Removing Clutter

Collarspace Discussion Forums

Home Login Search

Removing Clutter

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Removing Clutter

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 8:43:06 PM

Aileen1968

Posts: 6062
Joined: 12/12/2007
From: I miss Shore, New Jersey
Status: offline

I read somewhere that everyone should remove 1/3 of their belongings from their lives and their stress levels would drop dramatically. Are you a saver or a thrower and how would you describe your personality?

_____________________________

The Red

Profile

Post #: 1

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 8:45:54 PM

LuckyAlbatross

Posts: 19224
Joined: 10/25/2005
Status: offline

I am a mix :) Depends on what you are talking about.

My partner is a SAVER!!!

_____________________________

Find stable partners, not a stable of partners.

"Sometimes my whore logic gets all fuzzy"- Californication

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 2

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 8:46:35 PM

lauren0221

Posts: 681
Joined: 8/29/2006
Status: offline

Unfortunately, a slob. I have no problem getting rid of stuff, and hate clutter, but don't seem to always have the actual motivation to do what I have to do to get rid of it. .

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 3

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 8:50:22 PM

velvetears

Posts: 2933
Joined: 6/19/2006
Status: offline

i absolutely agree.... i never feel better than when i declutter and throw out accumulated stuff. i tend to be a saver but then i get this bug in me and i take a few days and toss out bags and bags of stuff. So i am both. my ex is a horder - his house is filled with boxes and boxes of crap - and i mean crap - newspapers that are important, clipped out magazine articles, gadgets, folders and folders of paperwork, old equipment. i think it's a sickness when it gets to that point. i detest boxes out in a room, they should be in a closet or down a basement where they cannot be seen. A clutter free environment is so much better for a peaceful and serene state of mind i think.

< Message edited by velvetears -- 1/11/2008 8:51:14 PM >

_____________________________

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, Spirituality is for people who have been there

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 4

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 8:59:08 PM

Rushemery

Posts: 310
Joined: 9/10/2007
Status: offline

both some things I keep some I dont, have a stick .5" 2'5" long, a beaver chewed that I kept from when I was 17 many other things have been discarded though, keep my ums art work in a big box well most of it

(in reply to lauren0221)

Profile

Post #: 5

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:14:12 PM

BossyShoeBitch

Posts: 3931
Joined: 1/13/2007
From: South Florida
Status: offline

I had help last year from an company I hired.. Sort of a "while you were out" type thing. They re-organized and re-decorated the whole house (in three months, not one day).. They were brutal in the stuff they made me throw out, easily more than 50% of my stuff. I even fought with them a few times and got really pissed. Ultimately I gave in because I trusted their judgement otherwise I wouldn't have hired them. I really didn't miss any of the stuff they got rid of. It gave me such a sense of peace and calm to come home to an uncluttered house. Now I just have to work on NOT accumulating more shit!!

_____________________________

A clever man can get out of situations a wise man never gets into...
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

(in reply to Rushemery)

Profile

Post #: 6

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:19:44 PM

Arrrchibald

Posts: 350
Joined: 1/3/2008
Status: offline

I'm a saver, not a thrower. But I'm excruciatingly organized with storage and moving.

Your papers are not in order!!!

(in reply to Rushemery)

Profile

Post #: 7

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:34:39 PM

dcnovice

Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline

Packing box 23 (of 34) for a recent office move, I came across a book on decluttering. Couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(in reply to Arrrchibald)

Profile

Post #: 8

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:34:42 PM

Bound2One

Posts: 614
Joined: 1/11/2008
Status: offline

Saver. Piles of stuff, which drives me batty. It's filtered to my UM's too - one of them is a packrat of the worst kind. I'm going into her room tomorrow with a garbage bag to get rid of 1/2 of the stuff she never touches. Then it's on to my room to sort through clothing. Oh yeah, and there's that Christmas tree still standing in the corner, halfway decorated that needs to come down also. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day! lol

I'm not sure what it says about my personality. I tend to be a bit scattered when it comes to completing tasks - I do some things halfway then lose the mental energy to deal. I have to be forced to stay on task at times.

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 9

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:36:12 PM

dcnovice

Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline

Interesting article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/health/01well.html?_r=1&sq=clutter&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=2&adxnnlx=1200116130-9hKuzZpaVzVsUUZDGxS/wg

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(in reply to Bound2One)

Profile

Post #: 10

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:36:12 PM

Bound2One

Posts: 614
Joined: 1/11/2008
Status: offline

quote:

Packing box 23 (of 34) for a recent office move, I came across a book on decluttering. Couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

lol. You gotta laugh. Then toss the book - you obviously never needed it.

(in reply to dcnovice)

Profile

Post #: 11

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:39:01 PM

juliaoceania

Posts: 21383
Joined: 4/19/2006
From: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aileen1968

I read somewhere that everyone should remove 1/3 of their belongings from their lives and their stress levels would drop dramatically. Are you a saver or a thrower and how would you describe your personality?

This is a very cool thread. I can be both depending on what it is. I tend to get rid of most stuff that I do not use, I believe that things own people more than people own things. I think that having less to worry about keeping is probably a good way to live.

If the things one owns end up owning them, then it seems like one would be best off if they were selective about what they owned. More is not necessarily better. The more you possess, the more space you need for it. The more space you need, the more expensive this becomes. So basically do you want to work more to house your "stuff"?

I do tend to hold on to momentos of things, sentimental things. I am trying to stop doing that.

_____________________________

Once you label me, you negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality has a well known Liberal Bias ~ Stephen Colbert

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 12

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:39:50 PM

MissMagnolia

Posts: 3636
Status: offline

Thrower. I am RUTHLESS!!!! Haven't used it for 6 months? It's GONE. My Mum likes me to clear her house of junk every now and then, although I do have to take the shit with me, otherwise she'd go through the bags/boxes and return most of the stuff from whence it came.

I'm like that in every area of my life. My world is constantly being cleared of dead wood and lame ducks. I think that's because I used to be a total people pleaser and everyone and his dog came to me with problems, all day, all night. I don't do that anymore

.

_____________________________

if at first you dont succeed..then skydiving isnt for you

Resident Whip Cracker AND Resident Orbs Of Joy.

(in reply to Bound2One)

Profile

Post #: 13

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:43:03 PM

dcnovice

Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bound2One

quote:

Packing box 23 (of 34) for a recent office move, I came across a book on decluttering. Couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

lol. You gotta laugh. Then toss the book - you obviously never needed it.

Of course, I packed it.

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(in reply to Bound2One)

Profile

Post #: 14

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 9:49:57 PM

winterlight

Posts: 1319
Joined: 2/18/2006
Status: offline

I read to take a picture of something and then throw the item away. You have a memory/picture of that item..
I have read a good book on clutter and how to get rid of stuff. I did get rid of lots of stuff. I am not a packrat i am a pack elephant!
No, i don't have piles of papers or 100's of teapots. I have tamed the clutterbug that is within me.

The hardest thing though is going through somebody else's stuff and getting rid of it. Also what is hard is getting somebody else to let go of things that are not important.

(in reply to dcnovice)

Profile

Post #: 15

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 10:04:52 PM

subfever

Posts: 2895
Joined: 5/22/2004
Status: offline

I detest clutter. Clutter actually brings me down emotionally, so I'm constantly on the prowl to throw out things or give them away if they have any monetary value. If I haven't worn something for a year, out it goes. The same thing if I haven't used something in the kitchen for a year. Out it goes. I've been this way my entire adult life.

The more crap I get rid of, the better I feel. And there's never been a time when I ever regretted tossing something out. Nope, I never had one of those moments when I said or thought "Aw fuck, why did I get rid of that? Now I can really use it."

I honestly believe that if I had sufficient storage boxes and packing material already here, I could be completely packed to move within two hours.

This reminds me, I haven't gone through my ties lately. I'm sure there a few in there I can toss...

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 16

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 10:07:18 PM

winterlight

Posts: 1319
Joined: 2/18/2006
Status: offline

i like the japanese way of doing things. there is such simplicity in decorating, gardens...It looks so lovely and simple..

(in reply to subfever)

Profile

Post #: 17

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 10:13:24 PM

Bound2One

Posts: 614
Joined: 1/11/2008
Status: offline

quote:

Of course, I packed it.

Oh, no!! Too funny... when you're packing for your next move sometime in the future, and you locate the book yet again, please promise to throw it away!

(in reply to dcnovice)

Profile

Post #: 18

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 10:15:16 PM

insidioustoy

Posts: 13
Joined: 11/2/2007
Status: offline

Very cool thread. I'm ruthless when it comes to clutter. Nothing is scattered across my countertops or tables. I'm not anal retentive about it, I just chuck things out of sight. No linen-lined hand-caligraphied Martha Stewart-esque labeled boxes either. I know everything is.

I just make damn sure the junk doesn't come into the house in the first place. I don't buy impulse things when shopping. That is good for ones budget as well as ones un-cluttered personal space. When gifted with junk I either trash it, feeling no guilt cause it really is the thought that counts, or give it to one of my junk loving friends. For paper junk, I scan important things and store them on an external drive. I also don't let junk mail into the house. It all gets trashed at the post office or shredded if it has any of my personal info on it. It takes a few minutes out of your day to stay on top of the junk flood but to me, its better then having to spend a whole week shoveling it out of your life after stressing about it for months.

(in reply to Aileen1968)

Profile

Post #: 19

RE: Removing Clutter - 1/11/2008 10:22:02 PM

SavageFaerie

Posts: 4377
Joined: 12/3/2004
From: NYC
Status: offline

the less I have the happier I am. Im so non materialistic. OVer the years I have lost most my stuff in one fell swoop. Last time was moving from VA back to Tx, came back with only one large suitcase and 2 boxes under 50 lbs.

I guess the only thing I really regret is all the lost books in the process and unreplacable family photos.

But Im much happier traveling light.

< Message edited by SavageFaerie -- 1/11/2008 10:35:10 PM >

_____________________________

Disclaimer:If its the wrong word or misspelled I blame on my fingers and brains refusing to interact.

(in reply to winterlight)

Profile

Post #: 20