The holiday season represents so many things; a time for
giving, for entertaining and spending time with family and friends. For some,
the holidays may even be a time to address
household clutter. It’s true! Right now, you may be trying to figure out your gift list and also where to stash all the “stuff” that has slowly filled the guest bedroom over
the course of the year; or maybe you need to clear piles of paperwork off the
dining room table in order to add the extra leaf just in time for Thanksgiving. Perhaps you have even decided
this is the year to buy new lights and a fresh Christmas tree because your
artificial tree and old light sets are stored in the far recesses of your
basement or attic and your holiday schedule just doesn’t include the time it
takes to remove all the boxes from storage, locate the items you need and then
replace everything once again.
Most of us hold onto the possessions that fill our homes because
we don’t regularly take the time to evaluate the functionality or personal
meaning of each item and discard those that are no longer useful. Instead, as we buy new items, we just set the
old aside to be dealt with at some future point in time. Most of us never find that time and eventually,
clutter accumulates. Houses that suffer symptoms of “over-accumulation” can cause stress as is
evidenced by the recent TV shows about hoarding. Yet, even on a smaller
scale, too many things in one place may
just make us uncomfortable or becomes another source of day-to-day anxiety as
we let the growing piles of outdated electronics, broken cooking gadgets
and worn out shoes and handbags go
unresolved and unaddressed.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from a bout of
holiday household stress due to an
over-abundance of household possessions, we at
Caring Transitions
suggest you give yourself the gift of giving this season.
We are not suggesting you choose November or December as the month to do
all of your spring cleaning. It is perfectly ok to make larger household
projects part of your 2017 resolutions. However, as you encounter small
projects while preparing for the holidays, why not use this opportunity to give
some things to those who will need and appreciate them? At the same time, you
can accomplish some of your de-cluttering goals.