Since we are looking at linguistics, here is another pair of words that have ended up being used in ways that make them pretty much interchangeable, especially when it comes to advertising.

The thing is, though: they have distinctly different meanings, and mixing them up in your mind is a sure-fire way to make you doubt any decisions you might be ready to make when it comes to decluttering!

This is a bit of an excursion into linguistics, and I hope you’ll find some solace in the knowledge that it will lead to decluttering about halfway into this blog. Maybe you are intrigued by this change in pace, though. Good for you!

Why bring this discussion up in a decluttering blog? Well, it’s an important consideration when it comes to making decisions on adding to what you own. A consideration that I would think of as being much more difficult to make than the distinction between ‘I need’ or ‘I want’…

I have written and talked about paperwork at length, and usually I have been focusing on diverse elements of dealing with paperwork, be it at the point of entry (i.e., your physical mailbox or your email inbox), your desk (i.e., either a real desk or whichever space you usually deal with your papers) or any kind of filing system you may have set up for things you want to keep.

Looks like a pretty complete list of things to do with paperwork, doesn’t it? Look closely, though: it does only look at the physical aspects of this matter, not the mental struggle you experience when dealing with paperwork…

You may have seen mention on social media of people giving up something for a certain period of time, usually for a month or a week. Alternatively, some have decided to regularly stop tweeting on, e.g., Tuesday and Friday, or not drink caffeine for one day each week.

Many of these activities are labelled as ‘challenges’ to beat others, but if anything we are challenging our own resolve by going through this perceived ‘ordeal’.

In all likelihood you have a home of some sorts: it doesn’t matter if you own a sprawling mansion, if you live in a rental flat, or if you are couch-surfing with a friend for the duration. Wherever you put down your head is where your home is, right now.

A home serves a lot of purposes, and in my work I meet people living in all manner of situations. In the majority of cases, my intervention in based on the notions of ‘too much’, ‘overwhelmed’, ‘disorganised’ and ‘time running out’. But is that all there is to decluttering?