I’ve read every decluttering book there is, listened to every podcast, read the blogs, watched the YouTube channels, and watched the TV shows.  If there’s decluttering inspiration out there I’ve consumed it.  I’ve made a lot of progress over the last 5-10 years, and I’ve mostly perfected the shift to bringing fewer things into my life.  But I’ve not yet perfected getting rid of all the things I already own.  I’m good at getting rid of things if I know it’s going to a home that needs and appreciates it, or where I can earn a little extra money letting it go.  I have this weird need to need to know it’s going to be used, and not just end up in a junk yard somewhere.  I know I need to let this go, but it’s been a struggle.  I overthink where the things will go after they leave my home.  It shouldn’t really matter and deep down I know this, but it’s still one of the final factors I need to get past to really let go of more physical things in my life. 

To that note, I’m always looking for a tip or trick that’s going to inspire me to get rid of more things and live the simpler life I envision living.  The other day I had a thought, and I was like, “this could be it!  This could be the thing that changes my decluttering and life simplification game.” 

The idea is death.  And decluttering.  And mixing the two together to create the ultimate push to get rid of more things.  Marie Kondo challenges you to touch each item and ask, “Does this spark joy?”   I’m challenging you to hold each item and ask, “If I were dying, would I care about this?”  Or put another way, if I was on my death bed would I worry about this item and where it goes?   There are a handful of items I might care about on my death bed – some sentimental jewelry and items I’d love to make sure get into the right hands, but there’s so much more I wouldn’t care about.   So the idea of death and decluttering is born.  It’s probably not going to make a great book title, but it’s a concept I’m going to run with for a while.  I’m going to hold all the things taking up physical space that stress me out, and I’m going to decide if I’d care about them if I were dying.

Although it may seem morbid to focus on death, doing so actually brings what is important during my life info clearer focus.  Buddhism actually focuses on death and impermanence as a way to help you know what really matters while you are alive.  This is a great article on Buddhism and it’s view on death, and it highlights, “Death is unavoidable. It might seem morbid to contemplate this truth, but doing so can fill our day-to-day life with more meaning and joy.”  The more time we spend thinking about our own impermanence, the more we can come to realize what we really need to be happy and how it’s not physical objects.  This same article says, “no matter how much we fight to get and to keep something, we will still lose it.”  That reference can be applied to all of the physical objects and clutter in our lives.  It’s all going to go away some day after we die, so do we really need it right now?  Is it truly that important?  Is it worth taking up space while we’re alive for this short time? 

I’ll let you know how this death and decluttering experiment goes.  I’ve got high hopes that it will be my breakthrough, and in a few weeks my house will be as sparse and simple as I’ve been envisioning it.  

Also, if I really did die sometime soon, which is sad to think about, I’d feel bad leaving so much stuff for my husband and kids to have to deal with.  So, there’s some extra motivation for dealing with my excess stuff.  Wow, this death and decluttering thing might have more legs than I realize. 

Off I go.  For the next few weeks I’ll be focused on thinking about death as I declutter.   We shall see how this goes. 

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