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A year ago I downsized from an 1100 sq ft house to a 500 sq ft apartment. When I lived in the house it was always a mess. It was just too much for one person to keep up. Especially while battling depression. It was so bad that I was embarrassed to even let friends come in the front door. I would sometimes make an effort to start cleaning it up but get so overwhelmed by the size of the task that I never could get it under control.
Now in my little place I just don't have room to collect junk. And when things start to get a bit messy it takes me not much more than an hour to put it all back to rights. Being able to maintain my living space so that it is inviting and comfortable and people can drop in any time has helped a great deal with my state of mind. I still fight with depression but things don't get so overwhelming.
Are decluttering people the kind not to be friends with their cobbler? Not to have taken their boots there several times over the years to have them resoled, re-heeled? Not to take equipment in for repairs or upgrades?
Perhaps not, but at times, it does seem like a knack to quickly toss out instead of fix up.
I think the decluttered person is more likely to take things to the cobbler for a number of reasons.
My observation is that the decluttered person is more concerned with quality of things (including quality of life in general) and quantity of things. They are therefore more likely to own less items, but better quality items.
Generally speaking, decluttered people take better care of their stuff in part because it's easier since their lives are simplified and prioritized.
I love hosting holiday and other special occasion dinners - I have sterling flatware and other pieces, neatly organized and in china hutch. It's pretty easy for me to get everything out and cleaned, and sterling polished before Thanksgiving. MY MIL's stuff never got polished because she had three hutches jammed into the house all stuffed with a variety of "prettys"
I can pack, or find what I need to wear in my closet because it isn't so crammed that I can't see at a glance what's in there. My things are more likely to get to the cleaners or tailors when they need to than someone who's stuff is lying in a heap at the back of the closet.
Decluttered people have a clarity of mind that cluttered/hoarder people do not. Decluttered people can tell when something is worth fixing or if it's time to cut their losses.
Thanks for the book suggestion! What I found interesting about the Marie Kondo book is that she insists on doing everything at once and suggests that doing a little at a time leads to failure. That approach seems overwhelming, but perhaps there's something to it.
I used to watch a few of the hoarding shows on tv in attempt to understand my hoarder family members and one thing I noticed is that occasionally they would refer to a behavior that they called "churning" - where things are just moved from one area to another.
So I could see where in some cases doing a little could lead to that - cleaning one area by just moving it somewhere else inside the house.
When I clean/declutter a drawer/cabinet/surface - things that are in the right place go back, things that aren't go in the trash, their correct "home", in a cardboard box in the garage marked goodwill immediately, or in a laundry basket in the car (library books to be returned, things to be posted, things to go to be repaired (cobbler, tailor, jeweler, etc...)
Clutterers (is that a word?) put stuff elsewhere because they can't decide what to do, out of fear that they might need it, to be organized later, or be sold on ebay, etc... so no real progress is made in a reduction of stuff
I think the decluttered person is more likely to take things to the cobbler for a number of reasons.
My observation is that the decluttered person is more concerned with quality of things (including quality of life in general) and quantity of things. They are therefore more likely to own less items, but better quality items.
Generally speaking, decluttered people take better care of their stuff in part because it's easier since their lives are simplified and prioritized.
I love hosting holiday and other special occasion dinners - I have sterling flatware and other pieces, neatly organized and in china hutch. It's pretty easy for me to get everything out and cleaned, and sterling polished before Thanksgiving. MY MIL's stuff never got polished because she had three hutches jammed into the house all stuffed with a variety of "prettys"
I can pack, or find what I need to wear in my closet because it isn't so crammed that I can't see at a glance what's in there. My things are more likely to get to the cleaners or tailors when they need to than someone who's stuff is lying in a heap at the back of the closet.
Decluttered people have a clarity of mind that cluttered/hoarder people do not. Decluttered people can tell when something is worth fixing or if it's time to cut their losses.
Interesting enough, yesterday when I was working, I was considering going out to buy another switch box for a DVD player (as one of a few) to the TV and then, another floor lamp to put more light into a room...............but I didn't.
I figured I at least had another switch box around. As it was, I found an unopen one, not of the design I was picturing but had one around just the same. And then figured I could just move a desk lamp to provide more light as I needed.
Now whether it is being decluttered, thrifty, or just plain lazy, I at least didn't add to it!
I think I've always been a Felix, though family makes it difficult. The rest of the bunch does not always appreciate my practical minimalism.
As for the cobbler, I absolutely use both cobbler and tailor. I'd much rather repair than replace. I've re-heeled my favorite black boots twice now, and my project for the day is to clean and polish my five-year-old Danskos, which are looking a little shabby around the edges. I don't typically buy new unless something is truly beyond repair.
Last edited by randomparent; 01-25-2015 at 08:29 AM..
One thing about our modern world that is so troubling is that for the effort done, say of a day, when one looks back, can one really see what has been accomplished? The modern world has become so small about individual items that they don't take up much space, but they do take up a lot of time, and there is just so many of them.
That's true! You can spend an afternoon getting rid of books and see very little difference on your shelves!
I think the decluttered person is more likely to take things to the cobbler for a number of reasons.
My observation is that the decluttered person is more concerned with quality of things (including quality of life in general) and quantity of things. They are therefore more likely to own less items, but better quality items.
I haven't observed a correlation between tidiness and quality of things. I've seen some nice looking living spaces done with Ikea. I've also seen people who hoard high end clothing. One grandmother's house was full to bursting with fine furniture. My other grandparents had no clutter, but their couch came from JC Penney.
Well, it depends a lot on what one is doing, where one is.
One of my girlfriends, a rancher horsewoman, came home between shifts to find her well spraying water. She did eventually manage to solve the problem but from that for me, it is live and learn. So I have books about home repairs and when a hardware store went out of business, I bought as much in pipe repair as I could.
Various people have told me that living out in the country, on a ranch, I have to have a homestead approach to things, that I need to be able to make repairs with what I have. Of course, one can't do everything and somethings are better done by experts; had a Carnie friend get burned when hitching up solar batteries. But at least, one ought to be able to do basic damage control repairs.
Plus, there is another issue. There are certain supplies in our world which may not always be available for any of a number of reasons. Take recordable 4X DVDs for instance. Kind of hard to find them at the store these days. The last supply I bought, about 600 of them, I had to get through a wholesale media warehouse. Why have them? Because my two oldest recorders can't handle what is currently out there. In this dog eat dog consumer economics world, one must strike (buy) the iron when it is hot.
Having been burned a few times with this or that, I've learned to look out ahead and stockpile here and there.
OF COURSE, it helps a lot if one has the room for all these supplies. Without that room, then it does indeed become quite a problem.
I don't get this - DVD even ones that haven't been used yet still deteriorate over time. What are you recording, original stuff (like making movies) or stuff off tv? It seems like there are plenty of sellers on Amazon with 4xDVD-r's ?
I dont understand what you mean by the above? Most of the time, if something has been phased out - it's because something better has come along. I dont generally replace electronics until something breaks beyond repair . I have a brand new iphone but only because my four year Samsung got a to a point where it wouldn't hold a charge.....
I've had things over the year that I've gotten rid of because the refills or whatever are available or became cost prohibitive - but it's never occurred to me to stockpile 600 of anything.
I haven't observed a correlation between tidiness and quality of things. I've seen some nice looking living spaces done with Ikea. I've also seen people who hoard high end clothing. One grandmother's house was full to bursting with fine furniture. My other grandparents had no clutter, but their couch came from JC Penney.
I understand what you're saying - I guess my point is that people who are pursuing a minimalist approach tend to really think about purchases. I think if you are making a mindful purchase - you are more likely to buy something of the best quality (that you can afford) and treat it better.
Of course , if you a hoarder of means , yes, you can have piles of high end designer purses laying around with cats peeing on them and mice chewing them. I don't have super expensive handbags - I have a couple vintage beaded ones for fancy events, and an everyday bag in neutral color which I clean and condition .
That's true! You can spend an afternoon getting rid of books and see very little difference on your shelves!
I guess that depends on how many books you have . Or how much you agonize over which to keep and which to get rid off.
We are a book loving family - we have a wall in the den that is just bookshelves, my daughter has a wall mounted picture book display in her room and I have a large basket of picture books in our family room (encouraging my daughter to look at them whenever she wants, or bring one to me to be read).
I love buying books. I did a book advent with my daughter for Christmas (each night we opened a new Christmas/snow/holiday) storybook. I collect fairytale and mythology books, many are antiques. My husband collects military, history and technical books related to his career.
But we don't allow the number of books to grow beyond their designated homes. I cant' imagine it taking an entire afternoon to go thru book and not be able to see a difference?
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