Declutter

Netnet Camomot .

SPRING cleaning can be stressful. To keep or not to keep. That’s the question.

From humongous possessions to the miniature collection, from books to newspaper clippings, from old piggies to the latest piggies, which to keep?

Or the question should be, 50 years from now, which of these will matter? What will people remember and appreciate by then? If an item will only evoke queries such as, What was he thinking, better throw it away now that you no longer like it, too.

Clutter is not only the dusty items in the bodega. Stop, look, listen—anything that emits negative vibes is also clutter. Marie Kondo’s spring-cleaning guide—Does it spark joy—is indeed enough as you swim through loads of what may only be trash.

Mama, my maternal grandmother, and Tito Lolong were right after all in living a simple life as they focused on matters that truly mattered. We, the younger ones, should have followed their example right from the start, before ending up with a collection of, hmmm, piggies.

Holy Week will be the best time to ponder on one more potential scratch paper while considering the pros and cons of wasting the precious space it will occupy as it awaits to be written on. There are people who throw away paper the moment a portion of it is used sans any thought on the merits of recycling. And there are others who cut off the unused part and store it for future use. Encountering these scraps of scratch paper daily does not exactly spark joy but their owner’s environmental habits may feed him with the horrors of trees being cut down unnecessarily for paper that won’t be recycled, with his conscience unable to bear imagining a tree offering its life for nothing.

Minimalism may look impossible for one with loads of stuff until he realizes all he has to do is to assess which item he can live without.

If he’s still seriously contemplating on storing unread and old newspapers, convinced he will eventually find the time to read them once he’s retired, which is about ten years from now, he must be having a severe case of attachment blues.

Attachment is the enemy of minimalism. If you can’t let go of an item’s sentimental value, then, your home will be filled with things that don’t exactly spark joy.

There’s this particular group of books and magazines that I now use as reference. I thought I’ve already reviewed each copy until I saw more in the cabinet filled with books. It was an aha moment. Aha! Naa man diay ni!

I bought these books and magazines in preparation for something, and that moment has arrived.

There are decisions we make out of the blue when they feel right. I guess that’s what Kondo feels, too, when an item sparks joy for her.

A room with no clutter will definitely spark joy. For now, though, as spring cleaning is ongoing, the center table is groaning with things for reading or recycling. I may have to quit watching Netflix and playing Homescapes and Gardenscapes so I can focus on more important things like, uh, tearing paper into pieces.

I’ve noticed I’m now more decisive in getting rid of things, I should have “Let It Go” as Muzak whenever I’m throwing away garbage.

“Let it go, let it go

Can’t hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

I don’t care what they’re going to say

Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway.”

But it’s not cccccold in this corner of the world. It’s hhhhhot! Still, Pag-asa promised rains will make a great comeback in May. Yay?

So, savor your halo-halo while the weather can still help justify the indulgence.

In case you haven’t noticed, the halo-halo is a tricky recipe. Too many ingredients will spoil its taste, while too little will merely give you an ube sundae. And to the ube fan, that sundae is way much better.

Life is also a halo-halo. Too many possessions will lead to confusion on what’s truly important, while having only a few will make you appreciate them more.