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.

Next: How did you score?

1 of 2

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Rosemary H.

1:46PM PDT on Apr 11, 2013

I was hanging my paintings so I can enjoy them to the full, when I found a neat plaque which I stuck on the wall as well:

"A Tidy House is a Sign of a Wasted Life!" ;)

April 11
send a green star

LILING O.

9:13AM PDT on Apr 11, 2013

Luckily for me, I have never ever let clutter control me.
Guess it takes a little initiative,efforts and self-motivation to maintain a neat tidy place

Roger M.

11:58PM PST on Jan 14, 2013

Nope.

January 14
send a green star

Val M.

2:09AM PST on Jan 3, 2013

Thanks

January 3
send a green star

Duane B.

7:43AM PST on Jan 2, 2013

Thank you for sharing.

January 2
send a green star

Laurie G.

11:51AM PST on Jan 1, 2013

WHEW!

January 1
send a green star

Angie c.

1:40PM PST on Dec 25, 2012

This was soooo useful....i really got scared;(

December 25
send a green star

irene f.

7:38AM PDT on Aug 25, 2012

29, so I still can do better
good quiz

August 25
send a green star

Patricia V.

1:00AM PDT on Jun 25, 2012

21 Not bad I think.

June 25
send a green star

Michelle G.

7:59PM PDT on May 28, 2012

I got a 30. I tend to go back and forth between being organized and messy, but when I am messy, I am EXTREMELY messy. The art projects bit rang partcirually true for me. I would love to have a special room for art projects.

Part of the problem with the clutter, though, is that I live with two other fairly messy people. I go on cleaning sprees every once a month or something, but I leave their stuff alone, so the overall place remains messy... and this, of course, does not excuse my own proclivity towards slobbiness.