Who is Clutterman

Hi----

I thought that because we’ll be spending some time together on this website, you might want a thumbnail sketch of who I am. To start, I predate the Baby Boomer generation by a few years, spending more than half of my life in the military and civil service---and a concurrently equal amount of time doing various types of volunteer work (e.g. mentor and scout leader, First Aid-CPR instructor, local and national disaster responder, and advocate for a variety of social and environmental causes.) I’ve served as an educator, advisor, therapist, and administrator throughout my careers---and hopefully had a positive impact on the lives of some of my clients who were undergoing interpersonal, emotional, addiction, and a plethora of other issues.

Along the way, I have discovered that helpers and caregivers are not exempt from experiencing difficulties. In my case, the “baggage” I have is in the form of an addiction to clutter. You see I am an admitted Packrat and hoarder of ‘stuff.’ I soundly believe that almost anything accumulated is worth keeping, the TNO-throw nothing out mindset. Hence, my garage will never see a car, and my so-called office looks like the studio set for Sanford and Son! I once donated a car full of items, only to stop at a yard sale on the way back home, just to do a “look-see,” and subsequently refilled those earlier emptied shelves. I am a dropout from two separate Declutter Your Life classes, and had two sheds built in the backyard to store the burgeoning overflow. The “stuff” can be blamed for some disorganization and chaos I more than often feel when trying to locate a particular item.

Now for the positive side. Number one. I am actually working on eliminating two items for every one new acquisition, and hope to decrease the number of non essential items significantly (by one third, within a year). Yes, I’ve said that before, but the fact is that I am getting too old to keep sorting and tripping over everything. Number two. I am oftentimes looked upon as an information resource person by colleagues and friends who are looking for articles, seeking information, or other hard to find/outdated memorabilia. All of this wealth of data, coupled with my many experiences working with people, has given me better leverage in both empathizing and understanding others who face a myriad of issues.

In future articles I hope to share with you my own perspectives, opinions, and insights relating to a wide variety of psychosocial issues. I look forward to hearing your insights, and welcome your comments in the weeks to come.

              - The Clutterman

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