[INFP] INFPs - Do you keep your environment clutter free?

[JivinJeffJones]

Yeah I tend to have a cycle going whereby I accumulate clutter over weeks, suddenly realize that the clutter is there and is not an unalterable feature of my existence, clean and organize everything savagely, keep on top of it for a few weeks and then lose interest. I've discovered that the only way to minimize the cycle is to minimize all my possessions. A few moves in rapid succession helped with this. The first move got rid of obvious junk. The second move got rid of subtle junk. The third move got rid of non-junk that I didn't use that much. The fourth move got rid of all non-book non-essentials. The breakthrough came for me when I identified as junk all possessions which I used to define who I want to be as opposed to who I actually am.

My clutter tends to be of a strictly utilitarian variety. I've never put any effort into creatively personalizing my living space, except for a few months when I was 10 and decided that posters were something a young man should have all over his walls. The phase passed, but the shame lives on.

 

[INTJMom]

I'm a serial clutterer. I have literally years worth of holiday/birthday cards stacked up on top of my entertainment center, at least partly because I'd feel guilty throwing them away (eventually I'll get around to it, but clearly not a high priority). I've gone years without actually folding clothes - I've always been relatively fastidious about personal cleanliness, but the "clean clothes pile" and the "dirty clothes pile" were sufficient. Mom would be happy to know I've broken that little habit :hi: . Stacks of books in random places are not unusual, and I've got a couple piles of old 80's-era clothes that I haven't gotten around to donating to somewhere worthwhile (and I'm not kidding myself that I won't get some silly attachment to some of them, even knowing I'll never wear them again).

At least part of it is, I think, that I live alone and have more room than stuff. There's simply not a whole lot of incentive to go and keep things tidy - if either I lived in a small space (a dorm room) or lived with someone who it bothered, it wouldn't be a terribly huge deal for me to get things picked up.

I can relate to this, too. I think being an N is more of a cause of this than anything else. The clutter really bothers my S husband, but unless I force myself to look at it, I don't really "notice" it. I just work around it or step over it.

Yeah I tend to have a cycle going whereby I accumulate clutter over weeks, suddenly realize that the clutter is there and is not an unalterable feature of my existence, clean and organize everything savagely, keep on top of it for a few weeks and then lose interest. I've discovered that the only way to minimize the cycle is to minimize all my possessions. A few moves in rapid succession helped with this. The first move got rid of obvious junk. The second move got rid of subtle junk. The third move got rid of non-junk that I didn't use that much. The fourth move got rid of all non-book non-essentials. The breakthrough came for me when I identified as junk all possessions which I used to define who I want to be as opposed to who I actually am.

My clutter tends to be of a strictly utilitarian variety. I've never put any effort into creatively personalizing my living space, except for a few months when I was 10 and decided that posters were something a young man should have all over his walls. The phase passed, but the shame lives on.

That's profound.

Downsizing is the best way to keep my stuff organized, too.
When I didn't own very much stuff, everything had a place, and I knew exactly what I owned and where it was located.

 

[EsoteriEccentri]

Oh, I'm terrible at keeping my room tidy ^^ And I hate it when my mum tries to throw away my things. When I was little I used to cry when my mum threw away anything - even clothes that were too small.
However, I can't abide mess where I'm working on something special that I've put lots of work into, and I like large spaces to be messy in as I get claustrophobic easily.

 

[kelric]

I can relate to this, too. I think being an N is more of a cause of this than anything else. The clutter really bothers my S husband, but unless I force myself to look at it, I don't really "notice" it. I just work around it or step over it.

I think that's a lot of it. I simply don't notice such things either - when I was a kid, I'd get in trouble from my S-Mom because I'd walk right by the (full) trash can without stopping and taking it outside. She'd insist that there was no way that I could walk by it and not notice that it was in need of emptying, and that I was simply being lazy when I hadn't taken it out - and then didn't believe me when I tried to explain.

 

[INTJMom]

I think that's a lot of it. I simply don't notice such things either - when I was a kid, I'd get in trouble from my S-Mom because I'd walk right by the (full) trash can without stopping and taking it outside. She'd insist that there was no way that I could walk by it and not notice that it was in need of emptying, and that I was simply being lazy when I hadn't taken it out - and then didn't believe me when I tried to explain.

Been there. Got the trophy.

 

[Sandy]

This is where I get a little obsessive...

I wish there was a middle ground to choose -- I'm SO much better than what I use to be. I HAVE to have a home for everything that I own. I have 2 large 4-drawer lateral files and a large 2-drawer lateral file FULL of files over my life, and everything that I need can be found there (every once in a while, I have to purge, but pretty much everything goes into neatly filed bankers boxes upstairs... just in case!)

I have a system to organizing my mail... I open everything up, and I immediately remove my address from envelopes and correspondence that I am not keeping and put it in a pile and the pulled addresses then go into my double-shredder (I'm very scared of identity theft). The pile of recycled paper immediately goes into a decorative wooden box with a lid that looks pretty next to my desk -- when it's full, it goes into the recycle bin that gets picked up once a week. I recycle and reuse everything that I can, and I believe that I am sort of obsessive compulsive. Before I had this system down, I had piles of paper everywhere... and I was paralyzed because I couldn't throw paper, plastics and aluminum out. My sister, otoh, will throw everything she doesn't need away. It drives me crazy.

Oh, I love clear, plastic, organizing bins. I have a full bin just for anything sewing related. I have a bin for everything related for shoe repair, polishing, waterproofing. I have a huge bin for all hair items (when I find good sales for shampoos, conditioners, rollers, curlers, etc), soaps, toilet paper, etc. You get the picture... I have to have these systems in place so I can find my items. If I don't, my house eats them up (or so it seems!)

 

[INTJMom]

I wish there was a middle ground to choose -- I'm SO much better than what I use to be. I HAVE to have a home for everything that I own. I have 2 large 4-drawer lateral files and a large 2-drawer lateral file FULL of files over my life, and everything that I need can be found there (every once in a while, I have to purge, but pretty much everything goes into neatly filed bankers boxes upstairs... just in case!)

I have a system to organizing my mail... I open everything up, and I immediately remove my address from envelopes and correspondence that I am not keeping and put it in a pile and the pulled addresses then go into my double-shredder (I'm very scared of identity theft). The pile of recycled paper immediately goes into a decorative wooden box with a lid that looks pretty next to my desk -- when it's full, it goes into the recycle bin that gets picked up once a week. I recycle and reuse everything that I can, and I believe that I am sort of obsessive compulsive. Before I had this system down, I had piles of paper everywhere... and I was paralyzed because I couldn't throw paper, plastics and aluminum out. My sister, otoh, will throw everything she doesn't need away. It drives me crazy.

Oh, I love clear, plastic, organizing bins. I have a full bin just for anything sewing related. I have a bin for everything related for shoe repair, polishing, waterproofing. I have a huge bin for all hair items (when I find good sales for shampoos, conditioners, rollers, curlers, etc), soaps, toilet paper, etc. You get the picture... I have to have these systems in place so I can find my items. If I don't, my house eats them up (or so it seems!)

Awesome!
You could write a book!

 

[marm]

I can let clutter gather for months as long as there is a cleared pathway, but if I'm really depressed even that can be optional. There are only two important things I need to conern myself with: laundry and kitty box.

I usually let it go before getting into a cleaning frenzy... a very mild frenzy I might add. I prefer it when I keep it halfway decent by cleaning regularly and I sometimes do this for periods of time. But something causes the clutter to start emerging and then its all down hill.

I try to keep books and important papers off of the floor. My kitties puke on the floor on a too regular basis.

 

[Wandering]

I think that's a lot of it. I simply don't notice such things either - when I was a kid, I'd get in trouble from my S-Mom because I'd walk right by the (full) trash can without stopping and taking it outside. She'd insist that there was no way that I could walk by it and not notice that it was in need of emptying, and that I was simply being lazy when I hadn't taken it out - and then didn't believe me when I tried to explain.

Ugh, bad memories

Oh, I love clear, plastic, organizing bins. I have a full bin just for anything sewing related. I have a bin for everything related for shoe repair, polishing, waterproofing. I have a huge bin for all hair items (when I find good sales for shampoos, conditioners, rollers, curlers, etc), soaps, toilet paper, etc. You get the picture... I have to have these systems in place so I can find my items. If I don't, my house eats them up (or so it seems!)

I've started doing that, with my bathroom stuff for example. It's still kinda messy, but it's *contained mess* at least :rolli: Now I need to extend it to the whole house, and then (and only then) I can start looking for more "civilised" ways of putting stuff away. I mean, how can you plan any kind of organisation if you don't even know how much stuff you have in each category ?

(Hmm, re-reading that last sentence has me thinking "Te all over!", which makes me think that once I get my stuff in boxes, chances are I'll never bother going into those "more civilised ways of putting stuff away"... Just like I'm pretty happy with my boxed-in bathroom stuff right now... Could it be that I'm finally getting to grips with my nature ?)

 

[GZA]

If only you could see my basement. Its so beautiful It just has shit lying around EVERYWHERE and I love it.

 

[INTJMom]

As long as my computer is working, I don't think I'll ever get my house clean! LOL!

 

[JivinJeffJones]

As long as my computer is working, I don't think I'll ever get my house clean! LOL!

+1. My computer is a bloody mess, too. It's a disgrace. Desktop full of icons, hard drive constantly hovering on the 15% free space mark beyond which the computer will no longer defrag. I'm damned if I know where all my space went. I toy with the idea of formatting my hard-drive and starting over in the same way other men toy with the idea of leaving their wife and kids and moving to Alaska.

 

[Sandy]

+1. My computer is a bloody mess, too. It's a disgrace. Desktop full of icons, hard drive constantly hovering on the 15% free space mark beyond which the computer will no longer defrag. I'm damned if I know where all my space went. I toy with the idea of formatting my hard-drive and starting over in the same way other men toy with the idea of leaving their wife and kids and moving to Alaska.

:yim_rolling_on_the_

 

[Wandering]

+1. My computer is a bloody mess, too. It's a disgrace. Desktop full of icons, hard drive constantly hovering on the 15% free space mark beyond which the computer will no longer defrag.

My husband would have a heart attack if I allowed my computer to get into such a state :rolli:

And I think he's been rigging my hard drives to die once a certain quota of storage space has been used

 

[Sandy]

Computers = time stealer

As long as my computer is working, I don't think I'll ever get my house clean! LOL!

It's funny you mentioned this! After church, I left my work laptop at HOME so I could go into work and move my office from one area to another. I have had NO time to do this in the past month (other than major filing changes), and tomorrow is the first day of a newly hired employee who is getting my old office. As long as my computer was there, I would have been checking it... or realizing I forgot to do some kind of work. My computer is a total distraction!

Anyway, I worked hard for 9-hours full speed just to get everything moved and cleaned up in both areas. *whew* Dust.everywhere.I.was.filthy. *cough cough* ...and who knew I had so much crap!

There's nothing like doing things the last minute! :rolli:

 

[Athenian200]

+1. My computer is a bloody mess, too. It's a disgrace. Desktop full of icons, hard drive constantly hovering on the 15% free space mark beyond which the computer will no longer defrag. I'm damned if I know where all my space went. I toy with the idea of formatting my hard-drive and starting over in the same way other men toy with the idea of leaving their wife and kids and moving to Alaska.

Well, what does that make me since I tend to back up a few applications/documents and reinstall everything every two or so years, and tend to switch operating systems occasionally out of curiosity? Of course, I rarely use more than 60% of my Hard Drive before buying a new one, because the truth is that they usually seem to slow down considerably in terms of access speed after you hit 30%. And they usually only last around 3 - 5 years in my experience.

 

[wildcat]

Not sure how many of you there are, but I was just wondering.

My INFP sister was always messy, would always leave her clothes on the floor, and even today suffers from trying to save all the memorabilia from her children's lives as they grow. It's almost impossible for her to get rid of things because they have so much sentimental value.

How about you?

Messy is all right.

 

[INTJMom]

+1. My computer is a bloody mess, too. It's a disgrace. Desktop full of icons, hard drive constantly hovering on the 15% free space mark beyond which the computer will no longer defrag. I'm damned if I know where all my space went. I toy with the idea of formatting my hard-drive and starting over in the same way other men toy with the idea of leaving their wife and kids and moving to Alaska.

:yim_rolling_on_the_

ditto!


JJJ: my INFP sister's computer is probably a lot like yours. I can't STAND icons all over the desktop! One time she had so many, some of them were only partially showing at the edge!

Well, if you're gonna re-format, save all your important stuff on an external hard drive first. Don't just dump everything.

 

[INTJMom]

...
And I think he's been rigging my hard drives to die once a certain quota of storage space has been used

 

[INTJMom]

Well, what does that make me since I tend to back up a few applications/documents and reinstall everything every two or so years, and tend to switch operating systems occasionally out of curiosity? Of course, I rarely use more than 60% of my Hard Drive before buying a new one, because the truth is that they usually seem to slow down considerably in terms of access speed after you hit 30%. And they usually only last around 3 - 5 years in my experience.

It makes you special.
You're a computer geek, aren't you? (And I mean that with utmost respect.)
One would expect no less from you.

I have a computer guru who keeps his hard drive clean with all diligence.
He's a deleting freak.