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.
February 22, 2007
February 15, 2007
Make money by decluttering
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.
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.
February 7, 2007
If you went to a party...
...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?
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?
January 29, 2007
Making it Manageable
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.
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.
January 22, 2007
RAFT
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.
January 17, 2007
Storage is a four-letter word
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.
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.
January 16, 2007
Simplicity in Nature
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
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