De-Cluttering - The first step.

The more you study clutter problems in houses, the more that you realize that there is a social need to be answered, here. People do not keep lots of unused items in their house within grasp because “They might need it someday and need to have them close.” The problem goes deeper than that. Do you see the theme running through these stories? “Clutter itself doesn't get me down so much as the expectation of having my house Dwell-ready at all times.” “I know it's time for a major whirlwind clean when I repeatedly can't find what I'm looking for, more clothes don't fit than fit, and I trip over stuff. Fortunately for me, I move every year and a half, so I'm forced to re-evaluate my things on a regular basis.” “I did see one episode of a ‘Clutter- TV show’ where the husband built an add-on storage area the size of a garage. Yet his wife still preferred to keep her stuff organized in the house!” “What about some of the stuff you 'might' need one day? I am a true anti-stuff person. I have a really hard time with items like the 7 different sizes of curtain rods that are standing in the back of the closet. Although I have not used one of them in three years, some of the nicer ones were quite pricy. My frugal side makes me keep them, but the anti-stuff side of me cringes at the thought that they are still there in the closet.” “I also have two complete ceiling fans - from an apartment we had two years ago. These were $15.00 each and since buying a house have used two of them. There are still two left over. Would you recommend keeping these kind of items for when you need them again (which is a possibility) or just donate them and then buy more if the need should arise? It is a puzzlement for me. :) “rnThe smiley Icon at the end of the last story shows that the quote is attributed to someone that knows others would find her question itself odd but, if you listen to what is being said, then the real reason comes down to the way that different people control their lives.rnSome people (and this is a little exaggeration) need to know that every day is the same, in order to know what is happening. This means that they need to know where all of their belongings are. As each belonging ‘still has life’, or ‘would be useful at some point in the future’, or simply doesn’t rank as ‘a wasteful purchase’, they hang on to them, and keep them within easy reach – it is a way to control everything that happens in their lives. Of course, the older you get the more entrenched this behavior becomes. I know people that keep ‘bills to be paid’ in their kitchens until they are paid, then keep them in exactly the same place to remind them when they were paid.rnOther folks look at life more cavalierly, don’t need to know that everything is in its place, or exactly ‘where I am.’ They understand that everything has a life span, that if they need to keep something for a future date, they will throw it into a dark corner, or somewhere similar that doesn’t interfere with their daily life. Finding out what kind of person you are talking to will allow you make the choice of a solution. Although I found this self help topic under moving company website, this is how you can start letting go of the past, and straightening up your own mental clutter. This is what we help you to do at our Edmonton Psychologist's officern