Have you noticed clutter and clatter around your place?

*is your house like a typhoon hit it and full of clutter?

*is Your mind full of clatter.. problems, media clatter, family clatter telling you how you should do things, be, say, act.

Yes, i know google can tell us what to do.. but you might like to take a moment and look around your home, your head.

Its meercat den cleaning month here at the moment, my home is breeding notebooks..notes everywhere..what to do, what to say,where to go.

You know the kind of stuff, neat piles of it.. but lots of it, articles from the 80's.

Magazines, recipes, things to do..i could not use them in a lifetime.

The clatter.. no one needs to tell me what to do..i already have an army of meercats chattering in my head.

How to remedy this situation..you tell me!!

Cheers

meercat xx

Hi meercat, graet thread.

Clearing clutter from our homes helps clear the mind. My house has been a mess last few days but i've had a big tidy up today, vacuumed, opened windows and doors, cleaned bathroom and it feels a it better. freeing up space visually in a room helps create space in our minds i believe. When we see clutter everywhere it is overwhelming, not knowing where to start. Our brains can't function.

Clearing the clatter, well maybe a walk or some exercise, even doing housework and keeping busy. Getting busy clearing the clutter can clear the clatter.

cmf x

Meercat

What a great thread.

I am a lapsed hoarder but it hard when you have a shop as I need to buy stock.

I am also messy and disorganised.

One article I read and it did help me a bit. It said there two type of people filers and pilers.

Filers, file-put everything away- a place for everything and everything in its place.

Their house is in order.

Pilers have huge piles of stuff everywhere and put things away as they create piles in some sort of order.

The theory is if you make someone who piles into a filer, that will end in a chaotic mess.

What you do, is order the piles, say in the laundry have a ;pile for dirty washing , for clean washing etc. Or getting a box to put all your notebooks in, some they are in one place.

For me it was at first putting all my photos in a huge box that one day I will sort through.

I had about ten big plastic storage boxes now I have 4. So it can happen but not overnight!!

It is just a theory and will not suit everyone.

I know my tendency to pile so I try to find a place for things. It is a slow process as I think the tendency to clutter is genetic.

Great topic, meercat.

I am actually quite the opposite. I am quite a minimalist. I clean etc a lot when I am anxious/stressed.

I have a spare room with some junk in it but what I have would fill one wheelie bin.

I guess this is because I have moved house so much.

Today my mind is a mess and I am already planning what to do when i get home. Clean the bird. Vacuum. Mop. Washing. I really should be socialising but ........ yeh....... sick of making the effort there.

V.

Hey Cat,

Sorry its getting Later in the day,I think I have lost the plot,

I want to Thankyou for making me laugh today,

I'll be back.

😂

Hello

I am some what like a hoarder

AFTER reading a post yesterday about how to work at distraction, (cleaning being one of them)to help with depression

i looked around my home today and I had piles of dirty laundry, piles of mugs and spoons, piles of dust on ornaments ( a hundred or so, as I used to collect small antiques). Piles of old magazines

I decided I would give it a go to clean my house it did distract a little from the chatter

cleaning the clutter did help clean the chatter for a while.

Ggrand

Hi meercat

What a great topic.

Ornaments! I cant stand too many. So you can imagine my discomfort when visiting a friends house recently for the first time while interstate

Stuffed toys in every lounge chair, ornaments on every table, hardly an inch of wall vacant. We enjoyed a tea but had nowhere to place the cup. And clostrophobia! !

Anyway its their home.

Id only recommend putting aside one hour a day to decluttering. Be ruthless.

Knew an old man that collected simpson washing machine electric motors. "Someone will need one one day" 30 years later he passed away. Within a month the shed was bulldozed, motors and all.

Tony WK

Hi Meercat

As TonyWK mentioned....what a good topic!

I used to have heaps of clutter inside and out.....until I became as Tony mentioned...."Ruthless"

If I dont use any clothing for 2+ years...it gets the boot....to the brotherhood...

I just gave all my 'Bessey' German clamps away to a guy that works in the local 'Mens Shed'....They were brand new but have been in my garage for 20+ years and never used

My brother will keep a piece of timber that will 'come in handy' one day.....I also used to have a ton of stuff that 'would come in handy' one day. My garage is nearly empty..yay! My brother cant say the same unfortunately

Still in the process of de-cluttering though......a work in progress :-)

Great thread Meercat!

Paul

Brilliant thread idea. I definitely find that a clean and clear space helps to really order my thoughts. I have recently done a reorganisation and more needs doing. I am not minimalist per se. But reading some minimalist blogs has certainly helped me go through my stuff.

I am working on the idea that less 'stuff' means less worry and less stress. I am selling the things on gumtree worth selling, I am donating the things worth donating and recycling things that can be and tossing the rest.

Before I buy anything to bring into my home, I am really considering whether I need it. The exception to that rule is hobby stuff. My cross stitching, colouring and piano supplies bring me lots of joy and are always needed ;-)

Hi. Just read ur post. Back from short break...one huge nightmare.

i luv ur saying..

"Clear the clutter & clear the clatter."

Cheers

meercat xx

Hi. I hear what ur saying re filing ..with bp and minimal brain cells left i cant remember where i put things.

The pics iv been sorting thru were very therapeutic..as i sorted them my life flashed before my eyes good and bad years. ..happy family, bday parties, lots of luv and fun, broken marriage, painful years of loneliness and desperation. i sat on the rug and poured my eyes out and when i stood up drying my tears i realised memories cant harm me anymore.

So as these thoughts have visited me im trying to put them in the "clutter clatter bin".

I still have a prob..what do i do with the scarey boxes..the ones that hold the past..full of gremlins?

meercat xx

Hi. I think ur on the right track. Pull out 10 plastic boxes chock full of memorabilia and gremlins. Mark boxes "1 to 10". Throw out the last 6.

As my meerkat rellies would say...

"Simples"

meercat xx

Hi v. Yes my brain is a bit cluttered. My home is tiny and minimalistic with a garage housing 10 plastic boxes that give me the creeps.

Id like to think if i make my life simpler, my thoughts will follow. But my life doesnt happen like that..after packing for hols i cleared the self doubt and past ghosts thinking id return a new person but within 24 hrs my life went from smooth and stressless to chaotic in 5 easy steps. Still trying to unravel the new probs that have replaced the old ones. Its never dull in this little meercat brain!

🤔 meercat xx

Hi. Im getting better with condensing the clutter..My long stitch days are over. Getting old and blind.id need to look so close id poke my eye with the needle.

Ah! What a good idea gum tree. Iv a beautiful Great Barrier Reef tapestry kit with frame and wools..i might list it..thanks for the hint.

I also have boxes of lovely beads and jewellery making stuff..do you think someone on gum tree would buy them? Ps i used to play keyboard..now i just sing karaoke. Have u ever heard a meercat sing? Run ......

meercat xx

Hi Dory, how r u? Everywhere i go, you appear. Are you multiplying? I found you the other day in a jewellers shop, yesterday you were in a little clear bubble on top of a sunscreen bottle at priceline. I must be loosing it..

meercat xx

Hi Tony. I can imagine sitting in a room full of stuff with nowhere to sit. A long time friend used to have her home like a cyclone but it didnt worry me. She was happy to see me and i cleaned up while she marked papers amongst the stuff. iv heard lately she now holds a highly organisational position.

I was cured of my antique collecting years ago. I received a lovely very valuable teapot. So wanting to impress mum-in-law i served our tea party using her teapot. Crackling noises as i poured the hot tea. i rushed the pot to the sink and it cracked into tiny pieces. So today antiques do not give me joy.

My mum gave me a full set of about 40 pieces of Royal Doulton crockery..very rare.When i moved into a new house i was trying to put the dinner set in a special place but there was no back on the shelf and it smashed on the ground.that was hard to explain when mum wanted it back.

meercat xx

Hi Paul. Mmm what did i do with my clothes when i sorted them. In a mad bp slump n frenzy recently i bagged all my clothes and tossed them in the garage ready to go to the op shop.Imagine my dismay when next day i went to w.i.r. to find all my clothes gone. A naked meercat is not a pretty site..nor is a 60+ lady.

meercat xx

Paul..maybe we cd have a "clear ur clutter day". If we r all doing it maybe it would make it easier.. like a virtual cleanup time.

Yeah iv posted in 6 lines. Not 20. This clear clutter n clatter seems to be working.

Cheers

meercat xx

Hi Meercat

I really think this a great thread. I know you are talking about 'Clearing Clutter'.... is it okay if I can talk about 'hoarding' ? If not...no worries

I understand there is a huge difference but I thought Id check first :-)

My Kind thoughts

Paul

Paul. I used to be a hoarder, are you one. after moving many times im thinking i only need a few special things.

Iv started choosing some items to keep which make me smile, and putting the things which make me sad on gumtree. These things have been hiding in the garage and conjure up bad memories.

Someone once told me "Touch an item once and let it go"

meercat xx

Hi Meercat

I was only wondering about people that may be hoarding and if your thread included them as they may want to post here. I posted on this thread (on the 21st Oct...just above) how I am de cluttering . I also mentioned a relative above that is a hoarder.

Always great to see the meercat :-)

No..I am not a hoarder...just check my second last post

My Best

Paul

Hi Paul. Sorry i just read ur reply 21 oct. I have shadows over my eyes and cant see clearly at the mo.

I think i had to hoard to become a de'clutterer.

As a pre-hoarder i was wondering recently, if i removed the real stuff with bad memories in the boxes that id let the history related to them go, and id no longer have to deal with them every time i saw them.

Hoarding is a debilitating way of life. I used to get tired and frustrated cause i couldnt find things. I moved many times. I think there was some guilt in the whole thing for me.

Stuff i kept because someone gave it to me..stuff i kept cause it made me feel close to someone and stuff i just cant let go which conjure up bad memories.

I think i started hoarding as a child we had very little toys and id collect shiny things i picked up. the habit increased until two years ago when all my things had to fit in a storage garage whilst i was building.That slowed me down.

Somehow some "things" items from the past have crept into my new place and they are causing me difficulties cause i cant let them go.

So i am stockpiling items and sorting a little each day..i look at them, touch them and if they dont make me happy i toss them outside in the bin. on collection day i waive them goodbye when the truck arrives to take them away.

Hoarders please join in!

meercat xx

Hello Meercat

Love the thread. De-cluttering and de-clattering are good to do. When I was a teenager (many years ago) I used to tidy my bedroom, put stuff away etc before I went out on a date or similar. It made me feel good because I could enjoy myself with a clear conscience. It felt good to come to a bedroom without all my clothes out instead of in the wardrobe.

I think that's one of the reasons I try to keep my home tidy. It's not so visitors can sit down more comfortably, though I agree with you Tony about the claustrophobia, it's more the feeling when I sit down that I know where everything is and also finding comfort in a tidy room.

I think there is a link between clutter and MH. For the past few months I have noticed piles of paperwork everywhere and invariably whichever paper I want is in one of these piles. You would think that as I searched the piles I would put stuff away. Far too much effort. And I am inclined to agree it is part of my down feelings at the moment. Much make the effort to clear up.

Mary

Hi all..Yeah! Iv 2 BIG BAGS of stuff ready for the bin tomorrow and 1 bag of clothes for the op shop. Bits of paper and recipes have shrunk to 3 small notebooks and anything i cant part with fits into 2 drawers.

Ah! The garage.. that will be a challenge.

Does anyone else have anything they wish to put out tomorrow?

Cheers

meercat xx

well done meerkat. I would give you a prize but may throw it out.

Quirky

hi Meercat, when our house was in the process of being sold I had to empty the very large garage, and over all the years as a builder/handyman there was so much that had to go, not that I wanted them to go, but the new place didn't have the room to house everything I had, and the bigger the garage or shed you have the more reason to keep anything you want to, it wasn't so much junk, but decent items, but how many locks do you need to get, not the hundreds I had.
What about any left overs that came from a finished job, sure it will come in handy one day and yes this always was the case, but I had to close my eyes when something was discarded, either in the bin or a trip to the tip, but then what about items do you see at the tip, wow that would be handy, that's why I had to have a mate who said NO, you're throwing stuff away not bringing it home, how painful that was.
Sure enough whatever I threw away I needed at some later date, that's when I could kick myself. Geoff.

Meerkat...

Did you mention you had begun a thread aimed at over 60s or so?...Where can I find that one?

wishing you a good day........

Hi Moon. "Does Life begin at 60" under staying well. See u there...

meercat xx

Hi everyone. Howz it going.

How r u going with ur clearing clutter thing, it sure can be daunting a work in progress.

We've had filers and pilers and procrastinators and people who dont clutter at all.

I have a nest of notebooks. Pink green blue big small everywhere. iv dug them up and copied the relevant stuff from all into ONE notebook. I can now save time not hunting for notes.

I created a little "to do" card system. Anything that comes to mind i write on tiny cards cut from old cardboard. Such as.. meals to try, weeds to go, someone to call, thought for the day.

Each day i choose a card from my tiny tea box, complete the task and throw away the card.

meercat xx

Hi everyone. It's New Years eve. The clutter has been sorted and banished from my den. The clatter of toxic thoughts and past and present people filed and gradually slip into the back of my mind. Im ready for a fresh beginning.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!