The Practice of Decluttering
As I have been thinking about Japan, in preparation for this trip, it reminded me that Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” has remained on the New York Times bestseller list for months. It has sold over 2 million copies.
It is not surprising, as the Baby Boomers are cleaning out the homes they grew up in, often occupied by parents who lived through difficult times and kept everything: vases from every Mother’s Day bouquet and boxes of photographs that have accumulated over years of celebrations and have never benefited from even a few hours of sorting and organizing. As a result, the Boomers are realizing they should begin thinking about downsizing in anticipation of their retirement. It’s time consuming and exhausting making your way through years of shopping and collecting.
New Yorkers are readers and it doesn’t take long for bookcases to fill up and for stacks to begin to appear, literally like weeds in a garden. First a small pile under the coffee table, then a stack that grows in height next to the bookcase. Eventually the books encroach into the bedroom and throughout the apartment. Separating a reader from books isn’t easy.
One is forced to think about how we live, staying in a ryoken, a traditional Japanese inn. There is usually little furniture, the floors are covered with tatami mats and the bed is rolled out at night. In most Japanese rooms there is an alcove, or tokonoma, where there is either a flower arrangement or a scroll painting. It is an egregious breach of etiquette to place anything on this shelf as it is also considered an altar and designed to serve as the one point of beauty in the room. Stacks of books, and dusty glass ornaments will not be found here.
Then there are the people who have lived without things at all. Father Daniel J. Berrigan, the Jesuit priest who was an accomplished poet, peace activist, and a priest who stood up to the Catholic Church, died on Saturday, April 30. Father Berrigan was recognized not for what he owned, but for what he accomplished. Last week, in his “About New York” column, which appeared on the front page of the New York Times (5 May 2016), Jim Dwyer in reflecting on Father Berrigan mentioned, “he died wearing pajama bottoms that had belonged to his brother.” According to his niece, he carried his things in a small blue backpack he kept in his closet, and owned nothing.
Is it a matter of decluttering or is it that we shouldn’t be owned by our possessions? Can we enjoy them and then let them go? Can we share them with others at the appropriate time? Are we just collecting for ourselves or is there a purpose for what we accumulate?
I am a minimalist at heart and love the simplicity, elegance and beauty that are found in the Japanese culture. A room without objects is a quiet and meditative space. Yet, I can find the same beauty in a room that is filled from top to bottom with objects, drawings and yes, clutter. What matters in decluttering is that you don’t allow your possessions to own you; rather, they fill a purpose in the way you live your life.
Elizabeth Howard’s career intersects journalism, marketing and communications. Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back, a book she edited, was published by Easton Studio in May 2016. She is the author of A Day with Bonefish Joe, a children’s book, published by David R. Godine. She lives in New York City and has a home in Laconia. You can send her a note at: [email protected]