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Do I have more debt because I have clutter?
Do you have more debt because you have clutter? Does clearing one really make a difference in the other? I have been counseling people on money matters for almost twenty-five years, and over those years, I have noticed a common thread that flows through them all. It is not hidden or even a secret. In fact, it is clearly obvious, especially to those who stop a moment and look around. It hides in our struggles with money. It keeps us awake at night and causes us to do self-defeating behaviors. It gets our attention when we have unfulfilled wants or needs, an inability to save, an unexpected expense with no…
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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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Is it time to give up labels?
Is it time to give up labels? For years I have labeled myself a control freak and perfectionist. It’s not something for which I am proud. However, it is something that I had come to believe about myself, proven repeatedly by my behavior. I don’t believe I was born that way. I came to this world as an innocent infant. But it has been a lifetime of human experiences that have led me to behave as I do. As well as others would perceive me as such. Don’t get me wrong. I take responsibility for my behavior. I’m aware that it was often not pretty and frequently backfired on me, with results far…
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Do you need a release valve?
Do you need a release valve? How often have you let things build up inside you; and say nothing? You tell yourself it’s no big deal, not worth saying or doing anything about it, or it feels unimportant. But is it unimportant? For us women, although I’ll speak from my own experience, the minor, little annoyances, comments, or flippant remarks can set me off. What may appear to someone else as no big deal feels like a big deal for me. At first, I’ll shrug it off and tell myself it’s petty and I need to keep my mouth shut. I’ll hear my Mom’s words loud and clear – “Don’t…
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Have you given up already?
Have you given up already? Could it be time to get honest with yourself? January is the biggest month for goal setting — for all of our annual resolutions. As we turned the page on our calendar to the new year, we told ourselves that we would accomplish them this year. This year would be different, we said confidently, as we set off with determination. This year we would turn over a new leaf, and most definitely, we would fulfill the promises we made to ourselves. Yet, according to Uncluttered Simplicity, “… on average, only 8% of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions. Each and every January, we make pie-in-the-sky…
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