Article and Photography by Curtis Beaird
Oh yes! The urge to clear it out, clean it up and live without clutter is more than inviting. The mere thought of it sets us free.
We know with this one that we are not alone in our desire. Off-loading stuff has become the new goal, even if it is only a fantasy goal. It is strange but true.
The dream of less has become our vision of freedom.
What happened? Why the desire to dump it?
The 1982 economic bust ended more than a few parties, and at least one bumper sticker. It read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” The 1982 pull-back and the dot.com meltdown that followed were laughable compared to the 2008 crash.
We have become a garage sale nation. Have you noticed the For Sale signs on everything from Harley's to lawn mowers sitting at the edge of most neighborhood streets? The front yard as display case. “We need to move. I want to down size,” are constant refrains. Read the forum on City-Data.com from any part of the country. What will you find when you do? The belief that another location and less stuff will equal more sanity, echoed again and again.
Minimalist is the new mantra. That peace is found in less has spilled over, even into blog design. Clutter is out. Sparse is in. I do wonder if people wish they were clearing out their debt.
If you want to spread a dark veil over the declutter conversation, ask this,
“How many months have you paid rent on that 10 X 10
at
Pack-it-Tight Storage?"
Copyright 2013, Curtis Beaird. All rights reserved.
