I come back to Singapore from Madras and start unpacking the luggage. I open the snack cupboard with one hand holding the peanut chikkis, Gems and candies on the other, only to find a whole lot of biscuits, dates and peanuts falling out from it. I open my wardrobe to place all my new kurtas and out comes tumbling all my dresses. I open the bags cupboard to keep all the empty bags only to be showered with more bags. I open my kids’ stationery cupboard only to see it already overflowing with all sorts of pens, erasers, pencils, binding clips & what not! This pretty much summarizes my decluttering & organizing skills!

There was a time when I spent a good chunk of time reading books & watching videos on decluttering, organizing and minimalism. As the years passed, I realized that there was no way that I will ever be able to adopt minimalism as a way of life. Then came the time when I realized that decluttering too was becoming more & more difficult.

We, as a generation, are owning a lot of stuff. There is no longer only the saree or the salwar kameez than an Indian woman wears. You have the lehengas, the western formals, the workout attire, the loungewear and what not! Footwear too isn’t any simple. You have to own at least a pair of slippers, sandals & walking shoes. The gadgets with their endless tangled cables and all the digital media documenting every other moment of our lives are no longer easy to manage too.

You never really realize when your kids outgrow playing with their toys and you are suddenly left with all sorts of toys, board games, cycles, scooters and what not! The same goes with books too as the kids transition from cloth books to board books to fairy tales to Geronimo Stilton to Harry Potter.

As yet another new year has begun, I am still debating as to whether or not I should even take a resolution to make my home more organized.