Clutter vs Organization

For anyone who knows me or who has followed this blog ... you know I am a big believer in researching stuff: books, blogs, websites, talking with others with similar experiences ... you name it!

My "fall focus" is reducing clutter.  There are alot of current reasons why I am so focused now, but there is a long history of "pitching" stuff to make more space and less stress in my life.

Reducing clutter seems to go hand-in-hand with simplifying life in the materials I have seen.  While I didn't start this clutter reduction process to simplify my life, it seems to have that natural outcome.

In my research I made this discovery ...

While reading another blog I found the first issue of a free online magazine called Simplify Magazine. The focus of this magazine on simplifying your life generally. They had a great article called You Can't Organize Clutter.  I have read a lot on the clutter subject, but there were some new ideas for me ... like:

You can’t organize clutter. 

It just doesn’t work. 

I don’t care how many plastic bins, crates, or boxes you have

 neatly stacked in your basement.

When you try to organize your clutter, 

you are actually just hiding it.

Pretty simple stuff, right?  But for some reason the idea that you can't organize clutter never occurred to me. And I totally agree with this statement.

In my professional life I was a big believer in organization.  I thought there was no substitute for a well ordered professional life, organization made things easier in the end, and I was recognized time and time again for that quality. I am not so rigid in my personal life, but I do think that it helps things run more smoothly.  But the simple idea that organization isn't the answer to a clutter problem was a new thought for me.

If you are interested in simplicity, or downsizing, or decluttering, or just trying to get control of your environment ... check out this free monthly online magazine.