Clutter Control

[Lee]

This is an ongoing topic for me. One of my goals for this year is to eliminate all the clutter in my life. It's not just a problem of physical clutter, although that's a big part of it. Some of it is less tangible clutter. There's computer clutter, such as out of control email and disorganized files which result in duplicates or not being able to find the information I need. There's also mental clutter. Too many ideas or projects being pursued at the same time result in a racing mind and a tendency to not finish one thing before moving on to the next.

As part of my efforts to conquer my physical clutter problem, I've just finished reading "It's All Too Much" by Peter Walsh.


I'm working on a rather lengthy review of it that I will be posting Monday on our group blog, which is also called Boomers and Books.

[Sharon]

Good for you to address the clutter. It's an ongoing problem for me too. I'm the only one in my family who is a clutterbug and I'm always getting grief from them. I tell them it's because I am an artiste, but they don't seem to buy that. :-))

Looking forward to the review.

Sharon

[Lee]

I had a relapse this past week. Not only did I not do very much about the clutter I have, but I went and bought more stuff. I ordered half a dozen books plus some household items I had been lusting after. Even worse, there are two big used book sales coming up in the near future. One is this next weekend and the other one is in April. I usually can't resist going to them to "browse" which almost always results in another dozen books added to my overstuffed library.

Major setback. I'm going to have to pull myself together. Somehow.

[Ruth]

As a dedicated minimalist, I really can't help. Clutter makes me feel crazy & almost physically ill. I am constantly reorganizing & throwing stuff away trying to reach some kind of zen ideal. The only things I've regretted getting rid of are 1) an Arco lamp and 2) some of the old dark blue globetrotter luggage (the kind British Airlines crews used to carry--and maybe still do).

What WAS I thinking? Must have been during one of my crazed clean-up phases.

[Dee]

When my Dad died in the late 90's we emptied his garage and found the paint he used in the kitchen. From 1958. I promised myself then and there I would never put my kids through such nonsense, and I've been very good about it. I have a very small closet where I keep things I can't part with, and it's under control.

My husband, however, still has the boxes from the speakers be bought when he was in high school.In our garage is the bike he bought with the money he saved from his paper route. We also have the fist tank he got for his first apartment. And eight years worth of Aquarium Fish magazine. Did I mention the track medals fron junior high? He's killing me.

So now I need advice from you all - if I sell all his junk while he's on a business trip and he divorces me, will the judge let me keep the house?

[Lee]

My decluttering efforts aren't going as well as I had hoped, so I don't feel like I can offer much advice to anyone. And when it comes to relationships and divorces, I have even less advice worth sharing. When I got divorced, no one got the house - we sold it. We also divided up all our possessions. I ended up with 1/3; he ended up with 1/3; and we sold 1/3. And my third was still way more stuff than one person needs.

Even though we had too much stuff, we managed to keep things semi-organized by having a house bigger than two people needed, plus I stayed home and spent all my time cramming stuff into every nook and cranny I could find. I was very good at hiding stuff away.

Since I didn't change my ways, my possessions have continued building up since the divorce, and now I'm back to having stuff crammed into every nook and cranny. It finally started spilling out into my living areas and it's distressing to look at, a little dangerous (tripping over or bumping into things), and downright inconvenient. My clutter isn't as bad as some people's and I don't qualify as a genuine hoarder, but I just don't want to live that way any more.

Decluttering is a personal choice and an emotional one. So you can help someone achieve their goal, but they're the one who has to make the decision to change.

The preceding sounds kind of preachy to me, for some reason. That's not my intention, so please overlook it. If I'm trying to preach to anyone, it's too myself. All I'm trying to do is to share what I'm going through with my clutter problem.