Most of us just have too much stuff. We enjoy acquiring our stuff but, once we have it, it often becomes clutter. No amount of beautiful interior design can be effective in the face of clutter. Household clutter can also be extremely stressful to live with. That is not to say that getting clutter under control is an easy thing. It is often a monumental task, especially if you have been overwhelmed for some time. Being embarrassed to have friends into your home is not a happy way to live, and keeping people out of your home only allows you to avoid the problem.
Excess items need to be identified in groups or types, then systematically and regularly removed. They need not all go to the landfill. That is actually a last resort. Often we forget that there are many people much less fortunate than ourselves who actually need some of the vast excess that overwhelms us. Simple recycling them is one of the most effective ways of moving forward quickly. Hanging on to items until you have time and energy to sell them is often a huge waste of valuable time. It is far better to donate your items to charitable organizations who resell goods on a daily basis. More expensive items can be sold, but often this process is a difficult and time consuming one. The main thing is to wade in, especially into “frozen” areas of your home where you have been too overwhelmed to look at for months or even years. Keep it simple and just start the process. Perhaps the help of a trusted friend is available. Setting aside even a half our per day will make a remarkable difference immediately. You will find that your energy increases as the load of clutter dissipates.
Here’s a list of 100 types of items that are some of the main culprits contributing to clutter:
- Miscellaneous containers and jars
- Old crayons or art supplies, plus markers that have run out of ink
- Toys your pets don’t play with
- Junk mail – this goes out the day it comes in
- Prom dresses
- Automobile manuals for vehicles that you no longer own
- Expired medication
- Unused vases
- Bills you don’t need to keep
- Vinyl records you don’t play
- Damaged clothing you can’t mend
- Hallowe’en costumes you don’t need
- Old mail
- Furniture manuals
- Art supplies you don’t use
- Broken or old iPhone cases
- Wedding favors you don’t use
- Old spices
- Save-the-dates
- Books of matches
- Sad old pillows
- Cards or gifts from exes
- Invitations
- Broken kitchen equipment
- Purses you never use
- Frequent shopper cards you never use
- Worn-out bath mats
- Empty or near-empty bottles of cleaning products
- Wallets that you don’t use
- Unneeded Tupperware
- Expired calendars
- Dead cell phones
- Email subscriptions from sites you never use
- CDs for old computer programs
- Pens that are out of ink
- Papers you have backed up on the computer
- Computer cords, firewire cord, etc. that you don’t use
- Fortune cookie fortunes
- Frayed or discolored towels
- Cell phone accessories you don’t use anymore
- Day Timer planners
- Christmas lights that don’t work
- Magnets
- Old bank statements
- Old and outdated software
- Expired coupons
- Old prom dresses
- Clothing you’ve outgrown
- Clothes that are outdated or from college
- Hand-me-downs that you’re guilt-tripped into keeping
- Unwanted music from your iTunes
- Old schoolbooks you’ll never use again
- Cell phone covers you’re over
- Pet toys that have seen more than their fair share of fun
- Keys to homes you no longer live in or cars you no longer own
- Boxes
- Restaurant placemats
- Hand-me-downs that you keep only out of a sense of guilt
- Puzzles that are missing pieces
- Wrinkled ribbon and bows for gift wrap
- Freebie or promotional t-shirts that mean nothing to you
- Scarves that you never wear
- Broken Christmas decorations
- Dingy, mismatched dishware
- Address labels for your old house
- Games you never did enjoy playing
- Seasonal coats that you have stopped wearing
- The other side of a pair of lost earrings
- Manuals for electronics long gone
- Worn out t-shirts
- CDs
- Worn out denim
- Spare photo prints
- Travel brochures
- Wedding favors that have no meaning or use
- Manuals for appliances you no longer own
- Little knickknacks that have no meaning for you
- Old hangers
- Emails you don’t need
- Unused stationery, stickers, and sticky notes
- Expired make-up or samples
- Ripped envelopes for scrap paper – so depressing
- Books you’ve already read and don’t want to display
- Wedding Invites
- Receipts you don’t need
- Damaged clothing you can’t mend
- Children’s art that has lost its’ spark
- Old mail
- Sad, old magazines
- Kitchen gadgets that don’t work
- Furniture manuals
- Broken or old iPhone cases
- Frequent shopper cards you never use
- Purses you never use
- Leaky rubber boots that are beyond repairing
- Socks whose mate is long gone
- Wedding dresses that have no meaning
- Tired, old hair brushes
- Framed photos that have faded
- Expired phone books
Well! That is certainly a daunting list! Life is simply too short to be burdened by this volume of items that mean nothing to you, that you do not even use, and that detract from the pleasure of living in your home, as well as the way your home looks. Having looked at this long list….I could have continued to add items…you may be appalled to realize that your otherwise lovely home contains far too many of these items. The task of divesting yourself of all this is quite a large and perhaps overwhelming job. You’ve heard it all before. Start with one category…not necessarily the hardest one. Make it easy for yourself. Part with something that has been around forever but now you wonder why it’s even there. The hardest part is beginning the process. Do not beat yourself up if it doesn’t all go in the amount of effort it takes to call a friend. Oh! Sorry. No one even does that anymore. Too much effort to actually chat with a friend. Perhaps this gives us a clue to how the physical world can become so out of control. We have become so used to simply swiping a phone to “achieve” a task. It often does perform some sort of task, but overall, the stress of your clutter is still there. Just a swipe achieves nothing in the physical world, though.
Starting the task of de-cluttering is an achievement in itself. Once started, energy often frees up and you are able to make some progress and move on to completion.
Enjoy your home and your lifestyle. Call Mulberry Interiors now at (905) 849-6423 to book a consultation. We look forward to working with you to increase your enjoyment of your home.
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