While talking with one of my daughters, we discussed
the need for decluttering her bedroom. Over the years,
she'd collected quite an array of toys, books, decorative
objects, and miscellaneous odds and ends. Because
she tends to bond emotionally with anything that enters
her room, convincing her to willingly clear out the excess
"stuff" had always been quite an ordeal.
I've learned over the years, the more clutter and excess
stuff I carry with me, the more disorganized and scattered
my life feels. As my daughter and I looked around her room
I asked, "When you look at the piles of papers and toys in
your room, do you feel overwhelmed by it all -- not even sure
where to start when you need to clean your room?"
She agreed that was just how she felt. Many of the items I
saw in her room were things she never used or played with
anymore. But I could also see she had special items that
really held meaning to her and she used regularly.
I suddenly had an idea. I picked up her two all-time favorite
toys (the ones that were "real" in the Velveteen Rabbit sense
of the word), held them up to her, and asked, "Big Bird and
Fluffy are your special toys, right? They're your comforting
friends, your buddies you sleep with each night. They've
seen you through surgeries and scary times. You'll probably
want to keep them forever, won't you?"
She smiled and nodded as she realized I knew how much
her favorite stuffed animals meant to her. Then I grabbed
two pink bunnies from under her bed that she never played
with anymore. They were nothing special to her, just a
couple of plain old pink bunnies.
"Now, look carefully at these pink bunnies," I said. "Do
you want to lug them around with you for the rest of your
life? They're nice bunnies. They're even cute bunnies.
But are they 'special' bunnies?"
She laughed at the idea of hauling those pink bunnies around
with her forever, and agreed they weren't anything she played
with or even thought much about.
As we looked around, she realized her room was full of
other "Pink Bunnies" -- those items that just took up space,
cluttering her closet, dresser and floor. I suggested she
make two piles of things in her room. The "Pink Bunny"
pile and the "Big Bird and Fluffy" pile. If something wasn't
a favorite item and used regularly, it belonged in the "Pink
Bunny" pile. Items that brought joy, had particular meaning,
and were used frequently would go into the "Big Bird and
Fluffy" pile.
Suddenly it became easy to sort her toys, and even also
lots of fun! I'd hold up a toy and ask, "What's this one?"
She'd laugh and shout, "It's a 'Pink Bunny'!" And then happily
toss it into the pile of toys destined for the yard sale box in
the garage. As we sorted, we discovered the Pink Bunnies
outnumbered the special toys by about three to one.
After we finished going through her toys, my daughter had
a nice manageable pile of only her very favorite toys. Not
only did it reduce the clutter in her room, but it also brought
her a great sense of accomplishment. She finally was able
to sort through everything and let go of the things she didn't
use anymore.
When I decided to try the same general idea with my son
several months later, the whole "Pink Bunnies" scenario
didn't apply. No abandoned stuffed animals hiding under
his bed. He mainly had an overabundance of fast-food kid
meal toys, small cars, and building block sets.
So, what could I use for the Pink Bunny pile in his life? I
knew there had to be a similar idea that could inspire him
to start happily tossing out the unused clutter. I thought
about it for a couple of hours ... and then had a brainstorm!
For my son, the two decluttering piles became "Dirt" and
"Diamonds." He really enjoyed sorting his toys into those
categories, and before I knew it, we were down to just his
favorite cars, toys, games, and building blocks. "Dirt" worked
like a dream!
So, on a more personal note, how many Pink Bunnies do
you have in your house and life? Whether it's in a child's
room, or one of your own closests, maybe it's time to sort
through any accumulated clutter and find out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Deborah Taylor-Hough (free-lance writer, wife and mother of three)
is the editor of the
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and
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email newsletters. She's also the author of the bestselling
book, Frozen
Assets: how to cook for a day and eat for a month, and A
Simple Choice: a practical guide for saving your time, money
and sanity. Be sure to visit Debi online at "A Frugal, Simple Life":
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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