Can’t See the Forest

Usually the saying goes, “Can’t see the forest for the trees,”. This refers to someone who is so engrossed in certain details that they are unable to see the big picture. For example, a woman so caught up in planning the perfect wedding loses sight of the fact that she is marrying the wrong person. Or, a businessperson gets so wrapped up in getting daily reports of what has already occurred that he loses his vision for the future. This can apply to clutter as well, especially for folks who are collectors.

Collecting

Finding the missing pieces or a new addition to a collection can become an obsession, and depending on what someone is collecting, that obsession can blind the collector to the reality of how much space they have to store said collection. The example that springs to mind is Beanie Babies. As of 2014, there are over 2000 different Beanie Babies available to collect.  While they are small, does the average person have room for 2,000 of them?

Some may argue that they increase in value over time, so it is worthwhile. Sure, some of them do. However, if a collection takes away from one’s quality of life, how much joy can it bring? We can also outgrow our collections. When I was in high school, unicorns were all the rage. And I will admit, I had my share of unicorn paraphernalia.  As the years passed and I moved on to other things, these items no longer reflected who I was, and needed to be passed on.

Can’t See the Trees

However, what about the other side of that phrase? What about those who cannot see the trees for the forest? What does that even mean? In my mind, it means that someone becomes so overwhelmed by the end goal or vision and the perceived effort it will take to get there. This results in them becoming paralyzed.

They cannot see the process broken down into manageable steps, so nothing is accomplished because the starting point and process are not identified. If you think about an entire home filled with clutter and disorganization, it can seem a daunting task to clean it up. It is important to remember, though, the clutter didn’t appear in a day, so most likely it will take more than a day to get rid of it.

Getting rid of clutter is just the start. This includes sorting, prioritizing, learning to let go of what does not define you and keeping what does. More importantly, the process helps identify some of the causes of the clutter, and that helps to create a new mindset to keep it from coming back.

The first steps do not have to be big ones; they simply have to be. Fifteen minutes a day to sort through papers on your desk, or to go through one drawer a day. One step leads to the next, the load lightens, the process becomes easier, and a sense of freedom sets in.