Vacation from my stuff

In glancing through the Maui News this morning there was a meeting of “Clutterers Anonymous”. The meeting was held at St. Theresa’s Church. No doubt such meetings are a great idea. As clutterers deal with their issues they will be able to get rid of their clutter. Then they can have a tag sale so other people can pick up some real bargains. And then they too can join Clutterers Anonymous to get rid of their extra stuff at some future date. It has the potential to be a self-perpetuating cycle.

But I don’t need to join Clutters Anonymous. At least not right now since I’m on vacation. One of the best things about being on vacation is not just seeing something new—for me it’s as much about not seeing some things. That is, leaving my clutter behind. Yes, I confess, I have some clutter.

But while we’re on vacation I can pretend I do not have clutter. Staying in a one-bedroom condo we have everything we need. Where are my snow boots, my coats, my jackets and scarves? All back at home. Ok so we went on a trip to a warm climate. But also back home are the piles of incomplete projects, the stacks of things on my desk, the boxes of writing ideas, the piles of whatnots. The kitchen gadgets I seldom use. The clever stuff I bought and now don’t use and is just taking up valuable space at home. For now all of that stuff is out of sight. And for the most part out of mind. How liberating.

There’s at least one more reason I didn’t make it to the Clutters Anonymous meeting this morning. I didn’t get around to reading the newspaper until well after the time for the meeting. So I’ll think about all this clutter issue another day. Until they combine Clutterers and Procastinators Anonymous meetings I don’t really have a chance.