Dumping Virtual Clutter

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

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?

...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

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

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

Addicted to Decluttering

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

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.