If Epictetus Walked Into My Bedroom: A Stoic’s Guide to a Streamlined Life

Picture this.

My bedroom. A testament to modern-day hedonism. Where clothes drape every piece of furniture like some avant-garde fashion show gone awry.

Beauty products assemble as if ready for battle on the dresser.

And books? They’re staging a coup on the floor. None of them read.

Into this walks Epictetus, stoic philosopher extraordinaire, probably wondering if he took a wrong turn on the way to the Agora.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Cluttered Room, Cluttered Mind

“Ah,” Epictetus might say, if he were one for small talk (which, let’s be honest, he isn’t), “I see chaos has been having a party here.”

Stoicism 101: it’s not the clutter that’s the problem. It’s what the clutter says about your inner turmoil. Or maybe it just says I have too many sales alerts set up on my phone.

The Great Purge

Here’s where Epictetus gets ruthless. Not with a cleaning spray and rag. But with logic sharper than any decluttering guru’s.