Tidying
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Is there a connection between diet, health, & clutter?
Did you know there is a connection between your diet, your health, and your clutter? Most folks think of one thing, and one thing only, when I say the word clutter. They think of their stuff. All their piles, jammed up closets, chock-full garages, unfiled papers, and excess stuff! Their minds and emotions swirl when just the word “clutter” is uttered. Up comes every emotion possible, from guilt, shame, overwhelm, and anger to denial, justification, excuses, and protestation. Sometimes those emotions motivate us to clean it up and clear it out. Most times, it shuts us down, and we avoid it. We tell ourselves we’ll do it another day. Or that it’s not that bad,…
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Where do I put the stuff when there’s nowhere to put it?
Good question, isn’t it? So many of us have asked this very question over our lifetime as we’ve accumulated more and more stuff. There are, of course, many answers to that question. However, before we go any further, let me take two possible solutions off the table. The first solution is not a bigger house. Whether we are aware of it or not, our reason for wanting a home with additional square footage is that our current house isn’t big enough to contain all our stuff. Or so we tell ourselves. We then naturally gravitate to wanting a bigger house. Granted, there are certainly instances in which a larger home…
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What compels you to fill up empty space?
Do you know what compels you to fill up empty space? After all, you finally decluttered that jam-packed closet, drawer, room, or garage — areas packed to the brim for eons. And proudly, you stepped back and breathed a big sigh of satisfaction and relief. Finally, you think, it is done! Ta-da, like magic, there is open space. But then, before you know it, you fill it up again. I’m sure you told yourself at that point — Why have stuff lying around when there’s this newly empty space? You decided it didn’t make sense to waste it. And, wham! The space is packed full once again. Of course, it makes no sense to have stuff lying about when…
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Help! I’m drowning in paper!
NOTE: This is a popular article I repeat every so often since paper clutter is a biggie! What do you need to keep and what you can toss is a question I get asked frequently. Help! I’m drowning in paper! Do I really need to keep it all? You want me to do what with all that paper? I’m supposed to do what? File? Organize? You must be kidding. There are mountains of it and just the thought gives me hives. And, even if I decided to waste away a lovely Saturday afternoon on such a soul-sucking chore, what in the world do I keep anyway? What do I toss? Everything seems…
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Do you know why you keep so much stuff?
Do you know why you keep so much stuff? Could it be you’ve simply gotten comfortable with your stuff? Has it been around for so long that you don’t see it anymore? Just like odors that linger in your home where you go nose blind and no longer smell them, could it be you’ve gone clutter blind to your stuff and no longer see it? Yet, in a survey taken by Wakefield Research, 51% of the respondents describe their homes as cluttered. In other words, more than half of those who took the survey recognize and SEE their excess. But, what about the rest of the population, the remaining 49%?…
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What if clutter isn’t what you thought it was?
What if clutter isn’t what you thought it was? What if it is more about where it is that makes it clutter than what it is? I know we have all heard various definitions of clutter. The most common one used these days is anything you perceive that has value but does not. A collection of objects or items which are more or less useless. Or, as Denise Linn, author of Sacred Space defines it, “If you don’t love it or use it, chances are it’s clutter.” Both these definitions are undoubtedly valid. After all, we all have useless and unloved stuff in our homes. We all keep items to which…
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Did you expect the new year to change your life?
Okay, so you turned the page on your 2021 calendar to a new year – to 2022. Finally, the clock strikes midnight, and a new year appears. With this simple action, the flip of the calendar from one day to the next comes so much hope. Hope that this year will be better or the things we wish to have or want will come true. Much emphasis, expectations, and desires are placed upon this one simple action of one day changing into another and, along with it, marking a new year. To ring in that new year, we perform rituals, enjoy celebrations, make new vision boards, and write long lists…
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Does tidying up and decluttering truly set you free?
Does tidying up and decluttering truly set you free? This question is a powerful one. Something that many professionals and experts in the field suggest is the outcome of decluttering. However, is that true? Does tidying up and decluttering truly set you free? For those looking for a comforting promise, my answer may be discouraging or frustrating. We are a culture looking for assurances and guarantees. We have come to believe that all we need to do is to take specific action steps and the promised goal is ours. Such as take this pill and you’ll feel better. Have a headache, depression, or stomach upset, here’s the answer. Clean up your home…
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Is there ever an end to clutter clearing?
Is there ever an end to clutter clearing and tidying up? What if the answer to that question is no? Would that be discouraging to you, that the job is never done? Or, do you accept it as simply a fact of life on this planet? I’ve thought about this, that the job is never done. Something that we each must face every day, for the rest of our lives. It might be the very reason many of us have given up and let it slide. After all, it’ll just be there tomorrow, won’t it? Day-after-day, the same ole’ thing. Cleaning. Sweeping. Washing. Putting away. Tossing. Organizing. Keeping. Decision making. Endless tidying up, it…
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Surprise! I used to clean houses for a living
Don’t you just love it when your home is clutter-free and smells fresh and clean? It’s one of the many delights in life that I enjoy. The instant gratification and fulfillment that I feel when my house has been freshened and tidied up. I’ve been that way since I was a child. I’d spend hours, organizing my Barbie dolls. Hanging up her stylish outfits in her designer carrying case, which was just a closet on hinges. Open it up and there in all its delight were her dresses, shoes, and accessories all in their proper places. It was so satisfying to have everything all organized and in its place. When I…