Nony here: I loved this recent comment from Amanda so much, I had to share it with all of you. She makes great observations about why some people’s homes (like mine) look cluttered, and others look awesome with the same amount of stuff!!
I have a job where I am in and out of different people’s homes all day long. I was reflecting on what makes some homes (including mine) look “cluttered” with objects, while other homes have a lot of objects in them, but instead of “clutter” words more like “well-appointed” come to mind.
One of the differences that came to mind is that a lot of the “objects” in my home are “partially broken” items, or items “with potential” (you know, if I just do this-or-that with this item, it will be perfectly useful to us again, so I shouldn’t get rid of it). Thing is – I never actually DO the “this-or-that thing” and everything just ends up sitting around being CLUTTER. It’s not the *only* reason for clutter in my house, but it’s a nice reason to have recognized and be able to “call myself” on to help with getting rid of things I should no longer hold on to.I totally identified with this post!!!
Here’s the post where Amanda commented: Decluttering Decisions are Personal
Share your thoughts in the comments!
I totally get this, and it’s great that you recognized it as a problem for you. So many of us do not, and so we continue to live with clutter because we don’t know what to do with it.
There were some really cute tea tins given to me by a relative. I kept them on a shelf in my office for two or three years. I kept thinking, I could set these out IF only I could figure out what to put in them. They were too short for pens and markers. What about paperclips? I do most of my work online. Paperclips are redundant. Same with staples and most other office supplies that we used to need but that went by the wayside with coming of computers, cell phones, and tablets.
I finally gave them to my daughter. Fortunately, I stopped accepting things people wanted to give me a couple of years ago – no matter how cute they might be. I still have plenty of stuff left that I’m weeding through. Next on my list would be hundreds of books on four sets of shelves – one an almost floor-to-ceiling unit with rows of books two deep – and more stacked on top of each row. I ‘inherited’ EIGHT humungous boxes of them from an aunt. Thank God Kindles make it possible to even eliminate that kind of clutter (read stuff that must be dusted).
Oooh, yes, books are difficult to declutter. I just did that task myself. What seems to help is decide about how many books can actually fit in the space you have for them. I took them all off the shelves and only put back the best, the favorites, or ones that I know I will read – and only the amount that fit in the space I have.
after working diligently to untape the cute one that think maybe hub brought in – don’t think I did – that granddaughter had so diligently taped up, guess when I was taping up a shower gift – I opened to find it full of – oh, guess – gravel from our driveway – yes, she’s been our little rock pickerupper – now isn’t that just a good use for a cute little tin to sit out?
I totally identify with this post! A lot of the piled up stuff in corners in my home is from items that are broken or unsusable unless something is fixed on them… or they are really completely beyond repair but I still hold out hope! I have such a soft spot for items that no one else could possibly use or love, not even the donation places. So I hold onto them because I *just know* that I could repair it and make it usable again. But the problem is it’s stuff! It really isn’t that important! What’s more important are people and I have the same feeling for them, wanting to help and be there for people that others have given up on. That’s important! Thankfully, I have found a donation place in our community that accepts holey clothing, broken toys, broken electronics, and also worn shoes- all for a recycling program that helps homeless people in our community! Having them as a resource has helped, but I still need to remember that its just stuff and its ok to let it go!
This was my example growing up, if it’s cute or has potential, get it. Even if it doesn’t go with the house or doesn’t fit, it’s worth the usually low price. (My mother loves yard sales) And that followed me when I moved out on my own. Now that I’m on this purposeful journey of making it a point to have a comfortable clean home, my house is empty! That “clutter threshold” really got to me and I have an empty house, clean but empty. I guess finding a happy medium will be apart of my journey.
that’s why our basement is so cluttered – half broken things with “potential”. Luckily my husband is realizing that it isn’t worth the clutter to hold onto these things and we are learning how to declutter together