18 Questions To Reveal How The State Of Your Space Is Really Impacting You

May 31, 2017

There are plenty of people who have an awareness of the fact that they’re living with some amount of clutter, and that, in their daily lives, they experience some amount of stress as result. But that awareness, itself, may not be enough to motivate them to Live Simply. No, for that they need to harness the power of the facts. They need to ask themselves the hard questions and be ready enough to face the truth of the answers.

If there’s a chance I’ve just described you, too, you might do well to ask yourself the following questions, designed the reveal the true impact of clutter on your life.

18 questions to help you face facts about the clutter in your life.

 

1. Have I wasted money as a result of living with clutter?

2. Have I bought things I didn’t need because I couldn’t find what I already owned? If so, how many times have I done that on a scale of an embarrassed handful to that’s not a normal thing everyone else does practically every day?

3. How often do I find myself frustrated as a result of not being able to locate an item?

4. How common is it that an inability to locate an item spurs a heated argument/ an epic temper tantrum/ a physical injury as I dash around the house like a mad person all flinging my limbs around and praying to the god of stuff to just reveal my freaking car keys for the love?!

5. Does clutter ever make me run late? For everything?

6. Do I constantly feel like a certifiable, scatter-brained dummy because I can’t produce a Simple thing like a pair of matching gloves when those are required?

7. Has clutter and a lack of organization been the cause of arguments between me and my spouse, my children, my parents, or my dog walker? If so, how many times have we argued or cried over it on a scale of the stormy night you wrote a Dear Ja letter and took my Benz and keyed and cut the leather to How many? That’s a laugh. Fighting about this mess is how we show each other love at this point.

8. In what ways has clutter and disorganization prevented my happiness?

9. Have I been too embarrassed about the state of my house to have my friends and family over?

10. Are there rooms or areas in my house that I completely avoid, because just the sight of them completely overwhelms me and causes my blood pressure to sky rocket?

11. Does it unsettle me that I have no clue what is sitting in my basement/pantry/garage/desk drawer?

12. Is my house a place where I feel anxious and overwhelmed more than it is a place where I feel at peace?

13. If money and time were entities I had in spades, how high on my list of priorities would editing and organizing my home be?

14. Have I had a history of hanging on too tightly to material belongings? Has that tendency served me or have I been the servant to my stuff?

15. Have I ever found myself wondering whether “this is normal” in relation to the number of shoes I have or the stress and agony clutter causes me?

16. Was I ever taught how to have a healthy relationship with stuff? Do I perhaps need to reevaluate it?

17. If I knew I had a very limited amount of time to live (which I do), would I still choose to carry around the amount of stuff-weight that I am?

18. Since I am merely the steward of my belongings: if I were to die tomorrow, would the state of my belongings and the volume of them become a great burden on the people I love the most?

 

Remember: the point is not to make yourself wrong or bad for your answers, whatever they may be. Shaming yourself for your actions of the past serves no one. The point is to illustrate to yourself the truth, which you have been too busy to see, or with which you have become too familiar to recognize without probing. That is the only way for you to arrive at the decision to make a change now.

6 Comments

  1. Leslie on May 31, 2017 at 4:54 am

    Hi Annie, This really hits home with my husband and me. I’m 65 and he’s 75. Seeing many people our ages around us die, some suddenly, we re-evaluated our situation (mostly my husband’s idea). We are holding a huge auction in June to get rid of “stuff” (a lot of stuff). My DH came to the realization that if he should die before me, I would be burdened with going through all of his stuff and having to decide how to dispose of it. If we die together, the heirs/executor would have that lovely chore. So… big auction gets rid of (hopefully) tons of stuff we don’t need or want, and gets us some green money to pay off some debts. Also clears the clutter that is rampant. I’m calling this a “pre-estate auction.” Love your blog and your insights about clutter.

    • Annie on May 31, 2017 at 9:04 am

      Yes, thank you for this honest comment, Leslie. I was a bit reluctant to include that question because of its obvious morbid tone, but the necessity of asking it was too great not to. I am so proud of you for your efforts to Simplify!! Pre-estate aution– I love it!!

  2. bev on May 31, 2017 at 7:27 am

    great questions. Some I answered yes to and some no. I actually feel better about a lot of my clutter right now because I can find things. Gloves are in a bin. Bills are all in one pile. But I still hold on to stuff for too long and too tight. Cupboards are a bit too full and I I don;t want to make someone else have to sort thru some of this stuff. So I am continuing to work on it all a bit at a time. Eventually I will get to the office/sewing/laundry room which is too multi-purposed to be functional and so is overwhelming to figure out

    • Annie on May 31, 2017 at 9:06 am

      Having things centrally located and thus knowing where to look for them is a huge step. Simplifying the content and the quantity is the next frontier. 😉

  3. Michaela on May 31, 2017 at 1:53 pm

    Your Ja Rule references are always on time.

  4. […] 3. 18 Questions To Reveal How The State Of Your Space Is Really Impacting You […]

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6 Comments

  1. Leslie on May 31, 2017 at 4:54 am

    Hi Annie, This really hits home with my husband and me. I’m 65 and he’s 75. Seeing many people our ages around us die, some suddenly, we re-evaluated our situation (mostly my husband’s idea). We are holding a huge auction in June to get rid of “stuff” (a lot of stuff). My DH came to the realization that if he should die before me, I would be burdened with going through all of his stuff and having to decide how to dispose of it. If we die together, the heirs/executor would have that lovely chore. So… big auction gets rid of (hopefully) tons of stuff we don’t need or want, and gets us some green money to pay off some debts. Also clears the clutter that is rampant. I’m calling this a “pre-estate auction.” Love your blog and your insights about clutter.

    • Annie on May 31, 2017 at 9:04 am

      Yes, thank you for this honest comment, Leslie. I was a bit reluctant to include that question because of its obvious morbid tone, but the necessity of asking it was too great not to. I am so proud of you for your efforts to Simplify!! Pre-estate aution– I love it!!

  2. bev on May 31, 2017 at 7:27 am

    great questions. Some I answered yes to and some no. I actually feel better about a lot of my clutter right now because I can find things. Gloves are in a bin. Bills are all in one pile. But I still hold on to stuff for too long and too tight. Cupboards are a bit too full and I I don;t want to make someone else have to sort thru some of this stuff. So I am continuing to work on it all a bit at a time. Eventually I will get to the office/sewing/laundry room which is too multi-purposed to be functional and so is overwhelming to figure out

    • Annie on May 31, 2017 at 9:06 am

      Having things centrally located and thus knowing where to look for them is a huge step. Simplifying the content and the quantity is the next frontier. 😉

  3. Michaela on May 31, 2017 at 1:53 pm

    Your Ja Rule references are always on time.

  4. […] 3. 18 Questions To Reveal How The State Of Your Space Is Really Impacting You […]

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