All across the world, people are hiding a dirty little secret, or at least a dusty little secret. There homes are filled with clutter. It happens to the best of us. It might start out innocently enough: some mail left on the kitchen counter, an extra group of toys overstuffed into a corner, a couple of outfits that get “stored” on the floor of the closet. But clutter is sneaky. it finds a way to get into your home and breed more clutter until you are either overwhelmed or learn to live with it.
Our generation faces a war with clutter that is something our parents or perhaps our grandparents never had to really know. We live in a great age of manufacturing, where many items can be purchased cheaply and easily. Our homes are bombarded with all sorts of mail and marketing messages. There are kids crafts and toys and paperwork, the latest fashions, figurines and little gifts, all sorts of electronic devices and even convenience food items that are taking up space in our homes. It is hard to keep up with it all.
Just take a look at all of the recent de-cluttering television shows, books and magazine articles that are out there addressing this topic. There are support groups, too, such as Messies Anonymous and the followers of FlyLady. Even perfect-looking houses may have a hidden stash of clutter.
I recently was invited over to an amazing house. It was modern and chic and spotless despite the fact that there were young children living in the home. I was amazed and feeling a little unworthy. That is until I made a wrong turn looking for the bathroom and found myself in a spare bedroom that was stuffed floor to ceiling with stuff. I quickly closed the door and kept the find to myself.
Over the next few days, I’ll be sponsoring a de-cluttering boot camp. I’ll include a series of blog postings with strategies and tips for de-cluttering. There will be links to other posts about de-cluttering and organization. I’ll talk about the reasons clutter enters our homes and how to keep it out. I’ll also be with you every step of the way through these blog posts, and I’ll focus on the areas and issues that are most important to everyone coming on board. We can cheer each other on, share our frustrations and ask for help where needed. We can also post our de-cluttering successes and secrets in the comments section. Won’t you join me? To get started, sign up here by leaving a comment!
And check back for the first post that talks about the common de-cluttering roadblocks.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
4 Ways Clutter Can Cost You Money
De-cluttering with Young Children