{"id":6385,"date":"2014-07-30T07:00:44","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=6385"},"modified":"2014-07-11T11:18:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T15:18:00","slug":"what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html","title":{"rendered":"What Does Your Clutter Say About You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ID-10036003\"<\/a>Is your closet a window into your mental health? Are you what you wear?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Does saving your old college sports uniform remind you of the glory days\u00a0of your life?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

How about those hundreds of books you will never read\u00a0again, but can’t bring yourself to\u00a0part with them?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe closer to home is that bin of children’s clothes that brings tears to your eyes. How could you give those away?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe you just find it difficult to part with things you MIGHT use or that have some meaning.<\/p>\n

But what does all the clutter say about you?<\/p>\n

What you save and hold onto\u00a0may reveal some of\u00a0your deepest thoughts and feelings. Sometimes clutter can indicate a focus and organizing problem. People with ADHD, OCD or even dementia have trouble organizing.<\/p>\n

Maybe you have trouble making\u00a0decisions\u00a0because of, What if…You\u00a0obsess on the possibility of needing it later.<\/p>\n

Or maybe, just \u00a0maybe, you will lose those 10 pounds and need that dress that is hanging there with the tag\u00a0still on it.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you’ve watched episodes of Storage Wars<\/em> and saw\u00a0how many people throw out valuable items but didn’t know it. You don’t want to be one of those people and miss the chance to cash in big!<\/p>\n

Stop! Pause! Help yourself by a little self talk like this, “Someone else can use this stuff now.” “The likelihood that I have a real gem in my hoarding is slim.” Or “The item may be so old, I wouldn’t want it even if I could use it again.”<\/p>\n

One of the biggest reason we hold on to clutter is that something in the clutter has sentimental meaning. “If I throw away that toy, I lose my daughter’s childhood forever.” “If I clean out the garage, then the divorce feels very final.” Holding on means not letting go! Let’s all sing the theme to “Frozen” right now. “Let it go… Let it go…”<\/p>\n

If all the clutter is distressing you, look at the psychology behind holding on to it. What would it mean to give it away and down size the closet or storage bins? Your clutter may be telling you that you are too perfectionistic, obsessive, disorganized, overly sentimental, worried, and\/or having trouble closing out the past. You might even be a hoarder, a legitimate psychiatric disorder now. \u00a0So if your living quarters are so cluttered it causes you distress, get some help.<\/p>\n

Take a look at that closet. What is it saying about you?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is your closet a window into your mental health? Are you what you wear?\u00a0 Does saving your old college sports uniform remind you of the glory days\u00a0of your life?\u00a0 How about those hundreds of books you will never read\u00a0again, but can’t bring yourself to\u00a0part with them?\u00a0 Maybe closer to home is that bin of children’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[808,2970,2968,2820,2971,2969],"class_list":["post-6385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-adhd","tag-cleaning-your-closet-holding-on-to-things","tag-clutter","tag-hoarding","tag-ocd","tag-saving-stuff"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Your Clutter Say About You?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Does Your Clutter Say About You?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is your closet a window into your mental health? Are you what you wear?\u00a0 Does saving your old college sports uniform remind you of the glory days\u00a0of your life?\u00a0 How about those hundreds of books you will never read\u00a0again, but can’t bring yourself to\u00a0part with them?\u00a0 Maybe closer to home is that bin of children’s…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-30T11:00:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-07-11T15:18:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2014\/07\/ID-10036003-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Does Your Clutter Say About You?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Does Your Clutter Say About You?","og_description":"Is your closet a window into your mental health? Are you what you wear?\u00a0 Does saving your old college sports uniform remind you of the glory days\u00a0of your life?\u00a0 How about those hundreds of books you will never read\u00a0again, but can’t bring yourself to\u00a0part with them?\u00a0 Maybe closer to home is that bin of children’s…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2014-07-30T11:00:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-07-11T15:18:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2014\/07\/ID-10036003-300x225.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html","name":"What Does Your Clutter Say About You?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2014\/07\/ID-10036003-300x225.jpg","datePublished":"2014-07-30T11:00:44+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-11T15:18:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2014\/07\/ID-10036003-300x225.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2014\/07\/ID-10036003-300x225.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/07\/what-does-your-clutter-say-about-you.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Does Your Clutter Say About You?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. 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Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. 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