May 16th, 2026

Clearing Out What Isn’t Useful or Beautiful

“Having nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.”

William Morris (Textile Designer & Poet; March 22nd, 1934 to January 19th, 2020)

Irish poet’s call for the aesthetic alchemy of beauty and function in the home “the long-waited-for deliverance of the decorative arts.”

W.B. Yeats (Irish Poet & Former Senator of the Irish Free State; June 13th, 1865 to January 28th, 1939)

“…our authentic decorative deliverance arrives when we begin to appreciate and put to use the Morris rule—ridding ourselves of anything we do not believe to be beautiful or useful—as we restore order to our homes and simplify our lives.”

“…start to sort: if it’s not beautiful, useful, or sentimental, it goes. One pile is for items to give away to thrift shop charities…”

“The other pile is for perfectly good objects of previous infatuations that no longer make your heart beat faster. This pile can be recycled as future gifts.”

“There is an ancient metaphysical law that says if we desire more abundance in our lives we must create a vacuum to allow ourselves to receive the good we seek. How can more good come into our lives if there is no room for it? The way we create the vacuum is by giving away what we no longer need or desire but what can serve others.”

“Deciding to simplify our lives and bring order to our homes by sending on the objects we no longer love to new, happier incarnations with people who will genuinely appreciate them is the way to open ourselves up to receiving an abundance that will perfectly suit us.”

“The timing of this devotion is amazing. Neil and I are sorting through our storage items which have been in storage for 3 years. We will be assessing what we keep and not in a powerful way.”

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–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 162 to 163 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.