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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

04.14.2003

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the packrat's guide to a happy home by Hilary Emmons | 1 2 3
continued from page 2

step four: maintenance.
The happy packrat is the self-accepting packrat.  If you love your stuff, then it won’t be a burden to put in the time and effort to keep it organized and accessible.  Here are some tips to make sure that your newly neatened home can stay that way.

Re-evaluate often.  In my house, spring cleaning isn’t enough.  I clear out the closets and drawers at least three times a year.  At the same time, I check that my storage situation is still working for me: am I using certain items more often?  Is getting at them a hassle?  If so, it’s time to find a more accessible home for them.

Create “structured mess.”  So, you’ve got your magazine clippings in the back of a closet because you rarely need them, but this makes putting new ones away a problem.  I can relate; I can also predict that your desk will soon be overflowing. 

In order to reduce everyday clutter, I create holding areas where I can throw things that I’m not ready to put away just yet.  On my desk is a flat paper file where I toss receipts, letters, and paper ephemera.  It’s not particularly organized, but that’s okay: it’s confined to a small area, keeping the rest of my desk clear. When the box gets full, about once a month, it’s time to do some filing.

Structured mess should be confined to a designated space, it should contain things that are related so that they’re easy to put away, and there should be a deadline for when it gets tackled.  Structured mess is good for the sloppy packrat like myself; if I tried to keep my desk perfectly clean every single day, I wouldn’t last a week.  The paper file allows me to make my mess without strewing my pay stubs around the house.

Lastly, make sure you leave some room to appreciate your belongings.  Take the focus off the functional and play up your treasures.  Stow cleaning products in cabinets, and place a curtain in front of your tool shelf so that you can hide it when not in use.  If you have a treasured collection, display it prominently rather than stowing it away.  Put your thrift store yearbooks on the coffee table so that guests can get a laugh out of them, too.  Since you’ve put in the effort to organize and keep all this stuff, you ought to have a chance to enjoy it!

The packrat’s path to happiness starts with accepting what you are, and adjusting your methods of cleaning and organization accordingly.  There’s no shame in having a lot of stuff, as long as you maintain and manage it well.  So stand tall, claim your identity, and take pride in your many belongings, Packrat!

o

Hilary Emmons (hilaryemmons@yahoo.com) is a freelance writer who lives and works in Brookline, Massachusetts.  She shares a one-bedroom apartment with one boyfriend, one cat, and approximately seventeen metric tons of 'useless' stuff.  She is the founder of The Leisure Agency .

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