Emergen-C

In this case, “C” is for clutter.

Last week I wrote about the home wrecker that’s making my life far too complicated: clutter. I haven’t written here since because I have been busy wading through piles of stuff. And you know what? It’s hard work.

I thought about hiring someone to help me, but my clutter is personal – how would a complete stranger know which receipts I need and which to shred? What could an “organizing assistant” do that I can’t? Sure, it works on t.v. but my apartment is, well… too cluttered to invite a bunch of cameras in to chronicle the transformation.

So I took some advice from the de-cluttering experts who recently appeared on Oprah’s show, and started with one small space (in this case, my bathroom). I cleared everything out of the room, spread it all over every surface I could find, and cleaned until my heart was content. Then I felt really tired, so I left the stuff where it was and hit the hay.

The next day, the sun was out and I felt invincible. I gathered the bottles and jars that were all over the house, cleaned each until it sparkled, and began to restock the bathroom. I was amazed! I had seven jars of moisturizer, more than a dozen tubes of suntan lotion (and I live in Boston, not exactly a tropical spot), and a brand new hairdryer still in its box. This is what happens with clutter: you lose stuff, buy more, and lose that in all the clutter. A mean Catch-22 if there ever was one.

If you need help conquering your clutter, check out OrganizedHome.com. You’ll find some helpful free tips and more important you’ll see that you are absolutely not alone in your struggles.

For me, the next step will be sorting through paperwork. Here’s my dirty little secret: when guests are coming over, I tend to put whatever pile of mail is in site in an empty duffel bag. Then, when it’s time to travel the contents of the bag go into a plastic container (the kind meant to hold winter boots, not last month’s catalogs). The containers go into the closet… you get the picture. But the adage “out of site, out of mind” does not apply. I really believe the feng shui principle that clutter affects one’s ability to relax – there’s always that gnawing sense that there is something calling out for your attention.

If you want to read a fabulous (and fun) book about feng shui, read: Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life by Karen Rauch Carter. You can order it today on Amazon.com – but only if you promise to take it right out of the box when it arrives and put that box in the recycling (don’t fill it up with clutter!).

Until next time,

Conna