Comments on: The Cost of Clutter

By: Rebecca Gunther

Rebecca Gunther — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 04:39:28 +0000

Also, it's hard to keep your focus on those things which are most important in your life, in general, when you have to spend so much time and effort and energy managing things.

By: Rebecca Gunther

Rebecca Gunther — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 04:35:12 +0000

I finally gave myself limits, like, "Why do I need more than 14 shirts? That's two weeks worth of shirts, I can certainly manage that!" and kept ONLY my favorites. I just read Marie Kondo's book The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up, which is really about decluttering once and for always, all in one go. It's fantastic. Her advice is to ask yourself, for each item you own, "Does this bring me joy?" and if it does not TRULY bring you joy, let it go free. Also, imagine what you want your house to look like, and as you sort, put everything in each category in one pile on the floor so you can see just how massive that pile is. It's motivating to see how much really have and can do without!

By: Crystal

Crystal — Tue, 19 May 2015 13:36:08 +0000

I have lots and lots of stuff! I was thinking about just putting a sign out front- INDOOR YARD SALE, and just letting people take whatever they wanted. When we got married 5 years ago, my clutter and my husbands clutter came together in a jumbled disaster. Then we had our first child and the donations were wonderful, but so overwhelming- As a new parent, you have no idea what you need, so we bought and accepted everything, then knowing we wanted another kept it all stored. After our second daughter was born we just keep getting and receiving. My mom was cleaning out her house so she was bringing over car loads of stuff to my house, stuff I had not seen in about 10 years. My in-laws were having a family member move back into my hubby's old room, so you guessed it, they brought over several car loads of his stuff, they still have a whole garage of his stuff. We were robbed and it was terrible, but it made me realize all the crap they liberated from our home, we didn't need any of it. I started giving all the old baby things away to expecting relatives, and to the Salvation Army and the battered womens shelter. I gave away over 40 bags so far, two tv's (we are down to 1) a couch, coffee table, and the saddest part is most of that is still being paid for on my credit cards. It makes me sad to think of all the money I have spent trying to buy totes, storage solutions, extra dressers, etc. just to house all of my junk. I don't like being able to simply wipe off a counter and my allergies are paying the price. With two kids, grad school and full-time jobs I need to make time for this in my life. Thank you for the inspiration!

By: Monica Jenkins

Monica Jenkins — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 04:31:47 +0000

This is great.When I want to buy something I think "Wait!" Then i ask myself these questions.Do i really need it or is there something i already have that'll service me the same? Do I really wanna spend the money for this or on a family outing? Then I ask my partner and see what he thinks. Doing this has saved me money and has reduced clutter in my home.

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:21:52 +0000

it's a huge process. But the older I get the more I understand the importance. And the less I want to spend my time managing my stuff!

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:21:22 +0000

It almost makes me want to move again. Except, not really. I just have to pretend that I am and hopefully that will do the trick!

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:20:54 +0000

"A sort of panic mode." Yep! That's exactly it. I'm trying to reign it all back in because it's gotten away from me, too. Last year was a tough year for us and it shows in the clutter.

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:20:07 +0000

It absolutely gives me anxiety. I feel like I can't be calm in my own home with so many things to take care of. Things that don't really even matter that much!

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:19:32 +0000

That's a good point, too. I think that's why moving so often really helped me to get rid of stuff. This Christmas we are doing a vacation to Hawaii instead of buying gifts for the kids. They weren't so excited about that until we asked them if they even remembered what gifts they received last Christmas. They didn't. Then we asked them if they remembered our family vacations and they of course remembered all of them. Experiences are much better than stuff!

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:18:11 +0000

Yup. I'm much more discerning than I used to be about buying stuff just because it was a great deal. I'm determined to live more simply. Unfortunately, I have a lot of years of not living simply to declutter!