Mental clutter interferes with the clarity of our thought and depletes our energy.
The clutter of too many items on our “to-do lists” and appointments on our calendars interferes with our focus and efficiency.
Ron Sherman takes this idea to another level in a blog post by describing the challenges caused when clutter clogs a school:
”…a building that couldn’t breathe under the weight of all the stuff in it. And at a deeper level, I understood that it was a school that couldn’t develop it’s own culture and identity, it couldn’t move forward into it’s own future, because in many ways it served as a museum, and repository for others’ long-forgotten materials.”
Just as our minds can be museums of outdated ideas, our offices, classrooms, and schools can be repositories of objects that anchor the status quo.
What clutters your mind, office, classroom, or school, and what steps can you take today to reduce it?
[Belated Canada Day best wishes to my Canadian readers, and Happy 4th of July to everyone in the United States. I will be taking a mini-sabbatical for the next few weeks. My August posts will tie together some of the themes and issues raised in essays during the past year.]
Dennis Sparks on re·sil·ience 
Dennis,
This phrase in particular . . . it couldn’t move forward into it’s own future, because in many ways it served as a museum, and repository for others’ long-forgotten materials., was perfectly placed in my day to support my efforts to close a 35 year old home with wonderful memories to move to my “future” life as a condo owner who will be creating new memories of life as a “gran”. Clutter beware!!
Karen Anderson
She who has a “why” can endure any “how,” to paraphrase what a wise person once said. That means, Karen, that I would not want to be the clutter that stands between you and your grandchildren…
Reblogged this on Ronswithscissors's Blog.
The “clutter” I immediately thought of was the type of assessments we have been using. We need to move on!
A great set of ideas. Put those ideas, materials, feelings into a psychological or even physical museum to get closure and move on. Thanks for reminding us of these important ideas!