The point is that most of it really isn’t replaceable – and one day, when we’ve stopped moving, we will be able to unpack it. So do we just keep shipping it between addresses? Or do I hire a storage unit? Is there another option? Because, actually, I am beginning to find its existence a bit exhausting. We can’t put it all in a parents’ attic, as my husband’s parents are both dead, and my parents have downsized into a retirement home (this is one of the reasons we have so much stuff.)
All ideas are welcome – for I know that House & Garden often features people who have a lot of stuff – and thank you.
Sincerely,
An inadvertent hoarder XX
Dear Inadvertent Hoarder,
Straight off, congratulations on not allowing the all-pervasive decluttering movement to become the architect of your intentions. For yes, it does seem to have reached a stage of near fetishisation. Military terminology is employed – “the battle against belongings” – and, for many, a forced paucity of stuff has become highly aspirational. Like you, I can’t help finding it a little off-putting – can you picture what the Sir John Soane Museum might look like if he’d been told he had to adhere to a strict ‘one in, one out’ policy? Or the loss we would have suffered, in terms of Renaissance art, had ‘travelling lightly through life’ been suggested to the Medicis? Fast forward to now, and just imagine if the surfaces were kept ‘nice and clear’ in the homes of Alexandra Tolstoy, or Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik, or George Saumarez Smith, or James Mackie – or any other of the maximalist collectors that this magazine features?
However, a couple of salient points. Firstly, the trend for decluttering is more nuanced than it might initially seem, and – contrary to appearance – much of it stems from an attempt to curtail the practices of a throwaway society. The subtext of the instruction to streamline is an entreaty to live with less, to stop buying cheap clothes, plastic table decorations, and unnecessary kitchen appliances – so, in a sense, you are right: it isn’t applicable to you. However, alongside is genuine research; a study at Princeton University found that decluttering your living space helps your brain focus, and that organised environments lead to a sharp, productive and concentrated mind. And herein is my second point: Sir John Soane, the Medicis, Alexandra Tolstoy, Benedict Foley etc. – they had or have the necessary space. The organisation of the Sir John Soane Museum might seem crowded and slightly chaotic, but actually, it’s exactly as it was arranged by Soane, with objects carefully placed that their qualities might be exalted through creative and inspiring juxtapositions. Similarly, both Alexandra and Benedict regularly rearrange their mantlepieces and other displays, which is why their interiors appear so charming.
