Is it possible to cherish clutter? Yes, if you see it with fresh eyes | Danny Heitman

The stuff we own can be a wellspring of the spirit. After all, our possessions are often an extension of who we are

On this New Year's Day, many of us will resolve to rid our lives of clutter, an ambition now supported by countless websites, blogs and bestselling books aimed at teaching people how to live better with less. But the struggle against stuff transcends our own time, as I've been reminded since last New Year's Day, when I made my own pledge to clear my house of unwanted belongings, drawing upon the wisdom of some of the world's greatest writers for inspiration.

From the New Testament to Henry David Thoreau's Walden to more contemporary texts like Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, there's a longstanding literary argument for serenity through subtraction, steeped in the idea that quite often, possessions pose a barrier to personal peace.