A friend of my wife recently saved a clutter-related article for me. A lot of it had points that I've heard and already blogged about here. But this term was particularly interesting, from "Randy Frost, a Smith College professor and expert on hoarding".
A frequent feature of these cluttered homes, he said, is the presence of what some call "goat paths" - narrow aisles that navigate thruoght he mountains of stuff.
Does your home have goat paths? My last apartment sure as hell did. It was pretty much made to be a single-file path. If somebody else was there and had to get by, it usually involved the other person first having to walk to to the other room where there was some kind of clearing. Not much in the way of "passing lanes". I can notice some of them starting to reform in my current home when I'm not staying on top of the clutter. If you have a lot of stuff but no real sign of goat paths, then perhaps you have your stuff under control. Otherwise...well, you know.
