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As readers of this blog know, I have hearing loss. Serious hearing loss. Every minute of every day is at least partly dominated by the need to clarify.
I'm never quite sure what I've heard. Sound overwhelms me. A TV or background noise produces what feels like a visible scramble in my brain. So does visual clutter.
As a result I try to keep things simple. I talk to one person at a time. I e-mail rather than deal with the phone (even with my captioning system). I try not to have a conversation in the kitchen when the dishwasher is running, or in the living room when the TV is one, or outside when a truck rumbles by, or in the park where dogs are barking or schoolchildren are screaming or skateboarders are clattering. Unless i keep my environoment free of clutter -- auditory clutter, but also visual clutter -- I lose control.
I'm a neatnik. I throw out newpapers and magazines before anyone's read them. (I recycle, of course. It's part of the neatnik credo -- keep the world free of clutter.) I take my old clothes to the GoodWill. I would take everyone else's clothes to the GoodWill too, except they won't let me.) I donate unread books. I cancel magazine subscriptions if I don't read the magazine. I get rid of furniture that I'm tripping over. I throw out wire hangers (recycle). I see no reason to keep bags, jars, plastic food containers, used toothbrushes, ribbons that just might someday come in handy for wrapping, I don't even buy wrapping paper (my maternal grandmother ironed it for reuse) -- I wrap presents in colorful magazine covers (the ones I haven't thrown out).
My mind needs peace, serenity, to absorb the cacophony of daily life. Visual clutter adds to that cacophony. So for me, a clean house is a clear mind, which allows me to devote my energies to hearing what I need to hear.
