It’s hard to clean the clutter and you can’t part with things you haven’t used in ages? Hung up on sentimentality? Mark Brunetz, author of Take the U Out of Clutter, says the problem isn’t your stuff. It’s your stories. More than 200 million of us still suffer from having too much stuff.
Here’s Mark’s tips to understand in order to free yourself of the clutter.
It’s not physical even though the clutter in tangible, the problem is emotional.
Organize your “stories” behind the stuff instead of organizing the stuff. Here are some of the most frequent stories.
“I’d feel guilty if I got rid of that.” Adult children feel guilty about parents giving them the dining room table, for instance. They need to be able to tell the parent it’s too big for their home and doesn’t fit their lifestyle. Personally, I was delighted to have my mother-in-law’s mahogany table and 10 chairs. I’ve used them for more than 50 years now but when I’m ready to downsize, I’ll offer them to my 4 children knowing they will not want or need them and they will be disposed of. I have no problem with that.
“I might need that someday.” Brunetz says that living your life for one day robs you of today and we need to live in the present. Do you need it today? Did you use it yesterday? When did you last use it? This is a story people have a hard time with. When my husband died, he still had a leather pouch with his skate key and jaxs! My rule is if I haven’t used it in two seasons, it’s gone.
“It has sentimental value.” Brunetz says, “How you love someone lives in your heart, not in your home. Your heart can never be too full, but your home can be.” Make that your mantra and you will declutter just fine!
Other tips from Brunetz include:
Nip it in the store. Clutter is what comes into your home but doesn’t go out. The best plan is to ask before you buy. Do I really need, use or love it? What’s the worst that could happen if I don’t buy it? Where is it going to go in the house?
Save the best “stories”. Strike a middle ground. Keep what you’re attached to, but only if it’s not encumbering you. Brunetz says these can include sentimental items. He keeps his great-grandfather’s engraved mahogany humidor although he doesn’t smoke or store cigars in it. “It reminds me where I came from and where I’m going,” he says. He explains, “The humidor is from a man who spent his professional life as a master wallpaper hanger. It reminds me that I am a fourth-generations artisan, the descendent of a man who climbed up on a ladder day after day to make something more beautiful I don’t talk about that much, but that’s me, too.” Those are the “stories” that are worth keeping!
While it’s not my “story”, I think of all the paper hangers who helped keep the love for wallpaper alive for so long and I am thankful for them laying the groundwork for our modern wallcovering with properties that render the difficulties associated with installation and removal obsolete while allowing us to offer “slipcovers for your walls“!
–Lorre Lei
Leave a Reply