Extreme Clutter

 

Is anyone watching the Oprah series on Uncluttering Your Home?  She has put together a squad of people who travel all over in Volkswagen Bugs knocking on the doors of unsuspecting slobs, barge in and shame them in front of the entire world about how cluttered and messy their homes are.  It is either your worst nightmare or your salvation.  The point is that clutter costs you money, distracts your mind and is often unhygienic. 

Like watching a train wreck, I am unable to turn my eyes away from this program.  Yesterday the Squad turned up at a fraternity house at a university in Georgia, barged into the three room mates dorm room at 6:00 AM *with the boys MOTHERS*.  Talk about embarrassing.  Luckily they were caught just sleeping, not doing anything illegal or immoral.  The squalor those three boys lived in was pretty unbelievable. With the help of the Clutter Squad and some items from the Container Store these fellows were sorted out quite nicely in a day or so.  At the end they even had desk space to do their studies.  Their mothers approved, and the guys vowed they were going to keep things neat and tidy from now on.

Then unbeknownst to a woman in her audience, Oprah had the woman's van towed all the way to Chicago so everyone could see right on the stage what a pig sty the woman drove around in.  Now this really was pretty impressive.  In the entire van, there was only room for two of her three kids because of all the crap packed into the vehicle.  The back storage area was like an archaeological dig, with items packed as tight as possible from the floor up to the ceiling.  She could not possibly been able to see out of that car.  Oprah gave her an hour to go work with the Clutter Bugs and clean up that messy van.  You would not believe what they found in there.  Gifts she had planned to give to her children or her nephews from over three years back.  Clothing that no longer fit the intended recipients.  Shoes, lots of trash, sports equipment, old food (really old food), baby bottles from her children who were now 3, 5 and 6.  The pile of debris was incredible.  How anyone could live like that is beyond me.

The show did make me look around my own house though.  Things have gotten a bit out of hand around here.  I wanted to give you an example of the mess things are in my house, but could not bear to shame myself to that degree.  I chose a not so bad spot to begin with.  That is my cluttered bedside stand you see above.  Well, you can guess I am an avid reader with a sinus problem. 

The premise of the Chief Clutter Bug is that you must start by uncluttering your surfaces.  Make piles of like objects to put away.  Makes piles of things to keep, to throw away or to donate.  Get rid of stuff.  Every time you get something new, get rid of something old.  Get containers to hold like things together.  Keep ever vigilant or the clutter will come right back.  There were testimonials from people who claimed that de-cluttering changed their lives for the better.  One woman was uncluttering her office and discovered a refund check for $1400 that was due to expire in a week.

I don't know about you, but I am up for a bit of de-cluttering!  Let's see what changes I can make around here.

Comments

[Lisa D.]

Aw come on, Nicole - is that the best you can do? Doesn't look very cluttered to me!

[Susan Ramey Cleveland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been on a mission to do this for two years, I think. The more clutter I get rid of, the more clutter appears. And if that photo at top is an example of your clutter, I gotta say, Nicole, you're a novice clutter bug. That looks better than any one of my surfaces AFTER I've decluttered.
I used to watch "Clean House." I was totally addicted. I think it was something like self flagelation. I just kept torturing myself. But I finally broke that addiction. Sadly, though, I seem to be still addicted to clutter.

[MichelleB]

I'm not watching it - but maybe I should. If my bedside table looked like yours, I would consider it clean.

[Liz S.]

My husband has just consented to having a garage sale in the early summer. This is huge.. because my hubby is a mechanic and keeps all his tools in the garage... He thinks someone will come over later and rob us. But I'm determined to de-clutter even if the garage door stays closed!

[Betty K]

I moved after retiring and my goal here is to not add clutter. My promise to sons, is that these closets will not fill with stuff. I'm now making quilt tops galore from all the fabric gathered over the past 20 years. But my favorite de-clutter idea is this - mail it to family. My SIL sent me a BIG box of MIL's linens that she had kept, and was de-cluttering HER house! How am I supposed to be the one who gets rid of the memories, of all those family dinners with this 50-year old lace tablecloth, hmmm... who can I mail this too?

[Chris@Cats on my Quilts]

I saw that show yesterday! I always think they need to come visit my husband-he is a clutterbug, I am an organizer. I keep trying to get him to change his ways but it will never work I have come to realize. The only time I ever got him to get rid of a boat load of stuff is when we tore down the garage to replace it with a 2 car garage with the great room above. He did a great job then and hasn't loaded the new garage with a bunch of garbage. I guess my only option to get him to clean up the rest of his stuff in the house would be to actually tear down the house and start from scratch! Now that's extreme.

[Sharon Tucker]

Everyone should move every 2 years, this would keep clutter at a minimum. I keep boxes just to hold my donation "stuff" and I'm constantly dropping something into it...but Idon't seem to be making headway! Paper is my downfall. Good Luck!
Sharon

[Kathleen]

I would not consider that bedside table cluttered...those are necessities!
I've seen the Oprah shows and it always motivates me to start cleaning. I have too much stuff and way too little space. It really clears your head and life to get rid of stuff. I heartily recommend it.

[dianne]

hey - i can still see surface on that bedside table - put some more stuff on it or you're gonna have to dust!

i realized a couple of years ago why i was hating my house - the basement was so full of stuff that i felt like i was living over a landfill ... so i cleared out a bunch of it (ARC loved me those few months) ...... it is not quite filled again, but a lot of it is stuff that i will need in the next year or so (baby paraphernalia) ... i'm gonna invest in some shelves and some big plastic tubs that match each other and git 'er done this summer (okay - written commitment for all the world to see ... guess i'll have to follow through)

[ranette]

LOL...I will follow your progress Nicole!
My bedside table is much more cluttered than yours. And I've found that I like some degree of clutter, don't you?

My problem with putting stuff in containers is that I forget that it's there...

[Dave @ Guest Beds]

It must be spring in the air with all this cleaning and un-cluttering. I do agree that it does affect your concentration however it is hard to get rid of things, it's much easier to keep them "just in case".

[Dandelion Quilts]

Oh dear...I missed that, but can relate.

[mimi]

I am the worst clutterer at home. At the office I'm fine, but I'm a slob at home.

I need help. I don't know where to start. It's awful.

My mother and my sister was/is soooo neat it's scarey. My sister is helping her daughter organize. I asked her to help me but she refuses!!!

I'm going to work on it this summer when I'm off work.

[Candace]

Nicole, we had to de-clutter and clear a lot of things out of our house recently to get it ready to sell. Not that the clutter was bad - we just had a lot of stuff! At first I thought I couldn't live without my treasures - now after a few weeks, I don't miss them and am not even sure I want to unpack those boxes after we move! It's amazing what a positive effect removing things from tabletops and shelves does - kind of like it almost opens your mind for more creativity! Good luck with your project!
Cheers!

[Carrie]

How bad was it? As much as I could have used the makeover, I refused to enter one of those "Messiest Sewing Room" contests because I was too embarassed for anyone to see just how awful it was!

I totally agree with the notion that clutter can weigh you down emotionally, creatively and energy-wise. While I still have a lot of "stuff" to clear out, I also know I will never be completely clutter-free because I kind of like having my favorite "stuff" around me. It makes me happy.

One of the funny things about the Oprah show is the almost perverse voyeurism ~ it is nice to see that there are folks who are so much worse off than I am. I'm also glad to see that nobody is a lost cause ~ all of us can be helped.

Although, wouldn't you love to see that woman's car again in a year? Do you think she'll keep it clean? :)

[beth]

oh Nicole
have fun with your decluttering
by the way I love the chicken [ rooster ] in the pic
hugs Beth

[Kate]

Your bedside table is positively neat! Mine is scattered with moisturisers, pens, jewellery, photos and probably a whole heap more...and thats just on top! My plan to declutter is to move out of home, and try to leave stuff behind...not sure Ill get away with it though ;-)

[Lizzie Swinney]

I am a complete neat freak. Over the years I have gotten rid of many a thing that I regret. I am not saying that it is ok to keep everything but I have done the exact opposite of the clutter bug's. I guess that makes me an un-clutterbug. Now I am moving to an even smaller place and trying once again to downsize. It is gonna be hard, but I know I can do it. Quilt stuff an exception! That is my therapy.

[Sally]

I'm game--as long as I don't have to bother my sewing room or my books or the pile beside my chair lol.

[Cathy McMann]

Nicole, I don't call your nightstand cluttered at all! I just checked mine - 9 books and a dvd (plus assorted lotions and manicure implements). Then next to the nightstand is Mt. ToBeRead, a pile of another 15-20 books (my book addiction is almost as bad as my fabric addiction, and my husband's is even worse). Please don't give Oprah my address. She might think we are running a library here.

[cherrie]

I have been de-cluttering my sewing room but with depression it takes a long time. Only a few bits left to go. I think I'll start on that right now. Thankyou for the inspiration. Cherrie

[Kayte]

See...you are ready for spring cleaning after all! It just feels so good to declutter...I keep telling my boys that I hope to be down to one small box by the time I kick the bucket! I find that as I get older, I don't WANT as much, I don't BUY as much, and I am happier with what I have...do you find that, too? I think we are about the same age. And, for the record, my bedside table looks exactly like yours, with maybe a couple more books...I always have four going at a time.

[Gayla]

This post is actually helpful to me today--I have been feeling a little overwhelmed w/ all that there is to do around the house. I will start w/ clearing surfaces. A good starting place! Thanks, Nicole!

[JoAnne in Keller, TX]

Your nightstand is definitely not too cluttered - you should see the table beside my sewing chair right now - projects, food, remote, kleenex, etc, etc, etc. Oh, and I love your rooster!

[Jean]

Sounds like a wonderful idea. I've been attempting to de-clutter for a while now with not much luck. I think if you start small, like clean out a dresser or a night stand before moving on is the key. If you look at the whole house/garage/storage shed and the dreaded sewing room you'll get so overwhelmed you can't do a thing.