Dekluge. I haven’t been able to find this word in the dictionary,
but among my contemporaries, it means to throw out unwanted stuff.
We all know what that entails. Whole weekends selected out. Old
clothes put on in order to get rid of old clothes and knickknacks and…
stuff. Stuff in drawers, closets, bookcases, under beds, perched on
top of rafters in attics, and strewn about he garage. If you have a
large house with lots of nooks, crannies, and cubbyholes, god help you.
I hate the minimalist look, but it’s opposite is equally, if not more
batty. How can a person, a family, live in rooms with one couch, one
coffee table that only holds a small vase? No coasters. No
magazines. No remote control. Conversely, how about the living room
with upholstered couches, a couple arm chairs, coffee table with
magazines, coasters, old dishes, Kleenex boxes, random papers and
ceramic doodads all but obliterating the table surface?
Let’s take a breath, calm down, and realize that sanity probably
lurks somewhere between these two extremes. I won’t spend any time
here on the minimalist scenerio. We all know how to fill up a
space. Instead, let’s focus on the other one. There’s a good chance
that if this cluttered living room looks like yours, I’ll bet I could
find a few closets, much less other flat surfaces that could stand to
see the light of day. But Oh My Goodness! Where to start? And
where should it go? Goodwill? The cleaning lady? Trash? Probably
all of them, as well as others.
Here’s how to do it.
You decide which space you want to start with. Want to do the whole
sports closet or one kitchen drawer? Of half a kitchen drawer? It’s
up to you, and there is no wrong decision except the decision NOT to
do it.
Ok. Decision made. Now, grab a trash bag, or two if you know some
stuff will be given away. Open the drawer, door or whathaveyou.
Grab an item. Either put it back, or put it in the trash or give
away bag. Grab another item. Do the same thing. Make a game of it
if you want. Can’t stand doing this yet? Set a timer for whatever.
Thirty minutes, ten minutes, five minutes. Whatever you can stand
the most. Then go at it. When finished, or the timer goes off,
decide THEN and THERE to either stop or start again. Do one or the
other. When you finally do stop, take the trash bag to the trash, put
the give away bag in a spot for the cleaning lady, or put it in the
trunk of your car. Done. Wipe your hands against each other in a
brushing motion.
Go have an iced tea and congratulate yourself. Do this again next
week, tomorrow, later in the day, or right now. Just a little. No
big thing. Just keep at it, like an ant does. Baby ant steps. You
will still climb that mountain faster than the sprinter sitting down
just thinking about it.
And don’t be surprised if you start having a spring in your step, a
whistle on your lips, and a newly envisioned vistas in your future.
Dekluge. It works.
