negative effects of unclutterng?

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negative effects of unclutterng?

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Started 1 year ago by Mimi
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Mimi
Member

i wonder if you feel negative effects of uncluttering. seriously!
have you ever experienced any negative effects?

it seems that i tend to get a minimalist. it´s not my aim but I feel like wanting less and less. (less refers to the quantity of things, not the quality- there are several things on my shopping list for items that i would like to replace).

having less and less things, on the one hand, feels like “coming home”. on the other hand it feels weired because i wonder if there are negative effects. it´s like being suspicious: since i started uncluttering three years ago, i only feel positive effects! i don´t want to complain about it but it´s a kind of fear: is there anything around that will catch me one day? the only negative effects are comments of friends like “oh, will you move? where has your stuff gone?” or a friend who came to my place gave me a candleholder as a present, looking around, saying: “well, sorry, you don´t like a lot of decorations, do you?” but that´s it. i never missed a thing. i am kind of waiting for it, but it never happened. by the way: these guys are still friends :)

i think now i reach a point where I cross cultural borders of a “normal” amount of things- but it feels so good! is there anything that can happen? i don´t even fear being “poor” or not being able to replace things that i gave away and want to have again because i save a lot of money just by not spending it on stuff… is it a fear of the unknown? is there anything that i should be prepared for?

Posted 1 year ago #
minimalmaya
Member

there is one thing that comes to my mind: many people have a fear of being alone (because we're social creatures). In this world, however, people tend to spend a lot of time alone. I realized that collecting stuff may reduce feelings of isolation (stuff including TV!! Radio!! Internet!!)
Sitting in a sparely furnished empty silent space will automatically lead to you focusing more on yourself, but for some people it means facing inner demons and overcoming feelings of isolation.
I personally don't have a problem with that but I know some people that can't stand silence for more than 20 minutes without feeling awkward or panicked.
That's the most negative effect I can think of.
If you feel good, keep on doing it..

Posted 1 year ago #
mugwump
Member

I keep some stuff around to be hospitable. Extra dishes, extra sofa, spare bedroom. I think the point where you need to worry is if the uncluttering tends to push people out of your life or inconvenience them. That's the same problem as a hoarder, only in reverse.

Posted 1 year ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

I have become very dissatisfied with most of my home decor. A lot of it doesn't match the light feeling of having a mostly decluttered home.

Posted 1 year ago #
lgmost
Member

~mugwump: I agree with you very much, extreme minimalism would still have problems.

I guess having a balance is the best. If there is much space, but very few things that I enjoyed, I may not be very happy with it. I think I am just trying to find a point that I don't feel stressful and I can enjoyed the possessions that I loved.

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

To me the only negative would be if you found yourself doing without things that you actually need, like the company of your friends, because you'd decluttered the things that would make them comfortable in your home - like mugwump's "extras."

There really are a lot of people who are very uncomfortable in a minimalist space. They are either afraid to "mess it up," or they rebel against it by repeatedly bringing gifts to "liven it up." Or they just try to get you out of your space and into theirs.

On the flip side, there are people - like me - who are very uncomfortable in extremely cluttered spaces, who will gladly host an occasion just so that they (I) can control the environment. That's not necessarily healthy or helpful either.

I think the key to determining whether uncluttering has become a negative is to just ask those close to you, "Am I creating/Have I created a space where you are uncomfortable?"

As long as your friends/family can still happily share your space, and you aren't doing without things just for the sake of doing without, I doubt there is any cause for concern.

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

Uncluttering is not the end -- it is a means to an end, which for me is a home environment which is both more beautiful and more functional for me, my family and (to a lesser extent) my friends. Uncluttering becomes dysfunctional when it interferes with those goals.

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

well said, Susan!

Posted 1 year ago #
ninakk
Member

Apart from what Susan said, my two cents are entirely practical. I moved out from my parents' home years ago and since then haven't had money enough to streamline the look. Some of the furniture that we have fit with my decoration ideas for our next home, whereas others feel completely outdated as in they just don't match each other at all. It is very ungreen to simply replace them, but we're not talking about an insane amount of furniture either, so I think we'll replace them within five years or so.

Another thing is storage. Since it's a rental I've never invested in high-quality, stream-lined containers of the durable and beautiful kind, but have made do with cardboard boxes that I got from my old work, originally for transportation of kitchenware. Most of them I papered with gift wrap and they have had that look since 2000 but I'm so ready to just chuck them out. Can't though, because the storage backbone sucks with only a few shelves so you have to pile up smaller boxes to utilize the space. Someone might have noted in the ATAD thread my donated baskets; those are part of this project. Step 1: get rid of clutter, Step 2: streamline storage. I have a thing for step 2, but will have to wait until this decluttering project is further advanced and of course also until I know the space into which we'll move one day. *disappointed sigh*

Posted 1 year ago #
Joless
Member

Hmm, I get grief from my GF when I move her stuff, or throw things out so I had to learn to stick to my stuff, or ask her. Luckily there is plenty of my stuff to go at!

Posted 1 year ago #
Parsifal
Member

Most of the problems I have come from tossing out my wife's clutter. As I come to value items of no emotional or monetary value less, it is sometimes hard to remember that not everyone is ready to let go.

Posted 1 year ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

My husband used to toss things of mine, which didn't go very well for him. It took me years to get him to understand that it was not his decision to make.

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

One thing that my uncluttering has brought out is the blurry line between his, mine and ours. There are some things that clearly belong to one or the other of us -- say, our underwear and shoes. Almost everything else belongs in that nebulous "ours" category, even when one is the primary user and the other has shown absolutely no interest in it. Where I have got into trouble is in tossing the "ours" that I thought were "mine." It's trickier than it seems.

Posted 1 year ago #
themusiclivez
Member

I completely understand what you mean. I have been asking myself the same question! I keep feeling more and more free and I wonder when I am going to see some negative effects of my clutter purging.

I have not seen any yet! (And I have been decluttering for about a year and a half).

Posted 1 year ago #
Mimi
Member

thank you for your replies!

i had to think about the social components that nearly all of you mentioned. i really doubt that any of my friends would not like to come to visit me even if i only had a toothbrush. but i don´t know!

i don´t know what i´d do if i got to know that my friends don´t like to be at my place anymore. i don´t think it will ever happen because of stuff. my "cluter vice" could be my dishes, glasses, candles, cuttlery, all the stuff that i like to have for wonderful evenings with my friends around, eating, talking and laughing. to quote bandicoot who has written this wonderful sentence: "we like to have guests and we like to feed them. and we like to do it properly."

but it leads to a question: would it be "abnormal" to place decorative items like flowers, candles, maybe some magazines on shelves, surfaces, on the coffee table etc. to feel your guests more comfortable? first, i though this would be kind of weired- but a few years ago i used to tidy up when guests came. that was like temporarily _hiding_ clutter. is it better than _producing_ temporarily clutter? maybe it´s not that weired! and a solution if any guests would ever feel unconfortable! i talked to my BF and he said: as long as you don´t intentionally put dirty socks under the couch, it seems to be O.K. hahaaaa :)

@juliajayne: yes, this is the a negative effect that i also feel- but i hope it´s just a step in a process- like spending time on uncluttering, scanning pictures etc. once the items are replaced, everything should be perfect ;)

@themusiclivez: cool, i am not alone!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
inga
Member

hehe, I have a mental image of someone running around putting things out before guests arrive instead of putting things away. Its no different to decorating for christmas tho :D End of the day, the worst thing that happens is you have to store a box of doodads until people come over. Eventually you may forget to put them away. Either way, no harm done so if it makes you feel good, just do it!

Posted 1 year ago #
snosie
Member

My only 'negative' side affect is being annoyed that other people in my household aren't decluttering.

That, and gifts. I don't want people to give me things, because I'm worried I'll deem it to be clutter. I'd rather than didn't give me 'something'. And sadly, my dad categorically OBJECTS to vouchers :(

Posted 1 year ago #
Nikki
Member

One negative effect I've noticed from my efforts to unclutter is disagreements between me and my partner, who isn't on the same page as me about our stuff. He likes to save things "just in case" (even some half-broken appliances that still sit in our garage!) and I would prefer to just throw stuff out and buy new ones if we miss anything. It's hard to find a middle ground, but since most of his objections are based on habit rather than sentimental value, I am slowly getting him to see the benefits of uncluttering. I think. I hope!

Posted 1 year ago #
Vivace
Member

@Mimi
I think the social comfort is more a matter of "do I have 'extra' chairs so my friends have somewhere to sit? do I have 'extra' cups so they can have a glass of tea? do I talk about things other than how I just read this great reason to declutter online?" rather than adding decor for the benefit of guests.

Though I do find it a bit odd when people have no art at all, so you might actually feel compelled to do that for some of your friends.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mimi
Member

i´d like to point out that i do have chairs, dishes and glasses for at least 10 people ;) my BF, my friends and family (and my dog) are the most important parts of my life and so the things that we need to have wonderful evenings together belong to my category of "i NEED it". i will never minimize to an extend that excludes people from my life. but i don´t need to have books. i need to read them but afterwards they have to go. i need music, but i don´t need 600 CDs. i have ripped them to my computer. i need my baking machine but it is hidden in my kitchen cabinet. so there is no visual clutter and this COULD be a reason to feel uncomfortable. i will ask my friends how they feel!

it´s interesting that you mention social related negative effects but nothing else. i wonder if e.g. anyone ever regrets tossing a special thing or (more important) uncluttering itself, or uncluttering "emotional clutter" like pictures.

Posted 1 year ago #

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