If you have a tendency to collect things, you probably have some issues with space and clutter. This is especially true if you live in a small space. A room or a studio apartment can easily become overrun with Elvis tribute records, Beatles songbooks, or Tori Amos cd singles.
Maybe your collecting tastes are musical like the ones mentioned above, or maybe you lean toward action figures or rare books. Whatever your particular preference, the same problems with space and clutter apply. This can be true even if your collections are more accidental than deliberate, like dvds or old magazines that you just happen to accumulate.
You often hear people jokingly warning each other not to become "Hoarders" like the people on the tv show. Your home is a window into your personality, and when people visit you, they make assumptions based on what they see. No one likes coming into a completely disorganized space, especially when they are seeing the home of a significant other for the first time. Here are some ideas for decreasing the amount of clutter.
1. Throw away old or unnecessary items. This can be tough, but you have to be tough, too. If you have invested time and money into your collection, you may not want to get rid of anything. But if you are honest, you will have to admit that there are some things that are either damaged, or for some other reason no longer valuable. Look for these things in your collection, and get rid of them.
2. Sell some of your stuff. Again, this may not be easy. But be honest with yourself about the attachment you actually feel to your collection. Do you really still want this stuff, or are you just keeping it for nostalgic reasons? CDs, for instance, can be easily tranfered to a computer or an ipod. You can still keep all that Tori Amos music, and maybe also make a little bit of money online from people who are still collecting.
3. Store things away. You might not be able to find a significant amount of stuff you are willing to throw away or sell, but you can surely store some of it. It will still belong to you, and you can display it again once you have a larger living space to work with. For now, help yourself out and store it in order to reduce clutter.
4. Display things purposefully. Even if you follow all of the above tips, there may still be a few things you just need to have in your eyesight. Make sure that these things are displayed in a way that looks deliberate, rather than just lying around in random piles on the floor. This will help your living space to look neat and organized.
Do not let your Princess Leia action figures, Elvis tribute records, or collection of first edition poetry books doom you to a cluttered, disorganized apartment. The smaller your living space, the more minimal your collections (or at least the parts of them that you display) should be. Follow the tips above, and take steps to get your stuff in order, so that you can enjoy your things and still have a neat, welcoming place to live.
Maybe your collecting tastes are musical like the ones mentioned above, or maybe you lean toward action figures or rare books. Whatever your particular preference, the same problems with space and clutter apply. This can be true even if your collections are more accidental than deliberate, like dvds or old magazines that you just happen to accumulate.
You often hear people jokingly warning each other not to become "Hoarders" like the people on the tv show. Your home is a window into your personality, and when people visit you, they make assumptions based on what they see. No one likes coming into a completely disorganized space, especially when they are seeing the home of a significant other for the first time. Here are some ideas for decreasing the amount of clutter.
1. Throw away old or unnecessary items. This can be tough, but you have to be tough, too. If you have invested time and money into your collection, you may not want to get rid of anything. But if you are honest, you will have to admit that there are some things that are either damaged, or for some other reason no longer valuable. Look for these things in your collection, and get rid of them.
2. Sell some of your stuff. Again, this may not be easy. But be honest with yourself about the attachment you actually feel to your collection. Do you really still want this stuff, or are you just keeping it for nostalgic reasons? CDs, for instance, can be easily tranfered to a computer or an ipod. You can still keep all that Tori Amos music, and maybe also make a little bit of money online from people who are still collecting.
3. Store things away. You might not be able to find a significant amount of stuff you are willing to throw away or sell, but you can surely store some of it. It will still belong to you, and you can display it again once you have a larger living space to work with. For now, help yourself out and store it in order to reduce clutter.
4. Display things purposefully. Even if you follow all of the above tips, there may still be a few things you just need to have in your eyesight. Make sure that these things are displayed in a way that looks deliberate, rather than just lying around in random piles on the floor. This will help your living space to look neat and organized.
Do not let your Princess Leia action figures, Elvis tribute records, or collection of first edition poetry books doom you to a cluttered, disorganized apartment. The smaller your living space, the more minimal your collections (or at least the parts of them that you display) should be. Follow the tips above, and take steps to get your stuff in order, so that you can enjoy your things and still have a neat, welcoming place to live.
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