I’m one of those people who can’t seem to live a clutter-free life. In my house, there are small boxes loaded with papers, instructions, etc, that I keep checking to organize and throw away the content once and for all. The problem is that the boxes never seem to empty. There always seems to be a sheet of paper, a cutout coupon, a piece of paper with a phone number or two that never leaves this box. Why? Do we ask?
Because we want to keep it but we don’t know what to do with it, so it’s still DISORDER. I admit, I am a Clutterholic.
I panic and still wince when the doorbell rings and someone wants to come in. I look and see that with the stacks of papers on the coffee table and in the kitchen, my house doesn’t look as spotless as anything else in House Beautiful. And you know that Clutterholics are judged by the chronically neat and organized.
You could almost hear the clicking in their heads, what a mess, how could they live like this? These people are lucky. They don’t have that clutter gene. Too bad they haven’t invented a pill that trains our brain not to get tangled up, but they haven’t.
Instead, those with the organizing gene have created businesses to help Clutterholics kick the habit. There are businesses that sell organization solutions for your closets, where to hang your pants, dresses and suits, where to store your shoes and bags, where to store your jewelry or even your underwear. Large stores sell shelving to personalize your closet and even design a system for you. But even if you bought all these items, how long will it stay before you install them. And now the closet organizers are getting messy. Some of us are absolutely helpless.
There are also so many books to buy that tell us what to do so that the reorganization is not too overwhelming. I admit, one piece of advice I haven’t followed is to use a timer, setting it to 15 or 20 minutes to clean up an area to throw away or give away things. When the timer goes off, it stops running. The advice is that if you do this exercise on a regular basis, the messy area will eventually empty out and you won’t be as overwhelmed. It’s good advice and I may one day follow it. Another book suggests tackling the kitchen sink first. Well, that’s probably the only place in the house that isn’t crowded. I wash and store the dishes and pots the same day. Easy peasy. But there is always someone with a different method or advice and I will continually seek them out in the hope that my ordination books will not get cluttered.
