Teenage Angst Revisited

Anyone who's followed my journal for long will know that I have an ongoing battle with clutter. For years, it seems, I've been weighed down, not just by my own hoarding habit, but the residue of my parents' stuff and even grandparents' stuff.

This past week or so, on and off, I've been busy scanning extracts from Morning Magazine, the publication I produced for my family to read throughout my childhood. At last, today, I scanned the final copy. Most are now screwed up ready to follow those that have already gone. I've just kept a handful for Posterity, whoever he is. And today's pile threw up a sample of teenage angst as I faced and failed the clearing of clutter from my bedroom: Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose!

I long to live a decluttered life, but I suspect that before I shuffle off this mortal coil, my bones will have to be squeezed in a coffin so filled with clutter they'll have difficulty nailing the lid down. I can't imagine I'll ever be rid of it. However, the greatest help I have is in this book by Karen Kingston: my Clutter Clearing Bible. (I can take or lose the Feng Shui bits.) The really inspiring content is the psychology behind clutter accumulation and ways and means of letting stuff go; how to decide what stays and what goes, and how to begin to tackle dealing with it all.

The outpouring of teenage angst you see here begins, "Where do I begin?" Well, this is where my camera plays a part: I have discovered over the past five years that once I've photographed something, so that I have it on record, it is much easier to part it. So, Goodbye, teenage outpourings ... Hello, Clutter Clearing Bible. The former's gone, the latter is waiting for me to reread it and tackle the next cubic foot of clutter. One day, I might even move on to cubic yards of clearance at one go.