“Clutter-busters: from closets, to cabinets, to garages, America’s clutter is piling up like never before.” This assertion by Nichole L. Torres I found in an on-line excerpt on Goliath, Business Knowledge on Demand. Her article is about the new businesses being spawned to help people with their over-stuffed closets, disorganized offices, and kitchens and living rooms convulsing with clutter. You can find out how you can be your own boss and clean up in this industry. You can even join the National Association of Professional Organizers.
Or, like me, you can wonder how everything got this way. Some say it’s the result of unprecedented material wealth. I do remember doing a lot of shopping during the Clinton administration. Since then, I have tried to stay out of the stores unless I am doing the food shopping. But I remember seeing more and more storage boxes, everywhere I went. They may have been attractive decorator solutions or utilitarian plastic flat bins to roll under your bed. Sometimes, the bed isn’t high enough and you have to buy cones to raise the bed up to get your storage thing under it. We have the bags you vacuum the air out of. I bought one chest-like box to keep fabric in that is so big, that it is a challenge to move or to find a place for. I guess I should have gotten one that would look elegant serving as a coffee table. I could probably get a top for it and make a cover for it using the fabric inside. I knew when I saw all the storage containers in all the stores, that everyone had gone over the top and bought too much and that I was not alone. The next thing I noticed was the humongous houses going up. That made sense given the size of some of the storage boxes. In my case it’s more a case of not wanting to get rid of family items from fabric to furniture. I have learned from the organization books that this not good from a feng-shui point of view. It means I’m living in the past and that I should move on, throw-out and don’t look back.
There are a lot of books, even a DVD, on how to de-clutter. Some the library has purchased are listed below. One by Peter Walsh I took so personally, I felt wounded by the title. Does this clutter make my butt look fat? It’s an easy plan for losing weight and living more. Come on, Peter! Give us a break! We feel bad as it is. You know it doesn’t stop there because you have seen the shows on television. The Associated Press spent a month with one family trying to break its clutter habit.
When this library got a new director in 2002, he told us that the library needed to weed our collections. Everyone who ordered books was encouraged to start getting rid of the books that don’t go out at all. Mr. Dionne told us about Charles Robinson, director of The Baltimore Public Libraries in the 1990’s, who increased the gate count and circulation of the libraries with an easy formula. Robinson himself says, “Baltimore County staff made a fine art out of … increasing weeding and buying multiple copies of high demand titles, all of which increased circulation significantly. Not all that difficult, but it's amazing how many libraries don't take those easy steps to increase customer use and satisfaction.” It seems that more customers will be apt to take more books out if there are fewer very popular titles. It’s a visual thing.
Six years later we are still deselecting books. It isn’t easy for anyone who loves books to get rid of books. Sometimes we get rid of a book that looks awful because of overuse and buy a new copy. Other times, it’s sad when you have selected a book and find that no one ever took it out. We started doing business with a firm called Better World Books in the last year or two. We send them books and they sell some, give some away to charities and we share in the proceeds along with a charity we select. They have had to change their ways recently and now we can only send titles that we scan and they say they accept. So, rather than put all of our weeded books into the landfill, we send some to Better World and some to Got Books. Got Books is in Reading Massachusetts but they come to Nashua once monthly to pick up boxes of books. These books are sold in booksales that benefit charities. You can visit them on the Web at http://www.gotbooks.com/ where you can type in your zip code and get the location of Convenient Drop-Off Containers!
If it’s all too much and you want to organize, you may read some of these books. You may decide to make peace with the things in your life and keep your possessions from overwhelming you. On the other hand, mind over clutter reminds me of Alan Watts who said about “Mind over matter", "If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.” and “What’s the matter? Never mind!”
Does this clutter make my butt look big? : an easy plan for losing weight and living more By Peter Walsh
It’s all too much : an easy plan for living a richer life with less stuff by Peter Walsh
One thing at a time : 100 simple ways to live clutter-free every day by Cindy Glovinsky
Organizing from the inside out : the foolproof system for organizing your home, your office, and your life by Julie Morgenstern
Mission organization : strategies and solutions to clear your clutter
For packrats only : how to clean up, clear out, and live clutter-free forever! By Don Aslett
Making peace with the things in your life by Cindy Glovinsky
Sink reflections by Marla Ciley – the FlyLady
Organizing from the inside out {videorecording] produced by Twin sities Public Television, Inc.
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