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I love reading this writers article every Thursday in my local paper today I thought I would share with all of you, its lighthearted and true. Unfortunly I am having trouble with the link so here is my way to keep in shape with typing: WRITER- Susan Condon Love
The e-mails started in mid December:
"Clutter- free life! Acheive peace,harmony and organization in a cluttered world! "Feel overwelmed by stuff? We have the answer"!
Although I'm annoyed by the exclamation points, the e-mails-and clutter books that fill my work shelves manage to acheive a goal: They make me feel guilty.
Even for an admittedly obsessed person (my children examine the trash to make sure I havent thrown away toys that I consider broken and the consider treasured) its almost too much information-and pressure
Im not all that heartless. I am letting my son save the packaging for the recently purchased Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT in my house). The half torn boxes are treasures, Im told.
When you have 4 people living in an enclosed area, someone has to be the traffic cop to explain that the living room is not a changing room and should be devoid of pants and unmentionables. An easy chair is not a closet.(Really its a chair) and boots,backpacks,coats and shoes can be impediments in a hallway.
I've set aside all the January magazines, the ones promising the perfect diets and the most organized homes in the Universe. I need time to absorb thier lessons-time that seems in short supply, of course.
Recently when I was able to steal my laptop away from my daughter and got over the shock of the oddly emotional anime "Naruto" picture she picked up as its wallpaper, I decided to Google "clutter".
In .05 seconds faster than I can write this sentence I got 3,470,000 hits. Thats more than 3 million articles, books and sites devoted to a clutter free lifestyle.
And people call me obsessed.
After I looked at a couple of sites-including one that recommended a religious solution to the problem-I discovered a list created in 1999 by a womn named Colleen Moulding. THe suggestions. You can add your own #10to fit your lifestyle and needs. Here We GO
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Answer:
1. Even if you have only a few minutes, put a couple of things away. It reduces the stress of mass clutter that makes a job seem overwhelming.
2. Don't let trash, like junk mail, pile up. Throw it away as soon as it arrives.
3.Once you find a chunk of time to deal with your issues, make piles labeled "Give away" and "save." unsure". Moulding suggests another pile called sentimental Value." To me, that stuff goes into the unsure pile.
Wait. I've changed my mind. Just make two piles: "Give Away" and "Save" Dont torture yourself.
4 Be ruthless. Im a firm beleiver in the rule. Again that falls into the "dont torture yourself with indecision" catergory. Just decide, and throw away or save.
5 Break the work into manageable tasks. That seems to be a key rule in the dozens of articles and books I've read about getting a grip on your home life. (I already said I was obsessed.)
6 Buy storage items as a reward for your diligence. I love, love, love clear plastic boxes. No guessing and no searching for Sharpies to mark the lid with the boxs content.
7 Assess all knickknacks I've gotten rid of tons of stuff, to the point I'm seriously considering getting rid of my three shelved hutch. I have only a few things I want to display now, and my older home already has built, glass enclosed display shelves.
8 I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this suggestion, but Moulding recomends, that you get a clutter free buddy to keep you in line. My own over-active conscious does that job, thank you very much. I dont need a companion in my misery.
9 Stop buying stuff! (Here I go with my own exclamation points. sorry.) that helps your budget too.
Its February and, yes your New Years resolutions to lose weight/clean your house/be nice to all your neighbors and co-workers are officialy broken.
But obsessions like cleaning and trying to organize your life (like you have real control?) Are never over. They are beyond the once a year resolution stage.
And thats OK. Life, after all, needs it constants.
Answer:
Thank you. I am doing some of these and will add some more. I don't think I will ever be fully done until the kids move out. I'll keep plugging away.
Answer:
My garage have some junks and boxes that need to be throw away or donation to Goodwill. What happen was when my son was born, the stuff seem keep pile up and move his outgrown clothes & stuffs into the garage too. . I need go back and go through to reduce the clutter pile.
Answer:
I love it. I'm just beginning to get the urge to purge. I used to save everything,,,,yuk!