Clutter sneaks up on you, like reading glasses and extra chins.

The older you get, the more stuff you accumulate. The stuff you accumulate at some point ceases to be stuff and becomes clutter.

This transition happens quickly. One day, you're turning the key to your new home; the next, you're thinking of bringing in search dogs and heavy machinery to find a missing family member.

For the most part, clutter is neither good nor bad, if left alone. If you decide to confront clutter, however, then it is mostly bad. This is particularly true if you have married clutter. The law of married clutter goes like this:

• What the man views as treasure, the woman sees as junk.

• What the woman views as heirloom, the man sees as kindling.

There are many other types of clutter. There is everyday clutter, which includes such items as reading material, dishes, clothing, mail, food, DVDs and anything else you have to hurriedly gather up if an in-law is coming over.

There is garage clutter, which is heavy on tools, lawn and garden equipment, ladders, extension cords and the occasional motor vehicle.

There is basement clutter, which is generally made up of stuff deemed too heavy to carry up to the attic.

Then there is attic clutter, generally considered to be the mother of all clutter. Attic clutter falls into three groups:

• Things that are too good to just throw away.

• Things that you might need someday.

• Things with sentimental value.

What all attic clutter has in common, of course, is that until you come across it, you totally forgot you had it.

Note: This list purposely excluded relationship clutter, which, while involving excessive amounts of old baggage, is a whole other topic.

Anyway, inevitably there comes a day when one is forced by circumstances — downsizing, divorce — to de-clutter. There are numerous systems and approaches for dealing with such a crisis of clutter, and I have carefully reviewed them all.

My recommendation?

Marriage counseling and/ or remortgaging.