Decluttering seems to be the trend the last few years. I’m not a fan of clutter. I like my home neat and tidy. But life’s not always neat. There’s good reason you should be more tolerant of clutter.
I’m not going to lie. The clutter in the photo above is too much for me. A desk left that messy would drive me nuts. I’d feel the need to pick things up. But that’s the problem with not being tolerant of clutter. It creates stress.
We Don’t Live In A Perfect World
Minimalists stress neatness. We like open space with minimal furnishings and simple decor. Add too much and we call it clutter. But life can get messy.
I have a 12-year-old daughter. She rarely picks up after herself without being asked. If I don’t keep on her 24/7 the house starts getting a little cluttered. Frankly, I don’t want to keep on her 24/7. That creates its own kind of stress. So over these child-rearing years, I’ve learned to be more tolerant of messes.
You can’t change the things you can’t control. I might be able to tell my daughter to pick up after herself, and I do. But not constantly. And what about the dog? He gets hair everywhere? Then there are the guests who leave things laying around. I could go around after people and immediately pick up the mess. But again, life isn’t always that simple.
Some days we’re just plain worn out. Other days we’re in a hurry to get to work or an appointment. We fall behind.
Be Tolerant: Stress Does You No Good
What’s the opposite of being tolerant? Intolerance. Have you ever dealt with an intolerant person? In traffic? On an airplane? They’re angry and stressed and their blood pressure is going up. Is that how you want to wind up? I know I don’t.
Too much stress is a slow killer. That’s why we need to learn to let things go. Forgive yourself if you can’t keep up on the cleaning every single day. Forgive your family members if they aren’t perfect little minimalists. Be tolerant of clutter.
This doesn’t mean you should just let everything go. By all means, do your best to keep your home tidy and clutter-free. Just know that you can’t always control your environment Be willing to accept that fact.
