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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 25 2012 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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Clutter Busting
Brooks Palmer
I found this at the library. I think it is the top decluttering book I have read on my decluttering journey The author gives great insight into what clutter is and does and how it holds us back.
Some points he makes that I have found helpful are:
If you look at an object and feel confused or uncomfortable, it is clutter. If you don't know what to do with an item, it is clutter.
If an object is serving you/working for you or giving you joy, keep it. If not, it is clutter.
Expensive clutter is still clutter. Just because you may have paid a lot for an item does not protect it from being clutter.
We are not the same people we were ten years ago or even five years ago.
We change, and what we own needs to keep up with that. When you are young, it's easier. You obviously aren't going to wear the same clothes at 20 that you did at 10. They wouldn't fit, for one. There are things in your life now that "don't fit" anymore. They are clutter.
He also gives a slew of practical exercises.
One of my favorites is: take everything you own of one item (ex. music cds) and put them in a pile and look at them. Ask yourself: which of these would I buy again today? Put those in a pile.
Which of these do I listen to regularly? Put those in a pile.
Look at the ones left. They are clutter. If in doubt, listen to the cd and see how it makes you feel. If you feel joy/uplifted, it stays. If not, it goes.
He dives into the reasons why we continually want to buy and acquire things, which I found helpful.
This is a very secular book, and some of the stories are pretty extreme, but overall I found it very helpful. I was able to let go of several items that were given to me and I felt guilty about passing on. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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CatholicMommy
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This sounds really interesting! I'll check to see if our library has it! (no sense purchasing it and creating "more" clutter) 
Thank you!
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JodieLyn
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It does sound interesting. But does it deal at all with ways to handle "necessary clutter"? That's what I think I run into most. Too many people, too much stuff, so that even things that I use reasonably often are clutter.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Sharyn
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| Posted: Jan 26 2012 at 9:05am | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
| Ask yourself: which of these would I buy again today? |
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We went op shopping yesterday and what do you know but I found the little red winter jacket that I donated maybe a year ago. Well it's summer and it looks like we will be having 4 days straight of 40 degrees (104F?) but that didn't stop me buying that little jacket back again  So much for decluttering. It will be just the thing for my littlest come winter though 
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 26 2012 at 9:31am | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| It does sound interesting. But does it deal at all with ways to handle "necessary clutter"? That's what I think I run into most. Too many people, too much stuff, so that even things that I use reasonably often are clutter. |
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That is an interesting aspect of clutter, Jodie- how to deal with the stuff that you actually do need.
The author focuses on weeding out all the unnecessary items in your house and then enjoying what you have. Most of the people in the book found they could do with far less than they thought. One mother had given up on her daughter's clutter and started dealing with her own... only to be surprised when her daughter took the initiative to go through her things on her own after seeing her mom do it.
Could your kids do with less? Would it be helpful to ask them to help weed things out? Sometimes it is interesting to hear what my kids want to part with vs what I think needs to go.
I just read a really interesting blog post about a mom with ten kids who did away with her clothing stash. I will try to find it for you.
Basically, she found that the big bins of clothing were taking up so much room that the kids could not play in the basement. Then she would forget what was in the bins and buy things she would already have. Or she would save something and it would be the wrong season for one child when it fit.
She was spending a lot of her time and energy with the bins and felt that overall they were a drain. So she sold/donated all but a very few items. Now her kids have fewer clothes, but space to play, and the mom said it has helped her trust more that God will provide - she doesn't need to hang onto every item of clothing, especially when some other child could be wearing it right now ( vs sitting in a bin for 2 years in waiting).
It was a very interesting post- I thought she was very brave!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 28 2012 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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The author of Clutter Busting has a blog here. You can read many of his tips and get a feel for his style.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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mamaslearning
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I didn't see this post until today, but coincedently I picked up this book at the library yesterday.  I really, really like how this book deals with the emotions of clutter. Most of my clutter starts in my head and then my house is an extension of all those thoughts swirling and creating chaos. It's a great book for getting at the heart of *why* you tend to collect clutter.
A helpful exercise I found was when he suggests to remove items from their clutter home into another room to sort. He explains that you have a visual idea (memory) of a space and it's difficult to let go of things when they occupy that space. Taking them somewhere else breaks that visual and allows for easier clutter busting. That is so true for me!
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 28 2012 at 8:39am | IP Logged
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Ditto- we did that a few months ago with my ds's room. Emptying out everything was critical for him- he was able to let go of a lot of items once he saw how his room looked without them. He is my hoarder, so this method really works!
I also like how he deals with emotions of clutter as well. He stresses that the *people* are the most important things in a house, not the stuff.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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Thanks Melinda, other than the totes taking up space (neatly stacked on one wall in the garage, my clothing boxes don't take up that much. And with where we live, second hand things are hard to come by. I know ladies who don't store things but almost invariably they also mention resources for getting clothing cheap and local.
My main issues are generally office/desk type of things and just sheer lack of space. You know.. when a mess though quite reasonable objectively is made while playing or working.. the lack of space around it makes it feel more overwhelming just because of lack of space, not to mention the things that are more difficult to put away because there's "layers" of things in the closets and cupboards.
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Melinda
just checked and my library has this  I'll be back.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 6:18am | IP Logged
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Erin wrote:
Melinda
just checked and my library has this I'll be back. |
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Great- I'd love to hear what you think.
I think the quote from the book that stays most with me is:
"Your home is not a warehouse"
or, in my case...not a public library
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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JennGM
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Just got this from my library.
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SeaStar
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I'm just starting to go through the book again, more slowly, and trying to do each exercise. Some of the stories are so sad- some are funny, though. I liked the man who was trying to hold on to his National Geographic magazine collection. I'm glad he was able to laugh about it at the end. The author must live a very interesting life!
ETA: The CB blog has a great post about decluttering photos here Scroll down to the end of January.
This is one area I have been avoiding. It is hard for me to throw away pictures of my children, even if I have 20 copies of the same pose from Portrait Innovations.
There is another good post about letting go of drama in your life. I like how he said that the adrenaline rush always leaves him tired, so he tried not to "take the bait".
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I'm loving this book! It gave me the clarity I needed to pare down my book collection!
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I'm kind of with Jodie on a lot of my clutter is "necessary" (well, I think so  ). Things like kid's school papers to review, kid's activity sheets from ballet, baseball etc., all sorts of things related to homeschooling and ideas, bills, misc. mail, magazines, newspapers, recipes, gardening ideas, coupons, grocery ads etc. I've tried different systems and have a few things in place but not near enough.
I'm going to check out his blog.
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Kathryn
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I've been reading this guy's daily blogs. They're short, sweet and quite insightful. If you have an issue with clutter or too much stuff (do we all? ), it's worth checking out.
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Kathryn in TX
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SeaStar
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Kathryn wrote:
| I've been reading this guy's daily blogs. They're short, sweet and quite insightful. If you have an issue with clutter or too much stuff (do we all? ), it's worth checking out. |
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I'm really liking his blog, too, Kathryn.
I keep pondering something he said in his book about contemplating all your stuff:
What if you never owned it?
What if you never heard of it?
What about all the stuff you don't own now?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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The blog is nice!
I have a hefty Spring Cleaning list ready to go for Lent. I plan to go room by room, cleaning, purging, and making lists for the things I want
Seriously, I think that going through thoughtfully purging and making note of the things I want to make the spaces work better, I will be more aware when I come across things I already own but can repurpose AND have a better idea of what I can really use and plan for or keep an eye out for rather than impulse buy stuff that will become clutter.
Of course, part of the sacrifice will be not buying anything during Lent.
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Topic: Great book: Clutter Busting
