If you want to get a big response on social media, then post an Instagram story saying you’ve got a professional declutterer coming to your flat for the day.
When I did this on Friday, the reactions fell into two camps: those who said that it was their dream to have an expert organiser come and sort out their homes, and those who said they would love to do that job themselves.
The responses correspond well with the two types of people who exist in this world. Camp one is full of people who, like my husband, could happily survive with a small clutch of possessions; two outfits, a toothbrush and a laptop perhaps. He has occasionally looked round our flat – which is of the modern, white box variety – and said ‘imagine how tidy this place would be if I lived here alone’. (Too late sucker!)
Then there are people like me, who are up to the eyeballs in stuff. I’m a human magpie, who spends life feathering my nest with Amazon orders, holiday trinkets and nice bits from Zara. That’s not to mention the lovely PR freebies that often turn up thanks to my job – a real perk, but rather space-consuming when you’re squeezed into a dinky London property.
I don’t know why I keep accumulating stuff when I also feel slightly ashamed of the amount I own. I won’t tell you everything that happened when the pros Vicky and Sophia came to blast my flat (you’ll have to wait for the Mail Plus feature for that), but I can say that I spent a weird amount of time apologising to them for all my possessions. I was embarrassed ,laying bare my out-of-control clutter to strangers, even though the very fact their service exists shows I’'m far from alone in suffering from overstuffed cupboard syndrome.
Am I a bad and greedy person? Or have I just wholeheartedly committed to a society that is completely geared to the accumulation of more and more stuff? We are constantly being sold things, told this or that will change our lives, and have been programmed to get a kick out of purchases, even if that’s mixed with a confusing sense of guilt. Social media certainly doesn’t help - the very influencers who espouse capsule wardrobes and share snaps of their perfect, orderly homes are also the ones wearing a new outfit every day and producing a whole new set of dinnerware for every tablescape. Where does it all go?!
I’m definitely trying to buy a bit less, with mixed success. Following influencers who focus on money-saving is helpful -
once posted something like ‘By the way, you do not have to buy a Stanley Cup in order to stay hydrated’ and it made me realise how mad some of the things we convince ourselves we need are. I like this too:Another trick I’ve found helpful in resisting the temptation to spend is imagining taking the new item home and trying to find a place to put it. The vision of squeezing yet another pair of ballet pumps into an overflowing box suddenly makes the ones I’m about to buy seem much less appealing.
A good declutter can help, because it reminds you of all the things you already have (in my case, so many bottles of mosquito repellent and SPF that I need never go to Boots again). Plus, the results themselves put you off buying more crap that will destroy your efforts. I cannot describe the joy I now feel in having a beautifully-organised utility room, and I sure as hell don’t want to mess it up.
Another bonus of my grand decluttering day was being reunited with all the bits and bobs I’d accused my family of hiding, but which it turns out had just been shoved to the back of various drawers and cupboards. It was a beautiful moment indeed to be reunited with the six-pack of Sellotape I bought off Amazon a year ago and have been searching for ever since. Why would I ever need anything else?
I resonated so much with this. I am a hoarder, while my husband on the other hand owns just a handful of stuff, mostly essentials. We just moved houses and I was shocked at the amount of stuff I have. We were moving into a small place so I gave away/threw away so much stuff and trust me it felt so liberating.
I won’t lie, I still have a lot of stuff, but now that I’ve organised it nicely where it belongs I feel better. My new rule about buying anything new (clothes, shoes, books mainly) is if I buy one new T-shirt, pair of shoes, or books I give away two T-shirts, shoes, books I already own. This has been working really well. And I have consciously cut down on buying things just because they look “nice”.