I mentioned somewhere else that a peculiar consequence of the fire for me, was an urge to tidy up. Mrs L gets a terrible infection and spends 8 days in hospital, I morph into a porky version of Marie Kondo. However, this hasn't come completely out of the blue. Regular readers may remember that I undertook a year long course The Twelve Foundations for a Good Life - Scott H Young.
It's now month 11, "Organisation", featuring, you guessed it, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying"" by Marie Kondo.
The fire, well, specifically the evacuation, gave me pause. As I put ID documentation into a bag, I looked around my office, considering what to take. My pens? My journals? Books? Nope. It struck me that none of it really meant anything to me. I needed my loved ones and my dogs. I took my devices - largely because they include my keys to the various digital safes that we all have. Bank accounts, cloud services etc but I was more concerned with dog beds than stationery.
That's not to say I'm having a bonfire of Montblancs, but it does mean I'm moving plenty of things onto people who will get some use of them. My world is ripe for some organising. I've lost some weight, so certain garments are no longer any use, and there are several rooms and cupboards in the house that are full of "stuff".
Marie Kondo tells us that tidying up is great fun. I'm not sure about that, but there is definitely a satisfaction to be gained from de-cluttering, and indeed, rediscovering things I'd forgotten I owned.
The process does build its own momentum as it goes. I love books. The idea of discarding them is anathema. However, when was the last time I picked up a volume from the set we have of Dickens' work? Ummm...never? I've read Dickens, and generally, find it quite hard work. Am I ever going to re-read "The Old Curiousity Shop"? No. I'm not. Am I attached to the books? Do they spark joy? No, they don't. In theory then, they should go; ideally to a home that will make use of them. However, I'm not convinced that empty shelves are a great look for our living space. The books then, are ornaments.
How about Ian Rankin's Rebus? Part of our visitor's library.
This is the point, I think. By handling everything I own, and considering what role it plays in my life, I'm able to be at peace with the contents of my house.
I'm far from reaching an idealised minimalism, but I have moved on a lot of things that were just taking up space.
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