An Encounter With A Maximalist.

Winifred and I have been friends for over five years now and if there's anything I love about her is the fact that she is very industrious and loves to own her items without depending on others or begging to use other people's items.

However, the many times I've gone shopping with her, I noticed how she bought so many items on impulse, maybe because she felt "more is more," and it's better to have in abundance than to be lacking.

After I relocated to another community in my state, I hadn't set my eyes on Winifred for a while so I decided to pay her a surprise visit today.

Winifred lives in a room apartment well furnished but too clumsy for my liking, not because she is dirty, but because she is a maximalist to the core, I repeat to the core because she is mostly overwhelmed with the so many items she has acquired.

We got talking and I brought it to her notice that she needed a transformation in her room, so that she could have enough space for more important things, "Amie, I know you to be a very simple lady..hehe, okay let me watch you transform my room today."

I wasn't granted permission to take pictures of her room, so I took pictures of the many items that made her room too clumsy.

Truth is, most of these items she still kept with her are spoilt, not in use, or just fanciful but she still holds onto them because she feels, "it might still be useful someday, or oh, I like the colour, I bought it with so much money and I can't just throw them away or give them out."

Let's start with the many empty perfume bottles I saw in her room and I couldn't help but look in amazement.

"Wini, what are you doing with these bottles? Aren't they empty? " I questioned her because I dispose of empty bottles immediately.

"They are empty, but I believe it will be useful in future, maybe to pour any other kind of liquid when the need arises." She replied immediately.

"Okay, you'll have to dispose of them, if at all you must keep them, it must not exceed just one empty bottle okay? "

"Pick your favorite bottle," I requested and she reached out for this.

The next thing I saw beside her bedside were cords and charger heads in abundance, guess what? Only two cords were working out of the abundance she had kept for many years.

"Are you an electrician? " My question got her laughing so hard, "Amie, there's still hope, it might work someday, that's how these cords behave, so I kept them. "

We began testing each of them as there was a power supply only to find out that, just two cords were working very well and the others were spoilt.

I told her to keep the two cords and charger that were working very well aside.

Before I could go further she brought out the umbrellas that were behind her doors.

"So what do I do with these? Truth is, I don't use them often, like this one now, ever since I bought it I think I've used it just once or twice for over two years now. " She began to confess.

"How can one person have all of these umbrellas? " I teased her and then asked. "Why did you buy more when you still have like one or two?"

"I love varieties, different colours and sizes. "

"The reason I bought this one especially was because of this skirt, I would love to rock them together."

I realized she loved that umbrella so much, so I suggested it. "All these umbrellas have almost the same colours, so since you love varieties, I'll help you do something, you'll give out eight umbrellas to people who truly need them and do not even have any out of these eleven okay? So this is what I'll pick for you. "

I picked out a black umbrella which would match any outfit, her favourite pink polka umbrella and a navy blue umbrella with little floral designs.

She began to smile sheepishly as she started to see how I was decluttering her too many items gradually transforming her room.

And lastly, my friend has been holding onto her old. Phones for ages. "Jeez!! Do you believe me now when I say Winifred is a maximalist to the core? "

I asked why she kept the old phones even after getting newer ones.

"The new ones might go faulty so that I can have what to hold onto." She began laughing at herself and willingly she brought the old phones that were still useful.

"I will give this to one of my apprentices in the shop who just lost her phone, and maybe this to my little brother when I go visiting them next week, these are bad" She pointed at them, "I kept them because I loved them, but today, I'm letting go of them. "

I was excited she began to see the need to let some items go as she was enjoying the simplicity that comes with her new space, I shared my experience about the mental clarity and positive benefits that come with the ease of maintaining a tidy space and she could see for herself how her room was already making a lot of sense. "Now I can meditate in my room Amie, You've rendered more than enough help to me, I will declutter my box of clothes myself tomorrow just to prove to you now that I've seen the benefit of simplicity, I have many clothes I've not worn for years now and I think it's high time I gave them out and make do of the ones I need. "

"You need to rest now, " She grabbed the spoilt items and headed to the trash can and kept the other items aside to be given out by tomorrow so my visit officially began, in a safe and tidy space to be inspired to write and share my encounter with a Maximalist I met today. .