I stayed at a friend’s house last week and realized something about clutter. A little bit is okay. The house doesn’t have to be perfect to look good. It doesn’t have to be 100% free of any and all clutter. There can be a little bit and it’s okay if people stop over to say hey.
My friend’s house is very nice. It doesn’t look like a mess at all when you walk in. Sure, they could get rid of some things but then the house would look like a museum, not a home. I sat there for quite awhile looking around trying to make myself soak it all in. I’m pretty sure that I am completely blind to clutter since I’ve lived with it so long. I had to really look around to see the small piles.
Embrace the Clutter
I keep saying that I want everything out of my living room but that will never happen and I need to accept it. There will always be a few pieces of mail that will need to be attended to. Hopefully, there will always be shoes that need to be put away. I can get them more organized and into a functional space but they will still be there. I need to have pens on my desk and video game controllers by the TV.
Of course there’s still a lot more to get rid of and more remodeling to be done but a little bit is okay and I realize that now. I will not get all upset when there’s a a few small piles sitting around. I will straighten them up and leave them where they are or move them to a more appropriate place. I will do my best to make sure that they stay manageable and don’t get out of control and take over the entire room. If I live that way long enough, maybe the piles will start to appear again and I won’t need my camera to see them.