cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by yewenyi
I have just returned
from a short visit to my mother's house. It has been 3 years since our last
visit as we live quite a distance away and for all sorts of reasons we haven't
been able to return home in that time.
3 years is a long
time and when you return to a familiar place after this amount of time you can
really notice the things that have changed. The first thing I noticed as I
entered my mother's small retirement unit was the clutter. Stuff was everywhere
on every surface -except the couches- and in piles at least two foot high. I
could also see the that in an attempt to combat the accumulation of 'stuff'
that she had bought more storage furniture to hide the stuff. I am sure this
has worked to a degree (all the drawers and cupboards were full of things that
I had previously seen lying around in her unit), but this has not been the
solution to her collecting and clutter, all it has achieved is to make her
living space small and seem MORE cluttered. *sigh*
This problem scares
me for 2 reasons. The first reason is that I can see clearly into the future
and realise that one day this clutter is going to be partly my problem to
resolve on behalf of my mother. This prospect is overwhelming NOW, let alone in
another 10 or 15 years time! And the second reason this problem scares me, is
that I have this same tendency to accumulate and struggle to know how to keep
my possessions in order. As I sit here at my keyboard and look around, I have a
'pile of stuff' on the kitchen table
beside me, and more 'piles of stuff' in every room that I have delegated to
'get around to ' or worse I have NO IDEA how to banish. The irony has not
escaped me that I can go to my mother's and pick on her clutter but I can't combat my own, however I need to take
this problem in hand NOW or I can see all too clearly what my future
holds...and my children won't thank me for it!
On the whole I
recognise how the problem occurs and sometimes even why the problem occurs, I
just don't know how to fix this problem. For years I have spoken to friends and
acquaintances about this personality trait that leads me to collect, acquire and leave around in
larger and larger piles of clutter. Some can see clearly the problem (like I do
with my mother) but not the solution. Some can't even see what my concern is
about (you can't change who you are, so just accept and be comfortable with who
you are, mentality). Every time I discuss this with people I ask for assistance
- a trade if you will. I am happy to offer my assistance to them in some area
or aspect that they need help with, and in exchange I would like someone to
come in and 'sort out' my junk and put it in order.
I have learnt this
about myself...If I enter an environment that IS ALREADY in order, I can
maintain that order and environment. But if I know it is my OWN place
(environment) I proceed to cause chaos. I was/am neat and tidy at work - in
fact I have this compulsion to be so. Why can't this follow on into the home? I
think my family and friends underestimate just how big a challenge this is for
me and how important it is to find a solution to this issue. I don't want to
waste any more precious thinking space trying to work out why I am like this
and how I can stop being like this. Too many holidays have been spent trying to
'get myself in order' already! I just want a home environment that is warm,
inviting and relaxing - not stressful because it fills me with guilt about all
the things I need to do and haven't done because I don't know how to achieve my
declutter needs.
Does anyone know of
a professional business that provides this type of service to people like me
who are genuinely looking for a solution?
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