Clutterers Anonymous

[ejchase]

Hi All,

As some of you on this board know, I have pretty serious clutter issues. Recently, I found the 12-step group that exists to help people deal with this issue. The first meeting was only somewhat helpful, but I found the literature really great, so I thought I'd share a couple of gems here:

From the "Tools of Recovery:"

"Earmarking: We provide a place for our possessions and return them there. We create a home for anything before bringing it in. When we add a new item, we release an old one. For accessibility, beauty, and peace of mind, we keep some empty space."

"Streamlining: We honor what we own by setting limits on our possessions. We keep only those items we use and for which we have space. We realize the more we acquire, the less we enjoy what we already have."

Those two quotes really spoke to me. There's a lot more that's good, but I love the way they talk about "releasing" items that are not needed and "honoring" what we do have by not mindlessly acquiring more.

Elizabeth

[Tiam]

So there is a support group!

[Tussiemussies]

That is great ejchase, glad that the material resonated with you. Hopefully it will help you and be a good experience overall for you...

[ToomuchStuff]

Could you find the place or was it all jumbled in with stuff?:laff:

[CathyA]

I've spent so much time and energy outside watering things in this drought that I haven't had much energy for de-cluttering. I need to get back to that! My biggest problem is that inanimate objects become real to me, and its like throwing a person out. But I've gotten rid of enough to know that I do okay, once things are out of the house. And I've also learned how much I LOVE a simple environment. I'm not there yet, but I'm continually working on it (except in droughts).
I think the most important change I've made is to quit bringing "stuff" into the house. That definitely helps.
Even though my BIL and his wife seem to throw out too much, SIL did say something that has always stuck with me. She said that if she only keeps a few things, they mean more to her. Sometimes I think.........okay..........if you were forced to only keep a certain number of things, what would they be? Then I work out from there for getting rid of things.
Its definitely a hard battle for some of us.
Keep us posted on the things you continue to learn from the group Elizabeth!

[larknm]

ej chase, thanks for letting us know about the group. I'm going to see if there's one online if not in Santa Fe where I live.

Meanwhile I've gotten help from The Hoarder in You (book).