As I was driving my ‘almost’ daughter home last night, I couldn’t help but noticed how thickly strewn the pavements were with the leaves that are rapidly falling from the trees these days. The dazzling colours can still be enjoyed, but the heavy rain and blustering wind told me that very soon winter will get serious about laying its cold blanket across the country and it’ll all be over for another year.
Seeing the leaf littered pavements made me think about how autumn’s finale is a closing point. Nature will go to rest for a while, having rid itself of the last leaves, leaves that are no longer needed.
Perhaps, I thought, this is a good time to think about what I should be getting rid of too. I’ve been a bit lapse with the decluttering lately - too many other things going on in my mind, issues that needed to be dealt with - but seeing those leaves brought it home to me that this IS the time to get back on track. Just as the trees no longer need those leaves, I have stuff that no longer needs to be part of my life. They’re cluttering me, crowding my space and, to be honest, they’re making me unhappy. Strange really, considering that once upon a time I honestly believed that stuff would do the opposite - that it would make me feel good. Some stuff still does - the stuff that I need and that makes life easier or more pleasant - but a lot of it doesn’t. It’s just there, taking up space and demanding attention that I just don’t want to give it.
So let the decluttering re-begin, I say. Nature knows that it shouldn’t hang on to anything it no longer has a good use for - a lesson a lot of us could learn something from.
Sharon J
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Image Credit: Eve Morrison
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17 comments:
lovely post, thank you!
i don't normally pay much attention to autumn, all it usually means to me is that winter's on the way - boo.
however this year, the colours have been astounding, plus i have even quite liked the changing light, the mists, etc.
re clutter: when i moved up here, i gave tons of stuff to charity shops, sold some on ebay, gave furniture to my friends and put some stuff in my front garden with a sign saying "help yourself". i have not missed a single item and i feel soooooo much lighter and able to go where i want to, rather than where my possessions tie me down to.
i now have a rule: "one in, one out", ie if i buy something, i have to get rid of something else. it concentrates the shopping mind wonderfully :-)
Sharon...You just gave me the insiration to de-clutter my head and move on. There is one thing in particular at my place that is taking up way to much of my time, energy, life, space. Thankyou. I appreciate your postings so much and lately they are a mimick of my thoughts and things that I know I should do and rid myself of. Its like you are my sub-concience guiding me through what seems to be a never ending nightmare in my life. I value you and thankyou.
xoxox
Autumn has been very beautiful this year but is now most definitely on its way out.. But you described it in a way that I had not even thought of.. natures decluttering time. Like you I do have a lot of things on my mind, mainly worries about this and that and they are seriously weighing me down, those coupled with a house of clutter that seems to have grown over the years, adding to the weight... its got to a stage where I know I need to do something about it but I do not know where to begin... many say well start at the beginning but I cannot find a beginning and I especially cannot find an end....
I suppose that I should just start somewhere, but then that weighed down feeling suffocates me and I think oh not today I don't feel like it and so the cycle goes on and on and on... Anyway your post today has inspired me to give it a go.. and maybe getting rid of the physical clutter I can then begin to see clearly to start sifting through the emotional clutter....
Love Jane xxx
Autumn has been very beautiful this year but is now most definitely on its way out.. But you described it in a way that I had not even thought of.. natures decluttering time. Like you I do have a lot of things on my mind, mainly worries about this and that and they are seriously weighing me down, those coupled with a house of clutter that seems to have grown over the years, adding to the weight... its got to a stage where I know I need to do something about it but I do not know where to begin... many say well start at the beginning but I cannot find a beginning and I especially cannot find an end....
I suppose that I should just start somewhere, but then that weighed down feeling suffocates me and I think oh not today I don't feel like it and so the cycle goes on and on and on... Anyway your post today has inspired me to give it a go.. and maybe getting rid of the physical clutter I can then begin to see clearly to start sifting through the emotional clutter....
Love Jane xxx
It's been so beautiful this year hasn't it?
I love your take on nature renewing itself, and having a bit of an "Autumn clean" is definitely a good idea. I've had a purge of our kitchen this weekend and got rid of lots of old crockery, jam jars (that I always collect but never use) etc etc and I feel so much better and much less burdened every time I walk into the kitchen as a result! It's amazing how clutter can clutter the mind.
p.s. I hope you got my email about the new blog, otherwise you might be a bit confused as to who this is! :)
What a lovely way of putting it! I do need to keep de-cluttering and now I shall think of Mother Nature getting on with it and I shall be inspired!
Yes it sounds so lovely until you realise that the thing she has no use for any more and has thrown out is somebody who would walk over hot coals for her.
Bit confused by the above post, don't know if it was meant for this one?
However I completely agree Sharon, and it is a great way of looking at things. For me autumn is always a lovely time and encourages me to look at winter as a time for renewal rather than dormancy. Enjoy the colours, sights and smells and then take stock of things in winter. x
Nothing confusing at all. The de-cluttering isn't just about material things.
I never mentioned that de-cluttering should only be about material things. One must de-clutter the mind in order to find reason and clarity. In fact this is the basis of numerous meditiations, Zen being the most obvious one.
Your post states that "the thing she has no use for any more and has thrown out is somebody who would walk over hot coals for her".
This sounds quite personal and maybe not something that really should be aired for people like myself, outside of the situation.
However, I do find your choice of words curious. "The thing" and "somebody" are one in the same. Do you see that somebody as a thing, or is it your own assumption that the somebody is being treated as a thing by Sharon?
I do apologise for digressing from the original post, but I have enjoyed Sharon's honest and open blog for quite some time, and she does not give me the impression that she would treat a person in that fashion.
@ Migratingfishswim. I can understand how autumn can make people feel miserable being as it marks the onset of winter but I think when you give a bit more thought to the cycle of the seasons and what they mean, autumn's not so bad after all. And yes, this one has been particularly beautiful. The cemetary looked stunning a few days ago :)
@ Teena. I'm so glad you're moving on. I could see that you'd got yourself stuck in something very sticky but understood that whatever anybody else said, you'd need to decide on your own path. No need to thank me though - it's what friends are for :)
@ Aromatic. Welcome to my blog, it's lovely to see you here.
If you don't mind my advice, a good way to start is by just taking everything out of one drawer/cupboard, picking out the things you NEED to keep and putting them back in then getting rid of the rest. One drawer/cupboard at a time and eventually it'll be done (says she who never 'got done').
@ Kat. Well done on decluttering the kitchen. You're right about material clutter also cluttering the mind. As for the email, I haven't a clue what you mean as I didn't receive one. Could you send it again?
@ Catz. Mother Nature's always inspiring, isn't she?
@ Anonymous I. I'm sorry but this post had absolutely nothing to do with the split between us. The post was foremostly about getting rid of 'stuff' and although I did mention that I'd got sidetracked from decluttering by a few issues I needed to deal with (and am still working on), it's entirely up to you whether you believe you're one of them. It's fair to say that we do declutter people from our lives (and have every right to do so when relationships simply aren't working, whatever those relationships are), but this post wasn't about that at all so you're obviously reading things into it that just aren't there.
@ Anonymous II. What you wrote about peace and clarity of mind is so important and can't be found when stuff (or issues/people) are cluttering us. I don't believe we're on this earth to be unhappy but to find our own status quo with nature, the people we surround ourselves with and the paths we choose to follow. Being a martyr to clutter of any kind never did anybody any good (although clutter's not a word I would personally choose to use when talking about people who I know care about me, even if I feel I can no longer have them as part of my life).
I'm sorry for making this personal but tact never was your strongpoint, was it Sharon. What conclusions did you expect me to come to after reading this? After all, it's not the first time you've gone on about de-cluttering a couple of days after you've chucked me and broken my heart is it.
Anonymous 2. You've never lived with Sharon, obviously.
Richard, I can be as tactful as the next person, but when that approach doesn't work, other methods need to be utlised. Maybe there's a connection between my needing to declutter in order to move on, that's something I hadn't really thought about. As for anonymous II not having lived with me, we all know that living with a person and knowing them otherwise are two different things but some people live more comfortably with certain people than the do others. I realise that I can be selfish and difficult and have never hidden that fact either here or elsewhere, something I made you aware of when we first met.
I won't be responding to you any more as it really isn't necessary to subject others to a discussion about our personal problems.
I haven't a clue what that first sentence means.
Hi Sharon, have just emailled you again at the email address on you have on your page. Hope it gets through this time.
x
Getting back to the original idea behind this after your anonymous friends little aside, I'd just like to say that while most people tend to think of spring as the time to clean and declutter, I love your idea of using autumn in the same way so that there's room cleared for the onslaught on unwanted christmas gifts that we won't be able to bring ourselves to get rid of. I'm going to get started on the hall cupboard as soon as I've finished bloig hopping. Thanks for the inspiration.
The autumn leaves are truly magnificent this year in our part of the UK. Breathtaking and inspiring.
For a long time I always felt very sad when autumn arrived as for me it felt like a time of death. Somehow that changed since having the children as there always seems to be something to look forward to beyond summer with them around.
I wrote a post recently about how it now feels like a new year period and this is a good time to review times recently past and look ahead with plans and changes.
I'm sorry you and Richard have parted on non-amicable terms but as you know long term it is better to break out of a relationship which is not for you than stay in it for fear of upsetting people.
Wishing you strength while you both adjust.
x
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