Like my new brooch? I love it. It arrived last week from Meet Me at Mike’s. I debated whether to post this here on my home blog, or over on my craft blog, but decided it belongs here because the reason I brought this brooch is a tale of clutter. One without a happy ending…

The Consequence of Clutter

Clutter is a hot topic these days. Any google search will produce hundreds of results on decluttering, the cost of clutter, organised homes and innovative ways to store everything from herbs to your knickers.

Over the past couple of years I’ve tried to become more organised and cut some clutter. I’m getting better at it and are much more organised and less smothered thann I was a couple of years back, but there’s still ample room for improvements. Unfortunately, along the way my clutter has cost me quite a few treasures.

Lost in transit:

1 leather glove with cashmere lining purchased in NYC.

1 Purple shoe which would totally be in fashion now!

2 Mag-lites, both purchased in NYC

These items were all lost during moves as a result of too much ‘stuff’. I am convinced that the box containing these items mistakenly went to the op shop because I got lazy towards the end of packing and threw miscellaneous items into a miscellaneous, unlabelled box. I’ve still kept my one glove and shoe in the hope that the pairs will turn up one day, but every clean out I do makes it seem less and less likely.

Lost in my car:

1 paua shell bracelet given to me by my grandmother.

My car used to be a pig-sty with mountains of stuff in it from where it was never properly cleaned out after a previous move. I recall wearing my bracelet to work one day, taking it off for some reason and never seeing it again. I think it fell into the rubbish bags. To this day I’m still upset about the loss of my beautiful bracelet as it’s irreplacable.

Lost in my study:

1 swap card album

A few months back Betty Jo of Lino Forest blogged about a swapcard album she’d been given. Keen to reminisce on my own collection I turned to the bookshelf where I thought it was and it wasn’t there. I then thought perhaps it ended up in a box of books, was at mum’s all along, in my car… but it was no where. A week later I realised my newer, less full swap card album was in the shelf and the only conclusion I can draw is that in a particularly aggressive decluttering late last year I have accidentally thrown it out. It makes me sick to think it’s probably gone into the recycling and I’m still really upset about. I can picture so many of the cards, everything from kittens, to muppets, to owls. One of the cards I had, had the same owl as the brooch above. As soon as I saw the brooch I just had to have it. While this sweet little owl brooch doesn’t replace my lovely album, it’s a nice reminder of it (although a little sad at the same time).

Of course none of these items would have been lost if I wasn’t surrounded by too much stuff to begin with. They say clutter invades your mind and it really does. The amount of times I’ve spent mentally going over and over places where I think something is, only to find that it’s not,  isn’t quantifiable. I spend most days poking around looking for something – everything from unlabeled CD’s to a piece of fabric (I’d love to know where my Sandi Henderson  green ‘Petal Party’ has gone!). Slowly I’m making improvements, but it is a slow process. Whenever I get inspired to declutter I always find more clutter to go in it’s place.

If you’re a victim of clutter, you aren’t alone! There’s tonnes of good websites on this kinds of thing. Some favourites are:

I’m an Organising Junkie

Unclutterer

Organized Home

Martha Stewart

There’s many more and I own a few great books to, but this will get you started!