This week Astrid writes about the productivity of waiting. Each Tuesday, she writes about decluttering.
There are times when the best thing to do in a situation is to simply let some time pass by. Like with squabbles, for example. Once the heat of the moment has subsided, you’re able to see a lot more clearly what the real issue at hand was. This also concerns your e-mails: leave them for a day and you’ll find that, without you getting involved, half of them have either already been solved, are past their deadline, or are no longer relevant. It even applies with some dishes: everyone knows that soups, curries and casseroles taste much better the day after they’ve been cooked.
And it’s also true when it comes to decluttering. There are certain things that need time before you can decide whether they can stay or they should go. And after some time, once you know, all of a sudden the job of clearing up becomes a faster and easier task.
A perfect example of this is kids’ artworks. While still wet with paint, I found each painting my toddlers produced an absolute delight, and I dutifully put each piece into a folder. And into the closet. Now, years later, I see that, among the huge pile I amassed, only a dozen are truly unique and special enough to be worthy of keeping. It’s really not so bad to thin out that collection of drawings, paintings and collages that your toddler produced in a flurry of creativity. So do as museum directors do: they fish out the pearls for the future, and don’t even bother archiving the rest.
“Week 13 – the productivity of waiting”
