It is that time of year again when I have the urge to be more with less. Spring clean. Clear clutter.
Starting with August, the next year or so is going to be very hectic, what with a series of exams for Vidur and lots of short travel stints for Sury.
And me? Well, I’ll be busy too, hanging out here with you on the blogs and my own writing work. Then, August to January is also festival time, starting with Krishna Janmashtami next week.
I’ve decided to make my life easy by being more with less. I want to create space at home.
As I move on from the smaller giveaways to other things we haven’t used in a while or are unlikely to use, I am thinking of putting some stuff up for sale. My friend suggested some popular online sites that have a more or less global presence and you’ll find that you can even buy and sell in Bangladesh or …or…in Timbuctoo if you wish!. The process also appears pretty easy. My idea is to advertise a list of items and donate the proceeds to the welfare homes I support as they are always looking to build their medical fund.
Why am I musing on this?
My goal: to be more with less
In the middle of all this, I’ll be going slightly crazy trying to keep up with housekeeping. I have to tell you that these days just the mere basics of cooking, cleaning, washing and dusting are tiring.
Where we once happily bought whatever we thought we needed, we now think twice or even thrice before bringing something into the house simply because of the maintenance involved, unless it is a perishable and can be consumed.
Over the last few months, I’ve managed to give away quite a few things. I am now tired of all the freebies that come with practically everything we buy and the alarming number of containers that are piling up. I wish I could settle on the refill packs but they are significantly more expensive than the larger ones and well, in the process, we have container overload.
Do you know it is not so easy to give away stuff? My Grandmother always said that even if you are ready to give, the recipient must be ready to receive. And sometimes, people hesitate to take things for free.
I remember, after I decided to get married, and knew I would be moving to another city, I wanted to give away most of my clothes, books and other things I had collected over time, which couldn’t be accommodated in my new home. I put up a notice at the office in our colony and there were hardly any takers.
What is funny is, my Mom playfully suggested we ought to put a price tag on things. I did. In three days we sold most of the furniture and appliances. Interesting, eh? My Grandmother was right.
So I donated the clothes to all the maids in the area and the trunks of books to our local library and friends.
These days it is harder to give away stuff and so, I plan to advertise online. Many of my friends report a fantastic experience. Let’s see how that goes! I am hoping that by October, I’ll be more with less, nicely in time for Navaratri.
And only dust if I must. There are so many more interesting things to do, right?
Don’t you love this?
♥ Thank you for your presence here today!
6 comments
Sometime ago I started a de-cluttering routine at my home (starting with my closet and other personal items) but it got abandoned for whatever reason. Your post has now inspired me to restart that and get rid of some of the clutter that has accumulated over the past few years. It is surprising how much we accumulate, even when we are trying to be mindful of what we bring inside our homes. Seven years ago when I moved back to India we had gotten rid of everything, well almost everything that we had accumulated in the US over 15 years (and we sold off almost all our big stuff in a matter of days through the web – I think OLX had just started then and I remember using that too). It was so wonderful to start afresh with almost nothing, but now the time has come to de-clutter again! What is it with the stuff? 🙂
A lovely post, Vidya!
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I need to do this but where do I start …. When we moved in to our new house last year we had decided not to clutter it and keep it spacious but then does that ever happen? I wonder how I have so many things, some that I don’t even use but still don’t want to throw!
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Ah the wondrous world of dust…I love that poem and it is so true. I tried to purge some things 2 years ago and my hubby took almost all of it back and claimed they are too nice to give away and we may use it. Where are they now? Packed up & in the basement. I am a lover of knick-knacks, DVD’s and books. I will not get rid of my books until I can not read any more and I hope that is never:) The same holds for my DVD’s as I love to watch movies and commentaries and all the fun stuff. I can re-watch over and over. My knock-knacks? Some is very dear to me and are keep sakes (my mom’s Faberge style eggs) but there comes a time when it feels overwhelming and one needs to de-clutter to help achieve calm. My friend got rid of most of his “stuff” and he feels quite good. I could not be as drastic but one day there will be a time. My mom was a collector (lived through the war etc…). She had a large home and it was packed. Over the last 25 yrs, her “stuff” got smaller and smaller”. Now, due to her dementia, her stuff fits on one side of a room. One may look at it as sad but I see simplicity and what is necessary. We really do not need much but what we want…Oh Boy!!
Your mother is right that people need to be ready to receive a gift. When I was moving a few years ago, I went to a used book store to sell them all of my books. They bought half and then they wouldn’t even take the other half for free!
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How will people react to being offered something used, but still usable? That would ensure that there would be bagloads of stuff ready for giving away, but remaining at home. Now, we have a few orphanages, old age homes, homes for the destitute, etc. to whom we donate the stuff that they need. Other stuff that nobody appears to need can be donated to Goonj. They accept anything, and find a use for it.
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I have an ongoing arrangement with my local welfare home, Pro. I take things there for the girls regularly and they welcome it. Also, I make it a point to a/ maintain a giveaway trunk b/ carry something whenever I step out so I can give it away and c/ whenever someone comes home, ask them if they’d like to have what I’d like to give. I’ve been quite successful this way and feel blessed that people are happy to take things from me.
Goonj yes – I do wish they had an office closer to my place. They are too far away for me to make a trip to their office and since there are plenty of places nearer, I am privileged. 😀
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