Clutter: progress and setback; verticalization

Recently I was stuck home for most of a week with pharyngitis (I think that's medical-ese for "gee, your throat looks red!") so I paid some attention to the area of my room near my bed. I have a small table, and things constantly fall off it onto the floor. I made a list of all the things I wanted on that table, or nearby (such as my purse), and it's no WONDER things won't fit. I resolved, as I felt better and the antibiotics began to take hold and vanquish the throat bugs, to improve the situation.

VERTICALization is the goal -- things on shelves, rather than things on the floor. I'll probably figure out a way to attach a powerstrip to the wall under my bedroom window, getting yet more stuff off the floor. So now I'm shopping for a small but tall shelving unit to hold baskets of STUFF -- knitting projects, library books, CDs, etc.; I will use the table only for the radio and my morning teacup (oh, what an optimist I am!).

I recently discovered a store called Ichiban Kan which sold some really nice plastic baskets, perfect for my plan. I used three to organize a shelf in the living room, and they worked marvelously. Bought more, took a couple of them to Ikea one evening and stuck them onto various shelves, looking for units deep enough to hold these particular baskets. I also want real wood this time for the shelving; I intend never to buy pressboard again if I can help it.

My aim is complete verticalization of the stuff I like to have near the bed -- a small but tall shelving unit for most things, the table only for the radio and my morning teacup (oh, what an optimist I am!). I haven't decided exactly which shelving unit to buy, but it was nice there were several possibilities at Ikea with shelves deep enough for my baskets. So yesterday I went back to Ichiban Kan to buy a dozen baskets -- and they are out of stock!!! I don't even know if I will ever see these particular baskets again, so I guess now I'm searching for a basket alternative (though Ikea itself offers some very nice cloth-and-stiffener containers exactly for this same purpose, of holding small odds and ends neatly on a shelf).
I also realized that I could move the small stereo from my living room (where it's mostly gathering dust) to the proposed bedroom shelving, where it would give me nicer sound than my cute retro-look but not-very-high-fi clock radio can offer.



I progress by inches. If having a plan, but not much action, can be considered progress.

(I also found references to a well-reviewed book on designing a sewing studio, which I am hoping will inspire me. Details will be posted when I locate them.)

-- Rachel Holmen

Clutter, continued -- Sept. 2007

Slowly I make progress. It feels like none at all, but I look at my pictures, and the dates when I took them, and I see that I am inching forward.



August 25: You are looking down at my shoe and at a square of clean carpet which represents an entire STACK of boxes of unread newspapers. I flipped through them and took all four boxes to the porch. Then I realized I'd seriously overdone it with my bad ankle, so they are still on the porch, waiting till I heal more and can haul them to the recycling center. Still, I think being stir-crazy after days of immobilization, helped fuel the energy that helped me clean and toss.



Sept. 16: I moved the contents of a huge, legal-sized file cardboard cabinet into real file-cabinet space. Then I added the ancient cardboard container to the growing stack on the porch.



Here are the files in their new home.



That same day, I cleared off the things on top of my tourney chest, which stands behind where the legal box had been. Two old computer monitors went on the porch. Then I aired the contents of the tourney chest. (I also discovered that the chest itself was making little rust marks on the floor, so now it's standing on a small forest of clean, empty plastic applesauce tubs, to allow some air flow under the chest. The floor in my house seems to seep moisture up from the damp basement.)




Then last night, Sept. 24, I cleared off an entire CHAIR. It's my recliner, in the bedroom, and now I will actually be able to SIT in it. (It does have boxes still stacked all around it, which will give it a cramped feeling.) The pink sheet is to protect the velvet from cat fur.

In addition, I went through nearly one entire bag of old mail and got rid of most of it, answered a survey from my health plan....

-- Rachel

Clutter

Most of my life, I've live with more clutter than your average person. Sometimes I can master it; mostly I don't seem to. I have wondered if it was because, as the oldest of four children, I learned early to take over space. But other times, I've wondered if the problem was a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The problem causes me intense shame; I generally refuse to let people see the inside of my home. It creates related problems: bills get lost, etc. I have quietly discussed the problem with some friends (others have been suprememly unhelpful -- "why don't you just set your house on fire?" asked one, intending to be humorous but in fact sending me to bed with depression for a three-day weekend); one recently sent me information last week about a truly useful book on the topic.

&nbsp I'd like to recommend "Buried in Treasures" by Tolin et al. The book is based on lengthy research, and the authors seem really to understand the problem. For more info, see Amazon.com or Tower.com.


More to follow, probably. -- Rachel