Becoming Minimalist » causes of clutter

causes of clutter – not buying quality items

joshua becker — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:16:30 +0000

i am currently enjoying my first-ever “stay-cation.” after intentionally spending as much as time as possible with my two young children over the christmas holiday, i am finally ready to venture into some projects around the house: some maintenance and some minimalizing. this morning: the storage room downstairs that we never completely finished during our first sweep.

i started on the workbench area with my tools. as i began sorting out my tools to minimalize and organize, i was surprised to see that i own four hammers. yeah, four hammers! and to add insult to injury, they are all the same size.

although i didn’t know that i owned exactly four (one was found in a very old box with some tools in it that i forgotten), i do know how the collection of the four occurred. when i was younger (and much less-handy), i simply purchased the cheapest hammer that i could find (usually in a clearance bin at a home improvement store). however, as my expertise grew and the size of my projects grew, i would purchase a hammer one step up from my previous one. over 15 years, i have purchased 4 different hammers – each one nicer than the last.

and now there are four hammers cluttering up my workspace… actually, there were four hammers cluttering up my workspace.

solution – take pride in my purchases. if i really need to purchase an item, then i need to purchase an item that will last. if i had begun my hammer collection with a high-quality hammer, i would have had less clutter on my workbench (and probably an extra $25 bucks in my pocket).

causes of clutter – unfinished projects

joshua becker — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:25:46 +0000

i’m human. therefore, i have some bad habits and tendencies. one such tendency, that seems to contribute to never-ending clutter in my life, is not finishing projects. and although there are some big projects that i don’t see all the way to completion, it seems to be the little things that become the biggest nuisance. little things like: not cleaning up sufficiently, not putting the tools back where i got them, not properly filing a document, or not hanging up a shirt after i decide to change.

these little odds and ends pile up and become a major cause of clutter in all aspects of my life (home and work). there is, of course, only one solution – complete my project. tidying up loose ends brings energy and refreshment into my life. it reduces the mind drain of seeing something that needs to be done and releases me to decide on my next adventure.

this cause of clutter certainly has physical implications as mentioned above. but it also has emotional and relational implications as well. the unfinished project permanently takes up residence in the back of our minds until it is satisfied. do you have a loan that needs to be repaid, an errand that needs to be run, a note that needs to be written, or a relationship that needs to be mended, or just a vacuum that needs to be returned to its home? if so, choose one and complete it today.

the back of your mind will thank you for it.

a definition of clutter

joshua becker — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:53:58 +0000

webster (you know, the one who wrote that dictionary) defines clutter as “to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness.” is it just me or does that defintion feel cluttered?

here is how i have come to define clutter in my life…

clutter is anything that is disorganized. the motto in our house goes like, “everything has a home.” clutter collects when things have strayed from their home and got mixed up with everything else. toys left on the floor. mail sitting on the kitchen table. shoes outside the hallway closet. clothes that need to be put away sitting out. a work file not returned to its cabinet. the list continues. anything that is disorganized or untidy is clutter.

clutter is anything you don’t need or love. one of the joys of becoming minimalist is that we are constantly pushed to define what we truly value in life. through the process we have learned that a home filled with only the things we use and love is a home that we truly love to use.

clutter is too much stuff in too small a space. this takes many forms: too many clothes in one drawer. too many items in a bathroom cabinet. too many knick-knacks on one shelf. too much furniture in one room. remember, you can be creative with your storage solutions for only so long.

causes of clutter – seeing no need to change

joshua becker — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:39:14 +0000

some systems work for some people and some don’t. i get it. i live in that world. but too many people blame their clutter issues on personality. it usually comes out sounding something like this: “it’s a mess, but i know where everything is,” ”i’m naturally disorganized,” ”the mess works for me,” or “if somebody were to clean up this room, i wouldn’t be able to find anything.”

while there may be an element of truth in those statements, some people use their personality traits as an excuse to keep them from living clutter-free. or even worse, they think disorganization is best for them because they have never tasted order.

for most of my life, i worked behind a desk with piles of papers stacked on top of it. my idea of a filing system was just to start a new pile. one year ago, when we chose to become minimalist, i reworked my office removing all piles of paper from my desktop finding a home for everything. my workday is so much more productive now. my desk is freeing and energizing. i choose what needs to be accomplished each day… not just the paper on top of the stack next to me. i thought disorganization was the natural order of my life, but i was wrong. i just didn’t know it until i experienced the other side.

if you see no reason to remove the clutter from your desk, home, or life because that’s “just the way you are,” i challenge you to consider if you have truly tasted the other side. if not, start small. minimalize and organize your vehicle… see if you feel better when you drive it. minimalize and organize your bathroom cabinet… see if you enjoy the freedom that comes from organization. you just may realize that you’ve been missing out all along…

for further reading, may i recommend “everyone can learn to be organized.”

see our full list of “reasons for cluter.“

causes of clutter – wanting my neighbors’ life

joshua becker — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:52:28 +0000

the world i live in seems to promote a neverending awareness of the possessions of others. it does so internally, “i wonder if people notice the car that i drive” and an awareness externally, “i sure wish we had a nice house like them.” the bible refers to it as “coveting.” but to many of us, it’s more like a perpetual stream of consciousness.

this desire to have my neighbors’ life is dangerous to ourselves on so many levels: 1) striving for possessions begins to dictate our lives; 2) it negatively affects our relationship with others; 3) it keeps us from enjoying the joy of our life as it is; and 4) it leads to malice (desiring ill-will towards someone else).

in addition (and almost as a side note compared to the list above), this desire to “keep up with the joneses” causes us to keep up our appearance by hoarding possessions or purchasing items above our income level. our desire to prove that we have arrived causes us to focus attention on the accumulation of things.

this wanting of your neighbors’ life will forever haunt you and rob you of joy until you tackle the deeper issues of self-worth that are going on inside of you. the value of your life is not defined by the size of your home or what fills its shelves, the value of your life is found in your soul, your heart, and your actions. find that value apart from material possessions and the envy for your neighbors’ life will soon begin to fade.

find value in your soul through faith. find value in your heart by realizing your capacity to love. and find value in your actions by impacting a life around you.

when you do, the perfect luster of your neighbors’ life will begin to fade in comparison to yours.

causes of clutter – security

joshua becker — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:26:48 +0000

while it is reasonable to have a desire to create a home that serves your needs, there comes a point where the motivation to acquire things goes off track. we realize that our current possessions are not providing the security that we long for and we begin to accumulate more and more. advertising, whose sole purpose is to convince us that we need to purchase more, is deliberately designed to play on our insecurities and convince us that their product will bring about the security that we desire.

but here’s the problem: the reason we never feel fully secure in our possessions is because possessions can never provide true, lasting security. all possessions are temporary – they will all perish, spoil, or fade. and thus, can never fully provide the security that we desire.

security in life must be found in knowing who you are, what you are here to do, and who is caring for you. i suppose that’s why religion is important in so many people’s lives. spirituality begins to answer some of those questions… and it doesn’t require a plastic storage bin to provide that security.

if you are accumulating more and more possessions for the purpose of finding security, i suggest you begin to look elsewhere because you’ll never find security in something you can put on a credit card.

causes of clutter – “just in case” thinking

joshua becker — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:39:52 +0000

CAUSE _ karen kingston argues in her book “clear your clutter with feng shui” that the number one cause of clutter in our homes is the “keeping things just in case” mentality and its natural outgrowth of holding on to every thing that enters our home.

everyone fears tossing out something only to realize that they really did need it after all – even if that “after all” is six months, one year, or five years down the road. and holding on to things just in case may make you feel safe. but there are negative consqeuences to this thinking if it is not kept in check.

people don’t immediately realize that holding on to too many things is bringing negative consequences – such as a cluttered, energy-draining home. another negative consequence is that we begin to keep so many possessions in our home, we lose track of the ones we do possess and can’t find it when we need it anyway - thereby defeating the very purpose of keeping it in the first place!

i have seen this thinking lead to clutter in my own life whether it be holding on to an empty box (just in case i need to return that item), a kitchen utensil (just in case i want to use an electric carving knife next thanksgiving), an old aquarium (just in case i ever decide to set-up two at the same time), or baby items (just in case…)

RESOLUTION _ start be removing the things in your life that you know you’re not going to use again or don’t serve a purpose in your home (some decorations should fit in this category).

secondly, remove items that you haven’t used in the past year. if your “i should keep this just in case” mentality kicks in, put those items that you feel strongly about in a single box in storage with next year’s date clearly marked on the side (for example: “october, 2009″). decide in your mind any item not used in the next year will be minimalized from your home. from here, it’s a small step to reducing your clutter. and freeing your mind from this clutter-collecting thinking.

causes of clutter – laziness

causes of clutter – laziness

joshua becker — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:33:39 +0000

i have been thinking recently about starting a new series here at becoming minimalist that researches the causes of clutter in our lives. the benefit of the series would be to help me (and others) correctly identify what in my life is keeping me from living a more minimalist lifestyle. the drawback of the series is that, by its very definition, it will take a difficult and negative look at each of our lives. and i prefer to motivate people by focusing on the positive.

but, last night helped cement in my mind the need for this series/category. so, here we go.

clutter cause – laziness.

one of the reasons that clutter and “things” begin to accumulate in our lives can be traced back to simple laziness. i saw that evidenced in my life last night as i decided to clean out a storage closet in my basement. it’s one of those closets that defies categorization – it currently houses board games, old shoes, winter gear, baseball cards, toys, old video game equipment, electrical cords, and more. you probably have a similar closet in your house (one that defies labeling). i was going to have a few free moments last night and thought it would be a good minimalist project.

that was, until… i actually got started. i determined to begin the project as i typically do by removing everything and sorting into my trusty piles (keep, relocate, remove). i began by removing the board games until… two of them spilled open. so i decided to start with the baseball cards… until i decided to open the boxes and look through them (again) to see what i owned and reminisce for a bit. because i was sitting on the couch and the tv remote was near by, i turned it on. and my night was done. the closet would not be cleaned, instead i chose to watch television. the motivation was gone.

as i sat there watching tv, i knew exactly what i was doing. i was giving up on the tough project for the mindless activity of watching tv. i simply chose to be lazy.

and it dawned on me, it is simply easier to live life with clutter. it takes less effort. staying ahead of clutter is hard work (physically and menally). and one reason that i live with clutter with my life is because i have chosen laziness too many times… just look at my closet in the basement.