Stuff & Clutter | A Year From Today

Drowning in Stuff and Clutter

Do you find yourself wallowing in despair because you have too much stuff, too much clutter?

We all accumulate “things”

Even the poorest of people will find things to make them feel richer. Buy, swap, sell, giveaway sites and Facebook pages proliferate on the web. Anyone can fill their house for cheap or free.

And having things, owning things, can make us feel wealthier. Things can give us a sense of purpose. Things can make us feel better about ourselves. Things bring a joy, an achievement, a memory of their acquisition, a history. Things have a way of becoming a part of you because of the way they made you feel when you acquired them, and the way you feel when you look and touch them.

Stuff has a way of making us feel richer.

To a point.

When that stuff becomes an overwhelm of clutter and disorganization, when we start to feel as if those things are no longer bringing us the joy they originally brought, that stuff and clutter becomes a rope around our neck, a problem too big to surmount.

All that stuff is no longer bringing us joy. But looking at it and touching it makes some people feel guilty. Guilty for wanting to be rid of the things that once brought so much joy and carry so many memories.

Stuff and Clutter can paralyze you

…into doing nothing.

Sure, that thing has memories associated with it, but is that any reason to have it fill the nooks and crannies of your house to the point you are burdened? What do you do with the non-physical memories you have?

You take photographs to memorialize things and events

And to remind yourself of moments and people – there’s no reason you can’t photograph those things that once brought you such a sense of riches, wealth and joy but no longer do. These things are guilting you into paralysis and they need to be brought under control.

If you don’t use it, put it out of sight

So, take photos of the things you feel you shouldn’t or can’t throw or giveaway or sell. Create a montage of your treasures, snap away and save those photos for another day. Now you have no reason to keep these “things”.

New Year Resolutions Ideas – Organizational Goals\

Change Your Life For The Better – Complete those Incomplete Jobs

Oh but I can’t throw this out!

However, if you can’t bring yourself to throw something out, put it in a box and put a date on the box that is exactly a year away. Don’t make any list of what’s in the box — remember, you have the photos… just write the date on it in big bold letters and put it in a storage space, such as your garage or roof space or at the back of your wardrobe.

If you find that that future date has come and gone without your needing anything in the box, chuck it out on the sidewalk, or take it to the Salvation Army, without looking inside.

I think you’ll find that when you look back at the photos, they’ll evoke fond memories (maybe a little bit of “I wish I still had that”) and you’ll mostly be glad that you have more room in your four walls.

I definitely need this

Now, should you need to use some of the things from a box, find a good place to keep those items. If they’ve been relegated to the garage for a year and you need them, find a “place for everything, and everything in its place”.

If your thing is so important, then it deserves a proper place of honor, not to be tossed into a pile with other junk you’ve yet to deal with!