Comments on: Clutter down under

By: itchee

itchee — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:29:17 +0000

Also, the more money you have the better your hoarding can get, and it is called a ‘collection’. Witness JAY LENO and his million dollars worth of old cars, whereas the poorer dude has junked jalopies piled up and the city gets after him for the ‘ugly mess’.

By: itchee

itchee — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:26:05 +0000

My whole family has hoarding problems, and it is DEFINITELY connected with depression. As Peter says, when you lose the clutter you can cheer up somewhat and lose weight and it helps you in other areas too. It IS depressing when you look at the messy piles of junk, and it is much better for you when it is cleaned up or even better, attractively decorated to boot. I have crafty habits and that is also a major clutter danger, as everything has to be saved for ‘that project in the future that i might be able to get to..’ also i am a shopaholic who has to get a fix, and other things like gambling and overeating are also there in my addictive personality family. I am totally avoiding stores and need to get busy getting through my stuff as it is making me sick. Hobbies are involved in this, as my older brother has golf stuff and hundreds of clubs going back years and he cannot bear to lose even one as they have sentimental value for when he got them in high school, or whatever. He should throw some in the lake, heh heh, but seriously, he could donate them or give them to lower income learners of the game. Somebody said that when you feel empty these possessions fill you up and are kind of your friends or identity.

By: Clutter be gone! - Blog Wealthy

Clutter be gone! - Blog Wealthy — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:59:23 +0000

[...] Here is a study that is talked about in that blog: http://unclutterer.com/2008/03.....own-under/ [...]

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:55:30 +0000

Miracle Maxine:

I would keep that ‘beautiful’ white pitcher given to me by a good friend and repurpose it as a flower/leaf vase; the heavier the better, for balance.

I do that with similar items all the time, and the simplest of flowers or leaves can make a dramatic statement in any humble corner.

By: Sky

Sky — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:46:56 +0000

Someone told me to pretend I was moving overseas. If I wouldn’t take it, it may be time to let it go.

Sentimental clutter is my biggest problem. It is so hard to part with family things even when they don’t fit into my lifestyle.

By: Miracle Maxine

Miracle Maxine — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:20:51 +0000

The “possessions are forever” adage is, of course, a relic of the beliefs and values my parents instilled in me. But they didn’t live in the age of disposable-anything. In my parents’ house, dining room sets that were bought in the late 70′s are still very much useful and beautiful today, and tv’s and washing machines die of old age. It took me many, many years to dare throw a bra in the washing machine, because my mom still has 10 year old bras in mint condition, due to diligent hand-washing (but alas, no hi-tech bra drier). So it’s the “once it’s in the house it’s not going out” mentality of my parents, coupled with my ability to acquire stuff easily, that fills my house. It’s a constant struggle, but frequent moves help me cull my family’s possessions.

By: Miracle Maxine

Miracle Maxine — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:15:34 +0000

Michele –

“I think a lot of people treat a possession as a given once they obtain it, i.e. they will have it for life.”

Of course. So simple, so true, so perfectly accurate.
I try not to look at the price of a piece of stuff as the buying price – it’s a rental. (a corollary of that – I find myself getting out of my “thrifty” state of mind that leaves me with heaps of cheap stuff and into buying less stuff that’s more expensive and meets my needs as best as possible.

Most important – if something was right a few years back, that doesn’t mean it will be right today. I’m moving house next month and struggling with departing a white earthenware pitcher that’s as heavy as sin, not very useful since it’s too big to easily fit in the fridge, but is very pretty and was given to me by a dear friend.

I will part with it, sadly, but will feel oh-so-much lighter when I walk away from the Goodwill donation centre, knowing that this white pitcher will be useful and beautiful to someone else.

By: Michele

Michele — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:35:03 +0000

I liked the description of the types of clutter. I’ve made it my practice to constantly evaluate how my possessions fit my current life. I think a lot of people treat a possession as a given once they obtain it, i.e. they will have it for life. I always try to make sure my possessions are things that support the life I have now and want now, rather than what I needed or wanted at some point in the past.

By: amy

amy — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:31:35 +0000

@Thom – you are so right, my mother taught me that philosophy many moons ago – we don’t always follow it but it’s a wonderful thing to have in your mind..”What would William Morris do?”

I’ve more or less cracked the not-bringing-in-more-clutter part of my life, but that still leaves a huge pile at home to go though, I’ll get there! Yarrr!

(Anyone else find their lives become worse when they’re depressed? What possible connection has being dumped got to do with my inertia when it comes to pairing my socks or filing my bank statements! weird)

By: Thom

Thom — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:04:24 +0000

Can’t go wrong with the following maxim from William Morris:

“Have nothing…that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

I won’t say I don’t have clutter, but if I’m shopping I try to keep that in mind (better still if an item fulfils both categories – hence I’m a Mac user!). And when the inevitable need to do some kind of declutter comes around then it’s my guiding principle.

I have moved interstate twice and internationally twice. And I too endorse the “would you pay to ship it” tip. (Embedded in that: do you want to have to go to the trouble of packing it and then unpacking it?)

By: lana

lana — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 04:27:22 +0000

@Beth – I love that idea; especially Number 4. When my husband asks why I threw away his box of old audiophile magazines, I’m going to point to you.

@Rosemary – Haha! That’s interesting – I didn’t know Peter Walsh is Australian. I haven’t seen him on tv, just read the book. And you make a good point about the holidays over here. Sometimes the stores even make them up just to get people to spend more money! Are there any other Californians here who remember those stupid Macy’s commercials for “White Flower Day”? Gimme a break.

@Carole – your blog looks interesting. I bookmarked it for reading later. It looks like you accidentally misspelled it in your post though. Corrected link:
http://thehealthylivinglounge.com/

@Beth_nc – I can totally relate. Green clutter is so hard to deal with, but that’s when I let my husband be the bad guy. I’ll leave a nice little stack of green clutter in the garage and within a day or two it mysteriously disappears.

Thanks, Everyone, for your input! I really enjoyed reading this thread.

By: Beth_nc

Beth_nc — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:22:11 +0000

Emotional clutter and “just in case” clutter are factors in my life!
I’ve also got green clutter or environmental clutter. It’s sort of like “just in case” clutter, throwing items away that aren’t completely used up seems wasteful. So paper printed only on one side, empty cleaned out pickle jars, clothes from ten years ago are all hanging around.

By: Carole Fogarty -

Carole Fogarty - — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:30:30 +0000

Heh Matt,

Having taught Feng Shui Practitioners for the last 15 years here in Australia clutter was always a huge issue.

Over the years two BIG emotional reasons people held on way too long to their unloved stuff was:

Emotional Guilt: The item was a gift and it is kept out of fear that person who gave it to you will ask or expect to see it. You would feel guilty giving it away. Just imagine the amount of unwanted gifts we receive in a life time.

Emotional Fear of lack: Scarcity mentality is huge. If I throw this out then I may need it some day in the future.
This type of thinking definitely blocks the flow of your life. You keep thinking you won’t have the money to replace it in the future, if indeed you do need it.

Peace, love and chocolate

Carole Fogarty

http://www.thehelathylivinglounge.com

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:47:15 +0000

My husband and I cleaned out our upstairs great room. We were stunned at all the “stuff” up there. He made me a sign and taped it to the wall. It states: “Throw it out if…1)you don’t know what to do with it, 2)you don’t know where to put it, 3)you don’t know why you bought it, or 4)looking at it depresses you. (I think these ideas came from a magazine.)

But anyway, it worked and we can actually USE the room now.

By: Dee

Dee — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:26:57 +0000

I’ve made a new years resolution to stop letting my possessions own me and am thrilled to have found this site to keep me motivated! Its articles such as this that affirm my resolution to keep on keeping on with getting rid of aquired, collected, “might need,” emotional clutter and start enjoying the things I love and cherish. Bobbi – thats a great tip to ask yourself if you would not only move with an item but SHIP it if you were moving overseas. .. it brings decision making to a whole new level when sorting through stuff – Thanks!