Clutter! and How to Get Rid of It
By Karin Vibe-Rheymer-Stewart

Published in Hoboken Family Alliance Newsletter, October 2004

Clutter: Maybe it’s those piles of unopened mail and yet-to-read magazines scattered throughout the house. Or those dirty dishes that have been living in the sink for the past week. Or maybe this pile of clothes staring you in the face when you go to your bedroom. But is clutter really evil? Most people think of it as a slight annoyance, something they will get around to do later, something that’s not important.

One of my clients found out the hard way that those ‘unimportant’ things can cost a lot. Her main issue was out-of-control mail. We went through all of her unopened mail, some of which were months old. To her horror, she discovered that she had accumulated over $150 in late fees and other penalties. On top of that, she had been late one time too many to pay her credit card bills, resulting in an interest rate increase from 9% to 27%. That’s an extra $180 a year for every $1000 on the credit card balance!

Another client was passed over for promotion, and the raise that went with it. When he asked his supervisor what the reason was, she told him that his inability to respect deadlines and his tendency to misplace papers made him too unreliable to be considered for this position. His next call was to the friend who had told him of an professional organizer she knew. Had he addressed that issue earlier, he might have had the promotion.

But what about the clutter that doesn’t have a financial cost, such as piles of clothes, dishes, and the knick-knack that we accumulate? There is still a cost associated to them, but this cost is emotional. For instance, how to you feel when you pass by the kitchen and see all those dirty dishes in the sink?

The sad truth is that, every time clutter imposes itself on us, it puts us down. It is a subtle, cumulative, depressing effect that can result in clinical depression. In any cases it generates a self-defeating inner dialog, such as ‘I’m lazy’; ‘Why even bother cleaning it, it’ll be right back to what it was in a week!’ or ‘I’ll never manage to clean it all!’ if you don’t believe me, experiment for yourself: Pick an area of your home that you feel is cluttered; each time you look at it, stop and take the time to listen to what you are telling yourself, to experience the feeling that is associated with this area.

So yes, clutter is evil. But, like all evil, it can be defeated. The key to success is to focus on parts rather than the whole. Choose the area that you want to work on. If it’s a room, go to this room and choose an area that you want to tackle - a corner, a cabinet, a drawer, a closet, a shelf. Focus on this area exclusively.

You will now need five boxes or bags, for Items to Keep, Items that Belong Elsewhere, Items to throw Away, Items to Repair, Items to Sell or Give Away, as well as pens and stick-on notes. The next step is seemingly easy: Take each item in your chosen area, and choose a box to put it in. You will almost certainly find yourself hesitating, wondering if you want to keep this cuckoo clock that Aunt Edna gave you. It looks horrible and you keep it hidden away, but you don’t want to get rid of it because it comes from, well, Aunt Edna. How do you feel when you look at this clock? Is it a warm and fuzzy feeling? A negative one? Do you keep it only because you are afraid that Aunt Edna may notice its disappearance? Did she notice it the last time she came to visit?

Usually, asking yourself this type of question will be enough to decide where the item belongs. If you still hesitate, place the item in a storage box. Whatever is still in it after six months - and odds are that almost everything you put in there has stayed there – belongs to the Give Away or Throw Away category.

Once your chosen area is empty, put the Items to Keep back in place, repair the items that need to be repaired, put them back in place, and dispose of the rest. Now, step back and admire your newly clutter-free area. Rest and relax. When you are ready, choose the next area you want to tackle and start over. Slowly but surely, your home will become clutter-free, and your spirit will soar.

© 2004 Karin Vibe-Rheymer-Stewart