It was a cold, miserable day when our homeowners association had scheduled a talk called “Drowning in Stuff.”

Regardless, I planned to go because I didn’t think many people would respond, and I wanted to support them.

Much to my surprise, the parking lot was filled and just about every seat was taken. We seldom see that kind of response.

It told me having too much stuff is a hot topic. I never thought I would have that problem because after going through three hurricanes I lost so much of my clothes and household items.

When I moved into my house 21 years ago I was fanatic about not having anything laying around. I had no crowded drawers and no clutter.

I don’t know how it happened but little by little I accumulated clutter and was drowning in paperwork.

Well, I do know how it happened. I got careless and didn’t have a good system for filing papers I needed. I have three filing cabinets yet I allowed important papers to take up every surface in my office.

Well, our homeowners association is holding a big shredding event this weekend. It’s my chance to clean up my act. But meanwhile, I’m glued to my house going through papers to get ready for the shredder.

That session on too much stuff had some valuable tips. One thing we were told is that we don’t need to save old bills. We don’t even need to save income tax beyond two years ago, she said.

That’s not what I was told. Yet, I never found a need for old paperwork.

The speaker said most people think they don’t have enough storage space. That’s not the problem she said. It’s knowing what to save and how to store it in a better way.

I found it interesting that the audience was about 90% women. Are women the only ones who want to declutter?

In my house my husband is far and above better at organizing. He has fewer clothes and buys very little.

His office is a fraction of the space I have but without looking he can put his finger on the location of everything.

I, on the other hand spend too much time every week looking for things I can’t find.

The professional organizer who gave the talk said we need to give every item we have a home. When we use it, put it back in its home.

I can’t get the hang of it.

When I die and St. Peter asks me to account for how I spent my time on Earth I’ll have to admit how much of my time was wasted looking for stuff I misplaced.

On the other hand, if I ask David where he has the big magnifying glass he can tell me to look in the second drawer on the right hand side.

Why do so many of us have too much stuff?

The organizer had an interesting conclusion. She says decades ago many homes were smaller but the advent of big box stores and credit cards changed our buying habits.

Ask yourself do you buy most things because you need them or because you want them?

We often shop with friends for recreation. Or, is that just a “girl thing?” I don’t hear many men planning to get together to shop, do you?

Credit cards, according to the professional organize, made it far too easy to buy things. If we want something we pull out a credit card.

I remember when my husband and I were furnishing our first home we had his mother’s old kitchen set.

Finally we bought our dining room set one piece at a time. We would buy a chair then save up before we could buy another one.

To this day I’m a conservative shopper. I still save up for big purchases. I’ve been saving for months to replace some of the furniture lost in the hurricanes.

My, how things have changed.

Remember the Sears Christmas catalog? My daughter Maria would go through that catalog like a religion, making a list for Santa.

The professional organizer noted how storage units are big business now. That’s especially true in Florida.

We used to have a bank on every corner. Now we have storage units.

Some of those storage units are holding things we are holding for sentimental reasons, she said.

“When I ask some clients why they are holding onto old stuff, they said they are doing it for their kids,” she said. “They don’t realize most kids don’t want this stuff. They have their own stuff.”

Some of reasons her clients are holding onto old stuff is because they say it’s worth a lot of money, or it will be some day. Another reason clients tell her they are saving stuff is because they might need it some day. Or, they say it’s family heirloom their kids will want some day.

“The best things you can leave your kids is a near empty house,” she claimed.

If you want to clean out your house, she says start with something small like a closet or a drawer. Get some success before you tackle bigger areas, she suggests.

One thing I learned at her lecture is that I’m not the only one who needs more organization.

How about you?

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net