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Quiz: Does Clutter Control You?
Is there a stack of mail teetering toward a disaster on your counter? Do you have stacks of magazines from the 1980s that you haven’t looked at since? Find your clutter quotient with this quiz from Unclutter Your Home (Storey Publishing, 1999) by Donna Smallin.
Choose a number between 1 and 4 that best describes your response to each of the following statements.
1: Never or almost never.
2: Sometimes.
3: Usually.
4: All the time.
Then add them up and see how you score below.
1. When I have free time I like to shop.
2. I keep bills, bank statements and other mail in piles, until I have time to file.
3. I have more than 10 plastic bags in my house.
4. I save magazines with interesting articles/recipes.
5. When I look around, I get tired just thinking about what it will take to unclutter my home.
6. I have two or more craft projects going on at any one time.
7. My house may look messy to some people, but I know where to find everything.
8. If someone stops by unexpectedly, I try to avoid letting them in.
9. I leave things out so I know where they are or as a reminder to myself.
10. Time keeps me from getting or being organized.
11. When it comes to clutter, I think, “Why bother? It will just get cluttered again.”
12. I can’t bear to part with things and I consider myself a pack rat.
13. The stress level in our house is directly related to the clutter level.
Rating Your Answers
44 to 52: is indicative of a clutter problem that’s been building for some time. You are in need of some serious clutter-busting!
35 to 43: Your clutter problem is likely growing worse with eash passing year and will continue to do so unless you do something about it.
26 to 34: You have the potential to develop a clutter problem, but you also have the power to change a few old habits.
17 to 25: You may be simply, temporarily disorganized.
Less than 17: Congratulations on controlling your clutter. rather than letting it control you.
How did you score? Try some of our best clutter-beating tactics here:
Clear Your Clutter in Six Steps
Start to Stop the Clutter
How to Get Beyond Clutter
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14 comments
add your comment »I agree that most of us have some kind of clutter. i have a bad habit of doing laundry and then stacking it in a pile on my dresser! I love how there is an advertisment to buy a book for declutterind your home. I don't need another book that will just collect more dust!!
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The only one I numbered a 4 was #6, and I truly believe that there is nothing wrong with having more than 2 craft projects going at once. Especially when you're re-using items that might go in the trash otherwise!
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Thanks for the advice Laura, I hadn't thought about the donating one for every one I buy. That's what I'm going to start doing. In fact I've decided that I'm going to go through all my books and the ones I'll probably never read and the ones I've already read and will never get round to reading again are all going to charity. That'll probably halve my collection! I'm also going to have a yard sale for all the odds and ends in the shed.
Thanks again for the advice.
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Ok!! In response to several comments.
RECYCLE!!!
DON"T BUT THE STUFF in the first place.
Swap meets and thrift stores will keep a lot of it out of the streams.
The library is a really good deal. Or one new rule every time you buy a book, you donate a book
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My hubby calls it clutter, I call it prized possessions! However, I do wish I had the heart to get rid of some stuff but I always think I might need it one day. It becomes overwhelming at times. My main "clutter" is my books, I have over 2000 and am still collecting more. Please someone tell me how to stop!!!!!!
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Packing to move eliminates a lot of clutter. Unpacking gets rid of more. ("What the heck is that, and why do I own it?") Since one person's clutter is another person's treasure, thrift shops at both ends of the journey were delighted.
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Everything is so expensive these days. I worry if I throw this stuff out and then I need it that I will never be able to afford to replace it.
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In the Daily action it said "In the United States alone, the waste stream increases by about 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year's, bringing the total amount of stuff we toss out to more than 25 million tons. " Ok so if we get rid of all this clutter where is it going to go? If I get rid of this clutter and nobody else wants it, then it is going into that waste stream your talking about.
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I would like to 'tweak' your quiz a little! :-)
1. When I have free time I like to shop OR COLLECT THINGS.
4. I save magazines/ DOWNLOAD AND/OR PRINT PAGES with interesting articles/recipes.
7. My house may look messy to some people, but I THINK I MIGHT know where to find everything.
10. LACK OF time AND ENERGY keeps me from getting or being organized.
Thank you so much for sharing these ideas - and wish me luck, with other over-conscientious keepers of things!
Deb Burton
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I would like to 'tweak' your quiz a little! :-)
1. When I have free time I like to shop OR COLLECT THINGS.
4. I save magazines/ DOWNLOAD AND/OR PRINT PAGES with interesting articles/recipes.
7. My house may look messy to some people, but I THINK I MIGHT know where to find everything.
10. LACK OF time AND ENERGY keeps me from getting or being organized.
Thank you so much for sharing these ideas - and wish me luck, with other over-conscientious keepers of things!
Deb Burton
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why is this inappropriate?
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