Have you ever heard the expression ~ Can't see the forest for the trees. Here is an explanation of this expression according to About.com... Definition: overly concerned with detail; not understanding the whole situation Explanation: Used when expressing that a person is focusing too much on specific problems and is missing the point. When it comes to clutter though this expression manifests in reverse. That is, people can't see the trees for the forest. Or explained simply in clutter terms ~ Can't distinguish the individual items of clutter from the sheer bulk of their possessions. Or more Continue reading
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom – Decluttered Kids’ Parties
posted by
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Clutter and birthday parties, especially children’s birthday parties, fit together like a hand and glove, don’t they? They don’t have to. My youngest, Audra, turned 10 last week. Her birthday party cost less than $31 (less because there were food leftovers), generated virtually no trash, and was a great success. First, let’s think about the things that create trash at a child’s birthday party. Disposable table cloth (cheap paper or plastic) Paper plates Paper napkins Paper cups Cheap themed decorations (Often all of the above are purchased Continue reading
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ A Book Review
posted by
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom A Book Review of The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg What a fantastic book: so well researched, so easy to understand, so very interesting. Duhigg shows over and over again that most of what we do is habitual and that habits can be changed and manipulated - by ourselves and by others. My mother should be happy. This book validates her often-said phrase "When you do things outside the norm, that's when they go wrong." My Mom's not a pessimist or a stick in the mud; what she's saying is that when you lock your keys in the car, forget your purse, leave the burner Continue reading
Space Goals
posted by
One of the areas of my home that I have been working on regularly since the very beginning of my declutter mission is my craft room. At the beginning all I knew was that I had too much stuff and I didn't really have an ultimate goal aside from to keep working at it until I was satisfied I had gone far enough. As I have slowly gotten closer and closer to that point my goal started to become clear. I wanted what I owned to fit into the craft organising cubes that I had long ago purchased for the task. No overflow into other rooms in the house, no stuff in other items of furniture, no stuff in Continue reading
My decision making process
posted by
Today I thought I might bring you along with me during my decision making process. I have chosen several items that up until now have escaped decluttering but that I have had my eye on for a while. I will share with you my thoughts relating to each item and what my final decision is. Before I get to individual items my first consideration in the decision making process is whether or not I am satisfied that I have gone far enough with my decluttering. Whether I am happy to keep everything that is left in my home. At this point in time I don't have to waste much thought on this because I know Continue reading
Want v Want
posted by
I received the following comment from Whisper last week which I think holds an important lesson when it comes to decluttering. Whisper wrote... "A month or so before my move, I tried a half-cull of my jewelry (suggested in The Minimalist Packrat) – getting rid of a piece for every piece I was keeping. I don’t think I managed to be completely 50/50, but it really helped me reduce to a more manageable level. This was after 3 or more less than productive culls where I just looked for things I didn’t want. It took the irritation of my unproductive attempts to try a new way. Another example of Continue reading
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ When the Worst Happens
posted by
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom First of all, this story has a happy ending, although it sure didn't look like it would when it all began. A few months ago, a dear friend of mine was in a very dark place and disappeared. Literally gone. You can image what my husband and I feared. My friend has no close relatives and no spouse; I am the executor of his estate. I felt a lot of emotions during this time, and one of them was outrage: "How DARE you go off and leave me with all this sh*t to take care of! How dare you not clean up your own mess before you dumped it in my lap!" You see, my friend is a bit Continue reading
Digging in the archives ~ Day 250 Reducing your Travel Clutter
posted by
I think I deserve a break during the holiday season and if I don't I am having one anyway. So for your entertainment, I have set up five posts for this week with articles from the archives. That is I am going to share with you some old post that you may not have seen for some time that you might find interesting and helpful all over again while I take my break. I received some unexpected help this week with choosing which articles to use from Lena who has been reading through the archives since she discovered my blog not so long ago. Got to love her dedication, especially since it has Continue reading
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Put Your Big Rocks in First
posted by
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom More than a dozen years ago, when I was working, a email like the one that follows circulated. It's probably the only chain email that I've found to be truly valuable. I hope you find it meaningful too. A time management expert stood in front of the group of high-powered achievers. He said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would Continue reading
