Growing things

Recently I overhear more and more often talk about the great amount of things we can accumulate. The overwhelming feeling that makes us feel the need to make room at home. The stores and second-hand goods platforms more than ever are seeing a large increase in the volume of their reserves. What is happening? Is it just a fad associated with the current philosophy of zero waste? Is it the result of the Mari Kondo series on Netflix? Or a decluttering spring cleaning need? Or is it because our houses are really full to the brim?

If there is something I can remember clearly about the times I moved to a different city it is the day I arrived. Only with a single suitcase in hand and eager to discover new places. I remember how I settled in a few minutes and the feeling of freedom, lightness and intensity that I felt in that first exciting stage. As in a blank notebook that invites me to concentrate only on the pencil and the texture of the paper, without words, drawings or scribbles that interrupt my thoughts.

I also remember very well how, years later, facing the moment of departure, I realized with some concern that my things no longer fit in a suitcase. How was I going to move all those heavy boxes and packages? How could I have accumulated so much? What things were those? What value did they have for me? Why was it so hard to get rid of them?

Most of the things I kept were useful, I had used them in the past, so they were part of me and I kept them just in case. Things that were brand new and I might need in the future. Many books waiting to be read. Gifts from loved ones who simply had great emotional attachment. And I found myself surrounded by things I did not use, I did not need, and in some cases, I did not even like.

Those moves were a lesson for me. I hated them for the complication they implied, but they taught me a lot. I understood that I did not need to keep things from the past, since they no longer covered my needs. No things for the future, since I could not foresee what I would need. I focused only on enjoying the present and maintaining the essential for that very moment. My possessions had to be my tools, but in many cases they had become a weight that hold me back.

Thanks to these experiences I learned to get rid of things and be more practical. I promised myself to "do simulated movements" just to force myself to lighten up from time to time. And so began my passion for decluttering.