I was looking back at some of the posts I wrote over the past four years. Here are a few of them I thought you might like.
“Being Organized is a Journey Not a Destination”
“Change Your Attitude Change Your Life”
Blast From the Past Read More »
A couple of years ago I wrote a post about how things can be freeloaders in our homes. Many times we have such an emotional attachment to our things that we lose sight of what’s of value to our lives and what isn’t.
I looked up the definition of “clutter” in my Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Granted this book was the 1997 version and some definitions may have change. Anyway, it says that clutter is a number of things scattered in disorder or a jumble. It doesn’t say that any of the things are junk, just that they are “scattered in disorder”.
Maybe this definition is part of the problem with understanding if our things are just cluttered or if they are freeloaders. To understand how I defined what is a freeloader and what isn’t with regards to our things, please check out this blog post.
Our lives are busy and sometimes we just don’t have time to keep everything organized. But at some point it will become more than just a little mess. This blog post explains what the difference is.
Is It Clutter or Just a Little Mess?
The more we educate ourselves on what is just a mess, what is clutter, what is a freeloader, and even what is junk and what is treasure, the easier it will be to emotionally detach ourselves from our things. Without our emotions clouding our logical thinking we will be able to decide which things have earned the right to live in our home and which should be kicked to the curb.
This article asks 12 questions that can help you think clearly as to whether your things are junk or treasure.
Please let me know in the comment section what kind of “freeloaders” you have found living in your home.
To a lighter load along the way.
Janice
Has Your Clutter Earned the Right to Live in Your Home? Read More »
If clutter and organization are a problem for you (most likely since you’re reading this blog) then I’m sure you’re always looking for an easy way to solve that problem. Even if you take the time and effort to clear out the clutter it’s so hard to keep it from coming back. After all, we have to buy food, clothes, and household items on a regular basis. Then there is the incoming mail, school papers, gifts, etc.
We can’t prevent everything from coming into our homes nor would we want to. But we do have the power to control many things that might become clutter if we take a little time to plan ahead.
One of the easiest and simplest ways is to use a shopping list. Yes, I said a shopping list. I know that sounds boring and ruins the fun of shopping. But, most of the items that become clutter are purchased on impulse and without planning.
Creating a habit of making a shopping list every time you go to a store will help reduce the chance of bringing clutter into your home now and in the future. This really is an easy habit to create if you have the right tools always available. I use a white board on my refrigerator for grocery and other household items I’ve run out of or want to buy. I also make sure I have pen and paper to transfer that list to take with me. I know a lot of people are using their smart phones to make the list. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as you make that list before going to the store.
Think about it. How often have you stopped at the grocery store without a list and bought items you thought you needed. When you got home you found there were several cans/packages of that item already on the shelf or in the freezer. If you use it up before the expiration date then that’s great. But if you don’t get around to using the item (because you have too many) before it’s expired then you’ve not only created clutter you’ve also wasted money.
The same thing holds true for clothes shopping, back to school shopping, or any other kind of household shopping. If you make a list before you go to the store you’ll know exactly what you need or want. No guessing involved! That will reduce the times you purchase something that ends up as clutter. Therefore you’re preventing clutter from entering your home to begin with.
Remember, a bargain isn’t a bargain if it ends up as clutter!
So make that list. Check it twice. Then you’ll find it so much easier to keep your home nice.
To a lighter load along the way.
Janice
One Easy Way to Prevent Clutter Read More »
I was reading a blog post from “Be More With Less” where she talked about doing experiments on how to live with fewer things. She said to look at these experiments as temporary.
This seemed to hit a cord with me. The definition of experiment is: a test, trial, or an act or procedure for the purpose of discovering something unknown.
The unknown can be learning to live without clutter. Of course everyone’s definition of clutter is different. Most of the time it’s the fear of having nothing left after we clear out the clutter keeps us from taking actions. A temporary experiment with decluttering might just be the way to discover those fears are unfounded.
I decided to give it a try. Somehow my clothes closet has grown smaller over the past several years. I figured that is a good place to set up an experiment. Tackling one section at a time should help to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
I started by taking everything off the 3 foot rod where most of my tops are hanging.
When I piled them on the bed I separated them by winter, summer, and all those T-shirts that have accumulated from special events or vacations.
I packed away the winter clothes in under-the-bed boxes. Since it’s summer, I’ll deal with those clothes this fall.
After all the extra hangers were put in another closet, I hung the summer clothes back in my closet. I easily got rid of six summer tops, but I know I need to declutter more.
After putting the summer tops back in the closet I realized I had 13 more clean tops hanging in the laundry room. They are not in the photo above so needless to say my closet will still be crowded.
In this step comes the real “experiment”. All the vacation/event T-shirts (the ones laying on the bed in the above picture) were hung up in a closet in another room. I always think I’ll wear them to work out in the yard but I never do.
The next thing is to mark a calendar or desk planner for a date in September. Summer will be winding down so that will be a good time to make a decision on whether to keep those T-shirts or not. Maybe by then I’ll discover I can live without them and give them away.
Summer is the time we naturally “lighten up”. Take advantage of this time to experiment with different areas that are cluttered in your home. Pack away books, trinkets, and other items on your shelves. Live with the uncluttered summer cottage look for several months. Then decide if you miss all those things.
Remember, the experiments are temporary. You’re preforming the experiment to see if you can live without many things that clutter up your home. You don’t have to get rid of anything just yet.
Of course if there are things you’re ready to let go of now, then go for it! That will be less to deal with later.
If you’ve preformed an experiment like I described above I would love to hear about it.
To a lighter load along the way.
Janice
An Experiment in Clothes Closet Clutter Read More »
During this past month there have been so stresses in my life I haven’t spent any time on writing blog posts. I have spent some time taking care of myself to heal some of the emotional wounds that have been building for a long time.
One way I took care of myself was to go to the annual St. Louis Book Fair. It is sponsored by Macy’s as a fundraiser to benefit local non-profit education and literacy programs. It’s been going on for 60 years. I remember going with my mother and sisters when I was a child.
Because I have way too many books for my current bookshelves (their double stacked already) I have avoided going to the fair for about 5 or 6 years. This year was different. It was time to get back to doing something I love. But it also required making a promise to myself to declutter some of the old books so I don’t feel guilty about buying new ones.
With some birthday money (my birthday was last Thursday) I went to the book fair on Friday. I ended up buying 19 books. Some were cookbooks (3) and the rest were non-fiction books. I didn’t even go over to the fiction book section because I still have a few I haven’t read yet.
On Saturday I found a box and started going through one shelf at a time to pull out some books I could get rid of. If you’re a booklover like I am you know how hard it is to let go of them. Since the majority of my books are non-fiction I always feel like I’m giving away a valuable resource. Even with so much information easily available on the internet I still find it had to let them go.
So far I have 23 books in my box. Yea me! Since I bought 5 books last week at Goodwill (first time there in over a year) plus the 19 books bought at the book fair I feel I have done pretty well so far. Even with pulling that many books off the shelves I still don’t have enough room for the new books. Therefore I will get another box and work on filling that one. I have four more bookcases like the two below.
My local Macy’s store collects books year round for this book fair. My goal is to have a least 30 and hopefully 40 books to take to the loading dock by next week. I’ll be paying it forward so those books can be sold next year to help support the education and literacy programs. That way more children and adults will be able to learn how to read all the magic and knowledge that books contain between their covers.
There are lots of ways to pay the love of reading forward. I remember one year I had a garage sale and because it was cold and rainy there were very few customers. Right before closing up a young woman came in looking for children’s books which I had a few. She said she was going to be a new 1st grade teacher in the fall and was buying reading books for her classroom. I gave her the whole pile of books for free. It felt so good to help out a new teacher that would be able to instill the love of reading to her many students.
So pay the love of reading forward by donating your books to a charity, local school, or a new teacher starting out. If you’re not reading them anymore then they aren’t doing anyone any good sitting on your shelves.
To a lighter load along the way.
Janice
If you’re planning on having a garage sale be sure to check out the eBook:
“How To Declutter With A Garage Sale”
It will help you from start to finish with clearing the clutter out of your home.
How to Pay the Love of Reading Forward with the Gift of Books Read More »
