Marie, now the mother to three children, has come to the realization that it takes more energy than it used to, and she is OK with the fact that not everything (tidying) will get done each day. She has decided to give herself the grace to embrace this chapter of her life even when it means she lives amidst a messy house.

Clutter comes in so many different packages. What one person perceives as clutter, another does not. We all define it differently. We have our own tolerance of it, and so the volume of clutter is also different for each person.

Are you a morning person? Do you leap out of bed every morning ready to tackle the day and take on the world? I venture to guess that few people greet the day with this boundless, yet desired energy.

Life happens and our best intentions get interrupted, circumstances change, and we need a reset. Sometimes, the organized needs reorganizing.

Clutter is a popular word, and it is often said that physical clutter equates to mental clutter. It also comes in many forms: physical or visible, mental, emotional, and digital, to name a few. It is whatever keeps you from living the life you want to live and from accomplishing what you want to accomplish.

Did you ever misplace your keys, the TV remote, or your sunglasses? It’s not a trick question, and I suspect that most everyone reading this will answer in unison, yes! At the very least, it is frustrating, at worst, it can have a negative impact on your life if it becomes more the norm than the exception.

As I pulled out and inspected this piece of clothing and that, I saw him wearing each outfit in my mind’s eye and recalled the many events and occasions we attended with family and friends whether decked out or hanging out. The clothes were telling me stories, bringing up memories and sending me back in time. And while certain clothing invoked reminiscing, I know that cherished memories do not disappear into donation bags.

While enduring the age of COVID, decluttering has become an act of self-care.

But what is it about the New Year that makes it the best time to invoke life-changing habits? Sure, we’ve been at it for 4000 years and its traditional roots run deep, but what magical thing happens as the calendar page turns?

The visual presence of clutter and the quantity of it, frequently is the trigger to decide once and for all that it’s time to get organized. Decluttering the physical stuff is certainly one piece of the organizing puzzle.