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From: Dan Goodman
Newsgroups: alt.recovery,alt.support,us.misc
Subject: alt.recovery.clutter FAQ
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 20:24:42 -0600
Message-ID:
alt.recovery.clutter is a place where people who have cluttering as a
problem can discuss methods of dealing with it, share Experience,
Strength and Hope, recommend books on decluttering (and ways to keep
them from becoming part of the clutter) and get contact information
for organizations. alt.recovery.clutter is not affiliated with any
organization, nor does it speak for any organization. (This FAQ is
written by a member of Clutterers Anonymous [CLA], which may introduce
some bias.)
You may also be interested in the Decluttr mailing list
Decluttr@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU. To subscribe, send this message to
listserv@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU: Subscribe Decluttr Your Name. Note:
"Decluttr" with one e.
Q: What is clutter? A: "Clutter is anything we don't need, want, or
use that takes our time, energy or space, and destroys our serenity.
It can be outgrown clothes, obsolete paper....We may be selective in
some areas, but not in others. Objects may be strewn about or wedged
into drawers; neatly stacked or stowed in storage." The Twelve Steps
of Clutterers Anonymous, CLA WSO Literature Committee, approved
February 1996.
Q: Is clutter a real problem? A: Anything that can get you evicted,
get your children taken away from you, keep you from inviting people
into your home, get you charged more by retailers and the tax
authorities because you can't find the paperwork needed to pay them on
time is a real problem.
Q: It's not me who has the problem, it's my elderly mother/father. A:
Minneapolis has an Office of Senior Services -- and someone there who
did her masters thesis on cluttering. (Kildow, Ruth. Compulsive
Hoarding Among Elderly Clients. 1993. University of St. Thomas, St.
Paul, MN.) Other cities would have the same services, not necessarily
under the same name.
Organizations for clutterers:
Clutterers Anonymous World Service Organization is at PO Box 25884,
Santa Ana, CA 92799-5884. For information, send a long first class
self-addressed envelope with twice the minimum first-class postage
(currently, 64 cents). (Nothing said about writing from outside the US
for information. You should be able to use International Reply
Coupons, but I don't know how many would be needed. My guess is 2 from
Canada or Mexico, 4 from elsewhere.) Clutterers Anonymous (CLA) is a
12-step organization. Note: The WSO is staffed by volunteers, and
their PO box is sometimes cluttered; so you may need to be patient.
California: Carlsbad, Barbara, 619-434-9764
Orange, Larry, 714-494-0694
Orange, Sue Ellen, 714-542-2183
San Diego, Adele, 619-278-0621
San Juan Capistrano, Lynette, 714-498-9770
San Pedro, Eve, 310-514-1616
Simi Valley, Samantha, 805-583-5011
South Bay, Valerie, 310-542-9978
Westchester, Charles, 310-978-0799
Illinois: Chicago (North Side), Carmine F., 773-282-8117
Third Sunday of the month, 1:30 pm. Lutheran General Hospital, 1775
Dempster Street, Park Ridge, IL 60068. Room 1043C; conference room on
10th floor, reserved through 1997.
Massachusetts: Beverly, Deborah Mary, 508-921-7353
Michigan: Southfield, "Dustbuster", 810-643-4901
Minnesota: Minneapolis, Dan G., 612-871-5461 dsgood@visi.com or
goodman@freenet.msp.mn.us Thursday, 7:00-8:30 PM, First Unitarian
Society, 900 Mt. Curve Ave., MPLs. Library (straight back from front
doors.)
New Jersey: Clark, Linda S., 908-382-5396
Union, David, 908-964-6691
Wayne, Linda D., 201-628-1539
If there's no local meeting near you, you can subscribe to the
quarterly newsletter for $2.00 per year. Mark your envelope
"Newsletter subscription".
Messies Anonymous: 5025 SW 114th Ave., Miami, FL 33165. 305-271-8404.
Quarterly newsletter $5 per year -- sample newsletter free.
CT: Farmington, Janibeth, (860) 232-3838
Greenwich, Judy, (203) 637-7509
FL: Miami, Maxine, (305) 522-1976
MI: Muskegon, Kathleen, (616) 744-9209
Muskegon, Kathy, (616) 744-9209 (!?!)
NJ: Lindenwold, Sharon, (809) 566-9146
Palmyra, Basia, (609) 829-9596
NY: Forest Hills, Marie, (718) 746-4713
OH: Cleveland, Cyndie, (216) 641-5072
OR: Portland, Carla, (503) 775-2606
OR: Portland, Lee, (503) 235-3977
WA: Aberdeen, Evelyn, (360) 533-1813
WI: Brown Deer, Jeanne, (414) 354-3577
Eau Claire, Dixie, (715) 834-7763
"Messies Anonymous does have meetings, but only in areas where someone
has organized them. If you write to the address for the newsletter and
include your city and state, you will receive a list of others in the
area who have asked for the same information OR the name and number of
the person who has organized such a group--if there is one. You will
also receive as much information and support as you might need if you
want to start your own group." Bonnie Rice
Useful Books
Sandra Felton. THE MESSIES MANUAL: The Procrastinator's Guide to Good
Housekeeping THE MESSIES SUPERGUIDE: Strategies and Ideas for
Conquering Catastrophic Living.
Alcoholics Anonymous TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS
Don Aslett: Clutter's Last Stand, Not For Pack Rats Only, How do I
Clean the Moosehead?
Stephanie Culp: How to Organize, How to Simplify Your Life
Sandra Felton, Meditations for Messies
Young and Jones, Sidetracked Home Executives (Warner 1981) The
sisters' first book, SHE (for short) outlines the use of a 3-by-5
cardfile system to move from "pigpen to paradise". Written at the end
of the '70s, this is definitely a "Becky Home Ec-ky" presentation--but
it contains the best description of what we Get O (short for Get
Organized) types call SHE Classic. Readers learn to corral household
management, clutter control, and cleaning using a 3-by-5 tickler
system. Get O Rating: 5
Young and Jones, The Sidetracked Sisters Catch-up on the Kitchen
(Warner 1983) A kitchen book, companion to SHE. I believe the kitchen
book is out of print, and it's not quite the blockbuster for the
terminally sidetracked that SHE was. Still, it provides a way out of
messy, disorganized kitchens and pantries, and offers help for menu
planning and meal prep. Get O Rating: 3.5
Young and Jones, The Sidetracked Sisters' Happiness File (Warner 1985)
Also out of print, and it's too darn bad, too! The Happiness File (or
HF to us diehards) was the book that made the system work for me. It
shows how to use the basic SHE cardfile to achieve personal growth. A
month-by-month guide focuses on different areas for growth and order--
and this, IMHO, is their best book. Even though it's out of print,
this one is largely available in public libraries. Get O Rating: 5+.
Young and Jones, Get Your Act Together (Harper Collins 1993). GYAT,
as it's known, is a streamlined version of the Sisters' earlier works.
It introduces a stripped-down version of the cardfile, touches on some
of the HF issues, and reprints much of the earlier, ill-fated "I'm OK"
dogburger. New publisher onboard, this book is the first effort of the
Sisters' new careers as "media celebrities". Some readers like the
SHE Lite treatment, others find it doesn't work for really stubborn
Sidetrackers. Get O Rating: 3.5
(....) SHE and GYAT can usually be found at large chain bookstores or
Christian bookstores (these are not "Christian" publications, per se).
The sisters themselves peddle a variety of SHE items, but I've not
checked in lately to see what they have. Address is:
Sidetracked Home Executives, Inc.
P. O. Box 5364
Vancouver, WA 98668
[360] 696-4091
Other products available (at least in the past) are preprinted cards,
and QVC sells "Slob Sisters" set of video and audio tapes. CEO
(Cynthia Ewer, Organized)
The slobsisters (Sidetracked Home Executives) now have their own site
on the www at http://www.columbian.com/slobsisters/welcomeslobs.html
The site doesn't have a lot of content, yet, but you can order most of
their currently available materials/books from the site. Bonnie Rice
(GET-O-LIFE Newsletter) http://pages.prodigy.com/getolife
From: Lillian & Kurtis Angelovic
"Confessions of an Organized Homemaker" by Deniece Schofield. I have
consistently felt there's more of a problem around here than just
clutter -- it's really a matter of "management". And this book has
some great ideas! Some of them are similar to things I've seen
discussed here. The "calendaring/scheduling" ideas are actually *very*
close to the system I have developed myself over the years. I wish I
had this book 8-10 years ago so I could have done it right the first
time! I would imagine it's available at most libraries and bookstores
(Publisher: Betterway Books, Cincinnati OH. The cover lists it at
10.99US, 15.99CAN, 7.99UK).
From: Pat Welsh
Subject: feng shui
Feng Shui Warehouse
P.O. Box 3005
San Diego, CA 92163-1005
inquiries: (619) 297-9819
orders: (800) 399-1599
fax: (619) 297-9831
Ask for their free catalog: the Feng Shui Warehouse carries both
expensive and *inexpensive* (i.e., bells for US $2.50, bagua mirrors
for $5.00) item to bring more harmonious energies to your
home/workspace/car/body...and carry books, audio cassettes, and video
tapes explaining this Asian system of energy transformation. (They
even have a few items blessed by a feng shui grand master).
Additionally, you can subscribe to their magazine: Feng Shui/a
journal.
Hi, I saw on your FAQ for alt.recovery.clutter the Feng Shui
Warehouse. We have a comparable online shop, the Feng Shui Emporium,
with lots of items and books, at
http://www.intersurf.com/locale/fengshui
FENG SHUI EMPORIUM (804)-974-1726
P.O. Box 6701 fax:(804) 973-2004
Charlottesville, VA 22906 Email: fengshui@comet.net
"In my mind, failure to discard materials is mentally linked to the
other great problem in my life, procrastination. Since the [voodoo]
saint to whom one prays for an end to procrastination is Saint
Expedite, perhaps he would be useful in eliminating clutter as well.
He is available in the form of novena candles, prayer cards, medals,
statues, and wall plaques.
"Another thought occurs to me too -- in regard to the rituals of
cleansing as practiced in the hoodoo (African-American) tradition. It
is customary to "spiritually" cleanse one's living space by washing
the floor while reciting the 23rd psalm ("The Lord is my shepherd...")
--and for this purpose, certain ritual floor washes are used, among
them Chinese Wash (advertised to "clean away that mess") and Peaceful
Home (sometimes known as Peace in the Home). These can be purchased at
any spiritual supply store and at many botanicas."
catherine yronwode * cat@luckymojo.com * http://www.luckymojo.com
--
Dan Goodman
dsgood@visi.com
http://www.visi.com/~dsgood/index.html
Whatever you wish for me, may you have twice as much.
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