plant-b-a

Late February brought the arrival of a sad old peace lily plant in our front foyer from our condo neighbors across the way.  That’s it in the left hand photo.  There was an unspoken understanding that everyone would take care of it.  Naturally, no one did.

I don’t think much of unspoken understandings so eventually I decided that I was going to be the caretaker of this poor old plant.  As you can see, it was pretty far gone.  I needed to take drastic measures to save it, so I did something I am pretty good at.  I de-cluttered.

With a plant, of course, it’s called pruning, but I think it is a very similar principal to de-cluttering.  Pruning and de-cluttering are both about removing the excess to promote healthy growth.

In the right hand photo you can see the result.  Limp dull brown leaves have given way to vibrant shiny leaves and fresh  lilies.  I cut away all but four of the original leaves, which you can still see.  Notice how much they have benefited from having space to grow.

I have been in households that are every bit as cluttered as the first plant photo.  By removing the trash and excess clutter, we can allow these homes to breathe new life, in much the same way I allowed this plant to breathe new life, by removing the dead and excess leaves.  Excess leaves block light and drain water from new growth.  Clutter drains space, time, energy and other limited resources.

Sometimes it’s difficult to let go of something that’s no longer serving you well (especially if you spent a lot of money on it), but it helps if you look at what you are gaining.  Even though space, time, and energy are not visible gains, I think the plant photo on the right does a pretty good job of illustrating their benefits.

A regular de-cluttering is as important to a healthy household as a regular pruning is to a healthy plant.  It’s only natural.