Are you a clutter bug?
Has that treadmill become no more than a place to hang laundry?
Is your garage so crammed with litter that your car spends every season out on the driveway?
Does your basement resemble an archeological dig?
What about your home office? Is the file you desperately need for the next Zoom call buried under that stack of catalogues from a store where you haven’t shopped since 2009?
In your hearts of hearts do you realize you have a problem with “too much stuff” but you just can’t seem to get a grip on how to manage it?
Yes, you are a clutter bug.
You could benefit by a piece of advice from Wendell Berry. He says, “Don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”
Who is Wendell Berry? He’s an environment activist. How ironic.
An excellent source of specific “how to” advice on simplifying your life is Tracy McCubbin. She’s owner of a home organization company called dClutterfly. Her books are Making Space, Clutter Free and Make Space for Happiness. She’s regularly featured in major media including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, NBC and others.
McCubbin has identified seven “emotional clutter blocks” that contribute to the landfills in people’s home and work environments. Be honest, do any of these sound familiar?
#1 My Stuff keeps me in the past. Children’s artwork (but no more children). Outdated clothes that no longer fit. Garden tools that are no longer used.
#2 My stuff tells me who I am. Stacks of shipping boxes, evidence of excessive online shopping. Multiples of items. Brand flaunting.
#3 The stuff I’m avoiding. Unfiled paperwork. Unopened mail. Unfinished projects. Unreturned items.
#4 My fantasy stuff for my fantasy life. Lots of items you’ve never used. Clothes with the tags still on. Exercise equipment that’s never been assembled.
#5 I’m not worth my good stuff. A closet full of designer clothes, but your clients wear only sweatpants. Unlit candles, unused bath salts, packed away china and silver.
#6 Trapped with other people’s stuff. Multiple sets of china. Boxes of memorabilia. Inherited furniture that no one sleeps/sits on.
#7 The stuff I keep paying for. “But I paid a lot for that.” “I don’t want it to go to waste.” “That could be useful someday.”
So why is it so common for people to find themselves burdened by clutter?
“It’s a one-two punch of over-acquiring, buying because we think the stuff will fix us and then not being able to let go because we’ve created an attachment (emotional, sentimental or economical) to our stuff,” McCubbin says.
She says everyone has voids to fill: not feeling loved, low self-confidence, sadness, grief. “Whatever that void is, we’ve tried to fill it with stuff. We buy, keep, and collect because we think things will make us all feel better. But the stuff doesn’t fix us. In fact, it does the opposite. The more clutter we have the less likely we are to connect with others. We tend to hide behind our clutter, thereby missing out on true connection with friends and family, which is what will ultimately help us fill our voids.”
Of course, clutter involves more than physical things. What’s McCubbin’s advice for managing time and attention?
“I’m frequently asked, ‘What’s the best way to be organized?’” she says. My answer is easy: have less stuff! The less you have, the easier to be organized. When you have a home or office that’s filled with things you don’t use, those things become a huge time and energy drain. You have to manage the stuff, move the stuff around, decide where you want to store the stuff, and how to get rid of it if you decide you don’t want it anymore. The amount of time and attention your stuff takes is lost on most people. The more streamlined your home is, the more time and attention you are buying back.
Dr. Rodger Dean Duncan is the award-winning, bestselling author of CHANGE-friendly LEADERSHIP: How to Transform Good Intentions into Great Performance. For a FREE copy of his book, click here.
