A Dream Deferred

While watching one of my favourite shows (Better Things), the main character and her daughter started to read from the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The title comes from the poem 'Harlem' (also known as 'A Dream Deferred) and it is so beautifully written that it created really vivid images in my head.

It made me think of a lot of the homes I work in, full of items 'actually selected with care and love and even hope' that have got lost in the chaos of life; some of them tired, others just lost beneath other things, and some of them put in the cupboard to keep them 'safe'. One of the joys of decluttering is finding those things, rediscovering them and putting them in a place where they can be enjoyed every day.

For me decluttering is not about living in a bare room or adopting a minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism – which rose from a movement in sculpture and painting in the 1950s, characterised by the use of simple, massive form – has now come to symbolise minimal ownership of possessions. Using this term interchangeably with 'organising' and 'decluttering' (as many people do) is misleading, and a false representation of what we want to achieve when we declutter. The idea is to make your home a place you want to be in, containing things that make you happy – whether a drawing by your child or a plate from a holiday. It is about making room for those pictures to be hung on a wall, or finding and using the glasses you were given as a wedding present; you were given them to enjoy, not for them to be put in a box in the cupboard.

So give yourself some time to discover the things you love and give you hope; make some room for them in your life. If you need help to find or make room for them, please contact me or join me on Wednesday on FB or Insta for tips on how to start decluttering and organising your home. Don't defer your dreams any longer.