The Art of Decluttering

Why 'Minimal' is the Way

How many unread emails, untouched files or unopened applications do you currently have on your computer or phone? How about unnecessary items in your house, car or lawn? How many overactive, distracting or intrusive thoughts are lingering in your mind? If your answer was “too many”, then you’re like me, and most other folks navigating this information-laden world.

As inhabitants of a virtual world, we are very often inundated with superfluous information. This makes it very easy for our devices to become disorganized, dense, and full of things which really don’t offer us much in the way of usefulness or happiness. Full of lonely, ancient files that just sit.

This manifests likewise in our physical world; in our homes, workspaces, etc. It makes its way into every kitchen drawer and basket, every bookcase and toolbox, until the place feels uninhabilitable

Of course, there are ways to mitigate this mass-information overload. In my recent experience, the most effective tool for maintaining this information is through decluttering. It’s an effective practice that takes a small amount of dedicated time, every day. Look through apps, bookmarks, old folders, files.. spend some time every day and make some decisions.

Often times, I’ll experience a fear of missing out on what the object could’ve afforded me, after the fact. But… depending on what we’re dealing with, the chances are you’ll forget you through it away or deleted it, 30 minutes from now.

Go ahead and delete notes from that course on linguistic anthropology you took 10 years ago, or getting rid of a weird doodle you did on a crumpled up post-it. If you really think about, these are might just be superfluous in the bigger picture.

Every once in a while, we need a fresh start. Give yourself a chance to incorporate this habit into your day. Decluttering could become your new lifestyle.