Clutter List Update - It's All About Hats!

Hi everyone.

Sorry for the delay in posting...I'm sure I could come up with some grandious excuse, but it wouldn't be true. The Clutter List has been updated, and I do plan to update again before Friday (No really!!! I do!!!!).

Most of the items on the Clutter List are things that I inherited from my father. He would collect just about anything, especially sports memorabilia and apparel. I'm not blaming my father for all my disorganization and clutter issues, but I did inherit a significant amount of "stuff."

Since I added another whole category of items to "The List" (hats), I didn't feel the need to highlight each new individual item. If I add items to multiple categories, I will mark them in a special manner.

I also added some items to my Ebay account. They are also hats - some naval hats, and one college hat.

I hope you find something that interests you. If not, keep checking in. You never know what you may find! Also, don't forget to tell your friends about my clutter.

A Government Conspiracy?

Needless to say, I face an uphill battle decluttering and organizing my life. There are many pitfalls ahead, but I am now faced with a problem that I didn't expect.

Taking inventory of the things that I want to get rid of, I've come across a few pieces of electronics equipment. So far, I have a computer, monitor, printer, and scanner that I'm looking to offload. Now most of this equipment, excluding the monitor, is ancient. The computer is 400 MHz and the printer is one step above a dot matrix. They're not worth selling, so I thought why not just throw them out.

I thought I read somewhere that throwing out electronics equipment was not a good idea. I consider myself environmentally friendly, so I decided to check it out. It was a good thing I did.

I found this article regarding the hazards of putting electronics out to the curb for trash. To make a long story short, the heavy metals (among other elements) in computers are hazardous to the environment. Also alarming was the fact that 40% of the heavy metals found in landfills come from electronic component throwaways. With technology rapidly changing, and components quickly becoming obsolete, I'm sure landfills are saturated with electronics. The article also mentions that less than 10% of computers today are being recycled.

So okay, I decide to recycle the computer components. But I find out that the county only sponsors two electronics recycling events per year! Luckily, I only have to wait until March 25th. If I miss that, I have to wait until October!

My question is, why do I have to wait so long to rid myself of these things? Why is the government preventing me from removing clutter in an expedient manner? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the government sponsers these events, but why so few and far between? If anyone can shed light on this, drop me a line.

Meanwhile, I wait...

There is a Saboteur in our Midst

While making the rounds of the house this evening (that sounds weird after reading it...like I do regular patrols), I discovered the aftermath of a clutter "bomb". After viewing this scene, I realized that there are two forms of clutter in our house: The accumulation of things, and the random scattering of things.

Unfortunately, I was unable to catch the perpetrator in the act. My investigation led to two different scenarios. Either someone was extremely desperate to find a recipe, or this was just a senseless act of messiness.

It seemed like the case was going nowhere, when....well, what do we have here? What's that yellow thing in the photo? Ah ha!! It's a SpongeBob cup!!! And not just any SpongeBob cup, but one that would be used by a very young person.

Then I thought, what is this world coming to!?! Are we now leading by example, so that the children are also becoming "clutterists?" Well, this young, inexperienced "clutterist" slipped up and left evidence at the scene.

I have a pretty good idea who did this, but I want to try to take a photo of him/her in the act. Only when I have this evidence can I bring them to justice, and find out whether or not they had help pulling this off. Stay tuned...

"Hurry...They'll Be Here Any Minute!!"

I was going to start delving into some background material with this post, but I had to share something that happened this past weekend. Don't worry, you'll begin to gain some perspective even with this story.

We had a family birthday party for my son and oldest daughter on Sunday. Going into Friday, the house was a disaster (although that really isn't out of the ordinary). Believe it or not, some Christmas decorations were still out...Alright!!! Stop haranguing me!!! They were all still out!!!

Anyway, we go through this every time we have people come over. It's an absolute mad scramble to get the house in order. Let me rephrase. The clutter temporarily disappears, but only temporarily. The best example I can give is when you pull weeds from your lawn. They seem to go away, creating a false sense of accomplishment. Sure enough, though, they pop back up by the next spring...if not sooner.

During the process of "beating" the clutter back into the cracks and crevices of the house, I came upon a mess on our kitchen island. We're about, oh, 20 minutes from people arriving and had no idea what to do with all the stuff. I saw a bag on top of our family room computer desk, and I asked my wife "what's that bag for?" Her response was very telling about how we deal with clutter in our house. She said "oh, that's full of stuff from the island the last time we had people over (which was Christmas)!!

We ended up leaving the island the way it was, and did some last minute straightening up.

When we are cleaning up, one of us inevitably says, "We need to have more functions at our house. If we did, this place would always be spotless." I understand the logic, but it seems like a major stretch. Actually, the place wouldn't stay neater...we'd procrastinate cleaning up afterward, and then would scramble before the next event. We also aren't the socialites that we aspire to be, so the increased activity at our house may be a moot point.

"The Clutter List"

I have a lot to say already, but I'm trying not to bomb you with "War and Peace" type posts in the beginning. I'm new to the blog world, so bear with me as I try to make sense of it all. As time passes and my skills increase, I hope to add some new things to make your visit worthwhile.

Anyway, if you haven't noticed it, I have an icon to the right which is called "The Clutter List". This a link to a document which lists items (my clutter) that I am trying to get rid of. It's a .pdf file, so if you don't have the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can get it here.

There's a detailed explanation of "The Clutter List" as part of the document, but basically, you see something that interests you, make me an offer. If its reasonable to both of us, the item is yours. The list is a potpurri of things...after all, you didn't expect clutter to have any rhyme or reason, did you? The list will be updated every Friday, but probably more frequently in the beginning to bolster the number of items. Please be patient with it loading. Items will remain on the list as long as they remain in my possession.

This idea doesn't mean that I'm not seeking input from you. By learning more about me in future posts, you may gain some perspective which can aid in your advice/suggestions.

I also have a link to my Ebay auctions - another outlet to removing things from the household.

Welcome To My Mess!

Hello all! Glad you decided to stop by (although that may be wishful thinking...you may have just clicked on the "next blog" button, and were unwittingly transported here). Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I need all the help and support I can get!

I started this blog as a way to come to grips with my disorganization. Well, I don't consider myself completely disorganized, but I do have momentary lapses of reason. As a result (which will be explained in subsequent posts), my household has amassed significant clutter. My goal is to find different means of reducing clutter and becoming more organized. Any suggestions from my (future) readership would be greatly appreciated.

In the meantime, it's me against "the monster." Some frustration of mine may come through in my posts, but I hope to balance that with some levity and humor. I may occasionally stray from the topic (just to clear the air), but will try to keep the ship on course.

Enjoy!