Less Clutter, More Joy

by Wendy Kagan and illustrations by Annie Internicola, March 31, 2011

No matter how put-together we might appear to be on the outside, most of us have a dirty secret. Sometimes it’s an attic or a basement that’s teeming with artifacts and yellowed papers. Or a closet that must be opened carefully, lest its contents tumble pell-mell onto the floor. Our life detritus can spill out onto other surfaces as well—countertops, coffee tables, bookshelves. Those of us with children at home are doubly doomed, what with brim-filled toy baskets, towering board games, and drawers jammed fast with hard-to-toss artworks by budding Michelangelos.

Collections like these are the inevitable flotsam and jetsam of life in a culture that tells us we are our stuff. “I buy; therefore I am” is the Western way. It’s known in the self-storage industry that the number of sprawling, aluminum-sided storage facilities has doubled in this country each decade since the late 1960s. We have too much stuff. When our stuff is no longer serving us, when it is no longer useful or loved, it becomes clutter. And clutter can easily become unmanageable.

What’s it all about, and what can be done? I huddled with five of the Hudson Valley’s clutter-busting experts for ideas and strategies. According to Sarah Stitham of Olivebridge—Ulster County’s only certified professional organizer and certified organizer coach—excess stuff signals blocked energy. When clutter becomes overwhelming, it’s the sign of a life that’s not running optimally, and of habits that are taking a toll on personal health and well being. “People call me when they’re stuck,” says Stitham. “They want to move forward but they don’t know how. The clutter is a byproduct of that.”

True Abundance
Like most professional organizers, Stitham—who calls her business Revamp®—will help weed out unused clothing and create filing systems for her clients. Yet Stitham has a unique, holistic approach to organizing. She looks at the whole person, honing in on their optimal health and wellness. Seen in this light, out-of-hand clutter is a just a foil; the true problem is a life that has fallen out of balance. As such, the decision to reorganize becomes an exciting opportunity for personal growth. It’s a chance to recreate a life that’s in line with one’s true values, passions, and joys.

This is fertile ground for stories of transformation. When one Revamp client came to Stitham, she was overweight, overworked, eating on the run, and taking too much medication. Her kitchen was cluttered with things like a bread machine that she never used—yet it was devoid of the proper supplies necessary to create a simple, healthy meal. Together Stitham and her client revamped the kitchen and shopped for a top-quality knife, vegetable peeler, and sauté pan. Inspired by her new, spare environment—and equipped with a few recipes from Stitham, who also has a background in cooking—the client started preparing more nutritious meals for herself and eventually lost some weight. “She was thrilled,” says Stitham.