Did you realize understanding two things can help you fix clutter problems? And help you understand what stays and what goes?

There are two categories which your home decorating items fit into.

These two categories are very important because they distinguish what is vital and what is not.

All of the items in your home fall under one of these categories.

The two categories are:

Necessity - an item that you cannot function well without; something that is necessary and vital to your well being and day to day living.

Accessory - an item that is optional, that you can function sufficiently without; something that is NOT vital to your day to day living or well being.

Being able to distinguish between which function each item in each room in your home serves can quickly show you how much or how little you overindulge.

Consider your bed. Do you think it's vital to your day to day living?

Yes it is!

Without a bed you would be sleeping on the floor. Granted, you could exist like this but the result of sleeping on the floor for a long duration of time could result in physical problems.

Like back pains, sluggishness, etc.

Things like back pains then affect how much or how little you contribute to the important things in your life from one day to the next.

Necessities can be further examined and what you come up with when you look close enough is the revelation that necessities greatly affect your capabilities.

They tie into how much or how little you achieve.

Food is a necessity. If you don't eat you begin to starve. Water is a necessity. If you don't drink you begin to dehydrate.

Although these two things are not home furnishings, you can see how they affect you.

They affect your survival.

Living without some necessities would not necessarily affect you physically.

Other necessities are vital with the understanding that they are hard to function without. They make life more difficult if you don't have them around.

They do NOT affect you physically but mentally.

(Yet sometimes things that do affect you mentally can turn into physical problems.)

For instance, a dresser.

You can easily see that a dresser does NOT affect you physically.

But to live without a dresser or something that served as a dresser-type organizer would be time consuming and difficult for you.

You would have no place to put certain clothing items and your only option would be to lay them about in a disorganized fashion.

In time this would become a space-interference.

And it would likely begin to affect you mentally.

Humans need organization. Without having some sort of system and order, there would be nothing but chaos.

Necessities are about human survival.

As for accessories, it would be difficult to live without some accessories but for different reasons. More for reasons of boredom, amusement, and sometimes inspiration.

Some accessories contribute to your well being, but they have also been known to take away from it.

They can be used to cause peace as well as chaos.

A television, for instance, has been used as a very efficient tool for inspiring people to do miraculous things.

Many programs have touched the heart of mankind simply because they had a television.

But a television can also be used as a very efficient tool to manipulate the mind and provoke unhealthy feelings and responses.

Many programs have brought out the worst in people.

Unfortunately the television can be used as a vessel to provoke competition among humans, jealousy, greed, anger, hate, and more.

Yet, if you took the television out of your life you would press on. You would not die. You wouldn't suddenly stop living.

You would survive without it like those who survived without it before it even existed.

Accessories are like grown-up toys. Many of them are for fun and games. And they are pretty to the eyes. You see them one day and you say to yourself, "Oow, I want that!"

A lot of us are very much adults, but it doesn't stop us from being big-kids either. Things that glitter and glow still impress us. And we want to reach for them and have them.

The toys have gotten more advanced but they still entice us in the same way. Such shiny new things. So many buttons and functions.

"Think of what I can do with that! I want I want I want!"

You may not turn to Barbie dolls or toy cars anymore. You've probably moved onto bigger and better things...

Real cars. Or clothes that make you look as thin and curvaceous as Barbie.

Accessories are not items that are necessary for your survival. They are extra things that you want but most likely do not need.

They appeal to your "I want" senses.

Necessities on the other hand appeal to your "I need" senses.

Take a look around your home right now. Does your home say "I want" or "I need?"

Are you someone that often buys what you want or only what you need the majority of the time?

Remember to weigh an item of interest against the two categories. Begin to ask yourself if the item you want is really necessary for your survival.

Is it? Or do you just want it?

(c) 2003 by Tameka Norris

Tameka Norris helps others simplify life's little complications by revealing the small things that are often overlooked: http://www.simple-living-tips.com