Traveling? The perfect time to hone decluttering skills

I just spent the better part of a week in the hospital after what should have been an outpatient surgery (yay, me!), and one of the nurses commented at one point that my bedside tray and bag of “supplies” was one of the most organized spaces she’d seen.

This was a pretty big moment for me, because since surface clutter does not typically bother me much day to day, it’s actually rare that I get praised for having a tidy space.  Go figure – in the hospital!

But that was exactly the thing – I couldn’t get out of bed without support, and my only accessible flat surface was that small tray.  And on that tray were all my tools – drinks, crackers, iPad, pens, notebook….

When I’m home, not only do I sometimes just ignore the clutter because it’s always there and I’m used to it – it also just doesn’t feel that urgent.  Decluttering or tidying tomorrow is just as good as today.

But when you’re in a new space – like a hotel room or hospital room – the clutter can feel much worse, because you’re not as blind to the mess.  And there’s more of a sense of urgency because you won’t be there indefinitely.   And it’s a great time to practice staying uncluttered, because when it’s just a few days, it can feel more manageable.

This is why I think that –

Traveling is actually the perfect time to hone your decluttering skills!!!

(Even some unexpected hospital stays!)

Yeah, you can’t make much progress in your basement, it’s true.

You’re starting with a pretty clean slate, and a limited amount of stuff, all of which probably arrived in bags and suitcases, so there was already some kind of “rough” system from the beginning.

And when you throw in skills like using containers to keep like with like – suddenly, it can seem almost easy to keep the space tidy!

(And I say that as someone who once had the hotel maid refuse to clean my room because it was too messy.)

Examples from that hospital stay:

My bedside tray was constantly covered in cups and wrappers and fresh crackers and multiple water cups and my portable charger and my iPad and….

Now, at home I might have been able to ignore a counter covered with all that stuff.  But my space was so limited, and I had no ability to access a different space, that I realized, I just couldn’t stand it.  It was like everything else about the hospital stay – it just felt completely out of my control.

Then dinner arrived, and it was so hard to make space for the dinner tray, and for a moment I slipped right back into my old way of thinking.

“Geez, Danie, you can’t even keep a single table cleared in a hospital room, when you arrived with just one back of stuff!”

(Ah, self-shaming…. Never a great motivator.)

And THAT is when I remembered, I am a freaking decluttering coach, and I can definitely figure out a way to keep this space manageable.

So when I removed the lid from my dinner plate, I realized – this is just the right size to hold all my “snacks” and extra utensils and napkins.  (Like with like, in a container!)

Then I decided to keep my backpack next to me in the bed so pens and notebooks and books and chargers, etc, could all be returned to their proper spot after I used them (something I rarely do at home, thanks ADHD “If I can’t see it, I don’t remember I own it” brain).

It wasn’t going to win any awards for beauty – but a couple minutes of organizing with pieces that would have just been considered “trash” and voila – the space no longer felt out of control.

Because that’s exactly what I was really doing – I was giving myself a sense of control, in a situation where I had very little control of anything.

Decluttering is often considered part of “home care” – but situations like this remind me that decluttering and having systems to maintain and tidy – those are really part of “self care.”  You’re taking care of your home, sure; but it’s you who really reaps the rewards.

Have you ever traveled and found it was easier to stay “organized” while you were away from home?  Tell me about it!

And as always – wishing you every success on your decluttering journey!

~ Danie