Too Much Clutter?

4/14/04

too much clutter?

Nancy Loncaric, LSCSW

Dresser overflowing with clothes clipart

Over and over I hear it, “I have too many things; I have too much clutter; I can’t throw anything out.” The people who are saying phrases such as these usually have one thing in common—generalized anxiety and a feeling of being out of control of their living environment. You’ve accumulated many “things” over the course of a lifetime, and a good question to ask yourself at this time of year is: Are my ‘things’ taking over?” It can be a serious problem with serious implications. When does saving things turn into hoarding?

The excuses can be many: “Oh, I’m not as young as I used to be,” (Who is?) “It is an overwhelmingly daunting dilemma,” “I can’t do it by myself,” etc. Whether you live in a small apartment or a large house, if there are too many things, it can be anxiety producing.

The first thing to do is to take a general inventory. What things do you have too many of? Furniture, books, old magazines and newspapers, clothing, etc. The second thing to do is to decide if one person can do the culling and cleaning or do you need some help. If you need help, it might be a family member or a teenager willing to help move things for some spending money. Set a reasonable goal for yourself in a realistic time frame. It might take one weekend or the next six months. The important things is to make a start. “Just Do It,” as the NIKE ad says.

Generally speaking, “things” can go into three classifications: things to be thrown out or recycled; things to donate to charity; things to keep. With clothing, the general rule of thumb is if you haven’t worn it in two years, you probably will never wear it. You might want to make large piles of clothing that could be given away to someone who has a need for it. Old newspapers and magazines are fire hazards, and if you don’t want to pitch them, they can always be recycled. Old books no longer wanted can be donated or sold to a number of used bookstores in the area. The time you start de-cluttering yourself is also a good time to begin to develop new habits about pitching junk mail each day and throwing away or recycling the daily newspaper.

Another area to sort and throw out is in your medicine cabinet. Throw all of those half-used prescriptions away, the same with old cosmetics, toiletries and the like. The refrigerator and pantry also need a thorough going over. If food items or can goods are past their expiration date, throw them out.

You will, of course, have special mementos that are meaningful to you and that you’ll want to keep. That’s OK. With some effort and diligence, even “pack rats” can make their environment more manageable and, in turn, a more pleasant living experience. Try it, you will like the results and the feeling of being in control that comes with it.

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