I think it's true to say that 2011 didn't really go as planned or hoped. Far more of my time and energy went into the day job than I had anticipated, to the detriment of my health, well-being and balance, and my back, IBS, and chronic fatigue symptoms have been dramatically worse as the year has worn on (although attempting to cut out wheat from my diet has helped a bit with the IBS latterly). The dodgy back put paid to a lot of plans for the garden and growing-my-own, and I am having to think carefully about 2012 to ensure I don't get lumbered (no pun intended) with crops which I have sown but can't tend. And I have had to give up on the idea of a smallholding and sheep any time soon.
The growing realisation that unless I do more creative work, and get my day job down to the hours I am contracted for in order to have time and energy for creative work, I am going to be very unwell and unhappy in the near future has been a wake-up call this autumn. No doubt the recession zeitgeist has contributed too, but I have been thinking increasingly about simplifying and minimising my life, moving from being a consumer to a creator. This might sound a bit grand, but the ongoing battle to keep on top of my clutter to enable me simply to use my workspace has left me feeling overwhelmed by all the STUFF in my life - so much of which does not seem to have been acquired by any conscious process! So - the plan for 2012 is to consume less - to ask more questions about whether we really need it before it gets bought or otherwise comes into the house. And, conversely, to own less - my aim is to finish the year having got rid of at least one third, and preferably half, of my STUFF.
This will be a tall order - especially with the books. I pick a random book of the bookcase in my room. Myths and Legends of the Celts by James MacKillop. How long have I had this? About 5 years, I think. Have I read it? No. Have I ever consulted it? No. Am I really likely to read it in the next 12 months? No. But it looks really interesting! Grrrr. Amazon Marketplace, here I come!
A lot of my clutter results from working at home, with my head office a 34-mile round trip away. Obviously, I want to make sure that everything I am likely to need to have to hand is here. And the nature of my job means I generate a huge amount of paper, training manuals, books and filing. Some things I can no doubt get rid of to the new shelves which I have just requested for head office. But a lot will need to remain, and my challenge is to stop it multiplying and taking over every available space. It's the area which will demand most discipline. I might manage the one third reduction, but not the half, as this would compromise my effectiveness if the things I need are not here where I need them.
Clothing should be easier - I have got rid of a huge amount already, either on eBay or to charity shops, as my weight loss over the last year has meant I am now about 3 sizes smaller an most things I owned a year ago just don't fit. However - I seem to have about a hundred pairs of black socks in various stages of degeneration, which will need to be edited! Again, a significant amount of underwear is now too large to wear again, and must go. I seem to have 3 large drawers full of assorted underwear, but can never find what I need for the day.
One room at a time - bedroom, office, guest room, boxroom, kitchen, living room, utility, garage (leave the worst till last - and all the stuff heading for the dump will have ended up there anyway!).
Simplify the vegetable gardening, in line with what is now possible with a bad back and a partner who loathes gardening.
Make time to get stuff out of the house - to the dump, the charity shop, or listings on eBay or Amazon - no point decluttering a room if the output ends up cluttering the hall or garage instead! Realistically, I am going to have to spend half a day a week on this for the foreseeable future.
I think back to how lovely a house is when it's empty, or when you stay in a hotel - the mental clarity afforded by clear surfaces and only having the things around you that you actually need. I have always loved William Morris' dictum, to have only those things 'which you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful' - I just seem to have got lost somewhere along the way.
So, Mr Morris, 2012 is going to be your year - and if by next Christmas I do indeed only have things in my home which I know to be useful (as opposed to 'might come in useful one day'!) or believe to be beautiful (including having had time to actually make some art) then 2012 will have been a huge improvement on 2011.
