Countdown Series #4 – More Clutter, Less Clutter and Planning Advisor

Clutter, clutter, clutter. You know I can’t stand it. If you can’t stand it, you’re probably married to someone who doesn’t mind it. If you don’t mind clutter, then you’re probably married to someone who’s quietly (or not so quietly) tormented by it. Clutter can take on a lot of different forms, but the premise is the same for all; things that are excess or unneeded clutter the space and the mind. Ridding ourselves of clutter can be fun and actually helpful to our health. Don’t believe me? Here’s an article from Psychology Today.

As I mentioned last week, many new retirees take it upon themselves to reduce clutter by cleaning out the closets and that junk drawer with the time gained during retirement. Many a person has received that call from Mom or Dad saying that it’s time to come get your junk out of your old room or the attic. “We’re proud of you and all of your trophies, but get them out of here, mkay?”

This topic is so interesting and important to me that I’m going to use this as an opportunity to present a ‘best of’ past discussions of clutter in its various forms. I can’t imagine you’ll read all of them again, but you could use this as a starter’s guide to getting uncluttered.

Debt Clutter – To Dance With Debt
Spending Clutter – Financial Symmetry and Weight Loss
Endless Choice Clutter – The Choice Challenge
Retirement Planning Clutter – Breakthrough in a Box
Stuff Clutter – The Power In Selling Your Old Stuff
All Things Clutter – The Great Decluttering
The Meaning Of Stuff Clutter – Joy and Stuff: A Complicated Relationship
Dumpster-Worthy Clutter – Rent a Dumpster, Change Your Life

Heading into retirement and navigating through it are unique opportunities to prioritize those people and things that are most important to you. Freeing up the bandwidth and space to focus only on those things that matter most is a helpful way to get the most from your experience. It’s easy to fall prey to clutter but so rewarding to fight back against it.