I’m a bit of a sucker for those TV shows that transforms a house that has been overtaken by clutter.  I’m not talking about hoarding. That’s a whole ‘nother level of disorder.  I’m talking about people like me who accumulate stuff because we like it or think we need it, only to discover at some point that the stuff has begun to define the space or the activities that can take place in the space.

I know about kids’ toys taking over a living room, or my “meaningful momentos” leaving very little room on my desk to get any actual work done.  I have shoe boxes full of keepsakes on a top shelf of my closet where I might otherwise put things I actually use.  Without looking, I can’t tell you what’s in the boxes.  Even with looking, I may not be able to identify some of the items.

One such program goes through the process of having all the clutter taken out on the lawn so that the homeowners can see it in a new light.  The homeowners are then instructed to go through all of it deciding what to keep and what to get rid of.  They begin with wanting to keep everything.  With each item, one of them says, “Oh, we have to keep that,” while the other is gives an exasperated eye roll.  With the next item, however, the other says, “I can’t possibly let go of that.”  Now it’s time for the other to give an eye roll.

Little by little, each eases their grasp.  By the end of the show (hurray for 30-minute dramas), they are amazed at what they can throw out once they begin to see if for what it is, stuff.  They are even more amazed at what they can do with the new uncluttered space.  The pair discovers room to imagine, room to be creative, room to relax, room to make new choices.  They also discover a new appreciation for those things they thoughtfully decided to keep.

Simplifying life is now a multi-billion dollar enterprise with books, consultants, TV shows, and all sorts of other services to help us manage our abundance of stuff.  The bottom line is:  without some attention, our stuff, whether it’s physical stuff like plastic butter containers we thought we might use some day, or emotional stuff like old resentments we can’t seem to let go of, these can easily take on a life of their own and crowd out imaginative and peaceful living.