We can all be clutter-bugs at times. We all tend to want to hoard things believing that we will eventually need whatever it is that we now have. Many people are also visual in nature, they remember and keep track of things by knowing where they are visually, this means that some of us are not just clutter bugs we also like to spread our mess everywhere. Being a clutter-bug is not necessarily a bad thing, but if it is starting to take over your life then you need to do something about it.

Whenever possible you need to ask yourself; can I find what I need? When the answer to the question becomes no, you need to start cutting back on the amount of stuff that you have and how you are organizing your space. This brings us to the related question that you must ask yourself; am I comfortable in my workspace? We all love our things and would like to organize things in our own natural way but there is a time when you must assess your environment or else all of your stuff will become a hindrance to you.

You must begin to take stock of all of the things that you have. You must always ask yourself whether the amount of things that you have is comfortable for you and if it is comfortable for the people around you. If you do live with others you must realize that all of your stuff might be getting in their way and this is not comfortable for anyone. There is a point in the life of any clutter hound when his or her stuff begins to directly impede the quality of their life, you must continually ask yourself whether your life is comfortable with all of the things that you have, the moment that you are no longer comfortable you must make a change. You must also be willing to make that change for anyone that you live with or else it can get to the point where you can alienate them so much that you will eventually be living alone. While some might say that without others around you will have more space for your stuff, I hope you realize that people in your life are far more rewarding than clutter and stuff.

No matter how much stuff you have you must always decide whether keeping this stuff is worth the cost. We tend to get things because we want things but their use is often times temporary. Things that are useful at one time become less useful in short order and before long we are holding to one gadget or another just because we can’t bear to part with it. This cost can be monetary, physical and even mental. Go through your stuff and ask yourself whether the cost of having this or that is worth the price.

Try not to waste your time and your energy on things that are just not worth it. Like I said we buy things because they tend to be useful or because we like them but this usefulness and this like changes over time. Constantly analyze your personal desires and needs and don’t be afraid to let go of things that you no longer have a use for, otherwise these things will just cost you precious energy that you could be using somewhere else.

It is possible that as you get rid of some of the things you will experience a sense of loss. Many of us get very attached to some of our old things and it becomes very difficult to let go of them after a while. But ask yourself; is this because they are truly important to you or is it because it has become a habit to have them around? When you can answer that honestly for yourself you will begin to discover what is truly important and what is just routine. After this sense of loss you will experience a sense of relief as you let go of those things that have become embedded in your life through habit. This sense of relief will far outweigh any sense of loss that you might have experienced before.

Getting rid of the clutter can also be as simple as just putting away any half finished projects that you have lying around. Making your own folders or some kind of personal filing system for these half finished projects is an incredible way to get rid of clutter. I personally do that with my computer, in that I create a file folder for all of my half finished projects or ideas. My computer has become a great clutter magnet and I’m sure that I’m not the only one with this problem. Learn to organize these old and half finished projects and you will be amazed at how much cleaner everything will look.

You can even make yourself a box of sorts so that you can put away any items in this box that are likely to create clutter in your space. As a kid most of us had our own toybox where we had to put away all our toys once we were done with them. This would be your adult version of the kids toybox and there is no need to feel any way weird about doing this. It is actually a very smart way to be able to work with your things in an open and spread out fashion and then be able to put them away when you don’t need them. In this way you can have a spreadout visual environment when you need it and a tidy one when you need that as well.

There are many of us that like to collect things. If you are collector and have a desire to collect things then you should continue doing what makes you feel good. Remember though that in order to appreciate the things that you have, you need to organize them so that you can view them better at your own leisure. If you are not a collector then I suggest that you stop collecting those things that you just don’t need any more. Make a conscious effort to not allow things to collect and pileup; or else there will be a time when those things will take over your life.