Clutter and excess

golden gal wrote:Ah, the New Year. A time of resolutions and a time of cleaning out the old. A lot of us are trying to find places to pack away the holiday decorations and store the new toys. What are your guidelines on "how much to keep?" Is it three pairs of pajamas or four? How many multiples of an item do you keep? (in case one is in the wash, or something) Do you think you could "make due" with just one of an item, and if so, which one?

How do you deal with clutter? How often do you tackle it?
What item of clutter is your nemesis?

What do you think "clutter" represents? I desperately would like to be one of those people who has a neat, decluttered home but I doubt that will ever happen.

For me, its clothes and paper. They seem to breed millions of children all over the house. Sometimes, I wish I could throw it all away and "start fresh."

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with clothes I tend to hold on until one day I had enough and I clean out anything that does not fit. If it does not fit, it goes. If it fits and they wear it, it stays.

Toys get cleaned out usually in Oct before the boys birthday and usually one time during the year -usually when the toy room is such a mess I have to clean it up.

clutter to me is anything that is messy looking and does not get used.

The only rule is -if we don't use it or it does not fit -it goes.

I donate everything, I hate garage sales.

Peppy

When I lived in my own house (I now currently reside with my parents), I would literally, every 3-4 months get SICK of looking at "stuff" and throw it out. If we hadn't touched it in 3-4 months, it was gone.

Right now, I live with my mother, the queen of "I'll use it eventually" and it DRIVES.ME.MAD. Seriously, this woman has stuff that I could get rid of and she'd never notice. And I really want to, but I don't quite have the balls to toss her stuff.

I'm currently contemplating going thru the storage we have out back and getting rid of hordes of stuff, since we really haven't touched it since like, August. Why keep it? some is toys that no one has asked for since we moved...some is clothes that I'm sure they've outgrown.

I think, honestly, that I HATE clutter so much BECAUSE my mom had SO MUCH when I was growing up. We literally had one room when I was a kid/teen that was stuffed full of stuff. No one ever went in there. When I asked for that room as a teen, we had to clean it out. Our backyard is so full of junk that it's going to take at least 3 trips to the dump to clean the yard for grass.

I need to make up a calendar and on each day of the month, put ONE chore of *something* to declutter. My first goal is my computer table.

Clothes for ds & clothes for me are totally different. DS has TONS of jammies. But I need to get rid of some because they don't really fit. But before I do that, I need to go through the bins of hand me downs. For him, when I have to buy jammies (which is rare), I make sure he has a pair a night for a week. We do NOT rewear jammies in my house. So he will have a minimum of 7 pairs. But if he gets 10 pairs as hand me downs I keep them all. Underwear he has TONS. Jeans (or during summer shorts), a minimum of 7 pairs. Cords are whatever we get from other people. I make sure, as well, that he has 2 pairs of dress pants or shorts that are new and are NOT in our "normal" rotation of bottoms. Shirts are frigging out of control. But again, I get a TON of hand me downs. I get them from 2 different families, so I buy very little for him.


As for clutter. Drives me frigging crazy! DH is a pack rat. I'm not. I clear the clutter, dh puts more. Annoying. I go through it regularly and toss stuff. I've even hit the point that I go through my books every 3-4 months & take stuff to the used book store.

I HATE having crap everywhere. We're painting ds's room this weekend. DH put his dresser & bookcases in our room. I started panic, got claustraphobic and was screaming to get the crap OUT in less than 5 minutes. I can NOT handle it.

We have another week of winter break. Tues, Thurs & maybe Fri ds is going to daycare. Tues I'm gone with a friend, but Thurs & maybe Fri I will be purging this house.

I feel like I am constantly cleaning out closets. Usually about every 3-4 months I go through the kids closets and get rid of stuff that they are growing out of. Unfortunately they really are growing that fast, lol. Abbys Christmas dress from 2009 was a 3t. Her one this year was a 6. What the heck?

My biggest issue is my basement. It is unfinished and so things tend to get thrown down there and not thought about again for a while. It drives me batty. Dh has a ton of crap and it just sits there. Seriously, our very bottom basement area has things in it that have been there since we moved in here 7 years ago. Chances are he doesnt need them now. The finished part of our house though, the 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, etc. I am almost overly anal about keeping it clean. It actually causes problems between dh and I because I tend to just throw stuff out, whether he still wanted it or not.

I just put together another load of stuff for donation. I average 6 bags a month that we donate. Usually I end up taking it in every 3 months or so and have at least 15-20 bags every time. I cant figure it out. Financially we are struggling so I hardly buy anything, haven't in almost 2 years. I feel like I only buy what we need, and yet there is all this stuff! It is just stuff that has accumulated over the past decade I guess. It drives me crazy.

Tracey

Clutter is my nemesis. We have all kinds of clutter. Clothes aren't a huge issue for me because I like to have at least a week's worth of every type of clothing for every member of the house because I tend to keep laundry for the w/end due to time of day billing.

Toys are a huge problem, crafts, paper, all of DH's crap.

I don't mind having lots of something (for instance my books) so long as they are neatly put away, organized and easy to find (which they are). it's when things get piled and scattered that it drives me nuts. I plan on decluttering at least one area a day this week (and probably the next few weeks as well). Wish me luck!

My DH is a packrat, he would keep everything from broken sewing machines to shoes no-one wears, he can't stand to throw stuff away, if I haven't used something for 3 months I will give it or throw it away....I have to wait til everyone is asleep and weed it out gradually, then I have to deal with the irate grumblings when my sin has been discovered! I hate clutter but I am constantly fighting a losing battle.

DH & I both hate clutter so we don't really have a clutter problem. We live a simple life so don't accumulate much stuff. Also, I regularly go through our boys clothes & pack away my eldest's old clothes for my youngest to wear later & give my youngest's old clothes to my friend for her son. Our filing cabinent has gotten full so DH is busy cleaning that out & shredding unnecessary paperwork at this very moment.

I hate clutter! Unfortunately, we live in a super small house with less than ideal cabinet/closet space so I feel like my house is cluttered all the time and it's really just because we have no place to put things! I can't wait to move out of this house into something bigger with more space!

As far as clothes, ds wears it until he outgrows it and then it is put in a box to save for hand me downs, if/when we are blessed with another child.

Right now he has a ton of clothes and usually I can go 2 weeks without washing his clothes before he runs out, so I feel like he needs at least 2 weeks worth of jammies! lol It really saves me less washing that way since his clothes is so small I can usually fit all his clothes that needs to be washed in one load.

As far as my clothes goes, I keep a lot of it, even I can't wear it but I do go through every 6 months or so and donate as much as I can.

Right now I am on a big "de-clutter" kick, dh and I just cleaned our closet. It was a horrid mess and driving me crazy. I have a few goals over the next month to try to help me feel like this house is not so chaotic! It won't help with the small amount of space but at least it will have a little more order!

ETA: I wanted to say the worst thing for me is paper! I just went through and cleaned my computer desk and there was so much paper I threw away and then there was so much MORE I couldn't throw away because they are papers you *HAVE* to keep. I was so irritated that I couldn't condense the pile down any more than what I did but it is now all put away so I don't have to look at it on the desk!

BritnHouston_BZCL wrote:I hate clutter! Unfortunately, we live in a super small house with less than ideal cabinet/closet space so I feel like my house is cluttered all the time and it's really just because we have no place to put things! I can't wait to move out of this house into something bigger with more space!

I totally relate. We have no entry way closet for jackets and shoes so right when you walk in, the place looks like a mess. We have two bins- one for jackets and one for shoes- because we have tons of people to arrange hanging for and no space to put it. It's such a PITA. There's one closet per bed room and no general supply closet. I would love more space for storage- especially a basement.

My problem is a double edged sword snowballing down a mountain of excuses.

Clothing:
#1 - I hate doing laundry. I am that person who just keeps buying new socks and underwear, rather than do laundry.
#2 - My Ex is a major clothes/shoe horse and buys the kids obscene amounts of clothes and shoes. My 2yo has so many sneakers and boots that he could go 10 days without repeating shoes. He sometimes outgrows them before they are even worn. I can think of 2 pair of Jordans (sneakers) and a pair of Timberland boots that have yet to be worn, and they are in his current size, so they wont be fitting him in a few months. (its the same with the girls' clothes/shoes.)


So, the more he buys, the more there is to wash, the more intimidating the laundry gets, the less likely I am to wash it, necessitating the need for more clothes that will never get washed and on and on it goes.

My clothes are much more managable, and therefor get washed routinely. I keep my laundry separate from the kids' and at the end of the week I wash a load my work clothes, and a load of my casual clothes. Done and done.

Sundays I do a mental assesment of what the kids have clean and what they have going on during the week, then pull out a few things to wash as needed. Today I bought them new jeans and shirts because I dont want to wash clothes.

(((You cant think Im any more ridiculous than I already do. I know its wasteful and stupid.)))

Our house is moderate in size and because it is 100 years old doesn't have much storage. I had saved everything, and I mean, everything, from the older kids in case we had more. Now, I give things away the second anyone is done with them. I also had my first yard sale last summer and made a pretty tidy amount of money almost entirely from outgrown clothes.

The main steps I took this fall to cut back on clutter were switching as many things as i could to electronic versions (e-books, e-magazines, etc.) and to move a bunch of things to the garage to see if anyone missed them. As the answer appears to be no, I am freecycling up a storm right now.

I don't feel I have enough time to deal with clutter right now. I just try to keep things straightened up, but am not going out and aggressively decluttering closets and such, because I work full-time there doesn't seem to be time for those kinds of projects.

I don't have a hard time getting rid of things I truly don't need or that don't fit.

Clutter to me is when you have more things than you have room to store comfortably, and it takes over your living areas. I don't mind packing something up I only use once a year, or having a kitchen appliance I don't use often, as long as I have room for it. But once the space is full, I want to get rid of things/clear out before anything else comes in.

My husband is the opposite, he is a "hoarder" type but his clutter is contained to the garage. He gets clutter spots in the areas of the house he has control of (his desk, his bathroom vanity) but I vigorously protect and make sure he doesn't let it take over the house. It has been a big problem for us, he doesn't want to get rid of ANYTHING, even if he hasn't touched it for years. He seriously has boxes of 8 tracks and becomes defensive and irrational about not throwing them away.

Paper is a problem for me though, anything other than true "junk". I keep things I need now, but could be purged if I went back through them later. Same with kids' memorabilia.

Dh hates clutter and I am so so about it. I like order however. DH is the one who throws stuff away, but it has also caused some serious arguments in this house... like when he threw out my tea... then all of a sudden he's got a sore throat and I can't find this miracle tea, so I just look at him like "heh. you get what you deserve!" He also threw out about 12 issues of my Sunset magazine. Now, I love those magazines. They are great for planning last minute trips, for recipes, for ideas on reducing clutter (ha!). I noticed pretty quickly they were gone and he ended up digging them out for me. (thankfully he put them in a separate bag first)

I like kids clothes. I also frequently go through the closets and either sell or hand down the clothing. I hate papers, and those are kept up often. My clothing is a non issue since I feel nothing really fits, ever and I only usually have 3 or 4 complete outfits at any given time.

So basically, I like order and tidyness and when it gets to the point where it is taking a lot of effort to maintain order and tidyness, then stuff has to go.

I detest clutter.
I grew up in a house that had lots - and I hated it then and hate it now, but I never learned how to throw things away.
In some ways I hate that my kids are so "free" to just throw things away - they know they'll get new stuff and I dislike that sort of spoiled attitude. On the other hand - there are other things that they can't bear to part with that I think "Why are you keeping THIS??"

I battle clutter daily. I admit to not being the most neat person, however, I do make an effort to purge and keep things tidy. I think if I were single it would be much easier - but a lot of what I keep is stuff that other members of the family need to agree to purge before I can pitch it - and getting them to sit down and go through it is difficult. It's easier with the kids - If they don't miss it after a few months - it can disappear forever, although I still feel bad throwing out that christmas present from 3 years ago - even though they've outgrown it or whatever - since it may be something that was expensive. I hate to just get rid of some of the pricier items.....even though I know I need to.
Clothes aren't really a problem for the kids. 3 boys means they keep going down the line until they are either worn out, or get saved for my little nephew, who is 2-1/2 years younger than my youngest.
Clothes for ME are a huge problem. I hate getting rid of them - thinking I'm going to wear those clothes again. Some of them are brand new and were purchased for inspiration for me to "one day" be small enough to wear them......Maybe this year....

[quote="golden gal"]

Do you think you could "make due" with just one of an item, and if so, which one? I don't mind leaving things out if they are in use. We have an area in our living room that has my dd's toys. It is contained but it is cluttered. Really that is the only thing that is cluttered. My Dh is completely obsessive about organization and cleaning.

How do you deal with clutter? How often do you tackle it? Tackle it everyday. When we bring in our mail, we process it then so it doesn't sit and clutter a countertop.

What item of clutter is your nemesis? I guess it would be my dd's toys because they are needed everyday so it is impratical to put them away every single day.

What do you think "clutter" represents? Nothing other than lack of time or motivation to put effort in decluttering.[quote]

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I am not quite a "Hoarders" level clutterbug but I could see myself getting there one day. I think physical clutter represents a cluttered and chaotic state of mind, and that would be true for me (I'll start the process of being eval'd for adult ADD this month). I often ponder what you'd have to fix first, the mind or the clutter, in order to have a peaceful existence. Obviously the answer is "both at the same time" but unless you are able to afford a professional organizer to help you (or you have a mean sister who enjoys forcing you to give up that magazine article you've had stashed for 7 years and haven't read in all that time) then it's pretty hard to do the clutter part first.

I am a "sentimental keeper" of paper stuff. I am full of grandiose ideas of scrapbooking and crafting things I have collected since HS (holy crap, 20+ years!) but I am extremely short on motivation. I get easily overwhelmed and my clutter adds to that. I am a procrastinator who winds up with her kitchen island buried under papers. I have bags of papers that I need to go through and sort for filing, recycling, and shredding. This year I am dedicating myself to moving as much of the paper clutter onto disc as possible. I love Deborah's idea of going to e-books & e-magazines but for me I think I would lose part of the reading experience not having an actual book/mag. I don't have a hard time parting with clothing or other household stuff. Most of the reason I don't get rid of it is because I want to get it all logged for tax deduction purposes before I donate it and my procrastination becomes a problem. If I had a personal assistant it wouldn't be an issue *wink*

Rather than making another New Years resolution to lose weight (it never happens, obviously) I decided to dub 2011 "The Year of the House". I have created a "to do" list by room and have assigned each room a month. I'm breaking down each room's month into weekly goals. By the time summer rolls around I should be clutter-free and able to work on some outdoor projects and furniture refinishing projects that require warm weather for drying time. I really hope I can make it happen. Dot, what you said about living with your clutterbug mom really resonates with me. I have often wondered how my clutter affects Cade. I know it makes my DH a very grouchy person (though he helps contribute to the mess but never helps clean up *coughcough*).

HEIDI

Clothes and paper are my weaknesses too.

Is it three pairs of pajamas or four? I don't wear pj's Neither does hubby!

How many multiples of an item do you keep? In the case of plates and dishes, we keep a minimum on hand. Probably why we hand wash our dishes. We don't have enough to fill up a full load in the dishwasher. We'd run out before we could run it full.

How do you deal with clutter? How often do you tackle it? I hate clutter. We donate a lot of stuff. It seems like once a month we take some stuff to charity. Hubby told his parents no more toys because for every new one we get, we'll send an old one to charity. Our house will not be overrun by toys.
What item of clutter is your nemesis? None. We have a neat and tidy house.

What do you think "clutter" represents? Disorder

ETA: I should mention that hubby has a nice case of OCD and is pretty anal so everything has it's place and it better be there. Rachel is shaping up to be the same way. Every little piece of wrapping paper she tore off a present went straight to the trash before she would continue.

[quote="Clue-by-Four"]I am not quite a "Hoarders" level clutterbug but I could see myself getting there one day. Me too.

I think physical clutter represents a cluttered and chaotic state of mind, and that would be true for me. For me, I think my clutter and my anxiety have gone "hand in hand" for years. I can recall as a young child not having enough of some necessities and yet my mother would throw away small items that I treasured purposely to "get back at me." I often ponder what you'd have to fix first, the mind or the clutter, in order to have a peaceful existence. Obviously the answer is "both at the same time" but unless you are able to afford a professional organizer to help you (or you have a mean sister who enjoys forcing you to give up that magazine article you've had stashed for 7 years and haven't read in all that time) then it's pretty hard to do the clutter part first.

I am a "sentimental keeper" of paper stuff. I am full of grandiose ideas of scrapbooking and crafting things I have collected since HS (holy crap, 20+ years!) but I am extremely short on motivation. I get easily overwhelmed and my clutter adds to that. I am a procrastinator who winds up with her kitchen island buried under papers. I have bags of papers that I need to go through and sort for filing, recycling, and shredding. This year I am dedicating myself to moving as much of the paper clutter onto disc as possible. I love Deborah's idea of going to e-books & e-magazines but for me I think I would lose part of the reading experience not having an actual book/mag. I don't have a hard time parting with clothing or other household stuff. Most of the reason I don't get rid of it is because I want to get it all logged for tax deduction purposes before I donate it and my procrastination becomes a problem. If I had a personal assistant it wouldn't be an issue *wink*

I am also a procrastinator because I hate to fail at anything. A perfectionist with sentimental attachments.

Rather than making another New Years resolution to lose weight (it never happens, obviously) I decided to dub 2011 "The Year of the House". I have created a "to do" list by room and have assigned each room a month. I'm breaking down each room's month into weekly goals. By the time summer rolls around I should be clutter-free and able to work on some outdoor projects and furniture refinishing projects that require warm weather for drying time. I really hope I can make it happen. Dot, what you said about living with your clutterbug mom really resonates with me. I have often wondered how my clutter affects Cade. I know it makes my DH a very grouchy person (though he helps contribute to the mess but never helps clean up *coughcough*).

I like this idea of yours. And I also wonder how my clutter affects my daughter. I hate it, but I can't seem to get a handle on it. It's a source of great shame to me. Your post reminds me, of me.
ETA: For clarification, I've added my comments to Heidi's post in italics.

I am pretty sure that clutter is a contributing factor to my feeling depressed sometimes. I hate this mess. We are in a house right now that is not so small but the owners have their stuff here. It's been over a year. They keep promising to get it out but they havent. So in the dining room there are totes and boxes of stuff there is no room for. It is that way all over the house. Add to that a husband who is a hoarder, to the extent of going thru the trash and bringing stuff back in the house and "hiding it". We have had MAJOR, MAJOR fights about his hoarding, to the point I made him put a huge pile of crud outside and burn it last summer. I throw away stuff on the down low. I give away stuff. Worst clutter is paper, we get TONS of mail and the Mr is all like "I need to read/see the mail". Only problem is, he never actually sits down and does it. So I started shredding stuff. That works much better. Today I am de-cluttering our bedroom of clothes and etc. He is outside. It's working wonderfully.
Maron