Lauren Williams's (casualuncluttering) Blog

Spendaholism, compulsive buying, compulsive shopping disorder, overspending, overshopping, shopaholism. It's as real as alcoholism and just as destructive. It can contribute to hoarding. And it's winked at, even grossly encouraged, around the world. "Just a girl's night out." "A boy and his toys....

To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop by April Lane Benson is a critical tool for anyone suffering from spendaholism (compulsive buying, compulsive shopping disorder, overspending, overshopping, shopaholism). Dr. Benson, who passed away 3/29/2021, was an internationally recognized...

HURRAH, HOARDING SHOWS I LIKE!!!!! I am sooooooooooooooooooo soooooooooooooooo thrilled to be able to point people to hoarding reality TV which is gentle, thoughtful, empathetic, realistic and even carefully humorous. We need to go across the pond to Britain. Jasmine Harman, Help for Hoarders, br...

Do you go with the flow? Turn on a dime? Breeze through? I've written before about tiny nuances of language that fascinate me. The experiments of what to say to yourself and others, for  encouragement, to make decisions, to exchange and learn ideas more easily, may not be easy, but absolutely wor...

"Dear Lauren, I would have liked to send a cute card, but this way the check will be sent! I will not let 'cute' get in the way of 'done.'"

I used to be a poet. Attended workshops, co-edited some student-run creative magazines, participated in readings. Here's the T. Rex in the room: "I used to..." Imaginative instincts never leave you. They just go fallow. I set myself a challenge, June 1, 2021, to start writing a poem a day. Haven'...

I don't feel great today: spent much of last week at an online conference - HAD AN AMAZING TIME. BUUUUTTT... I was waking up at 5:15AM. I don't do 5:15AM. Haven't done 5:15AM since my undergrad days, and I AIN'T gonna 'fess up to how long ago that was. And I was awful about my diet, to "cope." Su...

I recently posted about complicated grief, grief which a person gets stuck in for longer and/or more intense periods than is considered typical. The usual cause of complicated grief may be the loss of a loved one, but I found myself curious about the possibility that other losses could bring it o...

I stumbled on The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking in a thrift shop (of course) and what a little book it is - a tiny 221 pages, merely  5" x 7" x 1". Published 2017, so not so late on the hygge bandwagon that I'd call it a copycat. Written by a real Dane! And not just any Dane. CEO of the Hap...

My counselor asked me how my session with you went and I told her I wanted you to adopt me! Jessica B., Snohomish, September 2021But the photo above is still, and will always be, my favorite, from Sam, age 10.