We couldn’t eat at the dining room table (always covered with stuff), were afraid to open a closet door (because of the realistic fear that some of the stuff would fall on our heads), and eventually, couldn’t even walk into most of the bedrooms (they were filled to eye level with broken furniture, old clothes and junk mail).

That was long ago, before people started going on TV to talk about their problems. Now you can follow the “Clean Up Your Messy House Tour” on Oprah as organizer Peter Walsh brings order to the messiest of homes. You can also catch the 8^th season of Clean House on the Style Network. There are many books available on the subject, my favorite being the classic Clutter’s Last Stand by Don Aslett. For clutterers looking for a support group that follows Alcoholics Anonymous guidelines, there’s Clutterers Anonymous  and if you’re willing to pay for help, try the National Association of Professional Organizers.

The road to cleaning up the mess starts with sorting and finding a new home for all of the stuff. While clutterers do well to steer clear of shopping in thrift stores, making donations of unwanted items helps to clear out the piles while also helping somebody else.

My New Treasure

Most of my wardrobe is secondhand, but I occasionally sew myself a new garment. Since I don’t have a lot of time to sew, I want these items to turn out wonderfully—but life doesn’t always work the way I want it to. I once spent forever altering a jeans pattern, thinking I could make it fit perfectly. Unfortunately, the finished jeans looked like they were sprayed on. I could barely breathe in them, even though the addition of lycra to the fabric blend made them stretchy. I also once made myself a jacket that I painstakingly hand quilted only to find that all those stitches made the material so stiff that it hung on my body like cardboard. I donated those two garments to my local thrift store. That way somebody else could enjoy my work.

But sometimes the tables get turned. Just last week I became the one who gets to enjoy somebody else’s work. I paid two dollars for a hand crocheted sweater that looks like it’s never been worn. Could it have been an unwanted present, or did the person who made it find that it just wasn’t right after they sewed on the last carefully selected button? The sweater isn’t revealing its origin, so I’ll never know. I’ll just have to wear it and enjoy.

I suggested that she donate it to a thrift store, where lots of people can try it on. It’s much more likely that someone who needs the dress, loves it, and just happens to fit into it will discover it there than if it stays in her closet. She can get those bad memories out of her house, get a tax deduction and provide the thrift store of her choice with something that they can sell.