After just cleaning out an aging parent’s home, I am much more focused on de-cluttering! I’ve become much more interested in the reality shows where cluttered homes are cleaned out and refreshed! I look at my own home and know I have work ahead of me.
I’ve learned there are many contributing factors for clutter. Some people accumulate a lot of stuff because they’ve grown up with very little and material goods take on great importance. Some people don’t want to let go of items from their past, while others are afraid to part with gifts they have received for fear of offending the giver. Accumulating clutter is also linked to our spending habits. We have become a far more materialistic society, and are encouraged to purchase new stuff to replace the old. Shopping has become a national past-time. And, as was with my situation, when seniors lose their strength, their belongings can become overwhelming and impossible for them to manage.
Cluttering becomes a problem when it affects your ability to function, when it causes you to feel disorganized, out-of control, overwhelmed or depressed. There is a real co-relation between clutter and our emotional state; you can get caught in a cycle of feeling overwhelmed and depressed because of the clutter, and then unable to deal with the clutter because of those feelings.
So what to do?
Step 1 is to unclutter your thinking!
- Recognize that every thing in your life demands your time, space, energy, resources and money. Ask yourself are you spending yours wisely? You have to take responsibility for each and every item you own. Every item on your shelf, you have to dust. Every piece of memorabilia, you have to store. Be aware of how much time, space, energy, resources and money your things are taking from you and question whether you want to invest so much in those things.
- Consider how your accumulation of things affects the environment. The more you buy, the more you have to eventually get rid of. When you purchase something, be aware of the throw-away packaging, the plastic, the cardboard that goes along with your purchase. Ask yourself where will that item be in five years?
- Take stock of how and where you spend your money. Accumulating clutter is often the result of spontaneous spending habits and not being aware of budgeting. Establish a household budget. Plan your purchases, rather than spending on a whim. Pause before you buy something – leave the store for thirty minutes and ask yourself,do I really need it? If it’s on sale for $5, ask yourself, would I still buy it if it was $20? Am I being seduced more by the price than the item itself?
- Buy good quality items that will last. Buy manufactured in Canada! In our materialistic society, we’re producing more goods of declining quality that, in no time, end up in our landfill sites.
- Think of an alternative to gift-giving. Rather than giving stuff, give experiences – a dinner out, tickets, memberships, services. Establish a travel account for your children and for their birthday, contribute to that account.
- Don’t burden your children with inheriting all of your stuff. Get rid of your clutter before your children are left to deal with it. That’s one my kids are reminding me about!
I’ll add some suggestions we’ve collected in working with people who have tackled this – and would love to hear ideas from others!
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