In pursuit of less

How decluttering my home changed the course of my life. With pics 📷

Leyla Kazim

Apr 18, 2024

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Hi! This is Leyla from A Day Well Spent, a newsletter seeking pathways to more purposeful living.

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Eight years ago I read a book with a title that promised to change my life. It wasn’t about where to find happiness or how to pursue a more fulfilling existence. It was a book about tidying up.

And it did change my life. It transformed both my internal and external landscapes and how I view the world of things to such an extent, that I don’t recognise the person I was before I read this book.

In today’s column I share how decluttering my home in the pursuit of ‘less’ changed the course of my life.

green glass vase on brown wooden table — Photo by simon sun

Inheriting the domestic clean gene

I come from a lineage of intensely house proud people who are fastidiously clean and tidy, whether visitors are expected or not. I have inherited this domestic clean gene but give thanks for some level of dilution over the generations.

My 92 year old Grandma used to wrap her sofa in plastic to keep it from getting dirty, so sitting on it with any exposed skin would cause friction burns. My Mum disinfects units daily and after cooking a multi-course meal for 6 people, her spotless kitchen looks as though it’s been transplanted from a show home.

My Dad’s idea of a weekend well spent might include scrubbing the inside of the oven, pulling the fridge out to get a mop under it or wiping the tops of all the wardrobes in the house. Things he’ll do multiple times a year.

And me? When I was a kid, ‘play’ would often involve polishing my Mum’s brass, cleaning mirrors with scrunched up newspaper or a spot of ironing. This was in no way forced upon me; I enjoyed it. I got immense satisfaction from shiny surfaces, folding creaseless t-shirts and making my Mum happy.