According to Marco Pasanella, designer and author of Living in Style Without Losing Your Mind (Simon & Schuster, 2000), most people think that decorating entails getting more stuff. But in reality, he says, most people have much more than they need.
Here are Pasanella’s guidelines on what should stay and what should go.
Broken Items
If something is broken, it should be fixed or thrown out right away. Hearts are not so easily disposed of, or mended, but by taking action to repair physical things, the seeds of emotional and mental healing begin. As the German poet Goëthe said, action brings with it its own special sort of magic.
Stained Items
“If you can’t remove the stains, remove what the stains are staining,” Pasanella says. Likewise, work on living in the moment, releasing regrets from the past, and not borrowing trouble with worries about the future. In Prosperity: 90 Days of Devotional Messages for Abundance and Joy (Unity House, 2009), by Colleen Zuck, Patricia Tinney, and Laura Harvey, the authors say: “The past or future does not exist in the present. However, the paybacks from borrowing negative thoughts from these times can be anxiety and concern that adversely affect (us) and the decisions (we) make.”
Publications
Pasanella advises that all newsprint be thrown out. Some things are not meant to be kept forever. There is a saying: “Some friends are for a reason, some are for a season, and some are for a lifetime.” When a friendship or relationship has run its course, let it go as gracefully as possible, as a pear that is ripe falls from the tree.
Items from Exes
Pasanella advises that all items from exes be thrown out. Memories, both positive and negative, are often associated with specific physical items. But by holding onto something from an ex boy- or girlfriend or former spouse or partner, the past is invited in, over and over again, thus creating an environment where it is hard to grow and move forward to new experiences.
The Everyday
Pasanella points out that seemingly mundane items such as foods can actually be quite decorative. Shelves in the kitchen filled with jars and sacks and containers of food and everyday items can be made to be a display, rather than a disaster. Items that are similar look good grouped together. Do not feel that everything must be hidden away in cabinets and cupboards. Signs of life are quite attractive. Likewise, take time daily to really see, and feel.
Mindfulness practice, such as meditation, can help with living in the moment. Georgia O’Keefe, the artist, was quite skilled at noticing details in everyday things, in the seemingly small things, but lamented the fact that so many others did not take the time to truly see a flower, or to make a friend.
As for interior design, Pasanella points out that clearing out things makes for a stronger effect, rather than a weaker one.
“But remember that not everything needs to be amazing,” he says. “Great homes are the products of a few strong elements, not dozens of pieces clamouring for attention.”
Indeed, and so it is with people, as well.
“I was put on the earth solely to compose,” Franz Schubert said. And he did it very well. It is good to focus on strengths, learn from mistakes, although musician and composer Miles Davis said there were no mistakes, and work to let go of regret and worry.
“Your home (and your life) is your story,” Pasanella says. “Take it personally.”
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