Clutter. How many of us have it? What is it? Stuff? Too much of it? We live in a society that breeds perpetual stuff. Welcome to America. Capitalisim at its height, which fosters materialism.
Other countries are not like us when it comes to personal possessions. Storage units are over flowing and building on a national rate. We as a society have too much stuff! I am personally one of those people. I just downsized from a house into a condominium, and never realized how many belongings I had until now. I have more boxes than I do space. I've made countless trips to the dump. Got rid of things I didn't even want to get rid of just to conserve space. Gave numerous items away to family and friends. Donated to goodwill. And still have 2 storage bins and a crowded condo!!!
Where do I draw the line and say I have a problem? There's countless organizations out there now- such as clutters anonymous. And you can hire someone to come in an organize your home; but I believe all they do is throw out everything. I can throw out my things myself. Well maybe I can't.
That's actually what's hard, deciding what to throw out and what to keep. Whats important; Whats a memoir or keepsake; What's valuable; What's needed to live everyday.
Going through the clutter, organizing it and arranging it is an important task. How did I get to this point? I know I'm not the only one out there. So many of us whether moving or not, live like this every day. We become immobilized by things. We become victims of a material world through shopping, gambling, trading, and the like. We lead ourselves into financial debt which drains us emotionally as well.
We binge on food and have obesity.
We drink too much and have alcoholics.
We have drug addicts that over-dose.
This is the society we live in. We have too much of everything! Too much of anything is no good. Which brings me back to clutter.
Too many things lead to clutter. You can't enjoy your belongings when you have too much. You can't organize them when there is not enough space. Even one's thoughts can become cluttered. Enjoy what you have. Save space. Value time instead and appreciate one another. Wouldn't that be nice if America fostered that philosophy?
-- Amazing Gaze
I tried to post this comment earlier but had included links to 2 hoarding and clutter websites which may have cause it to be marked as spam.
I agree with you - Americans have too much clutter. America does encourage a desire for stuff. Stores are all about product placement and impulse buys. I define stuff as something we desire but don’t need.
How can you tell if you have a problem? There are actually clutter scales. One was available off the NSGCD.org website and other off the ocfoundation.org website. Both scales are surveys that ask questions like:
1. Are doorways accessible?
2. How much of your home does clutter prevent you from using?
There are many people who are unable to deal with their clutter and actually have a problem. Clutter is generally linked with hoarding and people with this problem feel a great deal of shame.
Unfortunately, I know a bit too much about the topic as I know several people with various levels of clutter and hoarder-clutterer problems.
I realize that my comments are not entirely in keeping with the focus of your post which is America’s bingeing culture.
I wanted to let others know that for many, dealing with clutter can be a very painful and difficult process, sometimes so difficult that therapy is required.
Thank You for your comments and reference to websites. I’m sure that will help others. There are many of us out there that have issues with clutter and may indeed need therapy. Any of the consequences that can result from a materialistic society can be very painful in overcoming; or even sustaining. You brought up a good point, that I didn’t even touch on- hoarding these things in our homes to an extent that they block doorways can be fire hazards, as well. So many areas of concern. We should all think before we buy. thanks for sharing!
Whoops. Guess it just took a while for my first comment to show up! Feel free to delete one!
I guess it is everywhere. With people becoming more affluent, we have more money, more time, more wants and desire. Most people only think and head towards the upper part of the ladder. Usually, they do not realize it until they meet a fall. I need more storerooms for my stuff as well.. :)
Bravo! You know, one day I was walking through Wal-mart and I had the strangest sensation. The feeling was kind of like an epiphany, if you will, a sort of link to answers outside our normal realm of thinking.
I looked across the roof of the store, and as my eyes lowered I began to notice the mountains of products stored one-atop-the-other. As I looked around at the upper landscape of this “model skyline” of basically plastic, worthless bullshit, I had the most profoundly sad feeling in the pit of my stomach!
After a minute, I looked down on the pitiful creatures muddling their way between the mountains of cheap BS (myself included), I saw us all in a very different light. Though we have great potential for so many things, there is a part of us that is no more refined than any socially adaptive bug!
I always refer to Wal-mart as “housewife hell”, and I really detest going there. I applaud your effort to call our attention to something that has impeded us all from what we might attain or become. Our need for instant gratification takes time an resources that we could use to so much better ends.
Just think of the quality you might be able to afford and enjoy, where it not for the cheap and pitiful kind of materialism that we have allowed ourselves to be captured by!
I love your Blog Steve!
Phil
Its so true. Quality not quantity! People impulse shop at Wal-Mart, sometimes just because its a good deal; not becausee they need it. Thats how Wal-Mart makes its money. They know what they are doing. The problem is they don’t have to work very hard. We fall prey , very easily. We are a society that loves to shop. Loves to spend. Loves a good deal. In doing so, we have made Wal-mart one of the most active stocks on the market. We, the people dictate what we want and we have created an enterprise.
Just so everyone knows, this post was written by HMTK’s newest writer: Amazing Gaze.
If you like her work be sure to comment on it and she will respond.
Sorry Gaze, I was tring to compliment you and the blog in general and, well…fumbled of course.
No problem
Respect is learned by one’s behavior and showing of feelings. Respect alows one to feel secure and loved. There’s not enough of all of the above mentioned now a days. I feel what’s lacking with this generation is disapline and consistancy. Backing off and down, gives confusing messages.
We are all guilty fo too much now a days. The key is to know when to give some of it away, or present it in a way that it’s not viewed as too cluttered!
I’ve lived the secret for at least the past 25 years. It is my survival mechanism that keeps me sane, mentally and physicaly healthy. I wish everyone would give it a try and see that it does work! When you believe in something, it works!