QMy wife and I live in a charming corner apartment. I try to keep the place clean.
Clutter is our biggest problem, so I encourage both of us to throw out items we do not use over the year. My wife hates it when I open storage boxes filled with junk. Do you have any ideas on an organizer (not a home cleaner) who is willing to muddle through the junk with my wife? I swear there are outfits that she does not fit into that are stacked up in the bedroom with the old blankets.
I can be strong-willed about throwing out papers and plastics, but judging women's clothes is not a strong point.
AA relatively new crop of people who make a living as professional organizers has sprung up in recent years. They serve those who cannot bring themselves to get rid of their old clothes, files and other excessive, outdated or unused belongings.
The National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net) allows Web users to search by Zip code for professionals who market themselves as objectively helping people better arrange and eliminate their things.
You can also find organizers elsewhere on the Internet, in the Yellow Pages or through friends, family and co-workers.
There are also plenty of home-organizing books and products, though these may not inspire the clutter-ridden to say goodbye to that childhood smelly sticker collection or favorite moth-eaten sweater.
Say-no-to-clutter people often have a difficult time understanding pack rats or even those with mild clutter problems. What one person sees as junk, the other might consider important. Many people attach special memories to their possessions, including clothes that may no longer fit, videos they will never watch again and stacks of magazines they will never read again. Some people just have a hard time letting go.
When my favorite clothes were stolen out of a car in New York last year, I had visions of a stranger wearing them (while simultaneously rocking out to my favorite CDs). I didn't think a thief had any right to enjoy my things the way I did.
As much as I want to be a minimalist, I had staked a claim in material stuff. Sure, they were just cute, flattering outfits; their loss didn't leave me naked. But the point is that some people have a tough time parting with stuff, often because of its symbolic value rather than its utility.
While being robbed is one way to avoid the hard decision of putting certain items in the giveaway pile, it's obviously not the preferred solution.
Once people change their mind-set about the importance of accumulating things and commit themselves to dealing with their clutter, there are ways to organize their living space, even without the help of an objective professional.
In fact, organizing is an important habit for apartment dwellers to develop, because they likely have limited closet space and might have to resort to a rented storage room just to house the overflow.
Plus, some renters like to move a lot, and there is really no reason to expend energy hauling things from one place to another unless absolutely necessary. Moving is difficult enough.
