De-cluttering

I spent the whole day of Saturday at home. I didn't feel like going out, thanks to the gloomy weather. And so, sitting in front of my laptop, I gave my work desk a good stare. My, what clutter. Tsk, tsk.... So I decided to de-clutter my desk and throw away all the unnecessary papers, receipts, pens not working anymore, unopened letters from advertisers and file paid bills. After about an hour, my desk was clean again. It feels good to have an organized workspace.

Going back to clutter, it is odd that we accumulate so much unnecessary things in our life. We buy things, use it for a while then after some time, it sits already in the dark accumulating dust. The funny thing is we never get the chance to throw it away thinking that we might be able to use it someday. But that someday never comes.

It is hard for a person to throw things but often, practicality should be above sentimentality. I make it a personal rule to discard things that I haven't used for 1 year. Last June, I held a garage sale wherein I sold our old clothes and beddings. The price ranged from Php10.00 to Php100.00. It was a big hit! I decongested our cabinets and at the same time made some money to buy new rubber shoes for my son.

In some countries like New Zealand and Australia, the government provides a schedule wherein rubbish like old or broken appliances, furnitures can be disposed of by the residents. It encourages its citizens to give away or throw things that they don't need. As the saying goes, "Somebody's garbage can be another man's treasure."

Come to think of it. It does make sense.