Introducing Project EiiP (Everything in Its Place)

Welcome to a project that has been bubbling for years; a dream demon that has hitched a ride on my shoulder for far too long.  When did I start talking about having too much stuff?  When did I start my first my first campaign against clutter?  Thinking back now, it seems like it was probably around the same time as my first attempt at dieting.  And like my diets, my attempts at clutter reductions have all failed.  Once, a roommate of mine complained about my pile of books about reducing clutter!  Those books are still stashed around my house along with myriad books about nutrition and healthy eating.  Just like the 20 pounds I would like to lose, the piles of half-read books and half-done projects remain.  They follow me through moves, through life changes, and they grow, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly.  Periodic campaigns shrink them for a time, but eventually the stacks of paper return, the pieces of unfinished craft-work are left out to be completed and then abandoned.  I get busy.  Work takes over my life.  I’ve got a million excuses.

The truth is, I come from a family of pile-makers and clutter-stashers.  When I visit my folks, I know exactly where my clutter-demon came from.  I was trained from an early age to keep everything just in case one day I might want/need it.  That old tool, sure you can’t use it for what it was intended, but it might be useful for something else.  No, I don’t know what, but next week, next year, who knows?  One day I might really need a screw driver that is bent in half.  It might come in really handy.  Better just stash that somewhere.  Those rubber-bands and twist-ties–you can never have too many of them.  Find a stray washer or nut or screw, better stash that away.  And don’t even think about getting rid of those old magazines and catalogs!

Don’t get me wrong.  We’re not hoarders.  My home is not a giant fire-hazard or rodent’s den.  In fact, I wouldn’t even be that embarrassed if company showed up unexpectedly.  See, here’s my main living space, not too bad, right?

Living room

But, don’t look in the closets, and don’t go in the spare bedroom…

Dreaded spare room

And thus comes Project Everything in Its Place.