mlktwins Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I'm just curious. I've been reading several anti-clutter books and am in the mood to purge, purge, purge. So...as I was reading these books, I realized most of my clutter is related to my boys' artwork and memorabilia. I have been really good about getting rid of outgrown toys and clothes, but I have all their artwork, ticket stubs, certificates of achievement. It's a lot and they are only 5. And...it is weighing on me for some reason. It is also scattered on desks and the floor of my office, etc and makes me anxious. So...I'm going through that this week, recycling things or scanning and then recycling things. I'm only keeping the best of the best. I was shocked to realize it wasn't clothes or shoes (we don't keep what we don't wear), unfiled financial papers, stuff on every surface, etc. It is this memorabilia for my boys. Maybe because it is so emotional for me. I'm just curious what is/are the things that make your house feel cluttered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 My clutter is my "to-do" pile. I let it pile up until I can't stand it and then go through it. Luckily, I have a low tolerance for clutter, so it never gets big! In your situation, I'd take pictures of the children with each project and pitch it. The ticket stubs, certificates, etc - it depends. If you really want to keep it, get a bin for each child and store it in a closet - or somewhere out of sight. Stick it in there. We've done that since the kids were born and each child has ONE bin. I did start a second bin for sports shirts. I plan to make a quilt for high school graduation out of those. We also used to have a BIG box in one room of the house. We'd stick projects in it. When it got full, we'd send it to grandma!! That way, I didn't have to throw it away and grandma got to see their projects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 My clutter is mostly due to dh's media addiction. Since we work from home, the office is pretty cluttered with parts and papers...but that is contained to that one room. Next is books and papers from school stuff and my book addiction, then laundry because we do not have a laundry room...so I am constantly folding on the couch and coffee table. There is always a basket of clean waiting to be folded and put away. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Paper! School papers, art work, bills/statements, receipts, magazines, etc. Not far behind are kids' clothes, toys, and way too many books that I can't seem to part with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Papers pile up quickly, and my TO DO pile. In the kitchen- plastic containers, too many pots and pans, miss matching cups etc. IN my bedroom- not much nowadays but still a lot of books that end up looking messy, and I still think I have too many clothes although they do fit nicely in my wardrobe now. BUt the main clutter in the house is a couple of things- at the front door are several bicycles, skateboards, helmets, knee pads, as well as tyre pumps and thats just one section right by the door- further to the front as you walk through the carport are dh's workbenches full of .....well, Im sure its important to him but I wish we didnt have to see it from the front of the house all the time. I envision a walk to the front door that is clear of clutter and full of lovely tropical plants and a fountain. They are there too but you barely notice them amongst everything else. And then there are the thousands of pieces of medieval paraphanalia that dh has collected in his years now (maybe 3 ?) in the SCA . There are two large rooms full of it. Yes, its a big house, but still. I'm over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Pick a room... I spent hours y-day going through office/craft/school supplies. I am highly inspired by the minimalism threads lately...I need a couple hours with the dc out of the house so I can go through their toys. We got rid of 1/2 of all their toys about a year and a half ago when we moved here and we are back at the :eek: point with toy clutter. Clothes are always an issue...I pare them down seasonally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I don't have clutter. My people do. :glare: Dh is the worst. His office, the garage, the workshop... I just don't go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 TOYS. And I have already earned the Meanest Mommy in the World award for getting rid of toys. They can't part with a single fast food junko toy with out trauma. And my husbands utterly useless fishing gear...:D He also saves every bolt, screw and rusty bit "just in case." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Sigh...my clutter is kids, chickens, and guinea fowl. I am guessing that gardening stuff will be on the increase this year as well. If only my life was together enough to write one of these popular minimal lifestyle, simple living, homesteading books. I do all that stuff. Sigh. Always behind the curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Paper. Bills, receipts, notes, lists, forms for responsibilites I have, and CONSTRUCTION PAPER CREATIONS ALL OVER THE HOUSE. (I love their creativity, though.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) I don't have clutter. My people do. :glare: Yes! My clutter is books. My kids have books, toys, crafts, game, video games, art, and everything else under the sun. My dh has tools that he doesn't put away (I found an inside home for them out of the way to save our marriage) and clothes he doesn't wear but cannot part with. We have computer parts, old computers, and laptops. I declutter a lot, which is great, getting others to declutter is harder and my youngest is attached to EVERYTHING. Oh, well, I try to keep their clutter in their bedrooms and rec room. I don't know how to eliminate clutter completely without making my family miserable. Edited February 22, 2011 by True Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Books and toys. Although I don't really consider them clutter. They are tidy, on shelves or bins. Some people would say I've got too much though. My boys are getting older and the toys are starting to take up less space. Lego are smaller than Little People, although the projects may not be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 paper clutter (bills, magazines etc)...I hate filing! Filing is our current project that we keep putting off :glare: I save artwork, handmade cards, notes etc from dc. I don't save much schoolwork, just creative stuff (so not worksheets, math pages etc). I'm sharing this just to say...I am very happy that I saved this stuff. As they take more time with their art and writing the volume has slowed down. My kids are very happy to see/read their old work. We have had good luck with just sticking it in a box and when the box is full going through and seeing what we don't mind parting with, now that time has past. Giving up the ideal of having a perfect way to display and save each item and dedicating a box to this stuff helped it not feel so much like clutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have a box...it's about 12" x 12" x maybe 2-3" deep. It stands on its end on the bookshelf by my scrapbooking stuff, & it's filled w/ manilla envelopes. Those are labeled in the upper right hand corner w/ a year. "Memorabilia," cute quotes, pics that have been printed, awards, the *best* art projects (that will fit) go in acc'd to year. Then when I'm scrapbooking, I just pull out that year. This has been a *lifesaver* for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Homeschooling stuff, mostly. Some paper. Lots and lots of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykdsmomy Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Cra* :glare: Seriously, when I look at the clutter (which has diminished a lot since I started decluttering), I see stowaway toys, stowaway hair scrunchies, etc. I hate having to return one stray lego all the way to the boys' room. I have been known on occasion to drop them in the trash with whatever else I'm cleaning up at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have no storage in my house at all, so it's a huge problem. Pots, pans and appliances- because our cabinets are too narrow to fit anything into them, like a skillet or food processor. Tools and electronics stuff that belongs to dh- because there's no place to store it so it's stuffed behind furniture and in my kitchen where i have to live around it. Kid clutter, toys and clothes that don't get put up. And my crafts. I try to keep them put up, but they get away from me a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccabillington Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 toys, craft and sewing "stuff" too much of everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have boxes and boxes of stuff from when I was a teen. Random collected items, papers of stuff that has something funny/important/future applications/etc. I start to go through it, and I get bogged down reading EVERY single page so I know if I can toss it or not, and that takes so much time that I just end up putting the "keep" pile back in the box, unsorted, to be gone through again a year later, and the same thing keeps happening over and over... And then I have a ton of stuff people gave me that I couldn't say "no" to but never use, but I might have use for it someday....and a ton of craft stuff...boxes of yarn that was given to me but I hate the colors of and will never use...an Encyclopedia Britannica from 1939... more books...yikes I need to clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCamper Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Paper of every kind - kids schoolwork, credit card statements, to do lists, art work, stories written by the kids, etc. etc. etc. Then we have mish mash baskets in the toy room with stuff that hasn't been used for years because it is in the mish mash basket. Clothes that kids have outgrown that we save for the cousins. Presents given to us that we do not need/want - yet I have no heart to get rid of. Its a problem. I try not to think about it.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Books, toys, Cub Scout stuff, computer stuff (for the business).... stuff, stuff, stuff! When DH and I got married, everything that was MINE fit in my Chevy Cavalier and I had room for a passenger. I honestly believe that everything that is actually MINE in this house would still fit in that car.... but the passenger may have to be strapped to the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I hate having to return one stray lego all the way to the boys' room. I have been known on occasion to drop them in the trash with whatever else I'm cleaning up at the moment. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has done this! I have also been known to... shhhh... vacuum up Polly Pocket accessories. On purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Clutter Clutter everywhere and not a drop of organization... Kitchen - Not to much clutter here really, need a better place for bread but only so much space to work with. Dining Room - I use the term room loosely. Papers on the table from school not put away, bookshelf packed with papers, books, binders and office supplies. Need to organize it better, things are just wily-nily. Living room - Movies/games not put away, bookshelves not organized. Toys not put away just piled up *next* to the toy boxes :glare: Little, tiny pieces of stuff that needs to be vacuumed up or thrown away. Bathrooms - Unused lotion, body spray, hair products, and various other toiletries I haven't thrown away yet. Bedrooms - Clothes not put away laying on top of the dresser :glare:, dirty clothes on the floor. small toys that have many pieces in corners and at the edges. shelves wily-nily. Piles of papers not dealt with. Storage items not put away. *sigh* I am tired just reading this over. I am going to bed :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 8 people in 1300 square feet!:tongue_smilie: Actually, mostly it is dirty socks and random paper. The laundry piled on the couch waiting to be folded. The dishes in the sink waiting to be washed. But paper really is my nemesis - we have so much paper in this house! Schoolwork, notices, mail, notes, more schoolwork, random paper that my 4yo cuts into tiny pieces..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Clothes and paperwork. If I could tame these two beasts, the rest would be a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 We have too few shelves (of course we can't have too many books :)) Over the last few months I've made a big effort to declutter, so we really are left with books only. My oldest dd is a bit of a packrat, but even she is getting better at throwing out stuff she does not need. She told me the other day that she does enjoy having a clutter-free room. I spent about a week sorting out all the children's memorabilia. I use a 50 page page protector display book per year per child. We went through the piles and piles of pictures and crafts and chose the best pictures to put in the file. For bigger items, we take a photograph and store it on the computer. This has worked well. All new stuff goes into two crates (which I have to admit are already getting quite full!) and at the end of the year (or term) we'll go through these again and the girls will choose their favourites to put in the files. The time since completion helps them to be objective in their choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.