Declutter Life

MinimalistBeth

2012-02-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been watching the YouTube channel created by minimalistbeth, a woman who is in the process of slowly getting rid of the majority of her possessions in order to pay down debt, live simply and move back to her home in New York. Her basic and to the point videos are inspirational and reflect what a lot of Americans I'm sure are feeling: a desire to live with a lot less and to hopefully become happier and healthier in the process. Beth is now living in one room of her Phoenix apartment, has no car or TV and will soon be quitting her job and packing her minimalist wardrobe to fly off to a better life. Good luck Beth!

Simplify Your Signature

2012-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Over the years, my signature has gone from my full name (all 23 letters!) to just my first name and the initial of my last name and now it is just one large capital "C" to represent my first name. One woman at one store had the nerve to say that my single letter signature wasn't a signature. I boldly looked her right in the eye and told it it WAS a signature and it was mine.

How many things a day to you have to sign? Credit card receipts, purchase orders, FedEx or UPS packages, work items or paperwork? How much time could be saved by simplifying your signature. Before I reduced the size of my signature, I dreaded having to write out my name, now I actually enjoy writing that big, bold "C".

Photo by Hammer51012/Flickr

Phasing Out of Facebook

2012-02-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

Facebook is on the brink of one of the largest IPO's in history. No one really knows what this will do for the millions of Facebook users and businesses, but we do know that it will make a few people very, very wealthy. Even with all the IPO hubbub, what if you decide you are tired of being part of the largest social media network in the world? How about dumping Facebook for good?

Many users of Facebook have shown their displeasure about the social media network's privacy issues, and according to a PCMag.com poll over 50 percent of Facebook users have considered moving over to Google+ instead.

If you are having a difficult time removing yourself from the most popular social network ever created, then do it in phases. Each phase will help any Facebook addict to slowly quit the pull of status posts, Farmville and the Timeline.

Phase #1

Cut down Facebook time to once or twice a week instead of daily. In addition to this, don't stay logged into Facebook all day. It makes it too tempting to just stop what you're doing and get lost in Facebook-land.

Stop putting your entire life on Facebook. Only post your status once or twice a week and don't let everyone know everything you are doing or every place you are going.

Stop liking things on Facebook. Don't use your finger or your mouse to vote on what you "Like"; not even for that free pack of gum or entry into a movie ticket contest.

Phase #2

Lurk instead of Like. You can still lurk around Facebook and view other friends' comments, photos, videos, etc., but don't post any status updates or click on any "Like" buttons.

Tell them you are outta here. Contact your closest friends on FB and tell them you are slowly phasing out and give them your Google+ information, Twitter account or email address.

Move your photos over to Google+. The blog, nicomachus.net, has a nice guide on how to move your accumulation of photos from Facebook to Google+.

Phase #3

Delete your account. If this makes you nervous, you can reactivate your Facebook account after 14 days of deleting it. If after 14 days, you are having withdrawals, you can always go back.

Tucking it Away

2012-01-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

I'm on the lookout for a small cabinet armoire to put in my office in which to house my small collection of books and office supplies. The length, width, color, wood doesn't matter so much as it has to have doors that can close.

The simple act of closing the doors on something as basic as some books, files and paperwork can be powerful. It's a mental vacation from items that remind you of work, study, to-do lists, receipts and bills. When the doors are open, it's time to work; when they are closed, it's time to relax and play.

Besides, open shelves collect dust.

Photo by Dave Jones/Flickr

End of Year Decluttering

2011-12-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

Another year is about to end, and leaving with it should be the detritus that tends to gather over the months. The end of the year is a great time to clean up your email, clean up that cluttered computer desktop and maybe even dump a few friends on Facebook. Even though this cleaning session is only for electronic clutter, the mass of information can weigh heavily on your psyche.

Here are the three things that I will be doing to welcome 2012 with a fresh outlook:

1. Clean up email inboxes

Why does it seem like at the end of each year I get the dreaded "Your inbox is nearly full" message? Oh yes, I've been just keeping everything (and their attachments) in my inbox. I will be dumping both received and sent messages that are over 8 months old and I will be saving some messages and their attachments in a Dropbox account or in a file that is related to the project. I also remove emails that are rated as "Enormous".

I will be doing this with both my work and personal email accounts. Remember to also clean out any email accounts that you use primarily for forwarding purposes and to dump the Trash for each account.

2. Organize projects

Do a full backup of all your 2011 projects. Then do a backup of your backup. I have three systems of backups: an off-site server, an external hard drive and on DVD. The server and external drive are for more current projects, while the DVD is usually for projects that are three or more months old. Getting old projects out of your sight will enable you to concentrate more on the current projects.

3. Clean up Facebook

Facebook is used for everything now including logging onto other sites, posting comments and creating accounts. The end of the year is a good time to remove yourself from groups you are no longer interested in, to dump old (and potentially embarrassing) photos, remove apps that have access to your account, and remove old messages.

Take a good look at your "friends". Can some of them quietly disappear? If you are not interested in being friends with random people, then click on the Friends area of your account, click their checked Friends box and scroll down to Unfriend. It's painless.

Now, to remedy removing a few of your friends, take some time to catch up with your true friends on Facebook. Send a note to someone you have been meaning to say hello to for a while and maybe plan an off-Facebook meet-up.

Photo courtesy of Muffet/Flickr

The Capsule Wardrobe

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia calls a "capsule wardrobe" a set of clothing, normally around 24 items, which can be mixed and matched to create a wide variety of outfits. The idea is aimed at people who want to make the most of a small clothing budget, or people who find that they spend a lot of money on clothes that they never wear.

My already minimized wardrobe will be getting a capsule makeover as well. I'm determined to get my clothing items down to 20 pieces. On top of those 20 pieces will be a few hats, scarfs and some jewelry to dress each item up or down.

The keys parts of a capsule wardrobe are:

1. Each item should go with several other items. You should be able to pair a shirt with several pants and skirts and a pair of shoes with many different outfits.

2. Keep to several colors. Have you seen those massive wardrobes that look like a fabric rainbow? There are so many clothes that they need to be color coordinated. Keep your wardrobe to four or five basic colors. Mine happen to be black, gray, purple/mauve/blue and red.

3. Make sure you love each item. In this previous blog post, I said you should look at your closet as if you are going to a party. Do you walk into the party and see all your best friends, or do walk in and see only people you don't know? Each item of clothing should fit, be comfortable and you should want to reach for them over and over again.

The difficult part is how to have a capsule wardrobe when you live in an area with four distinct seasons. The lightweight blouses in my closet have to share space with bulky fleece, flip-flops have to share space with clunky winter boots. So, I've decided to have a capsule wardrobe for warm weather and a capsule wardrobe for cold weather. Items from the warm weather section can also be used (T-shirts, long sleeve T-shirts) as layers for winter.

Now, my goal is just to look as fabulous as Miss Golightly.

Photo courtesy of pwbaker/Flickr

Why do we keep certain things?

2011-12-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

As I look around my space, I begin to wonder why I keep the things I do. I keep a green bowl that I bought in Ireland because it was the same color as the water in Dingle Bay in County Kerry. The bowl is full of shells, rocks and coins from Fiji, Florence and Florida.

I keep a beat-up old wind chime out in my Russian Olive tree because the little tune it makes reminds me of warm, summer breezes. I keep a small statue of the Buddha in my office because he makes me want to take a deep, soothing breath each time I look at him.

Is there a special meaning behind each item that you keep? If there isn't, you might not want to keep it. Of course, a random kitchen item or a comfortable shirt might not have any meaning behind it, but if you can give it a back story, you can give it more of a reason to stay in your home.

Photo courtesy of jakeprzespo

Decluttering (Not) Your Office

2011-10-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

Do you work in a typical cubicle environment where your gray cube or office is spic and span? What about that empty cube across the hall? You know the one: the employee was laid off or left two years ago and it has become either a storage space or has masses of scattered files that date back to 2003. In your decluttered life, doesn't that cube give you itchy fingers? Don't you just want to tackle that space and make it gray and shiny once again?

This is a rocky position to be in. Your supervisor and other employees could be the types to support your efforts, or they could see you as a busybody that has no business straightening up an area that's not yours. What's the best way to go about it?

1. It helps if you have some seniority. I'm in this position right now where a few offices and cubes down the hall from me are bursting at the seams with remnants of old conferences, un-filed files, awards that were never given to their recipients and employees' children's toys.

As the senior employee, I am using this stance to say "This stuff from 10 years ago was supposed to be filed away, but wasn't. I'll take care of it." I then proceed to use the circular file religiously.

2. Tell instead of ask. I initially asked in a roundabout way if the work was ever going to get done. Nothing came of that. So before even tossing a paperclip, I took some meeting time to mention that I was just taking a few mornings (I come in early) to straighten a few cubicles up. That was received more positively.

3. Announce that it would make the department look a little more professional. We have a new employee coming in soon and I don't want us to look like slobs...except I don't say it like that.

4. Make use of the company's locked recycle bins and shredders. Have a large recycle bin available nearby and make sure the cleaning crew will be emptying out it and the garbage cans each night.

5. Create a "To Be Filed" box. Don't throw away or recycle everything. That could cause some issues with people who are addicted to printing and filing everything. Items that you are not sure of should go in this box with a dated sticky note on top. Give this filing job to an intern.

6. Show off your work. Once everything is clean and organized, decorate with a small plant or some art and show off your hard work. Tell everyone where they can find things that have been filed and accept some recommendations. The plant or artwork will hopefully deter the department from filling up the cubicle again with office detritus.

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall/Flickr

Extreme Couponing = Hoarding?

2011-06-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

The show, Extreme Couponing on TLC is another "shock and awe" program along the lines of 19 Kids and Counting and Toddlers & Tiaras. It profiles people and families who live to clip coupons and save as much money as they can on their grocery trips.

It is fascinating to see what people can get for free with some store and online research, good math skills and a lot of quick scissor work. Many of the people on the show spend 40-70 hours a week doing their coupon work and amass huge stockpiles of food, beauty and home products. Much of it they donate to their local food bank or shelter. I'm all for never paying full price, but these people will not get anything unless it is free. In addition, they will get anything that could potentially be free, even if they don't need it.

Their desire for more and more stuff seems to take over their lives. One woman who was profiled lives to shop and get things for free, and her overflow of items is taking over her house and has even started making their way into her husband's "man cave". One shopping trip took at least half a day with over two hours spent checking out at several registers.

Another person on the show was able to get their $1,000 bill down to $50. But what did they get? Dozens of bottles of sugary soda, hundreds of boxes of pre-made noodles, candy bars and a huge container full of deodorant. Personally, for $50, I would rather have some fresh produce, some great cheese, bread and wine and some excellent organic meat...and I would be able to fit it into my refrigerator.

Organizing Modularly

2011-06-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

The term "module" is popping up in many different areas: teaching, biology, new media, design, architecture, etc. A module is a fully-functioning and self-sufficent item or piece of information that can be connected to another item or piece of information. For example, modular housing uses self-contained structures that can be attached to each other to make a full-sized house; modular Web design uses self-contained, fully written code that is combined with other "containers" of code to create an entire website. Another key to modules is that they are interchangeable.

When decluttering and organizing your home or space, think modularly. Is your wardrobe fully functional on its own or do you have to go to other parts of the house or your bedroom for your shoes, underwear or accessories? Does your garage work as a self-contained unit that can be used for all your yard and outdoor gear? Does your vehicle (as its own separate module) seamlessly fit in with the garage? If not, really think about how you use each area of your home, and try to make each area work on its own as well as with the rest of the house.

Photo courtesy of [jared/Flickr]

One is Enough

2011-05-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

This concept just hit me the other day: one is enough. There is no need to stock up on multiple items of clothing, shoes or electronics. One is all you can use at one time. Even though you have two ears, two eyes and two hands, you can only listen to, read and type one thing at a time. You can only drive one car at a time, you can only ride one bike. This idea has freed up a lot of mind clutter, and the desire to stock up on items that I will eventually forget I've stocked up.

Photo courtesy of [Mrs. Logic/Flickr]

Disasters and Our Stuff

2011-05-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

It seems there have been numerous disasters hitting our world this year: the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Alabama tornadoes and now the Mississippi flooding. When faced with these types of disasters, whether we are in them or watching them on the news, we wonder how we would react to an act of nature destroying our lives and worldly possessions.

I was recently watching a documentary on the Katrina disaster and I wondered about the people who chose to stay in the city even after being warned about the hurricane's strength. I hope most of these people were not staying for their things.

Imagine losing everything you own. How would you feel? Of course, it would be difficult to lose your house and all the items you've worked hard to obtain, but what about the things in your house? Are you so attached to your furniture, TVs, computers, knick-knacks and dinnerware that you would risk your life to stay with them? If you feel that you wouldn't miss these items at all, you might react differently during a disaster than someone who holds on to everything and sees value in everything they own. No matter what you do, there is no physical way you could save your house from a tornado or an earthquake.

Tammy of Rowdy Kittens has a great post on putting together an emergency/disaster bag and in addition to her list of items to pack like food, water, first aid and copies of personal paperwork I would like to add the following:

Children and pets
Make sure your children and pets have their own supplies including emergency backpacks for the kids and carrying cases and food for pets.

Laptop
If you can't take your computer, make sure to back up important files from your computer to DVD or to a free Dropbox account.

Personal photos
These should also be backed up digitally.

Your purse or wallet
During a disaster, the last thing you want to leave behind is your ID, some cash, keys or a cell phone.

Yourself
Your safety always come before your things.

Photo courtesy of [Fox News Insider /Flickr]

Dumping Virtual Clutter

2011-04-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

How in the world did I end up with four email accounts? I have a Gmail account, a freelance account, a work account, and a Hotmail account for friends and spam that I have been checking since 1995. This week I made a decision that I will be dumping the Hotmail account for several reasons: the junk mail outweighs the regular mail, I don't particularly like the features of Hotmail or the news from MSN, I don't really use Windows Live or MSN Messenger, and I need to simplify my virtual life even more. So I'm saying goodbye to my 16-year-old email account.

First, I'm contacting all my friends and family and letting them know that they can email me at my Gmail account instead. As I do that I will be deleting the addresses of people I no longer write and updating other friends' addresses. Second I will be changing the email address for my bank, Paypal, Ebay, Amazon and other companies who have my address on file. And last, I will backup a few old emails by forwarding them to my Gmail account.

Virtual clutter is still clutter. Even though I can just stop checking my Hotmail account, I would rather just remove it from my everyday to-do list.

Photo courtesy of [freezelight]

The Minimal Gym Bag

2011-03-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of culling my rather large gym bag down to a more manageable system. For years, I've been dragging around a large L.L. Bean bag that is rarely full of gym items. The half-empty bag then takes up most of the room in my very small gym locker and I end up always trying to shove it in. So, I am getting rid of the bag and scrutinizing what I need at the gym.

I do several gym "sports" including running, walking, stairmaster, aerobics, Zumba, yoga and swimming. I've realized that I only need one set of gym clothes for everything and just a swimsuit, cap and goggles for swimming laps. So my gym "system" now consists of:

running shoes
one pair of socks
a sports bra
tank top
yoga pants
swimsuit
cap + goggles

There is nothing extra like another pair of socks, a hoodie or various t-shirts.

The toiletry portion of the gym bag has also gotten minimized. The bottom of my bag was always littered with half-empty shampoo bottles, hair clips, combs and dried up bars of soap. Now I have:

olive oil soap for both body + hair
conditioner
lotion

With just the addition of a small, easy to dry towel and some flip-flops, I am on my way to a more minimal gym locker, all carried home in a slim tote bag when it's time to do some laundry.

Photo courtesy of [mikecpeck/Flickr]

What if you had to move onto a boat?

2010-12-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

...or into a tiny house? Or a basement or attic? Or a camping trailer or RV?

Sometimes I imagine having to move everything I own onto a 30-foot boat. Would I be able to? What would have to go bye-bye? Two of my favorite blogger/travelers, Pat and Ali of Bumfuzzle are doing it for the second time (the first was for a trip around the world) with their young daughter on a 43-foot Spindrift sailboat. Years ago, Jay Shafer moved his life into an 89 square foot tiny house, and Chad and Ana of Chanatrek did it in a VW bus.

Maybe when you get rid of everything, you don't lose what's left of your life...you gain the rest of the world.

Photo courtesy of phil_g/Flickr

Decluttering as Meditation

2010-12-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

When I am feeling a bit agitated or stressed, I find a surprising amount of relief from cleaning and decluttering my house or even just a small space like a closet. I don't know if it's the tossing of unwanted items or just the exertion caused by the work, but I always end up feeling better.

Meditation is used as a practice to declutter the mind, maybe it can be the other way around as well. Decluttering in order to calm the mind.

This article from AARP last January said it best:

"What you gradually discover, as you begin to declutter the space around you, is that as your personal ecosystem changes, your choices broaden, life feels more manageable, and your surroundings become better suited to who you are now—and what you're aiming for in the future."

Get a head start on your future, and on one of the New Year's top resolutions and clean out your closet and your mind.

Photo courtesy of [Two Roses/Flickr]

A New Year's Pledge

2010-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

I got this from Simple. Organized. Life. Perfect little mantra for the upcoming new year...and beyond.

Addicted to Decluttering

2010-11-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

I was planning on spending a good part of my Thanksgiving holiday doing some more decluttering and organizing, but just realized that I'm down to nearly nothing. I've sold, given away and thrown out nearly everything I can and I have not been buying anything new for some time. I was a little flustered. What was I supposed to do next? I now have all this free time!

It seemed a little silly, but I realized that you can get so wrapped up in decluttering, organizing and simplifying your life that you can become addicted to the chore. It's thrilling to make headway and to create a well ordered life, and when that's gone, you seem a little lost. What next? Well, I don't think you are ever really done. You still need to make sure that you keep unwanted items out of your life and with daily bombardments of advertising and holiday gift giving coming up, that's a chore in itself. So the best thing to do is find additional things to do with your time: read, write, take a walk, laugh and love...or enjoy a little dolce far niente.You deserve it.

Photo courtesy of rick/Flickr

"Storage Wars" on A&E

2010-11-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

I recently saw a preview for a new show on A&E called "Storage Wars". Teams of professional treasure hunters and buyers are profiled as they bid on repossessed storage units. The teams have five minutes to scan a recently opened storage unit and place their bids on sight-unseen items. Several teams even use devious tactics in attempt to walk away with whatever might be in the unit. Some of the teams dismiss a unit because the items look like junk.

It looks like it could be a fascinating show with the same typical dramatic music and exaggerated pressure used in "Ice Road Truckers". I will watch just to see what objects people are willing to pay to store...and then forget about. It is a little sad that people will feel their stuff is so important, that they are willing to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars a year to store it, just to drop the payments and have their precious items walk away in the hands of others. This show is another example of the effects of this economy, overbuying and too much stuff.

Fall Cleaning and Green Storage Solutions

2010-10-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Fall is a great time for cleaning out and organizing that closet, garage or storage shed that is really bugging you. It's a great time because the weather is cooler, the nesting instinct is settling in and you will be cooped up inside the house more due to the weather, so why not make your space more organized and habitable?

I will be tackling the yearly job of cleaning the garage this fall. It's fairly organized already, but over the summer it gets neglected as we go about doing our fun summer activities. Sports gear, house maintenance and yard supplies are starting to get jumbled together...so the cleaning and storing begins.

Sustainablog recently had a great post on green storage solutions that I am determined to use this season. One solution is creating a community sharing option. We have great relationships with our neighbors and I want to create a section of the garage where we can store items that we share with the neighbors and vice versa.

Photo by [Productive Porcupine]

Sentimental Clutter

2010-10-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

I recently saw these two questions from Naomi Seldin, the writer of the Simpler Living column for the Times Union:

If you’ve tackled sentimental clutter:

1. How did you get yourself to purge what you didn’t need?

2. How did you decide to keep those really important things without letting them take over your house?

There are several great comments from Naomi's readers on how to get rid of those meaningful items. I love the idea of taking a photo of the beloved item or donating the item to a charity that you or your family really cares about.

I think that when purging those beloved stuffed toys or your mother's silverware, you have to be in the right mood. Don't purge these items when you are feeling loss, self-doubt or sadness. Hold onto them for another day when you are feeling empowered and the need for organization and cathartic cleansing is top of mind. However, don't beat yourself up if you find it's too painful to get rid of an item. If you really want to keep it, it won't hurt you or anyone else to find a special place for it.

No matter what, I will never get rid of my 40-year-old Teddy Bear. You can't make me!

Photo by scazon/Flickr

7 Steps to Clean Up Your Financial Life

2010-08-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a good article from Bankrate on how to clean up and keep your financial life in order. Maybe the world's banks can use this advice as well?

You can't clean up financial clutter if you don't know where it is. That's why the first step is to make a list of all your financial accounts, credit cards, and other assets and debts. This balance sheet, of sorts, shows what you own and what you owe and can help you figure out what you don't need.

"Set up a foundation that establishes where you are: Make an inventory of accounts and a balance sheet, and then say, 'These can be consolidated. These are redundant. I don't use these. I didn't realize I had that,'" Ciccotello says.

Most people need only one or two bank accounts, perhaps one at a national or regional bank and another at a regional bank or credit union, says Ronit Rogoszinski, a wealth advisor at Arch Financial Group in Long Island, N.Y. More accounts mean only more paperwork, fees and exposure to identity theft. Forgotten accounts can be declared abandoned and confiscated by the state.

To clean up your bank accounts:

Make a list of the accounts.

Research which offer the best services at the lowest cost.

Stop or transfer any automatic deposits or payments on the less attractive accounts.

Instruct the financial institutions to close those accounts.

"A lot of banks have decreased overdraft protection or eliminated it, so you want to maintain that relationship with a bank that lets you maintain that line. Even if you don't need it, you want to hang onto it because getting that today is very hard," Rogoszinski says.

Closing credit accounts can hurt your credit score. But your score shouldn't be the only consideration in whether to close accounts you don't need. Use a few major credit cards responsibly and close other accounts to free yourself from paperwork, advertising catalogs, identity-theft risk and the temptation to overspend.
To clean up the clutter:

Make a list of your credit cards in order of the highest to lowest interest rate.

Transfer balances from the highest rates to the lowest.

Close the high-rate accounts.

Make more-than-minimum payments on the low-rate accounts.

Monitor the rates until the balances are paid off.

Don't be deterred by the stumbling blocks and special offers that credit card companies use to prevent account closures. Instead, "hold on, be persistent, ask for written confirmation that the account has been closed and then follow up and look for the closed account on your credit report," Ciccotello says. Repeat this line -- offered by Rogoszinski -- as many times as necessary to get the result you want: "Thank you, but I need to close this account."

Employees who change jobs often leave a trail of retirement accounts in the care of their former employers. As those accounts proliferate, it becomes difficult to manage the investments, and if a plan is transferred to a new manager, the assets may go missing or the investment choices may be very limited.

To get rid of 401(k) clutter, roll over old accounts to your new employer's plan as soon as you're eligible to do so. If your new employer doesn't offer this benefit, roll over into an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA. Some banks will count an IRA toward a minimum balance that can earn reduced or waived fees on a checking account or other services. Rolling over an old 401(k) when you start a new job also can reduce the temptation to cash out your investments.

"My philosophy is when you leave an employer, you take what's yours with you," Rogoszinski says.

Some people like to keep stock certificates, government savings bonds, uncashed checks and the like in hand because having the actual documents gives them a sense of financial security. The downside is that these documents are at risk of being misplaced, damaged or destroyed. To create more order, deposit securities and other negotiable instruments into a bank or brokerage account or keep them in a safe-deposit box. Make sure someone close to you knows where your assets are held or stored.

One tangible sign of out-of-control financial clutter is piles of monthly account statements -- or unopened envelopes that contain those statements. To get this paperwork under control, set up a filing system for current open accounts and stash the old statements, sorted by year and type of account, in shoe boxes. Write the year and the status of the accounts -- OPEN or CLOSED -- on the outside of each box. At the end of each year, pull the oldest boxes off the shelf and shred the contents.

Many people accumulate collectibles as a hobby. But these collections of postage stamps, coins, cars, artwork and other items can have an investment value as well. That means collectibles should be cataloged and insured as part of a financial clutter clean-up campaign.
"If you haven't thought of (your collectibles) in an organized balance sheet way, you may be missing that your homeowners insurance has a low limit and you have a lot of exposure if those items are stolen or lost in a fire," Ciccotello says.

If you've tired of a collection that has a high investment value, you might want to convert that "clutter" into cash and use the money to pay off debts or buy other assets.

Photo by Alan Cleaver/Flickr

Be Happy With What's Left

2010-08-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

So, you are in the process of decluttering and you realize that what you have left is not what you want. You just gave away your favorite and not-so-favorite books, clothes, dishes, plants and furniture and now you are stuck with nothing. Do you buy new items that you like and risk just cluttering up the house again? Or do you keep hold of a few things that you sort of like...but not really?

Most of the time, decluttering takes a little sacrifice, but some of the time it can create a clean slate to fill with a minimal amount of items that you absolutely love. When I got rid of all my excess mismatched dishes and bowls, I made an investment in some beautiful earthen pottery bowls that I love to eat everything out of: cereal, pasta, popcorn, soup.

After getting rid of or selling your unwanted items, take some time to really find out what you love. Maybe after all these years, you never liked delicate china cups to drink tea out of, maybe you are a big mug person after all.

Photo by Muffet

When is the best time to declutter?

2010-08-10T15:21:00.001-07:00

This summer has been my time to have fun. Decluttering and simple living has taken a bit of a back seat while I enjoy the beautiful summer sun, hiking in the mountains and camping.

However, when fall rolls around, I get that feeling again of wanting to cozy up with a book rather than with my hiking boots. When the air turns cold, I find myself going through my closet to find a fleecy sweater that has been relegated to the back of the closet. The nesting times of fall and winter might be the best times to tackle that decluttering job, it's a job that can take place while you are inside, waiting for that storm to blow over.

But, in the meantime, let yourself have some summer fun and forget about the stuff for a while.

Photo by peasap/Flickr

The One Box Concept

2009-11-18T10:20:00.001-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I have been busy with other jobs, blogs and a small but growing freelance business. Eventually I hope to export this blog over to Wordpress and contribute to it more often. In the meantime, I will post to it when I can.

In the last few weeks, I have been further decluttering my home and have come up with a concept that seems to work for me. I attempt to declutter enough of a certain item so that what I have left fits into one box: all books should fit into one box, all clothes into one box or suitcase, all mementos into one box.

Now, you have to be able to carry the box once it is full, so it doesn't help to be putting your items into a box the size of a refrigerator. One office paper box or medium sized box from Uhaul should be sufficient.

This has been a bit of a challenge for me with kitchen supplies. Right now all my kitchen supplies fit into about four medium sized boxes. They used to fit into about ten of them, so I am getting better at purging.

Try it. It's freeing to know that you can carry each of your favorite items in just one box.

Photo by ewan and donabel/Flickr

Decluttering the Home Office

2009-03-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Many people these days are escaping the cubicle to work from home, but while a lot of energy can go into running your own business, some of that energy has to be used to keep an organized and efficient home office. This article in the New York Times shows how a custom decluttering solution can work for individual work personalities. For more excellent before and after photos of work spaces, check out the Workspace of the Week on Unclutterer.

Play the Percentages

2008-11-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

When you know you have to get rid of a large amount of stuff, but you can't quite make yourself get rid of the entire amount, choose a percentage that you know has to be gone. That gives you some leeway on what you can keep. It also forces you to go through the entire batch and figure out exactly what that percentage is.

Say you have 100 magazines that are taking up half a closet. You are allowed to keep 40 of them, but 60 have to go. Go through the entire 100 magazines and choose your 40 favorites. You are not completely out of your favorite magazines, but you have a more manageable load. Before you know it, you will eventually want to lose a percentage of the 40 you have decided to keep.

Is Technology Leading Us to a Simpler Life?

2008-08-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that the options for having a simpler, less cluttered life seem to be getting getting more varied? Ten years ago a healthy music collection could take up an entire wall. Now you can fit thousands of songs and albums on one pocket-size device. Televisions used to be heavy, obstinate objects that needed their own piece of furniture. Now they are slim enough to hang on the wall. Rachael Ray has shown us how to use less in the kitchen and spend less time in the kitchen.

Even though we seem to spend even more time keeping up with and learning about new technolgy, what we do learn we can utilize to declutter and simplify our lives. We have no need for loads of backup CDs and DVDs when we have Mozy, our library of books has been reduced down to the size of the Kindle even our home paperwork can be banished to cyberspace with EverNote or Pixily.

Organized Information on iTunes

2008-07-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

I ran across these quick and dirty tips for organizing your life from the Savvy Organizer on iTunes. I especially like her tips on photographing your clutter and viewing it later in a different light. I have also been listening to other podcasts on decluttering and organization that are nice little tidbits of information which keep me motivated:

Taste and See: Organized Living
The Neat Organizer

"Don't Think It, Ink It"

2008-07-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Here is another tip from professional organizer and life coach Hellen Buttigieg that I wholly believe in. Going back to my One Book concept, she also recommends keeping a notebook to write down every thought, list, idea and plan that rattles around your head. Her idea was "Don't Think It, Ink It". Granted that not every person is a writer, but almost everyone jots down thoughts or things to remember on sticky notes, scraps of paper or the backs of envelopes. Some people find it easier and more efficient to use their PDA or cell phone for their lists, but actually taking the time to physically write it down seems to do wonders for clearing the mind.

I like to use the phrase, "The Brain Drain".

Time for the Smaller Car

2008-06-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

The nation's gas situation is not going to change. We will be living the rest of our lives with high gas prices and that will need to be accepted. So, if you don't want to pay the price, or you can't ride a bike, motorcycle or scooter. Getting a smaller car might be in your future.

The best thing about a smaller car (besides better gas mileage) is there is not a lot of room for storage or clutter inside the minuscule trunk or the tight back seat. Keeping a clean and tidy car will not only save you personal space, but it will help your overall gas mileage by not adding extra weight to the vehicle. In a post from Unclutterer it might also be unsafe to you and your passengers to drive with junk in your car.

One Place for Important Documents

2008-05-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have a fireproof safe hidden in our house that has all our important documents. If there were ever a fire or another disaster. Grabbing just one item would save us a whole lot of trouble.

Consolidate your important documents (marriage licenses, birth certificates, SSA cards) and put them into a safe, or easy to grab and carry plastic box with a lid and a handle. The Container Store carries some stylish document boxes.

Other information such as credit card information, tax information and bill payments are most likely stored in accounts online. So these are not so much of a worry. Think mostly about the items that would be hard to replace if destroyed.

Stay Organized While Traveling

2008-04-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

I recently got back from a trip to Florida and Bonaire and I realized that one reason I am able to enjoy my vacations so much is that 1) I don't bring too much stuff and 2) I stay organized, even when I am traveling and living in another location other than my home.

Taking only one suitcase on any trip is going to simplify your life and make your traveling so much easier. Making that one suitcase just a carry-on will simplify it even more. I know, I know...how do I fit all I need in one carry-on?

Enter the plastic zip close space saver bag. I am able to fit about two weeks worth of clothing in two of these bags. The rest of my items (shoes, underwear, toiletries) also go into their own Ziploc bags. Keeping each item, or group of items separate is the best way to stay organized and have more fun on your trip.

TSA will be proud!

Dumped

2008-03-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

The BBC America Channel is showing Dumped, a show about eleven people living for three weeks in a dump to highlight the mountain of trash thrown away needlessly in Britain. They are encouraged to find new ways to use trash and to recycle and make money from as much of it as possible. It is interesting to watch them become excited when a truckload of "new" items are dumped on their home. It just goes to show, that even when living in a trash heap, people still desire more.

If you don't want to throw it away, don't buy it in the first place.

The Comfort of Clutter

2008-03-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

I have an old teddy bear (who is missing both his eyes and is full of holes with stuffing coming out) who has traveled with me around the world, AND I would never give him up for the world. No matter how beat up and battered he gets.

There are some items in our lives that contain great memories or feelings of comfort and losing these items could greatly affect our feelings. Hopefully this attachment is limited to just one or two items instead of twenty. Sometimes we feel more comfortable if we are surrounded by items of comfort, like a nest.

But what happens if a fire or other destructive force were to take these items away? The loss of that comfort could be drastic, depending on your dependence.

Comfort should be found in a well-lived life, good friends, loving family members and a respected career ... not things. Keeping the comfort items to a minimum eliminates the feeling of having to constantly watch after and care for these items that seem to protect us from the outside world.

When You are a Piler, Not a Filer

2008-02-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Many people like to have their information within their sight or grasp – hence the pile. Pilers are different from other clutter groups in that their information is organized in piles in accordance to their own technique. This can create havoc on any space and can begin to squeeze the piler out of their home.

Piling is not a bad thing, it is a habit of more visual learners and creative types. According to Lee Silber of Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain there are some creative ways to make piling an art form.

1. Focus on the Positive
Put the most positive item of each item on top of your pile, e.g. the cheapest bill on top of the stack of bills to pay.

2. Get a Spine
Wrap another piece of paper around one stack to create a spine. Label that paper to indicate what's in that pile.

3. Hot, Hot, Hot
Divide your desk into sections and the most active section should be piles that need immediate attention such as read, pay, act, write, etc.

4. Put Your Piles on a Diet
Go through your piles every day or at least every week and remove the items that are not pressing. These should be filed, the opposite of piling.

Lose the Clutter, Lose the Fat?

2008-02-14T08:12:00.000-08:00

Peter Walsh of Oprah and Clean Sweep has a theory that people who have clutter are also overweight. The relationship between a dirty house and a dirty or unhealthy body are very close and I agree with him. Most people who have unruly clutter usually give up and just let things go, just like their bodies.

Walsh claims that those people who take the time and effort to keep a clean and organized home will also be more motivated to take care of themselves and lose weight. Hopefully this theory is starting to be tested right now.

Messy = Brilliant?

2008-02-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

A very interesting concept. The people at CBS Sunday Morning do seem very intellectual...

The DeCluttered Workday

2008-02-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

Thank you to zenhabits for a nice article on how to create a peaceful and productive workday. Remember, we spend over 2,000 hours a year at work. Make that time count.

The majority of the tips talk about decluttering...your desk, your timetable and your work life:

1. Do Less

2. Create a morning routine

3. Prepare the night before

...for more...

The Treasure Hunt

2008-01-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

When going through the decluttering process, a fun way to find out what to keep is to go on a treasure hunt through your home to find the items that are most meaningful to you. Put those in a pile or separate place. Whatever is left over is fair game for the garbage or the thrift store.

Five Boxes

2008-01-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

I was reading Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui which is a nice little introduction to decluttering, not only your space, but your body as well.

I liked the quick five box rule for decluttering. Items go into boxes or trash cans labeled Keep, Recycle, Trash, Repair or Dilemma, for those items we are just not sure of. The Dilemma box should be sorted through at another time.

Number 4 on the Resolution List

2008-01-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

According to FranklinCovey getting organized is the fourth most popular new year's resolution. And like most resolutions only about 8 percent of the 45 percent who make a resolution, end up achieving it.

The habit of disorganization cannot be changed in one day. It usually takes about three months of continuous positive change to create a new habit. Most disorganization and hoarding comes not from a too-small house or not enough time, but from a person's brain. The thought process of hoarding and organization has to be addressed first.

This year, make organizing first on your resolution list and your other resolutions will fall right into place.

The Story of Stuff

2007-12-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Here is another reason not to load up on stuff and to scrutinize our consumption. What shocked me was that 99% of what we purchase ends up in the trash within 6 months. Twenty minutes to change your life.

Holiday Decorations

2007-12-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

The holidays have become so full of plastic crap. At a big box store the other day I noticed the shoppers frantically loading up on giant, outdoor plastic Santas, snowmen and snow globes. How many hours do you think it will take to purchase these holiday decorations, set them up and light them? How many minutes will it take for a big gust of wind to knock them down?

Our attics are home to holiday decorations that only see the light of day for one month out of the year. Getting the decorations out and up is a full weekend job that most people grumble about. Not to mention taking them back down again.

I think the most wonderful things about the holidays are not the lights and the wrapping paper and bows, but the things that affect the senses. Go natural this holiday with the real scent of pine, the bright red of berries and the sound of birds or soft music. A walk through the woods on a winter afternoon will show you how nature decorates itself for the holiday: in a soft blanket of peace and quiet.

Multiple Uses Rule

2007-11-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Unclutterer has regular Unitasker Wednesday posts about ridiculous products that can only be used for one thing...panini makers, juicers, dog strollers. When buying an item, ask yourself if it can be used for more than one thing. If it can be used for up to three things, buy it.

7 Things You Might Not Realize Can Be Clutter

2007-11-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

1. Too many knick knacks, souvenirs and collections.

2. Walls covered with artwork, photos and other hanging stuff.

3. Too many pieces of furniture in a room.

4. Papers, magnets, and other stuff stuck to the front and sides of the fridge or kitchen cabinets.

5. An abundance of drinking glasses or plastic ware in kitchen cabinets.

6. Sample sizes of anything, especially makeup, that are not the colors or brands you use.

7. Sheet sets for sizes of beds you do not own, well worn sets, mismatched sets, or more sets than you could use in a year.

From 1000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets by Jamie Novak (great book!)

The One Hour Closet

2007-10-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

I took one hour and ruthlessly decluttered my closet. I looked at every article of clothing with scrutiny and ended up with a pile of unwanted items that took up my bedroom floor. One hour made a big difference in how I am able to organize my clothes. I just kept thinking the whole time, "What if I have to move into a small sailboat? Where would everything go?"

Is It Worth It?

2007-10-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, my husband bought what he thought would be a fun water toy: an AquaSkipper. It looks something like a bike with skis that is used to fly along the surface of a lake, provided you have a dock nearby to take off from.

Well, it's been a few years and he has yet gotten it to work correctly. It is large and difficult to maneuver, store and carry. I ask him if he is going to take it to the lake and he complains that it takes forever to put together and so it sits...in the garage...collecting dust.

It may seem a good idea at the time to buy something that might give you hours of fun or enjoyment, but is the time spent to haul, upkeep, clean or put together the object part of the fun?

My favorite possession is my kayak. Really. I see it as my escape from the world and use it as my own private island. I paddle away from trouble and enjoy the feel of sun on my face and water dripping down my hands and head. To me it's no trouble to store it, haul it onto the top of my car, drive it to a lake an hour away and haul it into said lake.

Anything that is more trouble or care than it's worth should not be part of your life, no matter how much money you spent on it.

Managing Your Tchotchkes

2007-10-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

We all have those little collectibles that we have garnered from world travels, discount store or boutique sales, kind friends and family members. But organizing them to show them to their highest capacity, yet keep them clutter free, can be a challenge.

1. GROUP LIKE ITEMS: Put items that are similar together. Put shells and rocks in bowls or vases, put figurines all on one shelf or together on a pretty tray, plate or charger.

2. ONE IN, ONE OUT RULE: If you get another tchotchke. Another one should be donated or given away.

3. DISPLAY, NOT PACK AWAY: Your favorite items should be on display all the time. Don't pack away items "for later". Later may never come. Live life today and enjoy what you have.

Help! I'm a Hoarder

2007-09-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

This show was on TLC a couple of nights ago and just goes to show the extreme hoarding problems that some people have. I got a better understanding of how long it can take to remedy of a hoarding problem and all the psychological aspects that go along with hoarding. People find their things to be a safe refuge from a sad, scary world.

Help! I'm a Hoarder

Organized camping

2007-08-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Even when my husband and I go camping, I try to keep our campsite and gear as organized and decluttered as possible. We bring only what we really need, plus a few personal items for our own comfort, like a book, soft pillow or socks, or our small camp hammock. Each thing has its own place and its own container. This is what we usually bring:

1. Tent
2. Sleeping bags, mattresses and pillows
3. A backpack each for our clothes and personal items
4. A cooler for cold foods
5. A dry box for our dry foods
6. "The Kitchen Box" which is a rugged plastic bin that holds our cooking pans, utensils, clotheslines, matches, tablecloth, oven mitt, soap and other things. Everything just gets tossed into the box (no need to be anal on a camping trip) and then immediately gets cleaned out after each trip.

We also strive to keep our campsite organized. Making sure the tent zipper is closed keeps out bugs, closing the lids on our food and kitchen boxes keeps out the birds and squirrels and keeping everything organized means we are able to find everything right away.

I have noticed other campsites in our area that are strewn with kids' toys and clothes, food is left out, and garbage piles up. If you do this in your home, no one can see it unless they come in, but in a campground your site is open to the world. No one likes to see that kind of mess, especially out in nature.

The Project Board

2007-08-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

Another tip from Hellen Buttigieg for when your numerous projects get out of hand:

Us busy, creative people love our projects, but we don't love them when they take over our lives and we constantly flit from one to the other, none of them getting finished. A project board is a small magnetic or tack board with colored slips of paper attached to it with each project written on it, i.e. "Scrapbook for wedding", "Paint mailbox", "Knit baby blanket".

There will only be enough room for about five or six projects (four being ideal and not too overwhelming). When one project is done, take it off the board and do not add another one until the board is empty. Then start again.

Another great tip from Hellen is the Now or Never concept. When going through and purging items, have two boxes. One labeled Now and one labeled Never. The Now items are things you are using in the present and will continue using. The Never items are things that have just been hanging around and that have never been used and never will be. Be honest with yourself, and get clutter free.

What is beautiful to you?

2007-08-12T07:49:00.001-07:00

Imagine you have to pick only the things that are most beautiful to you. These are the items that will also be most valuable to you. Why are you keeping the other stuff?

Keeping out of your mind what is purely useful (computer, office supplies, bath products) what things in your home are your most beautiful? Go around the house and touch each one and say to yourself why you think it should stay. The things you did not touch are ready to leave.

From a satisfied customer...

2007-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Organizing Advice From Christina That I Actively Use:

1. Break large projects down into smaller ones and tackling those one at a time. Finish one entire section before moving onto the next.

2. Ask yourself: Have I used this in the past 6 months? Will I miss it? If the answers are no, then it goes bye-bye.

3. Set small goals each day to accomplish - whether at home or work.

4. When you budget, make sure to pay yourself!

5. Don't keep clothes that are too small for when you will be able to "fit into them."

6. When your car is loaded up with things to donate, MAKE SURE you get rid of the stuff - do not bring it home again and think "I'll drop it off later!" Once you decide to get rid of it - get rid of it!

7. How many tank tops/t-shirts/jeans/etc. do you REALLY need? Less is more!

8. Use boxes of old bottles for garden decor to make room in the garage and to display my treasured bottles.

9. Only keep knick knacks that you love enough to not mind having to dust every week. Knick knacks are good in theory but they build dust and can make cleaning a nightmare.

10. Set time aside to sit down and pay your bills.

11. Dust BEFORE you vacuum.

12. Have clothes you can mix and match.

13. Have one good silver chain and then switch out the pendants to match different outfits instead of many necklaces and many chains in a heaping tangled mess.

14. You only need one shampoo and conditioner in your shower - not 20 half-full bottles of various hair products.

Thanks Heath!

Organizing Passwords

2007-07-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

With most people's entire life on the Internet, we find ourselves accessing all our information with a brainful of passwords that tend to fall through the cracks. Not to mention that you really should update your passwords every three months. How do you remember them all, or keep them organized?

I've set up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that is password protected. You should be able to find the Protection option under Excel's Tools menu. The spreadsheet holds the login and passwords for all my financial, online auction logins, etc. All you have to do is remember one password.

A few other ideas have been posted on the Simple Living Network.

Three Questions for any Item

2007-06-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

There are three questions to ask yourself when you are not sure whether or not to throw out or give away an item:

1. Have I used this item recently? (last 3 to 6 months).

2. Does this item serve a purpose in my life?

3. Will my life suffer if this item is gone?

If you answer to to ANY of these questions, the item should go.

Travel to Declutter

2007-06-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

Traveling is a great way to find out how much you really need. I usually travel with just a carry-on and a small messenger bag. This is for several weeks in any country! I realize exactly what I need to be comfortable, healthy and prepared for anything. It also keeps me from purchasing too much stuff that may catch my eye. Once you realize that you can live very well out of a small bag, you will need less at home.

Decluttering the Shed

2007-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

My mom has a shed that is a catchall for everything she does not want in her immediate vicinity. Usually items are thrown into the shed haphazardly with no organization. Trying to find anything later on is impossible. I took about four hours one Saturday to clean out and organize the entire thing. You can now walk into it and see everything at first glance.

I put like items together in see-through bins with labels. All the magazines are stacked according to title and larger heavier items are on the floor while softer, lighter items are up high. Quite a lot of items that had not been used for years went to the thrift store.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Just Picture It

2007-04-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

If you have an out-of-control collection, or items you just can't stand to part with and yet don't have any room for, just picture it!

Line up your items in a pleasing display, or put on the costumes you just have to get rid of and take a picture of them. Your computer can have a special folder for much loved, yet donated items that you have given away. You can also create a photo album full of photos of your cherished pieces.

I did this a few years ago with a t-shirt that I bought and had signed by the musician Chris Isaak. I love him, but the shirt never fit me and I dragged it around for years. Not to mention I couldn't wash it! I took a picture of it and to the thrift store it went.

I saw an episode of neat with Hellen Buttigieg where she took pictures of a teen's collection of a hundred well-loved stuffed animals that had to go. She put the animals in cute positions in the yard (two bears with their paws around each other) and in the bedroom and then shot them with a digital camera. She then created a small photo album just for those toys.

My Saturday Garage Job

2007-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my garage before I tackled it last Saturday afternoon. It really doesn't look that bad since I wrestled with it about two years ago to get all the junk out in order for my husband and I to park our cars.

However, for my Spring cleaning jag, I decided to get rid of all the last bits of junk and get everything organized that had become disorganized over the winter. I was tired of having to step over everything just to grab a rake or a tool. I even cleaned out the toolbox!

First I moved everything out of the garage and into the driveway, throwing away trash or anything I knew for sure I was not going to keep. Any hazardous materials (oils, garden chemicals, etc) I put into a milk crate to be taken to a disposal place. I then only put back exactly what I was going to use and each item has it's designated zone.

Here's what it looked like after about 3 hours:

Not too much of a difference, but you can see that everything has it's own place now, and the floor is clutter free. All the chemicals are in their respective zone. There is a place for paint, a place for car products, a place for garden products and a box for garden games. The tools are all hung up and the sports gear are in their special corner.

A garage is a great place to tackle a decluttering job since it does not need to be perfect. It is a garage after all. I would love to have one of those custom garages with white walls and built in cabinets, but for now it just needs to be an organized place that stores motor oil and kayaks.

The Junk Drawer

2007-03-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

I am not really a hard ass when it comes to clutter. I believe that every home should have what is the equivalent of a junk drawer. One of those places where the things that have no place to go are thrown.

This, however should not mean that the junk drawer evolves into a junk closet or even a junk room. I have seen homes where one room is designated the catch-all area. It won't be long before the clutter in that room begins to invade the rest of the house.

My junk drawer at home has those little, loose objects like extra keys, half-tubes of SuperGlue, extra stamps, nail files, etc. Understandably these items should go into their respective places, but I see no problem in having ONE drawer where these wayward items live.

Scrapbooking Madness

2007-03-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

I don't really understand the whole scrapbooking fad. Stores are popping up in every strip mall that cater to scrapbooking. They sell everything from overpriced photo albums, stickers, stamps, ribbons, etc. all for the sake of creating memories.

For most of my life, I have kept my own version of a diary/scrapbook. They include my journal entries, sketches, notes, lists, plane ticket stubs, stickers, stamps, old letters, postcards, you name it. I have never had to go out and purchase special scrapbooking equipment. Just a journal a pair of scissors and some glue. The rest are found or already aquired objects.

I have also never been pushed out of my home by scrapbooking material. I see homes with a special "scrapbooking room" full of purchased items for making books. The thing is, the clutter gets to be so overwhelming that there doesn't seem to be any time for scrapbooking at all.

If you enjoy scrapbooking, a system is necessary for keeping your materials clean, organized and off the floor. About.com has a great list on how to organize scrapbooking supplies.

Keeping your supplies well organized will also help you save money. You will not have to rebuy or stock up on any materials that you realize you already have.

The Simple Purse

2007-03-20T14:44:00.002-07:00

According to Real Simple Magazine, women spend approximately 55 minutes every day searching for items. Probably about 45 of those minutes are spent searching for something in the deep, dark reaches of their purses.

I am guilty of having the cluttered purse. It is a bottomless pit, and that's what I like about it. I can sneak an entire picnic into the movie theater in my purse, it doubles as a suitcase AND a briefcase and is as tough as nails. Having something so dependable can also be a burden and it is not great for my back.

Women feel they have to be ready for anything. The contents of my own purse prove this:

1.Leather wallet with money, credit and debit cards, coins, business cards (my own and others), coupons, receipts and stamps.

2. My One Book

3. Cell phone and cell phone charger

4. 3 to 4 various USB drives

5. iPod, headphones and charger

6. Chapstick, lipstick, hand lotion and face powder

7. Gym pass

8. Sunglasses and sunglass case

9. Various pens

10. A small tape measure

11. Keys attached to a bottle of pepper spray

In all, too much stuff. But I do work on keeping it clean and manageable. Every Saturday morning as I do chores, I include cleaning out my purse as one. I take everything out and clean out all excess pennies and candy wrappers. I go through all receipts and file or shred as necessary. I check all coupons and business cards and throw out the ones that are expired or I will not be using.

It is an ongoing job, but my everyday business would not be complete without my tough, trusty purse at my side. However, I still envy men and their simple wallets.

Kill Bills

2007-03-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

The bane of many people's existence is an overabundance of bills and other unwanted mail. The natural thing to do when you owe money to someone is to put the bill in a pile and forget about it for a few weeks.

Then the late notices appear.

Procrastinating on bill paying and not having a bill paying system can cost you time, money and frustration.

The first step is to create a "Bill Paying Center" on your desk. This can include some hanging files, a desktop filing organizer (horizontal or vertical) or a special drawer just for bills. But be careful about "out of sight, out of mind". This system will have areas categorized as "Bills to Pay", "Bills Paid" and "Checks/Bills Cleared". Also in the Center will be a desk or wall calendar to be used to mark bill due dates.

The second step is once a bill comes in, open it and throw away the outside envelope and mark the due date of the bill on your calendar. If you are not ready to pay the bill, put it in the "Bills to Pay" category or file. If you do pay the bill, with either a check, credit card on with online bill paying software, write the payment information on the bill:

"Paid 3/14/07 with check #12345" or
"Paid 3/14/07 online. Confirmation #123456"

Put that paid bill into the "Bills Paid" file. Once the bill has cleared your account, put it into the "Checks/Bills Cleared" file. These will remain in here for three months until you either shred them or file them for tax purposes. Always shred letters or bills with your personal information on them.

Having a predesignated hour or day for bill paying is helpful in getting the dreaded job done. Say every Sunday morning before breakfast. Once you have spent about three months using this system, knowing when bills will be coming in and when they are due will be second nature.

Too Many Magazines

2007-03-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Magazines are beautiful, I know. Whether they are your stacks of Architectural Digest, National Geographic or those ones covered with Brad Pitt, we love our magazines.

But they can be a heavy, slippery mess that collects dust. They also become dated very quickly and the information being referred to is most likely more current on the Internet.

Dedicate some time during the week to go through and really read each of the magazines you get. Keep a pair or scissors and a filing system handy to clip out information, articles or photos that you like and file them in an order that makes sense to you. Have categories such as: Financial, Architectural and Home, Recipes, News and Opinion, Sexy Hollywood Stars, etc. The rest of the magazine then should not hang around for any longer. Put it in recycling the next time you pass the recycling container.

(Uncluttered) Life with Books

2007-02-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh...books. They are my downfall. Dusty, dogeared, childhood or spine-split, I love them all. I also have a very hard time parting with them. Once I get up the nerve to get rid of some of my book cache, there is a library sale or I get a gift card to Barnes & Noble.

A big problem I see with people is the collecting of books just to show the "intellectual" side of yourself to guests and other bibliophiles. But a personal library of clean, perfect unread books looks worse than not having any books at all. Finding space for all those hard to store, slippery and heavy objects becomes a problem.

Books (unless they are rare) are very hard to sell online or at garage sales. Another option is donate them to a hospital, library, senior center or school. To declutter any collection of books, boldly go through them and be realistic about what you will actually read. Books that have been with you for life, your Bible, Winnie the Pooh or In Cold Blood should maybe be put in a special place on your bookshelf that says, "Don't bother to sort. I'm staying".

Next time, we will tackle the sad disease of magazine collecting.

Make money by decluttering

2007-02-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Decluttering will not only help you to simplify your life and put your mind at ease, it could help you to save money...and make money.

Having your home and possessions in order and knowing exactly what you have will enable you to avoid purchasing multiples of the same item, or purchasing unneeded items. When you see an item of clothing you feel you have to have, just envision your clean and organized closet at home and say to yourself, "I have an item almost like this and I have everything that I need and want. I don't need anything else." That $50 just stayed in your wallet.

When you do realize that you have everything you need, the extraneous items that don't make you happy should be on their way out. This is where you can make money on unwanted items.

Selling on eBay is quick and easy. Setting up an account is a step by step process through the eBay website. All the postage fees, selling fees and math is done for you. All you need is a digital camera, some writing skills and the desire to give good customer service.

If you went to a party...

2007-02-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

...who would you rather see? A room packed full of people you didn't know, or a few near and dear friends?

Your space should feel the same way. Sometimes our material possessions become strangers to us and we end up feeling disjointed and unfamiliar with our own space and home. When decluttering, keep only what you truly love and want near you. If you are not sure what you love (we think we love everything, but we don't) then ask yourself these three questions:

1.Why am I keeping this item?

2.How does it make me feel?

3.How will I feel when it is gone?

Seriously consider and evaluate your answers to these questions and you will eventually understand why you are keeping some things and not others. The items that don't bring you the most pleasure should be eliminated as soon as possible.

Or, you can use the quick and dirty method...would I grab this if my house was on fire?

Making it Manageable

2007-01-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

My favorite word for tackling the clutter and stuff issue is not the word austere, or minimalist or even the underused word Spartan. It's the word manageable. Keeping it manageable (whatever that means to you) means keeping it under your control without going overboard.

I take at least one or two items a week to the thrift store and sell at least three items a week on eBay, and I still have loads of stuff. I try not to let it bother me since I still plan to take things to the thrift store and sell those items on eBay every week. Keeping it manageable means staying on top of everything as a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly job. Sorry to say, it never ends, but once it is part of your life, you hardly even think about it.

RAFT

2007-01-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

If mail or paperwork is taking over your life, from one of my heroines, Hellen Buttigieg, comes the RAFT concept. RAFT stands Read, Act, File, Toss. Scrutinize any piece of paper, junk mail, card or letter that piles up on your desk, bed or kitchen table and place it in boxes or a letter file that is labeled with those four words.

The Read pile needs to be read for information or work. The Act paperwork needs to be acted on immediately and then either filed or tossed. The File category is for important information that needs to be filed such as tax forms or pay stubs. A filing rule of thumb is to keep tax forms for seven years after the year they are filed. Keep important things such as mortgage paperwork or credit reports indefinately. Credit card and bank statements should be shredded after they have been cleared from your accounts. And the Toss category is a given, get rid of it if it is not important. Any personal information should be shredded.

Use the RAFT concept anytime you get a pile of mail or paperwork and that pile will disappear.

Storage is a four-letter word

2007-01-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

The public storage unit business is lucrative. According to Tom Vanderbilt of Slate Magazine, one in eleven households rents a storage unit and the storage unit industry claims a 90 percenty occupancy of its units. The industry even has an association magazine.

Granted, a storage unit can come in handy when moving or in between homes, but when the cost of storing your stuff exceeds the value of said stuff, you have a problem.

A storage unit is convenient in that you can put all the material possessions, the unwanted Christmas presents, the furniture from college, the winter jackets, paperwork and boxes full of who knows what behind a locked door away from your immediate area. Out of sight, out of mind. However, out of sight, but not out of your wallet. The average cost of a storage shed is between $50 and $100 a month. The average time in a unit is 15 months. I know some people who stick around for 3 or more years. Do the math.

Store is a bad word. Severely question anything you feel you need to store. Do you just want it out of your sight, but can't bare to part with it? Leave it around and out of storage for a while, if you still want it out of your sight, you don't love it and it should not be part of your life. Period.

Simplicity in Nature

2007-01-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

It makes complete sense that many people find their greatest peace and serenity in nature. The natural world is exactly what it needs to be, no more and no less. There is no excess or clutter or a lack of organization in nature. Every rock, tree, drop of water, leaf, piece of sand and animal plays its part in nature with no thought as to whether they will match the local terrain or whether they will need extra storage to have all the things they want to have.

A walk in the woods in the fall, or in the mountains by a bubbling stream, or by the roaring ocean can bring a new perspective into your own life and how it is affected by its surroundings. Our own living spaces should give us the same feeling that we get from being in the outdoors. Peace, quiet, and the time to reflect on our place in this world.

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” -- Rachel Carson

Perfection is overrated

2007-01-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Decluttering, organizing and simplifying is an ongoing process and life sometimes gets in the way. No one is perfect and not one person can live a completely organized and austere existance unless they have an entourage of personal assistants.

No. We will do what we can, when we can. Keeping your life and your surroundings in order is a habit that needs to be learned like brushing your teeth or putting on your seatbelt. Remind yourself each day to take 15 minutes to organize and get your mind in order. Those 15 minutes will translate to a lifetime.

The One-Book Concept

2007-01-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

No, this is not a Bible touting post. It's a way to get all your random notes, stickies, to-do lists and wish lists organized for good. The One-Book is a small notebook or calendar that holds everything from your to-do lists, shopping lists, financial notes, library lists, future plans and doodles. Carry it with you everywhere and whip it out whenever you need to jot something down, rather than carry a pocketful of sticky notes or paper slips.

I suggest making it a book you like to write in. Mine is a lovely, little book that looks like something an archeologist in a movie would use to draw an ancient map to a priceless golden statue. It is red and gold with a rubber band to keep it closed and a red ribbon bookmark. I have written everything in it from my daily purchases, my financial plans for the month, my travel lists and a doodle of a piece of furniture I'm on the lookout for.

9/10ths of the Problem...

2007-01-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

Most of my life I have been interested in organization and the wiping out of clutter. When I was a child I would spend an afternoon cleaning out and organizing my friends' sock drawers and toy cupboards. The organizing bug has recently become popular with shows such as Clean Sweep and neat and with the proliferation of stores such as the Container Store and IKEA.

When I'm around clutter, it affects my thoughts, movements and even my pulse and heart rate. When I am clutter free, I feel 10 pounds lighter and I can sleep at night. I want others to feel the same way.

I am starting this blog to get my voice and experiences out there and to eventually begin a career as a professional organizer. I now work as a graphic and web designer (where organizing is a key part of the job), but eventually would like to phase out into my own business. Welcome and enjoy.

"Possession isn't nine-tenths of the law, it's nine-tenths of the problem." -- John Lennon