“Don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”
― Wendell Berry, Farming: a hand book

Last month, over the Christmas week leading in to New Years, I had a revelation. That my house was packed with stuff. Way too many things, most of which I don’t even use. I realized this because I hesitated to call friends over for a drink simply because everywhere I cared to look, there was junk. There was a stock pile of stuff I had not used in over 6 months, I did not know existed or I knew existed but never used.

A cleaner set up has a reviving effect on your mind, you live spic and span and your thoughts are a lot crisper as a result. This, of course, is my observation and you can choose to debate.

Half the battle is won, just accepting the fact that you are a hoarder. The second half can be won with a bit of effort. And that is, to start piling things that you can either trash, donate or sell (one man’s junk is another’s treasure). So here goes, the things I got rid of, over the weekend.

1. Shoes
   I love shoes, I have about 20 pairs of them. That in itself is an issue. So the ones I seldom used or don’t intend to, had to go.

2. Clothes
   I keep shifting sizes, due to my ineffective diet and work out commitment. So I have clothes in every perceivable size and fit. But amongst these too there were outfits I haven’t used in over a year. There are sizes I will never shrink to and sizes I never intend to bloat to.

3. Cutlery from the Kitchen
   Broken mugs I retained for days the domestic help didn’t turn up to do the dishes and I needed coffee, Tupperware that is unusable, plastic cups and spoons.

4. Dead Plants
   Nothing says bad parenting like dead plants. Come on, if you cannot water them once every 2 days, how do you expect to raise kids?!

5. Stacks of Magazines
   Sure I can learn a thing or two about fashion and style from them. But I cannot possibly hoard a 2012 issue. That has been done and dusted, quite literally.

6. Home Décor
   A vintage car, coasters from a party I went to eons ago, they all need to go.

7. Liquor I do not drink
   I have a massive bar stacked with the finest of alcohol. But there are some things I wouldn’t touch. Vodka, for instance. Am no longer a teen looking for a high. I like to relish my drink. Even if that means diluting single malt with cola. (I am not afraid of your judgement)

8. Cables, chargers, old devices
   These must be the bane of all clutter and am sure every house struggles with them. We cannot have enough cables lying around, business cards, pins, tags. Junk them all or neatly organize what you need.

9. Toiletries and Medicines close to expiration
   Sure, we like to run a mini pharmacy in our homes. But meds and toiletries need continuous churning, if not used. Apart from their expiry dates, you also need to be wary of how climatic conditions have affected their quality. And all those miniatures you stole from the hotel stays, use them up and trash them instead of saving them for your next intended backpacking trip.

So there it is folks. How I chose to begin the calendar year by de-cluttering. Go on, tell us if you would have done it differently or perhaps about how you like to clean up your pad in the comments section.