{"id":1199,"date":"2011-08-23T11:21:16","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T10:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lanawooster.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2011-08-23T11:21:16","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T10:21:16","slug":"zodiac-masterclass-series-the-virgoan-guide-to-decluttering-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=1199","title":{"rendered":"Zodiac Masterclass Series – The Virgoan Guide to Decluttering"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Virgo New Moon Mandala painted by Sarah Berry<\/p>\n

Line Mandala from Mandala Colouring Book by Barry Stevens<\/p>\n

available at http:\/\/www.mandalas.freeserve.co.uk\/colouringinbook.html<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the first of an occasional series written about the expertise of each Sun Sign. The articles will be found under the category “Zodiac Masterclass” so that eventually there will be 12 such articles, e.g. “The Libran Guide to Relationships”, “The Sagittarian Guide to Optimism”, “The Cancerian Guide to Parenting” etc. Each article will be written by someone who has the Sun Sign in question. With the season of going back to school, and starting further education courses, we all try to be focussed and organized in the month of Virgo.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Here Asia Haleem writes about clearing our clutter.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Asia started out as an Art Historian (London University) but when embarking on a doctorate to explore the roots of astronomical imagery in the ancient near east, got sidetracked into writing two books using the information she came across, about priestesses and goddess festivals in the ancient world.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about her background, please refer to her guest post (Babylonians, Mexicans and the Total Count<\/a>), and interview (No. 1 in the series<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Virgo Guide To Decluttering and Cleaning<\/strong>
\nAsia Haleem<\/em><\/p>\n

Having moved from a house to a flat, and then spent 20 years commuting and spending most of the day at work, for a long time I lived a life of keeping a semblance of order at home which involved carrier bags containing a month\u2019s stuff at a time put under beds or behind rows of books -just as a temporary measure.<\/p>\n

But a year ago when I finally stepped off the roundabout and found myself at home all the time I said to myself, I can now really tidy up (thinking it would take about a week). I was wrong: I\u2019ve been at it a year now and there\u2019s a long way to go \u2013 but I\u2019m cool about it (Virgos can cope with phases of chaos if they are steps on the way to order). These are some of the strategies I have arrived at in order not to panic.<\/p>\n

THE OVERALL SWEEP<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would start out with rooting out the things you know you can get rid of straight away, in bagfuls, because this gives you a good initial feel of achievement. In the UK we have a lot of charity shops which sell second-hand stuff people have thrown out, and if they\u2019re not nearby you can usually phone and ask them to collect. My main throw-out bulk categories are clothes<\/strong> (if you haven\u2019t worn it for two years, chuck it) and books<\/strong> (do you need all<\/em><\/strong> those cookery books, and will you ever read those crime paperbacks a second time?). But also what about the carrier bags, jars, and other kitchen items<\/strong> that you virtuously kept to recycle, but are now gathering in dust (also the mouldy herbs)?<\/p>\n

Getting rid of big amounts of obvious junk creates space<\/strong> for you to now begin the more detailed operation of shifting belongings around into better combinations – and you need the odd spare shelf or cupboard in which to park material that is \u2018in transition\u2019.<\/p>\n

TIMETABLING<\/strong><\/p>\n

You say to yourself that you\u2019ll spend a whole day decluttering, but here\u2019s what I discovered: you need alternative strategies to follow to avoid getting tired, bored, or sheer overwhelmed.<\/p>\n