Is it Clutter?
Musings—Apr 26, 2010
Clients often hold up an item and ask me “Is it clutter?”. There’s only two choices—yes or no!
I’ve got a number of organizing projects on the go right now and I’ve been doing some presentations and workshops too. People are realizing that getting organized is a good thing to do. They’re also realizing that the clutter they have in their lives is really weighing them down and it’s preventing them from living the life they would prefer to have.
So that brings me to the question—what is clutter?
I know clutter… yikes, I even have some of it too in my shed. I’ve been meaning to overhaul that cramped and congested space for the last two years, but I just didn’t get around to it before winter got here. But I’m committed to doing it this spring.
Over the course of the winter I’ve been putting things out there “just for now”, with the intention that I’ll deal with those items at the same time as I deal with all the other stuff that’s already out there.
If you need any help deciding if something is clutter or not, these are the questions I ask myself (especially when I think I should keep something).
Clutter is anything that:
- you don’t like
- you don’t use
- you don’t want
- you don’t love having it in your life
- doesn’t bring you happiness or joy
- doesn’t serve any purpose in your life
- doesn’t support and help you move in the direction you want to go in your life
- has reached its “best before date”
- is broken or damaged or not all there (and you ‘know’ you are never going to get around to fixing it or buying whatever is missing from it )
- has no life or use left in it
- you’d consider garbage
For instance, when you are clearing out an area of your home or workplace, for each item ask yourself if it meets the above criteria. Do I like it? Do I use it? Do I no longer want it? Do I love having it around? Does it ever bring me happiness or joy? Does it serve any purpose in my life? Does this support and help me move in the direction I want to be going? Has this item expired? How long has the item been broken? Will I really ever get it fixed (answer honestly!).
If you are answering “no” to some of those questions, then perhaps it’s clutter, and is silently weighing you down.
No one can decide for you. You decide. Is it clutter?
