Clutter: some reasons you may not want to fight it!
Clutter-free . . .again?
You are ready to combat clutter. You plan to attack on several fronts: hold a garage sale, donate to charity, sell things on e-bay. In one week, in thirty days . . . at some point, you will be clutter-free. Until then, you’re going to be really busy, elbow deep in dusty nick-nacks. You know what I’m talking about?
Cozy or cluttered? MIL's living room in France.
You, may have been here before, after all–that moment where you say, “NO MORE,” and clean everything out. Before the cycle starts again.
Considering de-cluttering? Hold it right there!
Seriously. Put that box of items to donate down! Have a seat on the sofa next to that pile of magazines for just a minute and think this through.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we all fall in different places along the clutter continuum, and our tolerance (need?) for clutter can change daily, seasonally and over decades. I’ve seen people decide to change places on the clutter continuum for really good reasons. I’ve seen others do so on a whim.
In fact, I’ve seen people put in hours of dusty, dirty work without even really being sure they want to change their ways. That’s a lot of work to achieve something you vaguely feel you should do–or that you think someone else wants you to do. Chances are, you’ll just revert back to your old ways anyhow. Before you lift a finger, ask yourself the following:
What are the upsides to staying cluttered?
What? you ask, upsides? You sink further into your sofa and pull a hideous old blanket over your lap (made by the aunt of an old flame a decade ago . . .)
If you are accumulating clutter, it has an upside for you, and that is worth considering.
Sometimes what you discover can surprise you. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of reasons people stay cluttered:
- I get to keep all of this stuff that I feel attached to, that reminds me of people, places, times etc.
- It’s easier; it’s what I’m used to.
- I like my stuff.
- People gave this to me and will be offended if I get rid of it.
- If I keep my spare rooms full of stuff, no one can move in with me or come to visit. (This is a real reason someone gave me once–don’t laugh).
- I may use this stuff some day. I don’t want all of this to go to waste.
- I know it looks messy to some, but I like being able to see–and easily grab–everything I own.
- ____________________________
Anything to add? Whatever your reasons are for the lifestyle you choose, knowing them will make it easier to decide if change is, in fact, in order.
Examining your reasons to stay cluttered, three possible conclusions:
- Maybe you’ll decide you’re being irrational and that you need to let go (of your stuff and your reasons for keeping it around).
- Perhaps you’ve just realized that what you need is not to get rid of your stuff, but to find appropriate and convenient storage for it, so that you can find it and use it. This outcome happens often in people who do crafts, hobbies or work out of the home.
- You may realize you’re just not ready to change–for rational reasons or not. If so, why not save yourself the work and frustration of cleaning up all that clutter, just so that it can pile up again in a few weeks or months? I’ve seen this happen so many times before that I hope you won’t ignore the possibility.
Are you considering a move on the clutter continuum?
Maybe you’re happy right where you are. . .if so, congratulations. You can relax in your minimalist landscape– or curl up on your sofa under your cozy blanket and flip through your magazines in your full and happy home.
For those of you still considering a change, I invite you to drop by next week to discuss your reasons to de-clutter.
Jersey Mom–that’s interesting. You are continually keeping your stuff under control, making sure you only have what you want–sounds like a plan.
That said, it kind of sounds like you’re wishing there wasn’t quite so much? Also–it’s interesting that bit about storing things for other people. I know a lot of folks with basements and garages who do just that!
I happen to not like clutter but my husband comes from a family of hoarders! He’s toned it down a lot but still wants to keep many things… just in case we’ll use it… you know how it is.
As for storing things for my mom and my mother in law, they were paying to store things at one of those storage places. Since our basement is there and we don’t use it for other purposes, I told them that they can store their “important” stuff at our house. Good thing I put them on storage shelves & in plastic containers so the flood on Saturday didn’t damage anything.
I thought of another reason for accepting clutter…your partner has lots of clutter and you don’t want to fight the battle to make him/her get rid of it/put it in storage. This is somewhat the case for us. For example, he has this really cheesy ceramic wine bottle holder that is a drunken chef lying down, “holding” the wine. Blech! But his aunt gave it to him, and so he wants to keep it out just because she drops by once a year. Even though this annoys me, I’ll take the extra clutter if it comes with a mutually respectful, happy relationship with my significant other.
Jersey Mom–wow! You were smart to keep your stuff safe from flood. And ‘just in case’ can be hard to argue with. Although in the States, I find that I can usually get something on craigslist, ‘in case’ I need it. Still, that doesn’t convince most folks.
Pickler–come on, that wine holder is classy! Hah! But yes, there are relationships to consider here. And I can’t imagine you letting a wine bottle holder come between you.
An interesting read. One doesn’t usually hear a minimalist talk about the upsides of clutter 
I am currently doing a major de-clutter. One like I’ve never done before. I have many reasons for doing it and I look forward to when it is done. I do it at my own pace which is s-l-o-w-l-y. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. Now timing seems right, reasons already thought of and checked off, and many bags taken to goodwill. When I finish, I will still have lots of stuff, just less of it. BTW, I like your MIL’s room. Very cosy.
LOL! Okay, here’s my excuse. No, wait: I have TWO excuses!
1. As long as the clutter stays where it is, I don’t have to get up out of a perfectly comfortable chair and waste a perfectly lovely spring day (or summer or fall or winter day) trying to figure out what to do with it. Thus the clutter contributes to the quality of my life.
and…
2. The longer the clutter accrues, the more difficult it will be for me to move it. Therefore, the clutter serves as an anchor preventing me from spending vast amounts of money to buy a new house and move all my junk into it. It is, in other words, a personal finance tool.
Joyful, that sounds like the way to go, in the sense like it sounds like something you can follow through on and something you WANT to do. I’ve seen lots of people talking about how they have to de-clutter and even helped out in some serious de-cluttering experiences . . . but I’ve noticed that a lot of people just don’t stick with it. Which is why I decided to interrupt my little series on de-cluttering to address the question of ’should you.’
I like my MIL’s living room too, actually. I probably would never have as many things in my own place, but it really works for her.
Funny about Money–excellent reasons for not de-cluttering! I had not thought of clutter as an anchor before . . .but I should have
I have enjoyed reading this and the comments. I think that because decluttering is something a bit fashionable (and not a bad thing) it’s easy to do it to excess and then regret it. I know I am someone who likes stuff around the place, it makes me feel cosy and comfortable. If I had a major declutter and went too far, I would waste all the time I had spent getting rid of it, and go and buy/accept more stuff again – back to square one and more money wasted. Right now I feel the need for a purge of the excess stuff to keep the comfortable level of stuff from becoming uncomfortable.
With this as my (trying to be) balanced middle way, when I see a nice jug, I think of all the others in my collection and decide if I really, really, want this one, and every now and again, I get rid of the least favourites. This keep my jug collection down to a moderate 70 or 80 :-p
I think it’s hilarious how this post showed up in my reader, and then mine! LOL great minds think alike!
Personally im a forced retiree on a fixed income. so for now at least, unless it cannot be fixed or work, it’s not going out. One of the mantras of the serious declutters have to do with the idea that if you really miss it, you can always get another one. Not me!!!!!!! so if its working and in good condition, at this point in my life I keep it. Also, not a minimalist. Not a clutterbutg, but I like my quits, books, and other things out where i can see em!
Ditto on what Funny About Money had to say. Also, if I don’t start, I don’t have to do the upkeep! It’s crazy.
But I have been noticing, since I got hitched and my husband is living with me full time (we had an intercontinental relationship for 3 years, where he was only here for 3 months at a time), I’m getting to the point where I can’t stand the clutter. Nesting? Playing house? Not as much room? I dunno. But I do know that I put a ton of stuff into a bag for charity that I never would have parted with previously.
In response to the clutter continuum you posted a few days ago, I mentioned that even though I’ve been a moderate minimalist (a 2!) for a few years, I’ve still got a lot of cluttering tendencies in me. I DO think “I’ll need this some day!” and I DO think “I like my stuff!”, which certainly contributes to why I’ll probably never be an ERE-style minimalist (a 1?).
But as we all know, keeping clutter at bay has a lot to do not just with what you take out of your house, but also with what we bring into it. Seriously cutting back on pleasure-shopping, which is so often not really that pleasurable, has probably been the most influential step I’ve taken to get my house essentially clutter-free.
My worst abiding sin is books. Maybe it’s not a sin–Maybe I’ll need them some day! My partner and I both work part-time from home, and these are 90% books related to our profession. But they certainly break up cleans lines and smooth minimalism in two whole rooms of our tiny house. If we were to move, they’d take up the overwhelming majority of boxes.
Maybe that’s why I don’t think your mother-in-law’s living room looks cluttered at all. The only bits verging on clutter that I can see are the knick-knacks, which are understated and not crowded, and the bookshelf, which I can relate to!
Attila, I think you have pointed out a very key reason why sometimes de-cluttering is not the answer! If you’re happy with how much stuff you own and then the place feels empty after you clean it out, you’ll buy more! So you’re wasting time and money!
Mrs. Money–I know. I posted mine and then went over to read my favorite blogs and found your article on a similar topic. I imagined us both typing up our ideas simultaneously . . . apparently we think alike–which may be why I like your blog so much!
Barb–once again, I think that you’re attesting to the fact that people who work on crafts really need to have things out in the open. I’ve seen this time and time again, and, frankly, when I’m working on a project, I don’t like to be forced to put it away. I used to have a little screen up to hide my projects in progress in our old apartment.
And I think your point about not being able to replace old items in the future is an excellent one–that we’ve lost as a culture! There are some things these days that you can sell on craigslist (yes, at a loss) and then, if you really do miss it, you can, in fact, buy another used one for a similar price. But here in France, people do not think that way so much. You invest in something new and keep it forever–you can’t just replace your stuff if you get rid of it, so you hang onto it, possibly for life.
Then again, for that system to work (as you surely know), you can’t run around buying tons of frivolous stuff. . .
Consciously Frugal–interesting bit about the upkeep. But you’re right, I usually do a sweep just before bed to make sure nothing has been randomly left out. If I don’t, it all snowballs. I notice that DH does not have this instinct because having everything out where he can see it suits him just fine. If he remembers immediately, he will put his things away. Once he forgets, it’s over.
I noticed my tolerance for clutter went down too when I moved in with DH, but it’s also because we didn’t have our own separate space anymore–(1 bedroom apartment). Later, we splurged on a 2 bedroom and I just let him lay his stuff out everywhere in one of the rooms. Instead of cleaning it up, I just closed the door . . .we both kind of liked it.
AMD–I think that clutter is in the eye of the beholder! I never feel crowded out in my MIL’s living room. . .but I will say that in France, there is a tendency toward wall to wall furniture that bugs me a little, especially when I want to lean up against a wall to stretch or do a yoga pose! There is not a single wall in this place where I can do that, incredibly. But this is a minor quip I have.
Also, you stated, “keeping clutter at bay has a lot to do not just with what you take out of your house, but also with what we bring into it.” I could not agree more. I’ve actually been gearing up for a post on that very topic–probably in a couple of weeks. There is a reason why people become (and stay) cluttered–and it’s called shopping.
For me, my desk and the area beside my bed are my 2 clutter battlegrounds. Clutter on my desk usually means “work in progress”. My bedside table, and even the floor usually contain piles of books and articles that I’m reading, or supposed to be reading.
I let the clutter build – to a point. When I find it interferes with my productivity, I clean it all up and start over again. That’s my clutter cycle. Right now, I can feel another purge coming on as it looks like a tornado hit my desk!
2 Cents–the desk clutter is a killer. I usually end up cleaning off my desk at least 2-3 times a day because I just can’t take it! I like a cleared out workspace, although I do get out lots of projects and spread them around–I like to clean up when I finish or come to a stopping point–but my husband is the opposite, he loves having it all right there. I guess it’s just a working style.
[...] we discussed some great reasons not to de-clutter. Indeed, paring down possessions isn’t for everyone, and some of us can wisely stay put on [...]
[...] (although sub cultures certainly abound). Some have the need or desire to clear things out, while others may want to avoid decluttering. I suspect we have a rather diverse community here at the Simple Life in France . . . but you [...]
I do get rid of certain things: clothes that are too small for the kids, toys the kids have outgrown, and things that we will never use.
Things we keep in the basement storage: seasonal holiday stuff, sports equipments, outdoor supplies, emergency supplies, lots and lots of documents, kitchen appliances that we’ll still use sometimes, and stuff we’ve had since we were young, etc. It does come out to quite a bit! 1/2 of the basement is filled with stuff we want to keep (all organized though). The other 1/2 of the basement are stuff that belong to my mother & my mother-in-law.
We have donated a lot of stuff but still have much in the basement. When we look around, it all seems like things we want to keep…