I am always amazed by summertime’s ability to bring about a state of deep personal reflection for me; maybe the sunshine and blue skies comes as too much of a surprise after being so focused for the school year.

During one of my daily outdoors lazing periods, I thought about what I had accomplished this past school year – conquered yet another pre-med class, wrote 100+ pages in papers and tests, and managed to avoid the Tisch library after 11 pm. However, I had realized that throughout the busy months of the school year, somehow, I always end up with more junk lying around than I had originally brought to campus. In other words, I realized how I had periodically impulsively bought things throughout the year and had managed to collect a bunch of messy clutter.

Now, if you’re like me, you know that when someone walks into your room and you can “feel” them cringing from where they stand because of the mess they see, you may instinctively retort their unsaid thoughts with, “I know it’s messy, BUT it’s an ‘organized mess’ and I know where everything is.” This is one of my favorite ways to justify why my room always looks like a mess, but I’ve realized recently that I really do need to declutter a lot of my stuff. I’d like to think that I do use most of the things I purchase, though I know that if I dig a little deeper, that is not necessarily the case.

I do believe we all have clutter in our lives that could use some flushing out – whether it be material or psychological. For me, the summertime is my favorite time to start decluttering and cleaning out my material goods, since I find that I am more level-headed and not impulsive like I am during the school year under high levels of stress. Here are some of the things I’ve found while decluttering, and how I’m trying to clean up, or at least use all of the things I have:

1. A lot of untouched (for the most part) notebooks.

I have full notebooks on notebooks that I had used for a class for a few days and then resorted to keeping everything digital. As soon as I switched to just typing everything up, I must have forgotten about the physical spiral bound papers that I had set aside for these classes. What steps I’ve been taking to make sure I use these: I absolutely love to write (hence why I’ve decided to join Odyssey), and while I do like the ease and speed with which I can type all my thoughts out on my laptop, I love the physicality of writing with pen and paper too! I plan on making sure I write out my ideas and going crazy with my brainstorming (like with those webs you may remember from doing in elementary/middle school to map out your ideas). I also love to write poetry, and so I can always be sure to keep a few sheets of paper on hand with me in case I become inspired.

2. My large arsenal of scented hand sanitizers and lotions from Bath & Body Works sales.

I know I cannot be the only one who does this – whenever stores advertise their “biggest sale of the year” or their infamous “semi-annual sales” where everything is 50-75 percent off, you do a little damage. For me, I do a LOT of damage and end up getting a lot of extra stuff I really did not need (after all, I only have two hands – how much lotion/sanitizers do I need?) With these, I always look for friends and family who would want to use them. I think the best method for this is just to get rid of them, because there is just no way I could go through the amount of stuff I had by myself

3. Clothes

Of course, I am guilty of holding onto clothes that no longer fit me well or that I do not wear enough (you know, for the “just-in-case” opportunities that never come). What I do is I always ask a friend, my sister, or my mother to keep me accountable to clean out my closet every few months. That way, I am always aware of what I am actually wearing and what I could do without. I always donate my clothes to charities or donation boxes, so at least I know that if I do not wear them, someone in need can.

4. Shoes.

Same with above. I only have one pair of feet but somehow I own too many shoes? I just opt for donating if they are still in reasonable condition, or I just throw them out (especially if they are well-loved sneakers).

In the cleaning out process of things I don’t need, however, I always come across things that remind me of those who are closest to me – old sentimental gifts like letters or postcards, or even old momentos like receipts, stickers, or pictures from past adventures. Surely, it might look like trash to someone else because of the colorful array of cards and papers, but keeping all these memories, for me, reminds me that some things in life ARE worth holding onto and keeping.

Whether you are looking to clean out some of your closet or reflect on how your impulses have manifested within the past year, the freedom of summertime may be just what you need to declutter the mess you’ve pushed aside for months. Maybe even just taking a day to sift through old material goods could be a good exercise for you.