The Clutter Monster

I feel like I am surrounded by clutter.  I feel like everyon has a perfectly clean house... except me.  Looking around though, I've come to realize that my house is clean (usually), it's just full of STUFF.  Now, with four kids and a husband that works from home, some of this is inevitable, but the reality is that we do have to much stuff. 

While at the doctor the other day I found this great magazine article that really motivated me to get rid of the clutter.  It was from Womans Day magazine, you can find the article here.

I often read these things, but while reading think, I've heard all of this before, nothing new here, and while that was also the case this time, I did find some things worded differently that inspired me... I'll share a few of those things here, but definitely check out the article for more information!

Just thinking about cleaning out your decades of belongings can stir up all sorts of emotions, says Dr. Frost. More than likely, your home is filled with two categories of junk: Easy Stuff, which is all the forgotten stuff you don’t particularly care about (old tools, old toiletries) and is easy to discard; and Weak Spots, the items that you care about (Grandma’s plates, your school notebooks, shoes). The key to successfully tossing a Weak Spot is to understand your emotions, so you can handle them head-on. “People develop emotional attachments to their things,” says Dr. Frost. “That plate is not just a plate, but represents an emotion. So our aim is to change the nature of the attachment.”

I've got a lot of that "emotional" stuff.  I've learned better to deal with it in the past few years, but there is still a lot of it sitting around.  Ultimately I remind myself that just because my mom made that doesn't mean that I have to like it.  It doesn't need to sit around and do nothing.  She's in heaven adn knows that none of this stuff comes with us, so why do I need it here on earth?

Remind yourself of all the reasons you don’t want the item. Say aloud: I don’t have room for it. I already have something similar. It’s not a smart use of my finances. Repeat. The goal is to build immunity to our urge to buy.

Another thing I remind myself that is if someone can live in a mud hut with  little to know luxuries in thier lives, I can definitely live without _____________.

Put it down, especially if it’s free (or cheap). Touching items is the first step to owning them, so look, then walk away.
Sooooo guilty of this one!

Until the moment you start decluttering, don’t spend time thinking about the specific items you’ll be parting with.

Numerous studies show that people whose lives are oriented around material possessions—which is what happens when every surface is cluttered— are less happy. A 2006 study found that participants who made changes to their life circumstances (such as buying a new TV) felt their self-reported happiness subside after a mere 12 weeks.

Rather than considering each item in depth, give yourself 5 seconds to make a decision for each item, says Smallin, especially for the Easy Stuff

Here is the 12 week decluttering plan from Womans Day as well!  Some good information here as well, even if you don't do it on their timetable!

What are your secrets/tips for controlling clutter?