My house used to be cluttered with a pile of stuff in the living room for a long time. One of the items causing the clutter was, funnily enough, three kitchen tables. Despite the mess, I never really paid much attention to it and didn't mind when visitors came over. The unpacked boxes in the corner of the living room didn't bother me either, and no one ever commented on them. However, everything changed when I accompanied a family member to someone else's house and realized how untidy my own living room looked in comparison. The house we visited was impeccably neat, with meticulously arranged furniture and a refreshing, clean atmosphere that I instantly admired. This experience made me start thinking about how I could transform my own living room. Unfortunately, at that time, I couldn't simply get rid of the stuff because we didn't have enough space, and the items in the boxes were valuable.
It was a mistake made by my family when we moved into the house, and we had forgotten to properly organize and store the boxes. The designated storage area was already occupied by another pile of stuff. From that point on, every time someone came to my house, I had to apologize for the messy living room, explaining that we hadn't fully settled in and unpacked yet. It was quite embarrassing to say that after living in the house for four years. Despite our best efforts to make the living room appear clean, it was a challenge to achieve with all the stuff around. Eventually, we even gave up trying. Since I didn't have many guests apart from family and friends, I discussed with my family how we could make the house tidier by finding a way to put away the stuff.
Time flew by and we found ourselves settling into a new home, yet there remains a mountain of belongings waiting to be sorted through. As you know, when you have guests coming over, the first instinct is to tidy up the house, even if it's just the living room, since most visitors tend to stay there and rarely venture into other rooms, except for the bathroom, of course. Cleaning the bathroom is usually a breeze. If there's a kitchen cabinet, the kitchen becomes an easy task as well. However, it's the bedroom and living room that often become the messiest. Clothes seem to find their way onto the bed, and somehow, they prefer the couch and chair in the living room over the closet. It's ironic how I struggle to find the clothes I want to wear when going out, yet when it's time to clean up, there's always a stray piece of clothing lying around, and suddenly the closet seems too small to accommodate everything. The same goes for shoes. There are days when it feels like I don't have any shoes, but when I decide to de-clutter, the shoe rack suddenly becomes insufficient.
Now that we are in a new house, I have the urge to get new furniture. However, the reality that I can't replace all the furniture overnight is driving me crazy. I've spent countless hours scouring the internet for affordable options, as furniture prices seem to have skyrocketed like everything else. Replacing all the furniture would undoubtedly cost a fortune. Nonetheless, having guests come over serves as a temporary motivation to maintain a fresh and tidy home, even if that motivation fades quickly. Of course, this isn't to say that there aren't people who manage to keep their houses clean at all times. Take a trip back in time, and you will discover a version of me that was carefree and unconcerned. Nowadays, my mind is consumed with the constant desire to keep my house impeccably clean, not just for guests but at all times. You know that feeling you experience when you step into a hotel and everything is spotless? There are moments when I wish I could live in a hotel, as it brings a sense of tranquility and allows you to focus on whatever you please. On the contrary, a cluttered space fills you with anxiety and makes it impossible to concentrate. You can't even sit for an hour without being tempted to glance at the mess around you.
At times I miss how content I was with our old house, how I loved it regardless of the clutter until things changed and every day in that house with the stuff became unbearable and I wanted to abandon it. I have come to the realization that others have an immense influence on our lives, either directly or indirectly, sometimes to the point of shaping our thoughts and decisions. Others possess the power to plant a seed in our minds, and we nurture that seed until it becomes our own. It's fascinating how something we were completely unaware of can suddenly become an integral part of our lives—something we can't imagine living without. This leads me to question whether any of the ideas we claim as our own were truly original or if they were simply implanted in us by someone else at some point in our journey. We spend the rest of our lives holding onto these ideas, cherishing them as if they were our own, until another idea comes along. Sometimes, we even find ourselves willing to die for an idea that isn't truly worth sacrificing for, and the irony lies in the fact that it was never truly ours to begin with.