Link of the week: Unclutterer

I have a problem: I’m a packrat. I hoard. I keep everything on the idea of “What if?”

What if…

- I lose 30 pounds and can wear these pants again?
- I have time to organize these photos and scrapbook?
- I need that empty orange juice concentrate container (or empty paper towel roll or…) for a future homeschool craft project?
- I need whatever it is again?

We have too much STUFF. We are over-run by it. We are overwhelmed by it. And we need to do something about it. We’re not alone. According to the National Association of Professional Organizers:

The National Association of Professional Organizers claims that Americans spend 55 minutes a day looking for things they know they own but can’t find.

80% of what we keep we never use. (Agency Sales Magazine, 4/1/03)

More than one out of four Americans remarked that they would like to be better organized.

We wear 20 per cent of the clothes we own 80 per cent of the time. The rest hangs there, just in case. (Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada), 1/18/04)

Americans waste more than nine million hours each day looking for lost and misplaced articles. (Ottawa Citizen, 1/04/03)

Getting rid of clutter eliminates 40 per cent of housework in an average home. Eighty per cent of the clutter in most homes is a result of disorganization, not lack of space. (Ottawa Citizen, 1/04/03)

The US Department of Energy reports that 25% of people with two-car garages don’t park any cars in there and that 32% parked only one.

Source: Organizing Statistics (PDF)

In comes Unclutterer blog. From taming pet fur dust bunnies (those things have legs, too!) to organizing baseball caps (of which my husband has many) to fabric stash storage (and since I will be learning to sew, this article will definitely come in handy!), they have handy tips and neat product ideas to handle the clutter and help you to become better organized.

Will you join me in 2008 in simplifying and uncluttering? Every Sunday evening, I’ll post a purging and/or organizing goal for the week. By the following Saturday we’ll post if we accomplished our goal. I’d love to have company in this adventure! Are you up for it? Leave a comment if so!