Is Your Life Too Cluttered?
By: Stepfanie Romine,
SparkPeople Blogger
5/2/2012 6:00 PM
: 116 comments
: 30,549 Views
Seven years ago, I lived in a 240-square-foot apartment on the 15th floor of a high-rise building on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea. Just 10 feet wide and 24 feet long, my furnished apartment had a galley kitchen with two burners, a bathtub that was about the size of a utility sink, and a bedroom that doubled as an office and living room.
Everything I owned could fit in two suitcases and a couple of carry-ons, and for over 12 months, I bought only those items I could either mail home, donate, or use after my time in Korea was up.
I baked cookies in a toaster oven, hung my laundry on a rack near the foot of my bed, and had only a small closet for my clothes.
I loved it. I felt safe, cocooned, and comfortable in that cozy little apartment. I had everything I needed and little more. It was easy to clean and I never wasted time searching for objects.
I hate clutter, but I struggle to control it. It stresses me out to amass objects that I don't need, and I don't take comfort in having more "things" in my life. I'm terrible at decorating, and truthfully, my apartment is barer than most. Still, I felt like I had too much stuff, especially when faced with the prospect of packing and moving all of it.
Before my last move, I set out to get rid of 25% of my belongings.
I hosted a clothing swap party, gave clothes and shoes to friends and family, then donated the rest.
I sorted through my books, DVDs, and magazines. Anything I hadn't watched in a year or that I wouldn't consider re-reading (or consulting for reference), I recycled or sold at a used book store.
All the boxes of stuff--photos, letters, train tickets, and scraps of paper--I've collected during my travels were whittled down to one box. I had saved every train ticket and Metro stub from a half-dozen trips to France almost a decade ago. They heat-sensitive ink had faded, and they weren't legible. Into the recycling they went.
Not even the kitchen, my favorite room in the house, was exempt. I shed all the single-use gadgets (like a shrimp deveiner--I'm vegan!), any duplicates, and moved all my bulk items into jars and plastic containers.
I still have enough clothes to wear in any situation, enough photos to remember all my trips, and enough kitchen gear to whip up a multi-course meal.
Getting rid of all that stuff felt good. Very good.
So I kept going, aiming to strip down other areas of my life as well.
But why?
Today I read this: "Most of us have little idea how many things in our lives keep us from enjoying life more. But one’s life can be cluttered by more than household objects. The irritating extras can include activities that are no longer rewarding but are continued out of habit or guilt. Perhaps it’s time for a more extended kind of housecleaning."
New York Times writer Jane Brody has been documenting her own battle with clutter, and this week she checked in with a column that explained that clutter goes beyond yarn collections and overflowing closets.
All that stuff keeps us from enjoying life. The more stuff you have, the more time you spend organizing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it.
Though I don't have any physical collections, I realized that I "collected" in other areas of life: friends, activities, social and volunteer obligations, online life.
I felt like I couldn't fit it all in, and I wrote about my struggles and sacrifices while balancing all of life's demands.
So I started saying NO. (Politely of course.)
No to the people I really didn't want to see, to the volunteer projects I really didn't want to work on, to the invites to events that interfered with my yoga and running schedule.
It feels good.
These days my life is smaller and less cluttered in all senses of the word. Still, I always look for opportunities to continue to shed what I don't need.
I don't need to be lifelong Facebook friends with every person I meet. I don't need to have 16 bottles of nail polish (or 4, even). I don't need to buy extras of everything, just in case.
While I have a lot more than I did when I lived in that 240-square-foot apartment, my life feels more manageable. Just enough friends, just enough clothes, and just enough stuff. With plenty of time left for everything that really matters--like healthy eating and fitness!
How about you? Do you struggle to manage all the stuff in your life--friends, obligations, objects? How do you deal?
Do you try to shed unnecessary objects from your life?
Everything I owned could fit in two suitcases and a couple of carry-ons, and for over 12 months, I bought only those items I could either mail home, donate, or use after my time in Korea was up.
I baked cookies in a toaster oven, hung my laundry on a rack near the foot of my bed, and had only a small closet for my clothes.
I loved it. I felt safe, cocooned, and comfortable in that cozy little apartment. I had everything I needed and little more. It was easy to clean and I never wasted time searching for objects.
I hate clutter, but I struggle to control it. It stresses me out to amass objects that I don't need, and I don't take comfort in having more "things" in my life. I'm terrible at decorating, and truthfully, my apartment is barer than most. Still, I felt like I had too much stuff, especially when faced with the prospect of packing and moving all of it.
Before my last move, I set out to get rid of 25% of my belongings.
I hosted a clothing swap party, gave clothes and shoes to friends and family, then donated the rest.
I sorted through my books, DVDs, and magazines. Anything I hadn't watched in a year or that I wouldn't consider re-reading (or consulting for reference), I recycled or sold at a used book store.
All the boxes of stuff--photos, letters, train tickets, and scraps of paper--I've collected during my travels were whittled down to one box. I had saved every train ticket and Metro stub from a half-dozen trips to France almost a decade ago. They heat-sensitive ink had faded, and they weren't legible. Into the recycling they went.
Not even the kitchen, my favorite room in the house, was exempt. I shed all the single-use gadgets (like a shrimp deveiner--I'm vegan!), any duplicates, and moved all my bulk items into jars and plastic containers.
I still have enough clothes to wear in any situation, enough photos to remember all my trips, and enough kitchen gear to whip up a multi-course meal.
Getting rid of all that stuff felt good. Very good.
So I kept going, aiming to strip down other areas of my life as well.
But why?
Today I read this: "Most of us have little idea how many things in our lives keep us from enjoying life more. But one’s life can be cluttered by more than household objects. The irritating extras can include activities that are no longer rewarding but are continued out of habit or guilt. Perhaps it’s time for a more extended kind of housecleaning."
New York Times writer Jane Brody has been documenting her own battle with clutter, and this week she checked in with a column that explained that clutter goes beyond yarn collections and overflowing closets.
All that stuff keeps us from enjoying life. The more stuff you have, the more time you spend organizing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it.
Though I don't have any physical collections, I realized that I "collected" in other areas of life: friends, activities, social and volunteer obligations, online life.
I felt like I couldn't fit it all in, and I wrote about my struggles and sacrifices while balancing all of life's demands.
So I started saying NO. (Politely of course.)
No to the people I really didn't want to see, to the volunteer projects I really didn't want to work on, to the invites to events that interfered with my yoga and running schedule.
It feels good.
These days my life is smaller and less cluttered in all senses of the word. Still, I always look for opportunities to continue to shed what I don't need.
I don't need to be lifelong Facebook friends with every person I meet. I don't need to have 16 bottles of nail polish (or 4, even). I don't need to buy extras of everything, just in case.
While I have a lot more than I did when I lived in that 240-square-foot apartment, my life feels more manageable. Just enough friends, just enough clothes, and just enough stuff. With plenty of time left for everything that really matters--like healthy eating and fitness!
How about you? Do you struggle to manage all the stuff in your life--friends, obligations, objects? How do you deal?
Do you try to shed unnecessary objects from your life?
 You will earn 3 SparkPoints |
NEXT ENTRY > Have You Tried: Saffron?
.jpg)
Comments
I inherited my mom's house and clutter. For 5 years now I've been slowly donating her collections as well as going thru my own stuff. I don't want my kids to have to go thru the same thing. I feel lighter every time a batch leaves the house. One box/cabinet/drawer at a time; if I focus on more I get over whelmed and stop completely. - 3/23/2013 2:34:34 PM
I'll be moving from Florida to Oregon to start a new life...a new life that I intend to fill with people and meaningful activities and love of all kinds. There's no room in that life for distracting clutter: hobbies that have lost my interest, books collecting dust, artifacts from a past that's dead and gone.
I'm keeping only the most favorite clothes, meaningful objects, and item that serve essential functions.
The freedom already feels awesome!! And when I arrive in that new life, moving into it will take only hours instead of days. I won't need a large apartment; a studio or efficiency will be sufficient. I'll be able to focus on what's REALLY important instead of where to stash 8 boxes of books and 3 garbage bags of fabric and yarns.
Thank you for your blog!! I get it!!! - 6/14/2012 6:46:09 AM
Until now I thought I don't really collect "stuff" I dont have a "closet" to keep it all in... I had to move back home 6 years or so ago, after moving around on my own every year since I left for college at 18. (I"m now 31 and living at home.) I was proud that everything I cherished I could pack up in 10 minutes, and be on the move again, now I look around and I feel like I have crap everywhere... I live in the family den that's more like a studio room. with 3 walls made of windows. I have a cluttered, paper strewn desk, a small book case filled with old outdated text books (I haven't finished school yet... life distractions and all), I have an Ikea wardrobe for a closet that acts also as my storage space, and a shelf in it for my toiletries, a turtle with her own box of crap, and a dog bed that has a blanket and a pillow... the rest of my space has one sisters desk, anothers treadmill that's only being used to hold folding beach chairs, a large tv hutch with a tv, and more outdated books, and another tv stand with old cd's on it's shelves, and a cat carrier sitting on top of the tv... the funny part is I dont use any of it!!! I netflix on my computer which has a spot on my bed!!! I live in a fishbowl/storage unit, that still has just drywall and plaster on the walls... we haven't been able to paint because the contractor disappeared 3 years ago before he finished!!!! LOL...
My friends love to come over, and dream about what they would do with my room, they love the openness, the space, the view of the pool, and sense of homeiness i've etched it into... I have solid light green sheets that I made into curtains that "puddle" on the floor (I was too lazy to cut them to size)... that give an airy light, and dreamy type feel to the place... Or at leat that's what I've been told... I just put them up so I could get some privacy from the neighbors lol.. I'm telling you all this becasue I think I need to do more than just declutter my email box... Maybe it's a good thing I was reading my old emails... becuause maybe its finally time for me to start to get rid of all the other clutter in my life that i've been holding onto that's just causing me to lose sight of my life... as for toxic friends well I'm all for the delete them from FB, and kindly start saying no thank you... I did that 2 days ago to an old friend that I finally realized had been making feel unjustly horrible about myself for the past 3 years... I deserve a better friend!!!!... Today is the day I open my eyes... I think it's time for me to yet again take control of my life, and give myself the ok to let go... after all its all just stuff... It's a reminder of a bettter time, but so are the things I learned, and the memories I gained from that time, and those things are all neatly stored in my head, and at the ready whenever I need them... cause well that's why we keep it all right...for the memories??? Well it's time for me to put my memories to use, and regain that happiness I felt when I could pack up all my treasures in 10 minutes... well lets say 20 now, after all I do have a turtle, a dog, and a cat to pack up as well :) - 5/26/2012 6:13:34 PM
I am planning on doing it this evening.Hopefully I can get somewhere with the mess. - 5/24/2012 5:49:42 PM
I keep boxes and bags set out in an easy place to get to so when I decide that something needs to go (really, do I need to wear uncomfortable clothes for fashion's sake? NO!! Even if it is cute, expensive, whatever, it goes). When the box or bag gets full, off it goes to local charities.
Another rule I have had to recently put into effect for my husband and daughter is if I have to pick it up, it becomes mine. Then I hold it for ransom, like cleaning the house, making the bed, doing dishes, vacuuming the car, etc. :-) We are definitely making progress!!
These steps have been a long time in coming, so give yourself time to decide what path is best for you....and it is ok to stumble and fall sometimes! :-)
- 5/11/2012 10:36:49 PM
Services like Netflix and Pandora have helped me to enjoy more and buy less. Rentals (ie a boat, a vacation house, a bike, a video game, a car, a video game etc.) are often much better to purchase--less maintenance & expense.
I've been trying to limit things that don't add to my health in an attempt to further simplify--alcohol, sugar, toxic friends, mindless entertainment, etc.
And the thing about friends--if you don't walk away from the majority of your friends with a positive experience, the paring down is the BEST thing you can do for yourself. Your time is the most precious thing you have; who you share it with should be equally as precious (even if that means hanging out by yourself!!) - 5/11/2012 5:42:54 PM
Your story is so inspiring! You make is sound so easy but to me, losing the stuff is almost harding than losing weight! Thanks for sharing. - 5/10/2012 6:16:29 AM
"All that stuff keeps us from enjoying life. The more stuff you have, the more time you spend organizing it, cleaning it, and maintaining it."
We are in the process of de-cluttering our home. It's a challenge because both MDH and I are pack rats. Just this weekend I decided to discard a paper trail from the past by shredding my old work files from 25 years ago. Most were college and work files from my first career as a teacher. I emptied three boxes and found some great resource materials to donate to the local book fair. That felt good to accomplish and has me pondering what part of the basement -- my life -- I want to de-clutter next! - 5/9/2012 9:39:57 AM
I work at it - but I think it is a character trait - and not always a bad one! - 5/8/2012 11:19:47 AM
I am military and used to moving. I lived in an apartment in Japan (probably a little bigger than the one in Seoul) and then American apartments. That apartment time has covered approximately 8 years. In those 8 years, I have also lived onboard a ship in a rack where my belongings filled up about 2.5 sea bags.
Late 2010, I bought my first house for my husband and myself. We hadn't even lived together yet but I bought our house which is about 1800 sq ft and more than adequate for two people (and now to pets as well). I have family who live in less sq footage than I am living in. I was raised in less square footage.
We have pack rat tendancies as well but that is mostly because my husband lost all of his memories through a series of moves by himself and his family. So, I try to stop and think about what I have. Honestly, half of my life has lived in boxes so when we did move in together I was able to get rid of a lot of stuff (I haven't used it in 8 years then I really don't need it). The other side I am working on is just realizing I am in a good place and a little bit of clutter isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've been so mobile for so long maybe it is just me adjusting to being able to stay at home or more importantly have a home for a family to grow up in. - 5/8/2012 8:35:43 AM
We moved five years ago due to my DH having alzheimers we moved across the street from our son and his partner after having been in a home for 22 years and an accumulations of 55+ years of marriage
Our children helped us get a 30 yard dumpster and we nearly filled it had some help from a few neighbors who had things to get rid of
But still moved way to much stuff am still sorting and downsizing and getting rid of things and yes it is just things that are no longer needed or used
Am finding can do with less and less and yes it does feel so good to be free of stuff
One day at a time - 5/7/2012 9:26:35 AM
Thank you! - 5/6/2012 11:00:43 AM
I am about to start uncluttering my life NOW... - 5/3/2012 6:19:12 PM
At the beginning of the summer I HAVE to declutter my stuff because at the end of the summer I want to move out from home and neither do I want to take all the stuff with me nor do I want to use my parents' house as a free storage. - 5/3/2012 3:52:09 PM
Thanks for the blog - I DO have a hard time saying NO to projects/ volunteering etc....
- 5/3/2012 3:23:33 PM
It's not just a matter of saying "No". It's a matter of first finding out what IS important to us so that we know what to say "No" to and have the inner values that make us want to clean away that which doesn't need to be held onto. - 5/3/2012 1:14:38 PM
Please Log In To Leave A Comment: Log in now ›