Dad, on the other hand, loved to start projects, but had trouble completing them. And so, stacks of do-it-yourself magazines from the 1950s crammed his space. The garage became a dumping ground for terrible clutter, which eventually led to its destruction — solvents plus a forgotten cigarette — you get the picture. At one point he decided he MUST begin recycling. But he was too busy to separate things out, so he piled bags of garbage in the garage (before it burned down), intending to sort things on the weekend. But he (also an alcoholic) didn’t get around to doing that. Soon we had mice. So out went the garbage, unsorted, which brought him the pain of being a “bad citizen.” Both of my parents loved to describe me as lazy and sloppy, but I was the one who dusted and rearranged shelves, and the one who knew how to find things. “Wow, lookit that!” my parents would say. Both of them came from large families, all of whom had orderly homes and lives. The common factor: alcohol (and lack thereof). Being pathologically sloppy is part of a huge interconnected web of attitudes and behaviors. Just like alcoholism.

I think there may be one or more clutter genes in the same way that there are addictive personality genes and similar. Genes for things like ADHD and Autism would contribute to being a clutter-ful person. HOWEVER, there are lots of environmental factors and compensation mechanisms that come into play that will govern the expression of clutter-ness.

After seeing more than one gift from us in the outgoing bins at our son’s house, and knowing that if he wants something, he can very well afford to buy it, I arrived at a “eureka moment” this past holiday season.

The son likes to grill, and is a great cook. We have a world-class meat market in our community. See where I’m headed? We casually made sure their freezer was still in the garage, and then we personally selected a specific dollar amount of top cuts of meats, stored them in our freezer in a box, and wrapped it up just before heading to their home for the gift exchange. We kept it frozen in the car until the exact moment, and then surprised the heck out of him!

I think he has been happier with that gift than any other we have given him after he reached adulthood. A fringe benefit is that when we visit, he grills for us, and we get to enjoy it, too! So, not only was the gift something he liked, but it was something he actually uses. What better type of gift than food, a paid utility bill, gas card, etc. for someone who has a clutter problem? So much nicer than one more knick-knack to dust…

For Bobbi and Dee, who referred to Oprah’s shows on hoarding, I reviewed all the information on her website last evening, and I have the show set to record today. Although (thank goodness) I don’t have the level of problem presented on the show, I do possess some of those “seeds in my own garden.”

On Dr. David Tolin’s Compulsive Hoarding checklist, I definitely recognized myself in some of the causes and criteria of compulsive hoarding. I guess it’s a great wonder I’m not worse off than I am, and that’s a relief!

Daniel, thanks to you for answering my question about “Getting Things Done.”

As relates to the genetic or environmental element of the topic:

My two sons have said that when they inherit from us, there will be a tall bonfire. What better motivation to get rid of things, huh? Our older son once remarked that, by growing up in our home, he had gotten “clutter shots,” closely related to “allergy shots.”

His name was in the global news recently, but if you take a long nap in his home, you may find yourself reclining in a garbage truck. He and his wife are absolutely ruthless in getting rid of things. They keep the outgoing donation and discard bins out of sight when I visit! I have seen more than one gift from us residing there, and my fingers itch to rescue “perfectly good stuff.”

In one way, I think that the tendency to keep things and the ability to think creatively are somewhat connected. When some people see a balloon holder stick, for example, they simply see a balloon holder stick to put in the trash. Others see a plant stake, kindling for the fire, a dowel, several chopsticks, etc.

One of the most bizarre things in my reading on compulsive hoarding was reading how one pitiful soul had saved and lined up used toliet tissue rolls on her counter. Wow! At that very minute, I had a small bag filled with used paper towel rolls, because I discovered this winter, that when filled with the twigs I pick up from the yard, they make excellent fireplace starters. See what I mean about creativity? Of course, that is not an excuse for hoarding, as both my son and I have invented things. But it is a different approach to the issue…

My main issue is that “there is no organization gene” DOES NOT equate to “organization is not genetic”, but that is what your article implies, and it is misleading. In fact you seem to vaguely insult people who might offer this as one reason for their disorganization, and then you back it up with a meaningless assertion about there not being a single organization gene.

I just wish you would admit that this is misleading.

And AGAIN, I never said you can’t learn to be organized (in fact no one has said that here). Unclutterer would be kind of pointless otherwise.

GTD is primarily–though by no means exclusively–about knowledge work, or keeping track of what all you have to do or would like to do in such a way that you become less stressed and get more done. It won’t teach you how to organize your garage, but it can certainly help you unclutter your mind of all those nagging things that you constantly feel you’ve got to get done.

Being organized does seem to come more easily to some people, but that does not mean that they have an organization gene. In this case, being organized would be a symptom of some other genetic trait (for example, the genetic marker that indicates how chemicals will be released in the brain and bring pleasure when something is perceived by the optical nerve).

Here’s an example: Someone’s genetic makeup may prescribe them to be tall (information describing the HGH to be released by glands for bone and body extension is in DNA). This person who is 6’8″ may have a “natural gift” for being taller than other basketball players. However, he does not have a basketball gene. In fact, the person who is 6’8″ may dislike team sports. He can learn to play basketball, and since he has a height advantage may end up being pretty good at it, but at the end of the day he still does not have a basketball gene.

Yes, some people may have an easier time being organized than others. But there is not an organization gene.

But lemme tell you… she does not experience the joy, do the little happy dance, each time she gets one thing uncluttered, the way that I do. My bills are paid on time? I get ant traps down before the ants overtake? It’s a cause for celebration.

See I recognized a long time ago that it’s a genetic difference. And that it takes a different kind of effort for me to get one thing accomplished than for my mom.

It’s why I enjoy the tips here, but take them with a grain of salt. Small bites with that salt. It’s like a naturally thin person telling a fat person how to get thin. A naturally thin person has no idea how to get a fat person thin.

You can go on Oprah’s website and ask Peter Walsh a question. . .who knows, maybe even be on the show – the same page also has a link to share your story if your interested. If your problem is truly overwhelming and you are desperate for help this might just be a door to some guidance .. lifes strange, one never knows which path will present itself next. Keep the faith!