CHICAGO, IL (January 19, 2016) — The concept of “spring cleaning” has always induced a sense of dread for me. I try to winnow out the heirlooms and mementos on my storage shelves periodically, but I’m just not very good at letting go. I mean really, I still have wedding gifts in the original packaging, from almost thirty years ago. So Marie Kondo’s bestselling guide to decluttering, “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up,” seems written for people just like me. Kondo suggests that the only way to put our houses in order is to get rid of things that no longer “spark joy.”
But I find myself wondering if that thing might “spark joy” in the future. I fear that the minute after I drop it off at the donation center, I’ll discover a practical use for it. Or that one of my kids will need it to furnish a new apartment.
You may not be as prone to nostalgia as I am, but in keeping with current trends to simplify our lives, the Companion is interested in hearing from you: If you had to declutter your home or life, what would be the hardest thing to tackle? Is it the vintage tools from Grandpa’s workbench? The textbooks from your undergrad degree? Maybe the collection of mismatched socks is still around—waiting for that missing sock to be found. If you were to simplify your home, what would be the most challenging closet, pile, area to sort through and pare down?
