My recent and ongoing digital fast has really opened my eyes to how technology can add virtual clutter to your life. But what does digital fasting have to do with decluttering?
What I’ve learned over the past month is that being addicted to technology, and in my case Internet surfing, keeps you from doing things you enjoy. With the best intentions, you buy more yarn…paint….garden plants, and then struggle to find the time to work with those things because you waste too much time surfing, or checking up to see what people are doing on Facebook, because of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Future projects pile up and supplies you’ve bought sit collecting dust because you spend too much time with your phone, tablet, or laptop.
While I’ve now discovered this for myself personally, I know of others with similar struggles, like the hoarder who lives in a mess but is constantly checking people’s Facebook and Instagram to see what new clothes they’re wearing or what they’re buying for their house now. Then she orders those new things online; they’re soon delivered and simply add to her houseful of clutter.
An Internet addiction, whether the sufferer is a news hound like me, a Facebook addict like the hoarder I know, or even a gaming or Pinterest lover, eats up enormous amounts of time that would otherwise be spent keeping up with other pursuits, including those that create clutter if you don’t follow through with them. This is one more way people end up with closets full of fabric, tabletops covered with books and basements packed with craft supplies.
In addition to the clutter those things create, we miss out on the fun we could be having with those items. There’s a peace you get from creating and finishing things that cannot be matched by satisfying your FOMO….and news junkies like me definitely have FOMO.
This experiment has led me to decide to stay off Internet news sites for the foreseeable future. After a month away from them, I feel very uninformed, and much less stressed. Best of all, my garden is in great shape, I’m reading a couple of books a week, and I’m having fun with a couple of craft projects that I may actually complete before long, now that I’m not spending so much time online.