I was set to declutter my house, when I realized everyone is doing it, so I stopped.
I’d even bought Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and devoured the first 50 pages. Kondo says everything that doesn’t bring joy, goes out the door. That’s a great insight if you’re in touch with your inner joy, but who is these days?
Yes, spring cleaning is a venerable tradition. Yes, Americans are materialistic. Even Jesus challenged the rich young ruler to sell everything and follow him. He’s right.
But I wonder what family heirlooms will be lost to the landfill because someone got throwaway fever. My mother gave me an ugly vase and a story. On the ship to America, her great grandmother’s husband squandered everything but the vase. That story, that vase were valuable insights as I sorted out my paragraph in the family story.
I could not bear to have Bruce’s mom’s crystal bowl, ceramic partridges, or lamp thrown into a dumpster because no one had chosen them, so we brought them home in one final act of love.
Here’s what I dislike most. As I think about decluttering my home I think about dying—downsizing to a smaller place, or moving to another state or even my own mortality. But downsizing is inevitable.
Guess I need to get the garbage bags and head for the closet.
I’m Katie Andraski, and that’s my perspective.
