Archive for clutter

Letters to Clutter: Tell it how you Really Feel!

Posted by Carolyn on

February 5, 2017

· 2 Comments

Send me your letters to clutter. Does this sound like you?

You’re standing in front of your desk, staring at the stacks of paper, frustrated and overwhelmed. “Why are you still here? Why can’t you find a file to climb into and make yourself available when I need you? Somewhere in there is the invoice I’m trying to get paid for – how will I ever get paid if I can’t even find the invoice?”

You open the closet door and glare at the contents. “I hate you and I love you. Ugh, how am I ever supposed to make this closet work when a bunch of you don’t fit, some of you I don’t even like and I don’t even know what’s at the back?!”

Your youngster is finally in bed and hopefully soon asleep. You return to the family room and flop into the chair realizing you can’t even walk on the floor any longer because of the piles and piles of toys. “Just put yourselves away, why don’t you! “Can’t you find a nice basket or box and do the Mary Poppins thing – jumping right into them? And while you are at it, sort yourselves out and take the toys that no one has played with for the past 6 months to the donation centre. I’m going to bed.”

If you’ve ever talked to your clutter, or think you might like to say something to it, I’d like to hear from you. Consider writing a letter or letters to clutter and tell it how you really feel.

Why Letters to Clutter?

You letter or letters to clutter will be considered for inclusion in a project being published later this year. Your letter doesn’t need to be long, 200 – 400 words is perfect although longer or shorter is also welcome. Start your letter off with “Dear ________ (item or items of clutter i.e. Paper, Baby Clothes, Garden Tools), What am I going to do with you?” and tell the clutter what you are really thinking.

Types of Clutter

Your clutter might include one of the following items or you might have your own version of clutter.:

Costume jewelry
Inherited jewelry
Inherited dishes, flatware, glass/crystal
Paper
Sports equipment
Particular sports equipment e.g. A bag of balls, an old croquet set, a bag of hockey equipment
Clothes that don’t fit
Clothes that aren’t liked
Clothes in general
Childhood books
Memorabilia
Photographs
Someone else’s items e.g. a spouse’s sports gear, clothes or other items
Tools
Leftover renovation material e.g. tiles, paint, fabric
Craft goods

How and Where to Send you Letters to Clutter

Identify yourself only by your initials and your town of residence. Individuals will not be identified in their submissions and any particular identifying information will be removed.

Send letters to me, Carolyn Caldwell at carolyn@caldwellevolution.com.

Looking forward to receiving your letter or letters to clutter and seeing what you have to say to those trinkets collecting dust on the shelf.

Tags : Accumulation, Clearing Clutter, clutter, Letters to Clutter, managing mess, managing overwhelm, Overwhelm

golden retriever dog holding newspaper in his mouth

So Much Recycling!

Posted by Carolyn on

April 12, 2016

· No Comments

“I didn’t know there was so much recycling!”

This is the exclamation of almost every client when we start to clear out the clutter. When clients are downsizing, the pile of recycling and other cast off material gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

It is somewhat inevitable. Living in one home for many years, sometimes decades, can lead to such a build up in clutter and unused belongings that we just basically forget about. We end up purging out a significant amount of material that can not be re-purposed, is not suitable for sale or donation and therefore ends up in either the garbage or recycling. When clearing out a space, even just to reorganize to make the space function better, clients are often surprised how much debris has collected over the years which ends up no more valuable than the garbage or recycling bin.

Downsizing Quick-start

Are you looking for a quick way to start downsizing? Start your project armed with information about how to get rid of large piles of garbage or recycling. Some of the material can go to your regular garbage pick up or disposal although most jurisdictions now carry volume limits on the service. Check into your service provider, public or commercial to find a) volume limits b) size limits or c) alternate places where you can take the material yourself. Most of these places will have a tipping charge. In the jurisdiction where I live, this charge is $10 per 100 kg or part thereof.

If you know there is going to be huge amount of material to garbage, consider a junk removal company. In addition, you will need to have a “staging” area where the goods heading to garbage can be put while you continue to clear out your space. For recycling, check into the requirements to sort the recycling into different elements such as metal, paper and plastic.

Open Mail over the Recycling Box

If you want to avoid the accumulation, learn to process your paper with a paper recycling box nearby. I encourage clients to literally open their mail over the recycling box or bag. In most cases, there is very little mail left over when the recycling has been taken out. For starters, just removing the envelop and inserts can reduce the paper. Discarding these items as soon as they enter the house, will help to keep the paper clutter to a minimum. It also means less paper to house and manage.

“Even precious treasures left long enough, become garbage“.
One of my favourite client quotes.

Home Organizing Move Organizing

Tags : clutter, Downsizing, Paper, recycling

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