This is the most helpful definition of clutter that I have come across. Thank you.

Antimacassars served an important purpose. Men in that era used Macassar Oil to slick down their hair. This oil got into furniture they sat on. The oil was organic and so would decay as well as soil the furniture and whatever came in contact with the furniture. Antimacassars were there to absorb the oil, protecting expensive furniture and clothing.

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”

William Morris quotes (British craftsman, early Socialist, Designer and Poet, whose designs generated the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. 1834-1896)

Cindy above attributed it to Emerson.

But Wm. Morris was the author. And, given Morris’s impact as one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement, it is an apt description of his beliefs.

In a way, the contemporary simplicity / decluttering movement owes something to the Arts and Crafts movement, which was in itself a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era proliferation of stuff — very cluttered interiors, decorative objects galore, doo-dads, statuary, antimacassars, etc. etc.

For me reducing clutter has become a self-reinforcing habit. The more I reduce, and identify what is, clutter, the more I find additional ways to identify yet more stuff that is clutter, and ways to get rid of it or reduce it. The latest — scanning old files and financial records.

@Sarah: I did something similar some years ago, getting rid of several pieces too large to move myself. The local Salvation Army didn’t pickup but did suggest other orgs that did. A win all around.

Time to declutter and be ruthless I think. Why do I need twelve glasses? Why do I need a lounge and two armchairs? Well the answer is that I don’t. So hopefully the local charity can take them….

I have a room in our house that is mine (my office/guest room). My sweetie is not allowed in the room. I keep the house straight, but in this room I am free to do whatever I want, including strewing things across the floor if I want. This gives me a place I can relax and know that if I want to be messy I can. It may be strange, but it keeps me sane in a house where my sweetie gets disturbed about how I squeeze my toothpaste tube.

I decided after I wrote that comment that it was silly to be hung up about inboxes. On Friday I picked up a new inexpensive inbox with vertical dividers and moved everything over. My desk is still a mess, but I think that area is more functional now.

shris

Clutter is a lot harder to define. Is my desk less cluttered because I mounted a hook to tidy the computer cords? I honestly don’t know. It still has the same amount of stuff, the functionality isn’t improved, it does look better. Another example: is my desk less cluttered because I put the pile into stacks, or because I lined up the edges of the stacks? The stacks are more functional, the tidy stacks look better, but there’s still the same amount of paper. (But not for long!)

@shris: It sounds as if you can give yourself permission to get new inboxes. You say you don’t want to replace something till it proves its functional inferiority. Your description of vertical inboxes implicitly include improved functionality as one of the benefits. So it sounds to me that, by your requirements, you can get new (or new to you) inboxes.

The dictionary defines clutter as “to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness”

I think that is good, but I really think that the word “stress” needs to be included. If it weren’t for the stress brought on by clutter, I don’t think that the word would have nearly the impact that it does.

Excellent post!