begins to encroach on our minds with thoughts of, “I really need to get round to dusting and cleaning this room.”
If you leave it too long, you start to get antsy and anxious about it all. You can’t avoid it, because it’s all visually in your face and seems to have taken over what once belonged to you.
You need to start evicting these unwelcome lodgers who take the calm from your home.
The objects we buy with great joy and excitement often end up taking on new occupations. Your table becomes a “pile of magazines” platform, your bedroom floor becomes a new laundry basket, your sideboard becomes a mail delivery centre and a bits and pieces magnet.
Everything must play its real role, and everything must return to its home when it has been finished with.
If it no longer has a role to play, then it is time to retire it or give it the opportunity to appear on someone else’s stage.
It takes discipline to manage all your stuff. The secret is to work your way down to owning less and therefore having less to manage.
So, what is to become of my friend’s home gym?
“With all these clothes in your gym, how have you been exercising?”
“Oh, I’ve been jogging in the park and using its outdoor gym. I haven’t really needed my home gym lately, but one day I might get back to it.”
Hmmm… it really makes you think, doesn’t it?
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