Survey #175 Response from Anita
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| Think about a decluttering project of any size that you’ve completed in the past. (The project may be as little as one section of cabinet, a drawer, or a small set of objects.) How successful have you been at maintaining the space or collection in the finished state? | Somewhat unsuccessful |
| For the project you thought about in the previous question, what habits, attitudes, events, people, or other factors contribute to your tendency to re-clutter the space? (For example, “I’m a habitual shopper” or “My family doesn’t respect my organizing efforts” or “The mail just keeps coming!”) | OK, two things: I just don’t like to put things away right away. “I can do that later“ is a constant refrain. My desk, my never empty desktop, are always the result of delayed decisions, and delayed action in favor of something more pressing or more interesting to do. I’ve made some progress with the mail “fire hose“ by standing over the recycling bin in the kitchen and pitching as much of it as I can as it is received daily. However, I’m still a sucker for those heart rending charity requests, which now make it onto my desk and go in a pile while I decide if I’m going to donate this month or next month or not at all. I have a friend who comes in to help me with filing, but I realized that, although she knows the system for my filing cabinet, some of the mail that comes in has to go into the files that are just by my knees in the desk, and if I don’t do that right away, they pile up. |
| What habits, mindsets, practices, or other factors contribute to your ability to successfully maintain a previously cluttered space? (For example, “I reset my dining room after each meal” or “I’ve set a limit of five decorative items in each room” or “I use the ‘after’ photo I took as motivation to keep my bathroom shelves organized.”) | My paper recycling waste basket is a pull out drawer in my kitchen right behind the regular kitchen garbage drawer. I find I can get rid of the newspaper minutes after I read it because I know I can always get the same information from the online edition, and unless an envelope is “ lumpy” and maybe not immediately recyclable I’m getting to the point where I can take the charities that I know I’m not going to donate to, and pitch them without even opening them. |
| In which collections or categories of stuff are you most inclined to re-clutter—i.e., to refill areas and spaces that you’ve previously had success decluttering? (For example, “I purge my clothes closet every couple of years, but it’s always overflowing again within three months” or “My coffee mug collection is always out of control.”) | My desk is number one, followed by my clothes, closets. I recently gained some weight and had to buy some new clothes, but have not yet been able to get rid of the 14 or so pieces of clothing, mostly dresses, because I’m waiting for my local thrift shop to start taking in new stock again. |
| Fill in the blank: “When I finish my current decluttering/organizing project, I’m going to treat myself to ___.” | One new plant-either a Venus fly trap for the house or a reblooming daylily for the outside garden. |
| Here’s your chance to ask Gayle and Ed any question you’re curious about. It need not be related to this survey’s topic(s). If we think that your question—and our answer—might be useful or instructive to The Clutter Fairy Weekly audience, we’ll share them in an upcoming episode. | Gayle, have you experienced working in a space with a person who has the early stages of dementia and what was that like? |
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