By RAY WADDLE

Years ago I started a notebook of quotes in order to fight the clutter.

By collecting the oddest or most memorable jibes and insights from all the magazines and newsletters that came, I could finally say good riddance to the piled-up periodicals all over the house.

... “If God lived on Earth people would break his windows.” -- Jewish proverb
... “Liberal -- someone who cannot take his own side in an argument.” -- Robert Frost
... “The amount of money one needs is terrifying.” -- Beethoven

But it’s not working. The daily mail keeps coming. The clutter mounts. I take more magazines than ever, tempted by free subscriptions that burn frequent flyer miles.

... “It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.” -- Alfred Adler
... “I have a simple philosophy. Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches.” -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth

“Cleanliness is next to godliness” -- generations of kids cowered before this over-achieving proverb, which sounded suitably biblical and hygienic. But it’s no longer enough, not in a non-stop consumer era of mail-order catalogues and high-speed spam. New initiatives rise to come to our aid: National Clutter Awareness Week (really) and Feng Shui advocates who warn that clutter clogs the arteries of your house and your life.

... “It is possible to own too much. A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never quite sure.” -- Lee Segal

But clutter has its uses. Last week I found a news clipping on the floor that I hadn’t seen in 12 years. It detailed recent church-growth trends, circa 1993. One prediction: Evangelical Christians will give up on politics by year 2000. It was a good reminder of the futility of predictions. I will hunt for more nuggets of illumination among the Sports Illustrated issues (late ’60s) and phone bills (late ’80s) in the closet.

... “An unexamined dream is like an unopened letter from God.” -- Elie Wiesel
... “What fresh hell is this? -- Dorothy Parker, hearing the phone ring.

And clutter produced the useful quote book that I keep handy. I’ve read from it at Sunday school classes. (“Christ has no body on earth now but yours.” -- St. Teresa of Avila) and writer workshops (“Aim high and tell the truth.” -- V.S. Naipaul.)

Last year I spoke about clutter -- word clutter -- to a group of young writers. A new generation of aspiring authors is trying to turn the clutter of life into art, take control of their whirring spiritual experiences, find a voice and tell a story.

... “Writing has become the new religion, a chance to meet the world before we die.” -- Natalie Goldberg
... “Forget the career and do the work.” -- Al Pacino

I quoted godfathers of good writing like William Zinsser, George Orwell and William Strunk. Avoid unnecessary words, they preach. Reject jargon and cliché. Be precise, not vague. Be a merciless pruner. Most first drafts can be cut by 50 percent.

I also quoted Frederick Buechner: “Listen to your life. There really is a God, and God speaks powerfully to you through the events of your life.”

The conference was hosted by Earlham College, a Quaker school in Richmond, Ind. Quaker spirituality is the enemy of spiritual clutter. Quaker ideals honor simplicity, modesty, peacemaking, equality -- a vision of God rising out of silence. Their church liturgies are stripped to the bone. Quiet communion with God matters more than wordy speech. These straightforward virtues shine forth from the divine “inner light” that God has wired in every person.

... “The light that shows us our sins is the light that takes them away.” -- Quaker George Fox
... “The world is equally shocked at hearing Christianity criticized and seeing it practiced.” -- Elton Trueblood

No wonder Quakers have raised a crop of remarkable writers over the generations -- from William Penn to Elton Trueblood, Parker Palmer, Richard Foster, Tom Mullen, Elizabeth Gray Vining, Brent Bill and James Michener -- witnesses to clean lines of spirit and truth. They inspire all writers to keep up the fight for clarity.

But clutter never sleeps. Until I get professional help (psychological or hazmat), I’ll keep gleaning quotes like a November harvest.

... “The wind of God is always blowing. But you must hoist your sail.” — Francois Fenelon