Meg Evans

I’m sure it was just last year that I took inventory of the plastic water bottles in my kitchen cabinets and got rid of the ones that nobody was using anymore. Then I organized the remaining bottles in three neat rows, and they all fit on the bottom shelf of one cabinet without any problem. So how did I end up with the shelf crammed full and one too many water bottles to fit?
 

Those things always multiply. They’re given away at road races and plenty of other events. Although they seem like useful little freebies that shouldn’t take up much space, before you know it they’re all over the kitchen. Not to mention the ones my daughter forgets to bring in from her car after her workouts. Fitness is great, but water bottles spilling out of the cabinet are nothing but clutter! Once again, it’s time to look through them and pitch the old, unused ones at the back.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

I generally prefer pajamas to nightgowns, although I wore nightgowns as a child. While doing laundry a few days ago, I noticed there was one nightgown at the bottom of a stack of pajamas. Many years ago, I put it on sometimes to comfort myself if I had the flu or just felt tired and stressed. It made me feel like a little girl, well cared for, without any grown-up responsibilities to worry about.
 

You can probably tell from looking at the wrinkled cotton (not to mention the old-fashioned style) how much time has passed since then. Looking at it gives me good memories of comfort; but even so, it’s clutter and needs to find a new home.

When I started writing these weekly posts about clearing away my clutter, I expected that they would serve as a record of my small successes and would keep me motivated to do more. Another benefit I didn’t foresee was that they would help me give myself permission to let go of old items toward which I had good feelings. When I take the nightgown to the thrift store, it won’t be gone forever—it’s still right here in this post! I hope it will bring as much comfort to the woman who ends up buying it.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

For many years, my husband and I kept a waterproof cordless phone on the kitchen counter. At the time we bought the phone, it seemed like a useful gadget because we wouldn’t have to be concerned about it getting wet when we took it outside. In today’s world, there are always lots of interesting gadgets to buy. The problem, of course, is that they soon get obsolete and turn into clutter.
 

My husband unplugged it yesterday when he realized we hadn’t used it in years. Although we still have the land line to which it was connected, most people who call us now (other than telemarketers and such) would call our mobile phones instead. So it’s almost entirely useless, and we need to get rid of it. But because it sat on the counter for so long, that seemed like its normal place, and we didn’t even think about the fact that it had no use anymore. Often that’s the way with clutter; the hard part is not cleaning it up, but realizing that it is there in the first place!

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

Although my daughter had planned to move at the beginning of August, she is still here because she didn’t put down a deposit promptly enough after finding an apartment she liked. They gave it to someone else, and now she has to wait for another unit in that complex to come open at the end of August. It’s a good life lesson for her, but in the meantime her clutter is still occupying my house while she procrastinates about cleaning it up.

I reminded her about a desk she used in high school, which has a drawer crammed full of junk. “There’s nothing much in the drawer—just a few pencils,” she tried to convince me. As you can see from this photo, she didn’t get too far with that argument.
 

And this is what the shelf under the drawer looks like. The boxes to the right contain ancient CDs for stuff that became obsolete long ago.
 

I’ve been patient with her because she did very well to get through a rigorous nursing program in four years while also playing soccer. Not many college athletes can manage that. But that junk in the desk is going to have a close encounter with a big black trash bag in the very near future.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

While looking through some work-related papers at the back of a desk drawer in my home study, I found a stack of training materials from January 2001, when I helped to train a group of new hires. There was some other useless stuff in there too, like instructions for installing Windows 2000, along with a stack of paper newsletters (what a quaint concept that seems now!) from that time period. Evidently, I had put all that stuff in the drawer and left it there for many years without looking at it.
 

I would say there’s another training lesson to take away from this discovery—the need to train oneself in the habit of regularly disposing of clutter, otherwise it builds up without even being noticed. Drawers, shelves, closets… they’re all magnets for clutter, and they can’t be kept organized without taking an inventory of the contents every once in a while. Especially in the modern world, with so many things becoming obsolete in just a few years, it’s all too easy to end up with a heap of useless stuff that has long outlived its purpose.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

The hall closet in my front entryway is so full of my daughter’s clutter that the other family members haven’t kept anything in it for many years; we’ve all been using the closet next to the garage door instead. Given the fact that she spent the past four years away at college, at the very latest I should have dealt with it when she first left home. Last summer, when she accumulated so much stuff that the door wouldn’t close, I told her to clean it up, and she dutifully filled three large bags with stuff to give to the thrift store. But this is a girl who can’t pass by a pair of shoes on sale without gleefully adding them to her collection, so the closet soon filled up again. I have no idea how she ever manages to find a pair of matching shoes in there, when she just throws them all in a colossal heap.
 

No more! This year I’ve resolved to free my house of clutter, and it’s past time for all the stuff in that closet to depart on a one-way journey—either to the thrift store or to my daughter’s new apartment, as she prefers. She put in her rental application today, and plans to move into the apartment next weekend. When she does, I want the closet completely empty. Although it can be sad when a child grows up and leaves home, I won’t be mourning the loss of that clutter!

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

When I was a kid, I was a big fan of corn on the cob. Eating it was a messy and demanding ritual—first, melt a pat of butter on top of the hot corn, carefully turning it to spread the butter evenly, without missing a spot. Then sprinkle on some salt, but not too much anywhere, too much would be yucky! Then, eat the corn, nibbling neatly along the rows of tasty kernels while pretending to be a bunny in the garden…

Not surprisingly, I got out of the habit of eating corn on the cob when I grew up. Plenty of other foods were quicker and simpler. The busy demands of adult life in the modern world didn’t mesh well with elaborate rituals and play-pretend games at the dinner table, however much fun they might have been long ago. And what was the point of just chomping one’s way through the corn without appreciating all the little details?

I bought some corn skewers a few years ago, when my daughter said she’d like to cook corn on the cob. She cooked it once, and I have no idea what became of the pair of skewers she used; they probably got thrown away with the cob. The remaining skewers, still neatly packaged, sat on a kitchen shelf until I de-cluttered it last week.
 

Unlike most of the clutter I’ve found, I did not throw away the corn holders. They’re still just as useful as they ever were, so I decided that because my daughter was the one who wanted them, I’m going to put them in a box of stuff for her to take when she moves out. She graduated from college in May and came home for a couple of months while studying for her licensing exam as a nurse. Soon she’ll be off again, to a new apartment and a career. Life moves on, more quickly than we realize; and clutter should, too.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

I always enjoy a gift of fresh flowers. They brighten up the house and give it a cheerful feeling. And even after the flowers wilt, I still have the pretty vase from the florist’s shop, which can be washed and refilled with flowers from my own garden. That keeps me in mind of good memories from the gifts, and a vase doesn’t take up much space in the cabinet.

As the years went by, the vases slowly accumulated. At first I liked having a nice selection when I brought in flowers from the garden. Also, they were useful for crafts and for bringing flowers to others. But there were some vases that hadn’t been used in ages and were just taking up space on the shelf. Those, sad to say, were just clutter.
 

I have a few favorites that I use regularly, and those can stay. The others are off to the thrift store, where they can perhaps bring in a few nickels for charity. I send them on their way with my good wishes that they’ll brighten the lives of the buyers.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

Before we kept our appointment calendars on our phones and computers, my husband and I had Day-Timer daily planners with calendars made of that antiquated substance, paper. Even after we stopped buying the calendars, we didn’t throw away the pretty leather covers because we liked them so well. So they just sat in our study for years, at the back of a shelf, until I found them last week.
 

The one with brown leather, open to February 2001, was my husband’s planner. The burgundy was mine. After taking this photo for my post, I was going to throw them away, but still hadn’t quite convinced myself to do the deed. After all, some people still have daily planners with paper calendars—they’re not totally obsolete. And maybe there was some other possible use for them. I had to give myself a stern lecture on not rationalizing my clutter before I could bring myself to dispose of them. Technology has been advancing so quickly that sometimes we just have to get rid of old stuff, even though it is not worn out, because it lacks the usefulness it once had.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

On Friday, my daughter baked macadamia nut cookies with white chocolate chips (yum). After the plastic measuring cups and spoons got washed, I took them out of the dishwasher and was going to put them away in a kitchen drawer, when I noticed that it looked awfully cluttered. I started taking things out and found a big tangle of old straws at the back of the drawer.
 

The straws came with kids’ meals from fast-food restaurants many years ago. Then they got stuffed in the drawer and forgotten. I don’t think anybody even looked at them in the past decade or so. The straw with a man’s head is the “George of the Jungle” cartoon character, and it used to make a noise like a wild man’s yell when you drank through it. The kids thought that was pretty funny at the time. It doesn’t make any sound now; but even if it still worked, the only thing any of us would laugh about is how long it sat around cluttering up the drawer.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!