Good Quotes: Combatting Clutteritis

"You're home is a garbage processing center where new things are purchased and slowly demoted through various stages of trashification until you're done.

Starts out: you bring it home. Put it on the kitchen table. You read the instructions, you tell everyone in the house about it. And then some time goes by and you realize you're not going to be so keen on drying out fruit and storing it in your basement (as you thought you were going to be.) So therefore the object is demoted to the closet where it lands on the floor. You start stepping on it to reach newer things that are just beginning on their journey to junk." -Jerry Seinfeld

How true, how true. I don't know how many homes I've visited and observed a garage or closet stashed with "things" obviously purchased on a whim or with great hopes, only to be relegated to the "one day I'll use it" status.

The only thing in our home like that is our window air conditioner that is seasonally stored away and our luggage. Otherwise, everything we own is used frequently, otherwise they're donated, recycled or throw out (well, except some financial papers we still need to sort and shred). Ever since adopting this stricter purchasing conditions, we've had a less clutterede home and thus, a happier one. It's not as hard as it sounds. Start with that one easy throwaway or donation. We promise, it becomes easier and easier when you start seeing space in our closet. Give it a try!

[quote via OrganizingLA]

Comments (5)

You've had a less cluttered home, not a less clutter-free home....

posted by Sofia on January 24th 2008 at 11:47am
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Inspired by the AT "Do It Now" attitude, I cleaned out an impenetrable walk-in closet today. Once I got rid of the junk, everything I needed to store fit onto a tiny shelf at the back of the closet!

posted by Lisa Hunter on January 24th 2008 at 1:08pm
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Lisa, you're the AT star of the day!

posted by gregory on January 24th 2008 at 2:03pm
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For brilliant insights on our "stuff" and its impacts on health and the environment, go to www.storyofstuff.com. Annie Leonard presents a great 20-minute cartoon to make us all think twice about that stuff we just can't live without!

posted by marnie on January 24th 2008 at 2:06pm
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haha... love the pic! I reference "Monica's closet" all the time. I think there's a little Monica in all of us...

posted by eebnyc on January 24th 2008 at 5:53pm
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