The clutter challenge: A sea of stuff surrounds us; do we sink or swim?

By: RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - Staff Writer | Saturday, January 20, 2007 6:39 PM PST ∞

A mound of coins decorates the counter near Marny Fischer's bathroom sink. Strands of knitting wool are taped to the top of a wooden TV tray in her Vista living room. Piles of laundry wait to be folded on the guest bedroom pull-out couch.

Four small stacks of bills and catalogs line the carpet, leading the way from the front door into the living area. The mantel holds miniature lighthouses, mermaids, ornamental eggs and three monkey statues that remind her of a pin her mother used to wear.

"Memories are important," Fischer said. "These are things that I love, and I want to see them. My daughter says that when I die, they'll dig a hole 12 feet deep and bury me in it with all my stuff."

Fischer is the first to acknowledge she is battling a war against clutter, and sometimes she feels the clutter is winning.

It is a fact of modern American society that, pack rats or neat freaks alike, we all have way too much stuff. These days, storage facilities are commonplace in every city. And in many suburban neighborhoods, the minivan is permanently parked outside because the garage is too full.

"They'll have an item that costs 50 cents in the garage and a $30,000 car on the street or in the driveway," said Kevin Hall of Escondido, who, with his wife, owns a personal organizing company called Clutter No More Inc. "Or they have a car in prime condition in the garage and ding it trying to maneuver around the boxes."

Who doesn't at least occasionally feel overwhelmed by belongings? Who doesn't have more books than shelves? Piles of old board games that haven't been played since the kids were in elementary school? Clothes that haven't been worn in decades, stuffed in the back of the closet? Teetering stacks of Bobby Sherman albums in the garage?

Clutter seems to exist on a continuum from the benignly messy and disorganized to extreme hoarding behavior, once thought to be a classic symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. But recent research at UCLA seems to challenge this view, suggesting that excessive saving and hoarding may spring from previously unrecognized brain malfunction. An estimated 30 percent of patients with this disorder exhibit hoarding and saving symptoms, and they are also often indecisive and perfectionist.

It's all around us

Clutter could be called a national pandemic. Sales of home-organizing products have gone through the roof from a $5.9 billion industry in 2005 to a projected $7.6 billion one by 2009. Fifty cities in 17 states have chapters of Clutterers Anonymous, a 12-Step recovery program.

According to Closets magazine, companies making closet organizing systems bring in more than $3 billion a year. And this year, the National Association of Professional Organizers' 4,000 members will try to help more than 10,000 paying clutter victims.

"Keeping your stuff is not an issue if it's not an issue for you," said Dana Korey, president of Away With Clutter, an organizing company based in Del Mar. "If you have more bags than you have places to sleep, then it's a problem. But if you have a place for them and you can retrieve them, it's not a judgment of right or wrong. It's about retrieval and knowing where it is."

Korey and other organizers emphasize that an organizational system must be tailored to fit each individual.

"There are some people whose counters are so cluttered you can't tell what color the granite is ---- but if you ask them for their 1999 tax return, they can find it in a minute," she said. "And there are some people who have lots of pictures (hung) on their wall, but it doesn't mean they can find their keys."

Organized, in some ways

Fischer has heard all the tips and tricks before. And certain parts of her home are a model of organizational perfection.

For instance, her lingerie drawer ---- with each article neatly folded in squares ---- would put others' to shame. So are her kitchen shelves and silverware drawer, which even has a hand-drawn schematic tucked inside.

Her bathroom towels absolutely must be folded neatly and arranged so that the tags don't show. And the loops on her tennis shoe laces must match perfectly.

"I was a statistical typist for a CPA as a vocation. I typed 125 words a minute, and nothing was ever late. I never made mistakes. In order to get paid, I had to do it right. I was an unbelievable neat freak in my work, and now I live in mayhem. Most clutterers are like that," said Fischer. "I know how to do something correctly, and if it can't be done right, it isn't done."

Too perfect

In fact, Hall says perfectionism is often typical of a creative mind-set, and it is not uncommon to find this trait in people who have trouble managing their mess.

"My therapist used to call it the three p's ---- perfection, procrastination and paralysis," said Fischer, who says her attention-deficit disorder and low self-esteem may also play a part.

"I bought white mats for the guest bathroom that I have to wash every day, and lamps many moons ago that have to be cleaned with Q-Tips. Why would somebody like me buy lamps like that?" said Fischer. "I would love to have a house just like Victoria magazine. There are times when I can't find something and it drives me absolutely crazy."

In addition to countless unfinished arts and crafts projects, Fischer has also kept her sense of humor. Many months ago, she plugged in her Hoover vacuum near the door to the master bedroom. She even bruised her toe when she tripped on it later, but there it remains in the living room, still standing at attention.

"We see people who, bless their hearts, can't even get to their passion or hobby to enjoy it," said Korey. "Part of the yarn is one place. They don't know where the needles are or they can't play a board game without frustration, anxiety and stress. If you're worried about dealing with your stuff, you can't enjoy life and you're paralyzed by it ---- and when you get rid of it, we see that the stress melts away."

Hall said that clutter can be costly as well as frustrating. He has statistics from the National Association of Professional Organizers' Web site that show:

- 150 hours are wasted per year by executives just looking for papers;

- 23 percent of adults say they pay bills late because they lose them;

- Employees spend roughly 25 percent to 35 percent of their time looking for the information they need to do their jobs.

Korey said she read a Wall Street Journal article a few years ago that said the average person wastes an hour a day being disorganized. That time, multiplied by an hourly rate, can mean 6,000 lost dollars a year.

"Being organized gives you two gifts ---- the gift of time and getting rid of stress," she said. "There is a solution for everything."

Hall said one of the first things he does when he meets with a new client is help them get past the stigma of being so disorganized.

"There is a steep degree of guilt and shame," he said. "It is like hiring a personal trainer for a weight issue. The challenge doesn't show results immediately, and it takes time. People do backslide, because life is dynamic and there are new challenges ---- somebody graduates, they relocate, divorce, or someone passes away."

An emotional component

Professional organizers also say it is common for clutterers to hold onto items for emotional reasons. Korey mentioned a woman who couldn't get rid of her mother's mink coat. Though it doesn't constitute the majority of her clutter, Fischer admits she's holding on to a few pieces of her late husband's clothing, such as some socks and sweaters, because she finds them comforting.

"We are looking at possessions that identify an individual, like a husband who has 25 years of racing trophies or 20 certificates on the wall. Having a minimalist surrounding will probably not satisfy their (clients of personal organizers) need to be encouraged," said Hall, who admits to probably having the "clutter gene," as he calls it. "We have to find the reasonableness in it."

Korey puts it this way: "People have to know that you are not getting rid of the person or the love you had for them. It's about living your life, enjoying your space and feeling good about it. Everyone has enough stressors in their life. You don't want a space that brings you unhappiness."

Support and help

Thanks to the efforts of the National Association of Professional Organizers, January is now Get Organized Month. If you're interested in getting your home in shape for the new year, plenty of local professional organizers are available to answer the call, for a fee. There are also online support groups, therapists who specialize in clutter issues, books galore and community meetings.

Years ago while her husband, Dale, was still alive, Fischer joined an online declutter support group. Members offer each other supporting words and suggestions, and for the most part, Fischer said, she has found it helpful.

"When I joined, my husband laughed and said now the clutter group clutters my computer," she said with a laugh. She is still making her way through the roughly 1,900 unread e-mails that clog up her computer's inbox.

She also has a declutter "buddy" with whom she exchanges e-mails. "When she lets me know that she needs to clear off her table or another issue," said Fischer, "I tell her to give me a time and date, and I will do the same item or spend the same amount of hours on what I need to do."

But mostly, Fischer said, she tries not to beat herself up about her clutter and instead strives to enjoy her accomplishments, rather than berating herself.

"When I moved, I got rid of truckfuls of stuff," she said. "I have let go of some of my mother's things and Dale's things. I get rid of things when I am ready."

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 740-3527 or rwebster@nctimes.com.

Anti-clutter tips

For every one thing brought into your house, remove two things.

Focus on how you want the room to look, rather than the object in your hand.

If you can't find a place for it, then it can't be in your home.

If you live in a small home without enough space, don't criticize yourself for being cluttered.

Put a small trash can in every room and use it.

Read about the condition labeled "OCD hoarding."

Stop bringing new clutter into your home or office.

Take a photo of the mess and plan your cleaning by studying the photo instead of the actual mess (a digital camera is good for this).

Try to "live out of the box." Put the contents of a drawer or cupboard in a box and as you use each item, put it back in its place. What's left out after a set time can be tossed.

You don't have to be perfect. Just throw one thing away. It doesn't have to be taken to the Goodwill. Just pitch it.

One hour spent decluttering, reward self with one hour of time for fun things.

-- From Yahoo De-Clutter support group's home page, provided by Marny Fischer.

ON THE NET:

Yahoo De-Clutter Support Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/declutter-support

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.