CLUTTER COCKTAIL: THE ART OF MUDDLING

Welcome to Clutter Cocktail, a sparkling blend of useful information for living clutter free!

This week, Pat from Philly writes ‘I like to think if I de-clutter it, they will come.  I am trying to build relationships and I feel like I have this constant weight of clutter on my shoulders.  Please help!”

Pat, I love Philly… the city of brotherly love, cheese steaks and now clutter.  This calls for a Mojito!

For those of you haven’t ingratiated yourself to the 100 year old Cuban drink, I suggest you do.  I rely on it heavily to remind me that muddling, a process of blending the lime with the mint, is the key to its sweet success.  As Tito Bacardi once told me at Mandalay Bay, ‘If you don’t muddle it, no amount of white rum will make it right’.

Pat, it’s time to learn the art of muddling!

Don’t let the condition of your home affect the condition of your relationships. The two should work in harmony, not in opposition.  If you were like my friend’s Mom, the quintessential homemaker, whose house is clean every single moment of every single day for fear someone might show up at the front door, then I would applaud your efforts.  You’re my kind of woman!  But if you’re living in squalor or a have an unbearable amount of untidiness that’s keeping you from having friends over, then it’s time to pony up to the bar and RAISE IT A FEW NOTCHES!

How about inviting your most trusted, nonjudgmental friend over to help you clear out one space in your home?  We all need help sometimes and when we suffer from clutter it’s no exception.  Besides, last I checked Pat, suffering itself acts as a general repellent for any kind of relationship.  Let’s take the strength you’ve mustered up for carrying the burden of clutter on your shoulders and channel it into something positive.

Friends are awesome because they are more objective when it comes to your stuff so they will be able to help you make quick decisions without all the drama.  And Pat, I’ve seen drama!  All you have to do is trust them!  You asked them there for a reason and you have to trust they will do right by you.  Besides, after working with 1000s of homeowners who’ve given up tons of stuff, I’ve never had one person feel as if they’ve lost something.  In fact, the opposite is true–they’ve only gained.

So Pat, pick a partner and set a date.  Not only will you have cleared out a space in your home, you will have deepened a relationship along the way.  And who knows where that will lead.  And be sure to celebrate with a Mojito, virgin or otherwise.

To submit a question for future blogs, send it to info@markbrunetz.com then check back daily.  If it’s chosen, you will receive a free autographed copy of my book Take the U Out of Clutter: The Last Clutter Book You’ll Ever Need.

Until next time…