I read a very interesting story on 365lessthings today, from a woman who has gone through many phases of decluttering.
http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=1164
She mentions finding the link to Unclutterer through the Happiness Project blog. That's the same way I found Unclutterer four years ago, by reading the Happiness Project when I was trying to deal with being hit hard by Major Depressive Disorder. I began to visit this site from time to time, thinking that, for me, it was a wonderful yet unattainable ideal. I never noticed the link to the forums until this past November, four months ago.
In November, I was hit hard again with another tidal wave of depression from three deaths: first there was a suicide in my apartment building on the floor above me, followed by the anniversary of my mother's death, followed by the sudden heart attack and death of a dear friend far away. My therapist was gone on extended holiday leave, and I was alone. I suddenly found myself in the midst of a massive clutter explosion. In that one month, my tiny apartment filled up with stuff to the point where I couldn't move. Unopened mail, dirty dishes, dirty laundry, unmade bed, papers everywhere, even bags of groceries piling up; sometimes the food went bad because by the time I got the groceries home I was so exhausted from despair that I just collapsed without putting the food away. Then one day I returned to the Unclutterer site and found the forums. It was nothing short of a life-saver.
I read ATAD and dozens of other threads. I was inspired to clear a path and then expand the decluttering to make my tiny home livable again. By now I'm braving the huge mass of papers that have accumulated for years.
I'm so grateful that I found this place. I couldn't do it without you all.
