Clearing
Clutter Frees Space In Home, Mind
Reprinted
from
The Indianapolis Star
3/31/02
With spring comes
warmer weather, longer days, new blossoming flowers.
It also signifies a time for spring cleaning, to get into
those areas that have long awaited either a makeover or a
cleansing agent.
If you're going
to be like some people, you'll only think about it rather than do
it. Who am I to scorn
those who wish to leave things as they are and not make time to
improve their environment?
I don't pass
judgment on those people. I
do however pass sentence of another year in delusional bliss.
Cleaning built-up
dirt or dust isn't all that spring cleaning is about.
Cleaning expert, Don Aslett, will tell you that in his
numerous books about clutter.
In one of
Aslett's books, "Not For Pack Rats Only," he begins with
saying, "Across the board, rich or poor, mansion or bungalow,
twelve kids or two, junk and clutter causes more headaches,
strained backs, strained budgets, and strained relationships, more
frustration, discouragement, guilt, embarrassment, chaos, and
confusion than any other housework challenge!"
So, it isn't all
about cleaning. Because,
no matter how clean things are, the house will still be littered
with new accumulated clutter if we don't learn how to control
ourselves and our area. It's
either that or "open storage-bin surgery," to steal a
phrase from Aslett.
There's a lot of
stuff we tend to get and keep.
Most of it ends up serving us no good other than useless
significance. And,
that goes for keepsake kidney stones kept in a bottle or genuine
goat brassiere artifacts, such as some of the things presented to
Aslett in a junk contest. It's
mind-shuttering.
Did you know he
found that 40% of housework was "actually nothing but picking
up and maneuvering around junk and clutter?"
Imagine that. People are actually wasting 40% of their time.
I suppose if
someone were being a full-time housewife with nothing else to do,
than that wasted time fills time they could maybe be senselessly
spending relaxing in a hot tub.
It's evident that
some people choose to do this, too.
One stay-at-home mom spent almost her entire day picking
things up and moving them to designated clutter-storage areas in
her house.
This kind of
seemingly preferred activity usually cut into her meal preparation
time, which she solved by ordering pizza delivered daily for
lunch. For dinner,
she threw items into a crock-pot in the morning to stew all day.
I don't think she ever baked, broiled, or cooked over the
stove.
It was really
very interesting watching her make an attempt to clear out her
clothes closet one day. She had enough shoes to fill a few of the bleachers at a
stadium.
Of course, she
had to keep the shoes she wore on her first date with her husband.
And, like other shoes, she wanted them to remain in the
shoe box and try to be fitted into the no-vacant spots of her
closet.
I was sure she
was going to teach her young toddler the same principles of
keeping things. The
child had toys everywhere from everyone since his birth, it
seemed. Yet, the
whole time I spent there, I only saw the kid watching Disney
videos.
At least the
woman wanted to do something to free up spaces and get organized.
It was Spring, after all, when she made the motion to
contact me for help. I
admired her spirit and intentions to do so.
But, to adjust her lifestyle to a clutter-free world,
I would have to be gently ruthless.
Getting rid of
kid-clutter was the first thing she tackled, and the easiest.
It wasn't her stuff. The
garage was off-limits because that was her husband's domain and
wasn't to be messed with when he wasn't around.
That left plenty
other areas to deal with though.
The guestroom which then housed dozens of shopping bags
filled with items to return to stores was her next endeavor.
That wasn't the only things the room housed in terms of
accumulated stuff, but it was a start.
We got the bags
into her car trunk, and she put her list of stores to make returns
at in her purse. I wanted to go with her to ensure she didn't pick up anything
else while returning the items, but I knew I'd have to trust her
being out on her own.
Soon, every room
in the house had been de-junked.
The only thing I couldn't get her to part with were her
first-date shoes.
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