How to Clear Out Clutter and Save Your Sanity

Disorganization from clutter can distract the mind from tackling work.

Collecting a lot of stuff is wonderful. The only problem is that all those things can soon take over your life and home before you know it.  After all, too many of anything can make it hard to find what you need when you need it.  At the same time, when you have an over abundance like too many outfits or makeup then making a decision can be difficult searching through what you have and result in a lot more wasted time.  However, purging some of your excess possessions can simplify your life.

That shopping passion for new clothes, shoes, makeup, books, electronic to toys for your children or grandchildren occupies more space with each purchase. Unless you have a huge house with lots of walk-in closets, then you’ll  find those items spilling out of your closets or forced into storage bins or cedar chests because of a lack of room unless you declutter.  

The problem can even be worse for those that are drawn to flea markets and antique fairs because they soon are overwhelmed adding to their collections.  Before you know it, you can boxes upon boxes of what special item that you collect piled high, perhaps, in your garage.  

I knew this man that collected antique jars from before the Civil War.  Some were quite valuable.  He proudly would display them on his table and add new pieces that he paid a premium for as an investment due to this love of those jars. Yet, to all other people these old jars that were beautiful to this flea market dealer and other antique bottle collectors, had no meaning or value to many others.  

Too many of anything are not helpful.

Sadly enough, this older gentleman died and his children were left with his massive antique jar collection.  The children had no idea as to the value of their father’s collection or how to dispose of it. The antique jars that took him years and a lot of money to collect ended up getting sold as a cheap lot for a few dollars at an estate sale.

If you have a valuable collection, I suggest leaving instructions with your relatives as to the worth of your collection and how to liquidate it.  This will solve a lot of problems.

I knew another woman that loved to collect cookbooks.  She got to the point that not one more book could fit in her house.  She had cookbooks in every room upstairs, downstairs, in her garage from floor to ceiling that the couple's cars had to park outside.  Then she started keeping her cookbooks outside before renting a storage locker, then a second storage locker.  The problem is that she owned so many that she didn’t even remember what books that she had, but always wanted more.  You would think that this woman cooked, but she said she never had time.  She just liked to collect.

Another woman I knew loved buying practically at the flea market as long as it was a good deal. She always had big packages in her arms from things like baby dolls when there were no children at home to play with them.  Her husband once told me that their gameroom was polluted with garbage bags with all her flea market deals that never saw the light of day.  

I had a college teacher that was obsessed with his love of books that he bought every first issue of a magazine as well as buying first edition books.  His collection kept growing and finally got to the point that it drove his wife to divorce, which cost him more than the price of all that literature he coveted so much. 

The best way to start breaking the clutter cycle is setting some groundwork.  Therefore, learning to modify your buying behavior is a helpful beginning.

Ask Yourself What You Really Need  

If you just like to buy because it’s on sale or the neighbor just got one and you need to have one to keep up, then it is not benefitting you.  Instead, make a conscious effort to realize what you need first before buying without thinking.  

Give the Clutter a Deadline to Take Action

Pick a day on your calender to set aside for sorting through one room at a time.  Promise yourself to go through that one room that is designated on your calender and keep what you want but give away or sell others.  

Enlist a Family Member for Emotional Support

Parting with possessions that may have sentimental value can take willpower.  Nonetheless, you need to be strong if you want to adapt this destructive behavior.  Often just another person to help remind you why you can let that item go can be valuable.

Replace Clutter With a New Use for That Space

After you sort through a formerly overcrowded shelf of figurines for example, don’t be tempted to replace the vacant space with many other decorative objects.  Instead, limit yourself to a special few to take better advantage of the space for a fresh look to that room.

Trying these tips will bring you the calm that you need without having that clutter burden draining your energy, sanity and money overspending.  If you practice them enough, you’ll experience fewer stressful days of tackling clutter in the future.

Have You Been Considering Self-Storage As an Option to Solve Your Clutter Problem?

Have you weighed the pros and cons of seeking self-storage for your treasures?

Most of us seem to buy more than we need.  This might be great for the economy, but it is not necessarily a good thing for our homes.  Too much of anything presents a problem of clutter if you don’t have enough space to store.  Therefore, you eventually have two options of downsizing some items or storing possessions elsewhere to keep stress levels down.

Of course, no one likes to part with their treasures, especially if they have sentimental value such as your grandmother’s set of china or a sizeable teapot collection from your dearly beloved aunt.  Ask yourself though how often or if you ever you plan to use those things first or just keep them on a shelf or packaged in a box.  After all, grandmothers’ china may be beautifully ornate and a part of your family’s history, but do you trust the glaze to be lead-free to be safe to eat from now? As to your favorite aunt’s teapot collection, you might be admiring them in a china cabinet, perhaps, but ask yourself if you’re really a tea drinker or mostly prefer coffee or soda?  These are the questions that you need to consider when examining your belongings, if you intend to keep your sanity.

My recommendation is to pick and choose items based on their practical use in your life.  Gather what you can’t live without in one section of the room and then place the other items on the opposite side.

The hard part comes next.  From the items you want to keep but don’t really have room for, try to sort out the essentials from the nonessentials but keepsake items.  Some of the nonessentials are ones that aren’t really important to you that may want to donate to charity.  Others are ideal for a garage sale.

Now ask yourself the importance of each nonessential keepsake by hanging onto it.  Is the cost of monthly storage justified or would it be cheaper and more to your benefit to sell it?  

Memories are one thing, but they also can be costly for self-storage or looking into buying a larger home. Saving one item from that cherished, departed relative over many may be more practical for your budget and stress reduction. 

By now, the pile of items that you’re keeping has decreased.  The items still dear to you that do not fit in your home will need self-storage.  Write down every piece and then start calling self-storage facilities to compare their prices.  Depending on the business and the square footage of space that you’ll need, you can expect to pay anywhere from $30 to $400 per month.  Furthermore, you might even need to have additional  insurance beyond your homeowner’s or rental insurance for theft, water damage, fire, etc.  

The price might be within your budget.  Yet, can you afford this monthly fee regularly in the future?

I knew someone that has a passion for collecting cookbooks.  Cookbooks dominated every room of her home, including the garage.  Their cars and boat eventually had to be parked outdoors until moving them to self-storage.  One unit soon became two and a good part of this woman’s monthly salary went toward self-storage of these cookbooks, packed in boxes that were so jammed in these storage units that once inside, rarely saw the light of day.  Yet, what others may consider a money pit was worth it to this particular woman. Can you say the same?

Personally, I think self-storage is better as a temporary solution.  You could be remodeling your home, moving, going through a divorce, etc. that calls for changing your life. How do you feel on the subject?
  

How to Break the Cluttering Cycle Forever

Clutter is exhausting and can take over your life unless you organize.

Who doesn't have a junk drawer?  Others of us take it to the next level and turn closets, game rooms, attics, or garages into larger versions with things you keep just in case you might need it sometime.  However, sometimes spending a little more time downsizing your clutter can help you accumulate more money, reduce stress, and physical exhaustion.

Dear readers, you know I love stuff.  But how many times do we find ourselves wasting more time hunting for that one item than its worth?  We can get frustrated, tired searching and sometimes lose money because we missed a deadline for a bill, perhaps.  How about those coupons you know you have but can't find for that store circular in your hand?  Then again, what about repurchasing a product like a small tool because you hid it in a safe place until you needed it again?

Look over your belongings and sort through your stuff gradually.  Make piles of "must keeps" that you need or love and can't part with, "maybe keeps" the items like clothes you may look good in again if you lose ten pounds or the Christmas dinnerware that end up being used once a year, etc. The "get rid of" piles of items, such as the ugly Santa sweater your mother-in-law bought you five years ago  that only comes out of the box when she is around and others things you don't like, you can save for your garage sale or pack to sell at your local flea market to convert from clutter to cash. 

During the process, you may find hidden money.  Do check your books, magazines, jeans, pockets of jackets for money. 

Gift cards are another thing you may find.  Gather, put a rubber band around them, and keep in a universal "gift card" wallet to pack when you intend to shop with them.  If those cards are in one place, you will have easy access and can use them before any expiration.

You won't be able to clean clutter overnight.  However, if you tackle a room or a drawer at a time, then this chore will be easier.  Make a list and cross out what room will be reorganized that week and try to strive for that goal.  Be sure to label what gets stored in a box so you search.

Once you get desk or table cleared that had your mail or papers piled in stacks, then do yourself a favor and fill that empty space with a fruit bowl for that dining table or small photo for that desk, just something to use as a visual reminder of your decluttering success.

Trust me, your stress levels will improve and so will surroundings!