Where Does Clutter Come From?

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."
Dumb Little Man Tips for Life

Where Does Clutter Come From?

According to Patty Kreamer, owner of OrganizedAtoZ.com, clutter comes from overbuying, inefficient filing systems, papers that never stop coming in, moving, overstuffed rooms in your home and changes in your life that affect your space and stuff.

Wow – that about sums it up and I couldn't have said it better myself! Let's look at the first item she mentions, overbuying. I would have to say that in my travels, that seems to be very high up on the list of causes of clutter. Many of my clients LOVE to shop, they get great joy from shopping, they especially find it hard to resist a bargain/sale/deal. May I also add that they love to purchase items that they think/hope will help them get organized – books, containers, binders, label makers, bins... I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about . Those particular items cause lots of clutter, too.

So how do we combat overbuying? One option is to just say 'no.' That reminds me of when people used to tell me to 'just eat less' in order to lose weight. Well, for someone like me, that wasn't a helpful response because on my own, I couldn't say no. If you can't say no to overbuying, then it might be time to get some outside help. Here are some resources that may help you:

• Stopping Over Shopping  
• Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland 
• Enlist an accountability partner who will support you in your quest to  limit shopping.
• Spend 15 minutes a day making decisions about what can be donated  or given away and then actually remove the items from the house that  day or at least put them in your car to be taken somewhere the next  day.

In future issues, I will talk about the other reasons we have clutter and how to combat this ever-growing problem for so many of us. In  the meantime, easy does it wins the race — 10-15 minutes a day making decisions about ANYTHING will greater reduce your stress. Try it, you might like it!

Have you heard about these?
(I don't have personal experience with these  but they sounded fun to me!)

1. Tradesy.com - Upload a picture of an unwanted piece of clothing to Tradesy and determine the value using the site's pricing algorithm. When the item sells, Tradesy sends you a pre-paid package addressed to the buyer; as soon as you ship it, the money is deposited into your PayPal account.(from Parade, Jan 13, 2013)

2. ChesapeakeReStore.org - They accept appliances, building materials, cabinets, furniture, housewares, lighting, plumbing, tools and more. They say they offer free, easy pick up!

3. Packing Pro – a $2.99 app that helps you pack by providing customized lists ranging from Pre-trip tasks to essentials. The app syncs with iCloud, allowing users and family members to share lists on multiple iOS devices.

Got Valentine's Day Cards?

I don't want to be accused of being heartless, especially on Valentine's Day, but this would be a great time to practice letting go of greeting cards that are no longer useful. This is very scary to a lot of people and here are some gentle tips for lessening the card piles that may be lurking in your home.

1. Dispose of any card that just has a signature but no personal handwritten note.
2. Get rid of any card that a teacher 'helped' your child make - only keep the ones that were made with their precious little hands but if there are too many, keep a few that speak to you the loudest.
3. Consider scanning some cards and saving them on a flash drive or on your computer.
4. Find a big box and put all the cards in that one box. When you run out of room in your box, then you must start getting rid of the less special ones.
5. Let go of the envelopes to dramatically reduce volume -- if you save the envelopes because you're afraid you don't have the addresses, rip off the return addresses and keep them in a "Contacts to Enter" file in a file drawer.

I know you can make a dent in your piles of cards – even one card a day is progress and remember - we are aiming for progress not perfection.