Ekaterina Netchitailova

Today’s prompt by WordPress is a good one.  It addresses my nagging feeling that I probably should declutter my house.

There are books, books everywhere. I have a library upstairs, that has all the academic books I used to write my PhD (a lot), books on different religions and some of my favorite fiction, but I also have a shelf full of books in my bedroom, and a small cupboard in my living room where books keep on piling on top of each other: these are the books I still want to read, and I have neither time for reading, nor for decluttering.

You see, I am busy writing, instead of reading in my spare time. And seeing so many books brings me inspiration. I want my own book being also in the pile. But to get there isn’t easy, and therefore, I just watch. It reassures me.

I think I will leave my books in peace for now.

But I also love clothes and I know that I have too many. I tend to accumulate them. Instead of buying something new for every season, I just recycle my clothes, provided I leave the house. Nowadays I wear lounge clothes because I mostly work from home and want to feel comfortable.

But my rails crumbling under the weight of clothes remind me that I should probably get out more of the house and wear them. A lot of them come from charity shops in England (where I lived for many years) and second hand shops. I love wearing something unique and different, I just need to get out more. Now is winter and I have jackets and coats (my weakness) in all possible forms and colors. I also have numerous shoes, and dresses. I don’t know what to do with them, but they are part of my identity as a woman and I love knowing I have all that: shoes, jackets, and dresses.

There is also my kitchen. It is also taken over by stuff. I love cooking and it shows. One of my shelves is barely still attached to the wall because of all kinds of spices and sauces. I love to cook and I like knowing that if I want to cook something, I have all the ingredients. Only the problem is that when in a grocery shop, I forget that I already have everything and buy more spices.

So, a good question is: what to do with all that? I can’t get rid of my books because, well, they played an important part in my life, I can’t contemplate giving away my clothes (even I regularly donate some items to charity. The thing is: I buy then something else instead), and I love my kitchen as it is cozy to have all the necessary items for cooking, because cooking is fun.

Therefore, decluttering is not for me.

(Check my Substack where I write about me as a woman and find me on X under @Chitailova)