I believe in a beautiful and useful policy. Meaning, a thing has to be either beautiful or useful, if it is none of these then I just throw it away.
Most of the time we cling to certain things and people due to our inherent reluctance to let go of things easily, due to our fear of having regrets and also due to some sentimental reasons. That old pair of mismatched socks kept in hope of finding the other pair someday during one of those spring cleanings, never actually meets its mate. Or that faded t-shirt that we never wear but can’t let go because it has some sentimental value; all these add clutter to our spaces.
One of the biggest clutterers in our lives are negative emotions like hopelessness, depression, rancor, pessimism and unwholesome relationships and they are mostly interconnected.
That old toothbrush left by your ex-live in partner is adding to your misery without you knowing it. Every morning when you wake up to brush your teeth, you look at that toothbrush and are filled with remorse and sadness because you loved him/her once. Well, the relationship was good as long as it lasted, but now it is as frayed at the edges as the toothbrush he/she left behind. Throw it away; it is neither beautiful, nor useful.
Clinging to non working relationships causes another kind of clutter. We are all guilty of holding on to bad and dysfunctional relationships at some point or the other, in hopes of changing the person one day. It doesn’t happen and we make ourselves unhappier, day-by-day. This sort of relationship is clutter.
—Nazia Mallick