I am a clutter queen.I blame the boys (although that isn't really fair). Whenever #1 or #2 tires of a toy, finishes with a book, or outgrows a piece of clothing, I feel compelled to keep it, just in case #3 wants it someday.
Of course, that doesn't explain the dozen or so candles in my china cupboard that have gone unlit or the women's magazines in the pile beside my bed, waiting to be read.
I reserved Karen Kingston's Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui at the library because it was recommended by my friend Flylady. Coincidentally, it came available just before we went to the cabin. I found this coincidental not only because I would have time to read while away, but also because the cabin offers one of the finest examples of living without clutter. Isn't it amazing how when you are away from home, you can quite easily live without all those things you have hoarded because you simply couldn't live without them?
This book not only gives the standard tips to how to get rid of clutter, but also probes more closely into why people accumulate "stuff", and the emotional effects of that accumulation. It really struck a chord with me when it described the energy drain clutter causes.
I found this book extremely informative. However, the chapter on "Clutter Clearing Your Body" was just a little over the top - especially the part where Kingston describes "the ideal bowel movement" (I kid you not!)
Despite the body chapter, I highly recommend this book. It's motivated even me to do a little clutter clearing, and - remember - I'm a clutter queen.
5 comments:
OK, honey, you've opened the door to my all-time favourite example of irony...
(First I must say I'm no better; more on that later...)
Library Mama's bedside table is typically a mountain of books and such. Once when cleaning up our bedroom, I came across a copy of "How to Conquer Clutter" near the top of her bedside mountain. Then, several sedimentary layers later, I found another copy of the same book. Irony, baby!
(Now, in the interests of fairness, allow me to add that I have the instincts of a collector, so probably 1/4 of our basement is dedicated to storing my childhood comic collection and my ongoing Batman memorabilia collection. So, I can't throw stones, really.)
You do know Feng Shui is a bunch of crap, right? I watched a documentary where this guy hired 3 Feng Shui people to move his furniture around in the best Feng Shui manner possible. Was the furniture moved in the exact same positions? No!
P.S> Batman wasn't Buddhist.
Hi LM,
Me too, a clutter queen!
Looks like Mentok is unravelling your hidden bedroom secrets. All becoming a bit Peyton-ish Place now...
love
Mentok - I can't argue with your story, because it's almost true. (I think the second copy was in our closet, not on my bedside table.) Still, I know, I know, and you're a saint to put up with me. ;-)
Hippo - Well, I'm not about to go out and spend money on a Feng Shui consultant or anything, but I like some of the principles, even if I have trouble following them. I like the idea of lack of clutter, and plants in every room, and more open space in the home.
Susan - Happy to find a friend-in-clutter. :-) And yes, I must speak to that husband of mine about revealing bedroom secrets! (Haha - your comment about Peyton Place really made me chuckle.)
FlyLady has some wise words - I wish she wasn't so cutesie/ woutsie but I love her rule about how if something comes into the house then something else has to go OUT. That and the 15 fling boogie.
And thank the Goddess for Freecycle!
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