Glad Tithings

Principles in Practice

Avoiding Clutter

Are you challenged by the accumulation of "stuff"? Do you have too much paper? Too many things? Or how about not enough room to accommodate all you have accumulated?

Limiting Your Possessions

Don't accumulate more than you have room for. Whether it's paper, furniture, appliances, "dust catchers," books, magazines, publications, valuables, clothing or anything else, find room for it before you acquire it or prepare a plan for generating the necessary space. If you cannot fit it in, don't acquire it in the first place.

If you already have a clutter problem, promise yourself that you will not add to your possessions until you assess, organize and pare down what you already have. That means avoiding yard sales, shopping sprees, or any other activity that results in acquiring more material goods. Learn to say no to those who offer you their "treasures." Until you turn off the flow, there is little hope of solving your clutter problem.

Next, get rid of what you don't have room for. Everyone has a finite amount of space available to store "stuff." Some people have more than others, but everyone has a limit. If your limit has been reached or exceeded, you probably recognize you have a problem, and know it's time to take action. After you cut off the flow of incoming "stuff," you must decide what to eliminate so that your possessions fit within the space available. Start by listing your possessions and then prioritize. You might create categories and then set limits for each category. The next step is organizing your remaining possessions after you've sold, given away or trashed what you choose not to keep.

Handling Paper

By far the most clutter in most people's lives is caused by the accumulation of paper. In this Information Age of electronic communication, some thought we would be entering the paperless society. You may remember that computers were once promoted as the answer to the paper glut. Now we know that thanks to computers, word processors, printers and copiers paper has not been eliminated but instead proliferated a thousand-fold. What is the answer?

Let's look at the paper people typically hang on to. In addition to your incoming mail, you will need to deal with documents, receipts, warranties and paper related to purchases, tax materials, business papers, articles, and mementos. Your best strategy is to establish a home filing system that covers these categories and a few others. If you want to a sample home filing system index, just let us know. We'll be glad to send you one.

If you tend to clip newspaper and magazine articles, limit yourself to saving only those that you are willing to spend the time organizing and filing. If you are not willing to file it (or if you run out of space for filing), then toss it. You can age it for a predetermined period of time and then either file it or discard it. Decide in advance on a reasonable time frame and stick to it!

Dealing with Mail

Let's take a look at incoming mail. So much unsolicited and unwanted mail comes our way that all but the loneliest of us complain about it. Some people try to reduce it by requesting their names be deleted from a particular mailing list. There are organizations that will get your name removed from unsolicited "junk mail" lists. While it is helpful to notify organizations that you no longer want to be on their mailing lists, the best answer for unsolicited mail is to discard it without opening it.

My experience is that you will never get ahead of the game. Your name will be added to lists faster than you can request it be deleted. Realize that almost every offer or promotion you respond to will result in multiple future mailings from that business or group as well as others. Learn to throw mail away, unopened.

Sort the mail that you want to, or must, deal with into two categories: time sensitive and not time-bound. Set aside time in your schedule to deal with each category. Very little of the mail in most of our lives is really critically time sensitive. Stop and consider just how time sensitive what's in that envelope really is. For instance, it's much more efficient to accumulate your bills, set aside sufficient time once each month, and pay them all at one time. Once you have tossed the junk mail and set apart bills for payment, whatever you have left should be read and tossed or placed in a container for filing.

Managing Furniture and Possessions

Now let's take a look at the larger picture. Perhaps you have accumulated so much clutter that you've had to put some of your stuff in storage. Your house or apartment is full, and you're paying $40 a month for someone else to hold on to your things. That's almost $500 a year or more, or a total of $5,000 if you keep everything in storage over the next 10 years. If you've already accumulated that much stuff that you don't have room for, you're likely to wind up paying even more for storage as time goes on.

It's time to decide once and for all that you are going to reduce what you own so that everything will fit into the space you have at your house or apartment. In fact, you should plan to save some space, both for future acquisitions and to avoid the anxiety that excessive clutter generates.

Start by making a list of all your larger possessions. You will probably be amazed or horrified or both. Divide your list into categories. Make some preliminary choices about what to save and what to get rid of. If you recognize that you have a serious case of the clutterbug complex, you may want to enlist the help of a relative or friend.

Or instead of trying to decide how much you can keep, take the opposite tack. Decide how much you are going to dispose of. Plan a yard sale or get together with others in your neighborhood or apartment complex. Advertise valuable pieces for sale. If you have antiques or other valuables that might be suitable for auction, call a reputable auctioneer or an antique dealer and have someone come to appraise your things and estimate what your possessions are worth. Often these professionals will offer to buy your items on the spot.

Giving and Tossing

After you've sold what you'd like to, begin giving your excess possessions away. Give first choice to the people you care for the most-friends and relatives. Expand the circle until you've given away enough to relieve your anxiety and permit reasonable future expansion.

By this time, you've got some momentum. Don't stop now. Agree that whatever you cannot sell or cannot give away, you're going to throw away. If you've not been able to sell it or give it away, that may tell you something. If you're still suffering from the clutterbug complex, box it up and let it sit in your living room or other very visible area until you're sick of looking at it.

One reason you may fear throwing something away is the idea that as soon as you do, you'll find a use for it. So, if you must, just let it age for a reasonable period of time. Decide in advance how long is reasonable. If you really do think of a use for something within that predetermined period of time, retrieve it and use it. The odds are that 99% of what you have boxed will not be useful, and you can throw it away once that becomes clear. Don't start looking at everything again. Just throw it all away.

The other great impediment to throwing an item away is that it holds memories. Whether it's your parent's belongings, your own childhood belongings, or your children's belongings, there are certain things it are very difficult to part with. Try to look at things objectively. You know you cannot possibly save everything that has a memory associated with it. So how do you decide what to keep? Here again, the space available is your best guide. If the Lord intends that you keep something, then He has already ordained a space for it. If there is not the space to keep it, then assume He does not want you to hold on to it, regardless of its sentimental value.

Organizing the Rest

Chances are that no matter how much you've gotten rid of, there's still a whole lot left that must be organized well in order to fit into available space without overcrowding. Decide room by room what should fit in that room. At this point, you might enlist the help of a friend or relative who just loves to organize things. If you find there is still not enough space, be willing to accept advice on what else you should discard.

And remember, we at Christian Stewardship Ministries are available to help you solve all your life and time management challenges. Contact us by email or telephone or schedule a personal appointment. Folks travel all the way from California to Virginia to meet with us, so don't overlook the value of a personal counseling session. Let us know you need help, and we'll try to find a way to assist you.

Blessings to you and yours this Christmas season!

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