It was one afternoon while arguing with my husband about whether his pile of notebooks and papers and laptop needed to always live on the end of the sofa that I was forced to face the ugly truth. For all my big talk of living a clutter-free life, I, too have a clutter weakness!
I can confess it here and now: I am a total magazine junky! I have yet to meet I magazine I didn't like. I subscribe to quite a few, including two weeklies, and end up picking up one or two a week on the newsstand as well. As you can imagine, that many magazines can pile up quickly.
I’ve made all sorts of allowances for my magazine collection, including a DIY magazine file, and yet I still end up with little piles of them all over the place. Beside the bed, next to the sofa, stacked a little too high on a shelf in our living room – they can end up all over our little apartment if I don't keep it in check. Usually I go through them pretty quickly and send them off to be recycled but every now and then they do stack up on me. And that's what my husband was referring to, as I stood there pointing to his pile of papers and notebooks. He, of course, won the argument.
So what is your clutter weakness? Junk mail? Take-out menus? Is there one thing (or many!) that you let accumulate despite your best effort? Share it in the comments section!
Images: Jason Loper
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mine is clothing, i always end up just leaving it around the house. Also paperwork and documents. I just bought 2 new filing cabinets, maybe those will help. Need to make them pretty before i stuff them with paper tho!
My weakness is orphaned armchairs. If there's a free corner available I will manage to fill it.
Pots of cream. Hand, body, face. In sample sizes. They are EVERYWHERE!
Paperwork. Bills and schoolwork, mostly. I keep all of my notes and assignments from past classes, and each ends up being an inch or more thick file.
Being an adult comes with soooo much paper. We bought a filing cabinet, but there's still so much sitting in cardboard boxes in our office for me to sort through. I wish I could just burn it all....
Shoes. Two or three pairs are usually in the living room by the end of the week because I take them off as soon as I get home. And a massive pile gets shoved under the bed.
cooking magazines, paperwork, cookbooks
Decorative wood boxes. Big ones, little ones, some ornate, others unfussy. Sure I always find something to put in them, but it's seriously out of control now.
Does my boyfriend count? I love him but he does seem to leave a trail.
Books.My name is ebrown and I'm a book addict.
craft projects! The T-shirt rug being crocheted for the kids bathroom, the Acorn christmas tree ornaments, the refinishing job on the frame that I intend to make into a white board, the two weaving looms, the anchovy can I'm trying to upcycle, the yard sale vintage treasures waiting to be photographed to put on ETSY, etc. And I really could go on and on.
Magazines. How can I recycle old issues of Domino, Met Home, Natl Geographic, Smithsonian and MSL? The first two aren't even published anymore! What if I need them? What if they didn't go to a good home? I might be hopeless. :(
I've started three-ring binders to save favorite articles from my magazines -- one for things to do around town, one for fashion, one for recipes. I still struggle terribly with clutter, but it feels very liberating to actually throw away a magazine when the next issue comes!
mail and dress shirts. Not in the same place. Mail piles up on the dining table. Dress shirts pile up on top of the dresser.
Shoes, shoes, shoes, more shoes. My bedroom is littered with them. I trip on them in the middle of the night, get exasperated by the smattering every time I walk in the room...ugh. But, Saturday morning, I clean them all up and put them back where they go.
Just to start all over on Monday.
Paperwork! Bills, bills, bills.... blurg! To be honest, to avoid marital arguments, I'm a 'stasher'. Which is to say that it's not all over the desk but worse; it's shoved into a drawer to sort out later... the odd lip balm, necklace and spare set of keys get lost in there too, lol! Also, I have a bookcase for the magazines that I just can't let go of and a basket full of 'inspiration and to dos' which is trinkets, business cards, an artists details or a business that I've torn out a newspaper at a cafe, ideas that I've scribbled on the back of receipts etc. I think that it's better to have it strewn on the table than hidden in a big drawer. At least then you're more likely to eventually put it where it belongs. :)
The post pile... I know sort it as it comes in... I do... the recycling goes straight into the recycling and the bills go straight onto the post pile but still I can't face it and it just explodes continuously... bleh... why can't post be fun anymore!!!
DIY projects......I start projects like painting, wallpapering, hanging pictures, recaulking windows, decorating....it's a never ending trail of incomplete projects.
oh man I am an "organized pile" person. I see clutter, start to clean it, get distracted and leave little unfinished, but some how satisfactory, "organized piles."
piles of clothing, mail, magazines, scrapes of paper I might use someday, office supplies, things that should be in the bathroom, bills, receipts, misc., unfinished projects, pages from magazines, things to be filed, cat toys, goodwill bags... I am my worst nightmare. I hate clutter, but it constantly tugs at my sleeve.
clothing in the bedroom, all over the floor!
I too am a magazine junky! I have been trying to cut down, but they still accumulate on me...
I try to tear out and file the things which visually appeal to me, or break down issues by getting rid of the ads, etc., but there are some (like MSL) I will never do that to...
There is no way I can recycle old design magazines though...
I should add that I've been a magazine (and design) junky since the age of 5, when a friend of my mother's gave her a huge box of vintage Maison Francaise and House Beautiful... no, they should not be thrown out!
SO good to know that not everyone on here has a perfectly staged, beautifully maintained home!
Ugh. Mail. So much! I've switched to paperless whenever possible, and toss all junk mail and catalogs into the trash before I set foot into my apartment, but the little buggers just seem intent on reproducing.
Magazines. I'm a reader. I'm good about tossing or giving away most mags (to nursing homes) however there is my more than 15 years of Vanity Fair that I cannot part with. Also my prized collection of Stop Smiling...so Jason thank you for the DIY magazine file info. Have often thought about ordering sturdy files online - didn't want to go through the expense. I will be eating a lot of cereal this year. Tee-hee. Just a shout out - I give piles of mags to nursing homes as when mom was in one I discovered how many folks don't have anyone in the world and have little or no funds for the "extras" such as magazines. Please consider this as a good home for magazines and books you want to get rid of.
Recycle, reuse.
Magazines are my ultimate weakness. I'm in danger anytime I go to the grocer or book shop!!! Shoes and clothing are a constant battle! They refuse to hang themselves up!!!!! Aw shucks, that means I have to do it?? :)
My husband's clutter is wires!!! Seriously how many wires do you need to connect to everything???? HELP!!!!!
Magazines, especially decorating and food magazines. I have special weakness for British mags.
I proudly declare, that after (literally) decades of struggle and practice, I don't HAVE any cllutter weaknesses any more!!!
(OK, maybe there are some dregs of flea-market bargains in the garage that haven't actually gone totally away yet, but the process takes time!)
And maybe I lie, just a little.
My two biggest hurdles are my significant other (he takes some urging to toss his junk mail, and I don't want to be presumptuous about what IS junk mail...) and my craft/jewelry making/sewing projects and supplies. I have barely enough space to store everything tightly packed away out of sight. But if I feel creative, and I pull things out to work with, well, there is no good spot so it becomes clutter. (I felt like making some jewelry yesterday. Now the diningroom table is covered, layers deep, in containers of beads and findings. It will stay that way until the mood passes and I stash it away again. I really need a studio...)
sadly i have several...lol..
magazines, clothes, bags and shoes!
i have so many of all of the above that i love.
but i am working to downsize, streamline and organize it all because at some point the loves overflowing becomes too much!
many many empty cups with a tea bag left in them. sigh. i'm working on it.
Do I have to choose just one???
Does ANYONE know where to find that ladder bookcase in the picture??
my clutter weakness is books!!
especially when you don't have enough bookshelves!!
I think that it is time for another bookcase!!
LOTS OF MAGAZINES AND BOOKS
Sheet music all around my piano!
I would say the hardest thing is old clothes and shoes for me. I look through my closet and go, "I haven't worn that in a year, I should get rid of it." And then I try it on one last time, decide it's actually very flattering, and think that I will surely wear it soon, which of course I never do.
Also, I have a box of items in my closet that I've filed away as needing to be fixed up (pants that need hemming, shoes that need resoling, etc.) and I let stuff sit in there for wayyy too long and then eventually forget that I *did* buy new pants but just need to get them altered. This week I have some time off, I will try to tackle these things!!
Books are piling up everywhere in my house.... but I refuse to buy an e-reader.
Dishes is something our whole fam tends to let pile up, no dishwasher.
I'm a bit of a neat freak, but clothes and shoes are my weakness. I never seem to have enough room for them so end up with bags that need to go to the goodwill. I also have too many cameras, but just this week started by selling one, and I have a couple film cameras to donate.
Just like the pic... magazines!!! And no matter how often the boyfriend complains I can't get rid of my piles and piles of them!
I'm in a situation at the moment that I need to clear out my closet within a few days. It's a PITA, but it really is a good thing, as I've had baskets full of old cancelled checks from back to 1991 and old papers and magazines that I no longer need. I've been shredding like crazy and had 2 large trash bags full of shredded paper. I've been getting rid of clothing that I don't wear or fit anymore. It's exhausting, but satisfying. If I didn't have to do this, all this junk would probably still be sitting there. ;)
aww I have a fave magazine but magazines are expensive. I can't imagine getting a few a week! cha-ching?
My "clutter" problem is just the fact that I don't like picking up after myself on a regular basis and end up doing official "cleans". Lame
But we do have too many books on our bookshelf. It's not a small bookshelf either, it's one of those cubicle type ones where you're supposed to leave a few "empty" for a visual break. But no, it's full and kind of stressful to look at.
And just like all of the posts on this website, there's very little you can do when you're not the only person living in the space. Only a quarter of the books are mine.
Empty wine bottles. They just pile up.
Lol mine is magazines too...I have an entire drawer full of them! I need to get rid of them though, as they just sit in there collecting dust and I don't read them...
Magazines. Now I won't buy any if there are fewer than 5 articles I am interested in. I'm a pastry chef, so I buy a lot of industry mags. I keep the French magazines, but only recipes in the American editions. There are way too many ads! I tease myself and say I'm a recipe hoarder.
Those of you with credit card offer problems should visit www.optoutprescreen.com. It doesn't affect your ability to receive a credit card if you apply for one, and doesn't affect your credit. But the FDIC is required to have a way to limit the amount of that stuff that you get. I just opted out of all credit card and insurance offers for a lifetime using that website. Hope it helps with your clutter! It should take about 3 months for it to completely phase out, since apparently if your name is already sold, they will mail whatever outstanding pieces they have for each person.
Clothing - especially clothing that I'm planning on wearing a few more times before I wash it. I hesitate to hang them back up in the closet/put them back in the drawers because then come laundry day, I will forget if they need to be washed. Right now I just lay those clothes ontop of my dresser but it's very sloppy. I am going to hang up some hooks behind on the wall behind my bedroom door so I can hang them there but they're not out in the open since the door will hide them. If I had a big enough closet I'd section off some space in there but I live in a 101 year old house so you can imagine my closet situation :)
Mine is totally "sentimental items" that I have cleared from other rooms (So those rooms don't look cluttered) I can't bear to part with them and can't find a home for them elsewhere so they have managed to take over my bedroom. It's terrible. I really just need to get a box and some tissue paper and just store them away!
I have three file boxes of worthless old paperwork to be reviewed and destroyed. I also have two boxes and the bottom of a hall closet full of things to be mended or repaired or released. I procrastinate less from dread than because there's always something more fun or urgent or easier to do.
For my husband, paper memorabilia from his deceased parents fill the closet in the bedroom we made a home office. We scanned part of it, saving it digitally. We gave a CD copy of what we'd scanned to each of their descendants.
My husband wants to do this with all of it before giving the originals to his only sibling. However, he found the project too upsetting to continue, so it's been on hold for years. He won't release the originals unless he has copies.
His sister resents what she sees as his being withholding and selfish. I can't help much since I can't make out the handwriting, plus it's in Spanish. The worst clutter weaknesses may be the ones visitors never see.