BEYOND BUZZWORDS

HAVE you hoarded enough clothes, shoes and other personal items over the years that are now cluttering your family home? How about your spouse? Not only with clothing and accessories, practically every one of us has bought some personal apparel since the time we can’t remember. Those things have outlived their usefulness, including the fact they don’t fit our body, lifestyle, taste, even dignity.

Moreover, you might not even sure why we bought them in the first place. We’ve even duplicated this bad habit with old books, obsolete home appliances, glossy magazines, newspaper clippings and carton boxes that are now occupying precious space at home and in the office. This brings us to an interesting story of Jake (not his real name) who worked for a nonprofit organization (NPO) advocating for business interests.

Jake is eccentric as told by his boss who noticed his unusual behavior and confirmed it with his own eyes and nose. Jake has neglected his personal hygiene. He came to the office reeking in sweat almost every day as he didn’t want to spend jeepney fare for a threekilometer distance ride from the nearest Metro Rail Transit station. Most of the time, you can see dandruff bits on top of his hair even from a distance and his yellowing teeth begging for regular brushing and cleaning.

Jake was a spendthrift who doesn’t care about his basic hygiene. And seriously, he was a loner and appeared more comfortable being left alone.His boss was at a loss on what to do with him until Jake was hospitalized for four months due to a heart attack. During Jake’s hospitalization, his office colleagues smelled a disturbing odor that was traced to his desk. They didn’t hesitate. They forced open Jake’s three level office drawer. And to their surprise, they came in contact with expired canned sardines, biscuits, noodles and other food products. It was a reflection of Jake’s frugal lunch and snacks.

More than that, they discovered Jake’s pay and cash allowance envelopes in different currencies given by the NPO’s foreign supporters. The envelopes were still in their original sealed form with dates as far back to more than 15 years ago. They sealed back the drawer and sought Jake’s immediate relative to witness the inventory. After almost a day of rigorous counting and recounting the money, the cash inventory totaled more than $72,000, including around $5,000 of demonetized local currency.

Minimalism

Looking back at those two examples, there’s one question that propped out of my mind: Is hoarding a sign of mental illness? According to the American Psychiatric Association, “(p)eople with hoarding disorder excessively save items that others may view as worthless.” But that’s not true in the case of Jake who was trying to save his material possessions.

“People with hoarding disorder often save random items and store them haphazardly. In most cases, they save items that they feel they may need in the future, are valuable or have sentimental value. Some may also feel safer surrounded by the things they save. ”Hoarding has become a popular topic brought about American reality TV programs like “Hoarders” and “Hoarding: Buried Alive.”

Mental health expert Gregory Jantz defines hoarding as a type of “obsessive compulsive disorder…accompanied by varying levels of anxiety and, often, depression as well.”

Forget about Jake for being a spendthrift. Take a good look inside your family home and you’ll readily understand what I’m saying. No matter what, there’s always a solution to every problem as explained by tidying expert and bests-elling Japanese author Marie Kondo who advocates “transforming… cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration.” She gives advice to “keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.”

Kondo has given new meaning to the term “minimalism” that is first associated in art, architecture and designs. In recent years, even the Japanese fashion industry caught the trend of minimizing their design. “Minimalism in Japan is about expressing emotion,” said Naoki Takizawa, Uniqlo’s design director.

“A good basic item is an item that can make the individuality of the wearer stand out,” Takizawa explained. “The more assertive the clothes are, the clothes become the main feature. Not the person.” Likewise, there’s another Japanese who advocates a “minimalist wardrobe.” Fashion consultant Eri Kobayashi said minimalism “reduces decision fatigue, which makes dressing up in the morning a little easier; it keeps clothing clutter to a minimum; saves closet space and more.”

Subtraction as key

There’s nothing new about minimalism. For ages, the Japanese are known for the “seiri” approach of discarding unnecessary things as the first step towards 5S good housekeeping and maintaining discipline, orderliness and cleanliness in the workplace. This brought us to the oft-repeated phrase “doing more with less” as one key towards quality and productivity and everything in-between, including waste elimination.

The trouble is that when solving problems, many of us are prone to making additions as solutions. We don’t use subtraction that is proven more effective by a recent study titled “People Systematically Overlook Subtractive Changes” (2021). In problem-solving, the study revealed that we, “humans tend to think about adding something before (we) think of taking something away - even when subtracting is the better solution.”

When we solve problems, we tend to add more options and control measures to the problems resulting in “overburdened schedules, institutional red tape, and damaging effects on the planet.” This is clearly illustrated by a trainer bicycle for small kids. Instead of adding small trainer wheels to stabilize the bicycle, why don’t we simply remove the pedal and let the kid’s footwork do the trick?

Check the Nature Video on YouTube under the title “Less is More: Why Our Brains Struggle to Subtract.” It introduces us to a new concept in problem solving that subtraction is better than addition. It also applies to inanimate and living things, like when you un-follow or un-friend some toxic people on social media.

Rey Elbo is a business consultant specializing on human resources and total quality management as a fused interest. Send feedback to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting.

Due to space limitations, Managing for Society is published on our website at www.manilatimes.net/business/ columnists-business.