Survey #240—Full Response from Gabriella
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| Complete the following statement: “What I wish people could understand about my struggle with clutter and disorganization is _____.” | Micro acts of maintenance can produce visible results. (It really helps if the disheveled items have an easily accessible home and if trashcans are within reach) Decluttering can be rewarding instead of being a chore. (I've even used it very successfully as a means of structured procrastination :o) Making a game of buying as few things as possible can produce as much dopamine as binge shopping. It's OK to keep a - moderate - number of duplicates of specific items, if this is what works for you personally. (I own several pairs of reading glasses, because I have a habit of taking them off and leaving them in different places. This keeps me from having to look for my glasses all day long.) |
| Describe an area or aspect of your life or home in which you are already sufficiently organized. | Almost all of my things have a home. I rarely need to search for something. Items I use frequently are easily accessible. I've been using the Konmari folding technique to arrange my T-shirts, tank tops, jeans and sweaters in my dresser. It's worked fabulously for me for about 6 years now. I love how it looks and I have a bird's eye view on the items in each category. Besides trash and recycling bins in the kitchen, I keep a smaller paper recycling bag and a small trash can near my desk/command center, making it easy to get rid of trash immediately. Several 30 second pickups of my desk surface are helpful too. I make my bed while waiting for my first morning coffee to brew. I regularly get rid of things that don't / no longer work for me, even presents from friends. I have had some success in motivating my partner in getting his areas decluttered and in convincing him to stop accumulating enormous amounts of clothing. It's a tediously slow process, though. The success factor seems to be "wu wei", achieving by not doing. If I use even the slightest amount of pressure, it backfires. I've been able to counteract my reluctance to part with things by a) growing decluttering muscles and getting getting somewhat desensitized to the attachment and b) repurposing things that just sat around into functional items in my home and enjoying them dailly. Gayle's suggestion to keep only the most important sentimental items has helped me a lot. |
| Describe something that you’re happy to leave behind in 2024 and something you’re looking forward to making a part of your life in 2025. | leave behind: binge watching Youtube videos and playing games online look forward to: reading more learning (I really enjoy MOOCs) delving deeper into the recent scientific discoveries on habit formation and disruption and using it on my own habits learning to understand and speak enough of the Moroccan dialect of Arabic to be able to get around easily exercising more regularly decluttering the last sections in my home that need a major overhaul; regularly maintenance decluttering everything that ceases to work for me keeping: my wonderful relationship with my partner (ongoing for 34 years now) staying healthy giving and receiving support from and to my beautiful friends staying organized, keeping my home functional, inviting and aesthetically pleasing hosting for my friends often last, but certainly not least, being extremely thankful and content with my situation |
| Future topics | 1. Would you consider including an in-depth series on habit formation in support of a clutter free home (life)? 2. I'm wondering about finding a wholesome balance between getting rid of things and thereby streamlining one's belongings - which I appreciate enormously, of course - and keeping and using specific things longer, in the sense of underconsumption. This may even include keeping a curated number of just-in-case items. |
Be the first to comment!
Comment on this survey response
Please use the form below to share a comment on this survey response. We ask that you keep your comments courteous and respectful. Polite disagreement is fine, but abusive language won’t be tolerated. Your comment will be held briefly for moderation after submission.
"*" indicates required fields
