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[2010] Drowning in clutter

JudyH

JudyH

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How do you get rid of clutter? I was in two friend's homes who had moved recently and I always notice "no clutter". Clutter just breeds in my home. I have stacks of magazines I 'm going to read someday. I have stopped renewing all my magazines except New Yorker.

I emptied 3 cabinets and got rid of old unused tupperware.

Part of my problem is out of sight out of mind. If I don't see it, I forget it, or forget to do it, or forget to use it.......

My mindset is "if I were to move, would I take it with me". Mostly no.

Also, can't decide whether to sell my totally unused good crystal (now that I only ever use Reidel) and good china which I don't use cause it is a closed pattern, although I now have found it on the internet.

Help, I am drowning.
 
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A couple-three years ago, we had some "clutter consultants" come in and help us clean stuff up and organize. It helped for about 3 months. after a year, everything was just as cluttered as it ever was.
 
Mosca said:
A couple-three years ago, we had some "clutter consultants" come in and help us clean stuff up and organize. It helped for about 3 months. after a year, everything was just as cluttered as it ever was.
Click to expand...

:hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:
I'm ready to clear out stuff too, and have started in small increments. It's a pain.
 
Judy - you are making a great start. Just keep after it. My mother was such a clutter-bug that I have made a point not to be. Hubby and I have the "if you have not used it within the past year - it's gone" rule. We have used that for about 40 years. I broke it when we downsized to a condo that was half the size of our house because we had decided that we would only live there for 5 years. But, when we moved to Arizona, I still got rid of a bunch of stuff because it was not really needed anymore. I now have space for everything, but my closets are not full of clothes that I never wear and I rotate my dishes. When my kids that live in the midwest move out here later this year, I can get rid of my heavy coat that I have kept for when I need to fly to KC to babysit.

I have empty drawers in my guest rooms and the guest closets are empty except for luggage. My craft room is my only clutter space - but that is the nature of crafts. It has scrapbook, floral, and sewing supplies, but they are in drawers or on shelves in the closet. I use my labeler a lot there.

I take any unread magazines on vacation and read them there and leave them.

Keep up the good work. The stuff did not get there in a day and won't go away in a day either. Keep what you love and sell or give away the rest.
 
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Every time I head out toward the trash can I try to take another piece (or pile) of excess stuff with me. When I go out to the street to get the mail, the obvious junk mail goes in the trash or shredder without ever getting into the house. Boxes and bags that items come in are broken down and recycled as soon as I can get to it. Not a perfect system, but I see it as a process. Eventually I'll be down to the junk I want to keep, not the junk that grew when I wasn't looking. ;)

Dave
 
Judy, have you heard of the Fly Lady?

http://www.flylady.net/

I started following her on Facebook and I get her emails daily. She sends out reminders and has daily "missions" reminding you to pick a "hot spot" (areas prone to collecting clutter) and spend 15 minutes clearing it.

She not only has a routine for systematic house cleaning, but de-cluttering, meal planning, etc.

I love my FlyLady. And it's free. She sells cleaning supplies and organizational tools, but if you don't need or want them, none of this costs you anything other than some time to read it. YMMV, but it's sure changed how I do things and improved my clutter situation.

There are a couple of books too - the basic one is Sink Reflections which I checked out at the library and liked so much that I bought a used one.
 
Interesting website. I'll check it out and sign up.

I need all the help I can get.

Watching that new show on Hoarders scares the heck out of me.
How on earth do they get to that point? :eek: It's really scary.
 
I don't like clutter. And, I'm good about putting things away after I use them and I throw out or give away things I don't need or use anymore. That helps keep the clutter down. I checked out the Fly Lady website and I do a lot of the things she recommends. I've used the egg timer for quick house cleaning for 30 years. And, I learned a few new things too.

Good luck.
 
Computer Recycling.

Our son's place of employment is holding the latest in its series of Computer Recycling Days this week.

We plan on cleaning out everything from the Museum Of Obsolete Technology down in the basement & taking it all over there on Wednesday, along with whatever he adds to the collection from his own museum.

That won't take care of the whole clutter situation, but it will be a start.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
I'm moving in 9 days and am nowhere close to getting everything cleaned out. Thank goodness I have a great garbage man. He takes just about everything and anything. Last week I put out 3 full cans plus another 4 big trash bags and he took it all.

Yesterday and today I helped my sister start to clean out her kitchen since it's being redone starting tomorrow! She'll be up very late tonight still moving throwing stuff out.

I have promised myself that I will not clutter my new home. I will not clutter my new home. I will not clutter my new home. :clap:
 
We need to stop posting, reading, dreaming about our TS vacations and clean up our clutter!:)
 
FreeCycle Is Way Too Advanced For Us, So We Went Back To Craig's List.

itchyfeet said:
We have freecycle in our area. A good way to move your clutter to someone else's house!
Click to expand...
Signing up for FreeCycle was via E-Mail only when we tried it, a couple of years ago.

The result was a huge pile of incoming FreeCycle E-Mail messages, every day -- far more than we could keep up with quickly & easily.

We unsubscribed from FreeCycle & went back to Craig's List for selling off unwanted items & for giving away other stuff.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
I am buying another wheeled trash can. I filled up the one I have. We only get trash pickup once a week.
 
Alan, I'm with you on the Freecycle thing. We also have great luck with Craig's list. I don't recall having something more than 24 hours after we post it. I'm amazed how people seem to be constantly scanning it. Great way to clear out the clutter. Last summer DH dismantled the deck to replace with with a composite. I posted it on Craig's List and a guy showed up and helped him finish taking it down and hauled it away. Free, of course, but it didn't go to a landfill and we didn't pay anyone to haul it off. I love it. Great way to de-clutter!
 
Ian and I schedule time to declutter. We do it during the fall and winter. Each weekend we choose one room and go around it clockwise and decide on each item whether we are still using it, needing it, wanting it --- if not it goes to either give away or throw away. Amazing the amount of stuff that we get rid of.

elaine
 
Craigslist is good. Here in CT people have been robbed. They offered an item for sale, then have gotten robbed. It was on the front page of the newspaper this past week. Scarry...

Freecycle can be used without getting all the emails. You can log into your freecycle account to see the postings.


Clutter...It is difficult to clean it up and get rid of it. I am reading the new book "STUFF". As I am reading I say-I feel that way! Oh my that is why I can not get rid of things. Good book...

The doctor thinks the clutter has to do with control, OCD although mild, and unhappiness a few years back. Difficult to pin point why...But I guess the why is important to uncover so the cleaning process can begin without allowing the clutter to come back.


Maybe we can start a TUG CLUTTER CLUB for clutter/hoarder members ......

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
 
I find it interesting how the topic of clutter keeps coming up. We've had many threads and posts within other threads about this topic. I guess we're still not having a lot of success. ;)

Is it greed? Insecurity? Laziness? OCD? :shrug:

Whatever it is, ask yourself, "do I own this or does it own me?" If you haven't used "it" or can't find a place for "it" or "it" keeps resurfacing and causing you distress about what to do with "it," then "it" owns you. Just get rid of "it" and set yourself free. Believe me, you will feel so much better when "it" no longer rules your life.
 
Addiction To More Stuff Than We Need.

The addiction-like qualities of clutter -- acquiring more stuff than we need, having difficulty letting it go -- are illustrated by the story of the down & out alcoholic stumbling along the beach, hoping to spy a discarded booze bottle with maybe just a few drops left in it.

Instead, he notices an ornate brass lamp poking out of the sand where it lies half buried. He pulls it up & rubs it a little, then opens it. Out pops a genie.

"You have freed me from 1,000 years of captivity inside this lamp," says the genie. "And so to reward you I now will grant to you 2 -- two -- wishes. You may choose anything that your heart desires."

"Great," says the drunk. "I wish for a bottle of the finest liquor -- a bottle that will never go empty no matter how much of it I drink."

"Done!" says the genie. Instantly, a 750-ml bottle of Bushmills appears in front of the drunk. Trembling, he takes off the lid, raises it to his lips, tips it, & feels a warm glow all the way down.

"Ahhhh!" says the drunk. Looking closely, he notices that bottle is still full to the top, even after he took several big swallows. "Thanks. That's wonderful."

"Well don't just stand there," the genie says. "I don't have all day & you have 1 more wish which I will grant."

"OK," says the drunk. "I wish for another bottle just like that 1."

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
:hysterical: but then :bawl:

Instead of wishing to be freed from his addiction, the drunk asks for fuel for the addiction. That was a very apt description of us and our junk. Instead of getting rid of our addiction to junk* we seek more ways to organize and store it.

* Junk, BTW, is slang for heroin. How appropriate that we call clutter, junk.
 
I have been trying to evalutate WHY I am this way...It is hard to do. Is it possible I have an addictive personality?? After staying at my first timeshare I became obsessed reading and finding any info that I could on timeshares. The month of June/July I must have logged into Tug and timeshare forum twenty or more times a day. As if I was going to miss out on something important.

Yet I am not obsessed with keeping the house up..When unhappy does shopping and gathering info make me happy? Am I in some way not content with my life??? Too many questions...and not enough answers. OCD?? or mild depression?? Working with doctors to figure this one out.

For some people throwing out is simple and easy. But to others it is almost impossible to discard something of vaule-be it dollar or sentimental.
Although it is easier for me to give something to someone who is less fortunate then I am-I can part with things then.

Was thinking of hiring an organzier to come in. My pack rat clutter is not as severe as seen on TV but heaven knows I do not want to end up there either. From all that I have read if you do not find out WHY and if not ready to get rid of the clutter/hoard will never be successful.

Signed up for Fly Lady years ago. It has NOT helped. Have all the books and some products.

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

I would rather read a book, watch TV or be on the computer-AVOIDANCE...
 
Hoarder/Clutter [merged]

There is a good clutter thread on Tug Lounge right now. It has made me curious..

If you are a Hoarder/Clutterer/Pack Rat................

Do you have an over weight issue????

Just wondering if there is a link between the two.


:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
 
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I'm a few pounds overweight. Some of the people on the TV show Hoarders have been thin.
 
I have the avoidance problem also. Another thing I've noticed for me is that "maybe I can sell it for a few bucks" keeps me from getting rid of things. I have a fear of not having any money. I think it stems from my early adulthood/marriage when we were broke and had to borrow money for rent and food. Also saw my parents not living very well in retirement because they only has SS for income.

I'm having a BIG yard sale this weekend, anyone want to come?
 
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