Extreme organising: how decluttering my kitchen helped me find peace of mind, and bring order amid the chaos of life
- During the chaos of the pandemic, many have found solace in decluttering and organising their kitchens
- As the writer puts her own kitchen in order, she feels she is regaining control over her life
There is a meme that has been circulating among my peers, and it goes like this: the overlaid caption reads “Me in my early 20s vs now” and, in the first few seconds, a young man stands flailing his arms in a simulated nightclub, downing vodka shots. In the next scene, he’s sat primly on his living room sofa, in a cardigan, introducing all of his favourite frying pans.
“I really like this one,” he smarms at the camera. “’Cause it’s non-sticky, and matches my favourite spatula.”
Where is the lie though? ask my fellow elder millennials upon viewing (who, in turn and unprompted, volunteer their own favourite kitchen utensil). Is it the imposition of social distancing and isolation that is behind this complete and total embrace of our inner homebodies? Or perhaps it is just a coping mechanism for the modern age, where the chaos of living – with its new pandemic-related stressors and unpredictability – can be soothed by the balm of familiarity, where things work as they are meant to.
During the height of the pandemic’s fifth wave, I managed to move into a new flat, eager to reset the physical and mental clutter of my life and mind. While case numbers compounded daily in the most horrifying way, I closed myself off and took satisfaction in whittling away belongings, while taking a new-found interest in organising something as simple as salt or sugar.
As bodies piled up next to living patients in hospital wards, I found solace in perfectly aligning tins of pet food in smooth white plastic Ikea containers, and sachets of tea in crisp, matt steel tins. This was not apathy – far from it. But perhaps there is something to be said about organising your life and what it says about compartmentalising your feelings.
