I found this clever shopping deterrent strategy when reading my comments yesterday and I thought I would share it with you.

Here is what Jacquie, who was inspired by Gogol’s buy it back approach, had to say…

Along the same lines as Gogol, if I am thinking of buying something new, I use an ‘earning money’ analogy.
I use a basic hourly rate and say to myself “If I had to work for (how ever many hours to earn the cost of the item) and at the end all I was given was this item – do I like it enough or want it badly enough to do that? Often the answer is no.

I can now use the same formula for uncluttering along with Gogol’s idea – if I had to buy it back from the pawn shop with that many hours work, would I? I don’t think I would for much of my stuff.

I must admit I run this scenario through my head occasionally too. Especially when it comes to paying for a service that I can just as easily with a bit of effort do myself. Why pay someone $20 an hour to do your ironing if you only earn $16 an hour in your day job. You would be better off cutting your work back by a couple of hours and do your own ironing.

Maybe we should also think about the paltry some of money paid to the sweat shop workers who make most of the stuff we clutter up our lives with while they are barely about to put a meal on their plates. I suppose the flip side to that is that then they won’t have a job at all, but maybe just maybe if enough of us stopped messing up the world with all this consumerism we might just change the world and the general focus may turn to something more productive. Who knows?

ITEM 202 OF 365 LESS THINGS

A piece of Australian History sold on eBay for $15.50

On Day 186 I asked for your help with examples of friends helping friends declutter. I received several emails from some very helpful people how had some wonderful experiences to share with you all.

Here is what our friends had to say…

Cindy

I have quite a bit of experience with this. My friend Holly and I have done it five times, in segments of about three hours each. The first time, the kids were playing together and I did not want to just sit around, so I asked if there was anything she needed help doing, and we went through her whole wardrobe. She tried on, and I “yeahed” and “nayed”, hung the clothes back up, and folded the items for the thrift store.

When we work together, the person who’s house it is usually does the sorting while the other person tidies the area, gets everything out, puts like things together, puts it away (with instruction), and offers encouragement.

I’ve also worked with professional organizers. It’s a similar, but faster, process.

It’s a lot more fun and more productive then going it on your own, and often I feel so excited afterwards that I get another couple of hours done by myself.

Valentina

At my place we regularly have declutter parties. That means that everybody still declutters on their own, but we bring everything to my place to make a fashion show out of it (for clothing) and an antique market for all other stuff. Everything that does not find a new owner then goes to local charity. And usually that’s more than half of the stuff.

We do this around every 4-5 months and it has become some kind of tradition, people are keen to bring stuff along, so they declutter to be able to participate.

Willow

I have a friend with whom I dejunk  with on a regular basis. We have similar attitudes although she has more stuff than I do because she still has three sons living at home. We schedule days and the ‘hostess’ has her plan in place for where and what we’ll declutter.

When my friend is at my house, she will load up anything I’m not keeping and take it directly to the goodwill on her way home. And I do the same thing for her. That way there is no way we can rummage in the bags and pull an item back out again.

I’ve helped other people in their homes and I have only one rule…”You may not get mad at me.” If I overstep my place, just tell me when an item is off limits. Setting parameters ahead of time keeps people from getting upset.

Meg

I’ve been doing my kitchen uncluttering pretty much all on my own, but I get “help” by having my daughter-in-law choose what she likes from everything before I move it on out. She and my son have recently bought their first house and they can now use a few things. My mom has taken a couple things to replace her more worn items, and I’m giving away many things to friends who own food-based businesses. Nobody can really afford to buy anything in this crazy economy.

Deb J

I have helped friends with decluttering several times. As an organizer I have a way that I set this up when there is more than one person there. I have the home owner(s) decide ahead what things need to be gone through so there is some order to the process. When everyone is there I have them divide into teams and assign them a particular room. They are to go through everything that has been designated to be sorted in that one room. They are to make 3 piles…keep, give and toss. Once that is done the home owner goes in and looks through the piles and decided if she agrees with the piles or not. If there is something in the give or toss pile she wants to keep then she needs to defend her decision.

It’s amazing how well it seems to work. In most cases very little is taken out of the give or toss piles and many times more is taken from the keep pile and put in the other two. I think it sometimes helps to have someone who is unattached to the things help with the sorting.

Each example has a different approach and if you combined all the useful strategies from each  I am sure you will have a fun and very effective time decluttering with your friends. On Behalf of everyone reading today’s blog I would like to thank the wonderful ladies who contributed their stories with the selfless intention of helping others.

ITEM 210 OF 365 LESS THINGS

This sleeping bag probably hasn’t been used in 15 years so it is time to pass it on to someone who might have a use for it.

Willow 

I have 1 (ONE!) friend with whom I dejunk on a regular basis. We have similar attitudes although she has ALOT more stuff than I do. In her defense, she still has three sons living at home. We schedule days and the 'hostess' has her plan in place for where and what we'll declutter.

 

One other little tip I have for you is when my friend is at my house, she will load up anything I'm not keeping and take it directly to the goodwill on her way home.  And I do the same thing for her.  That way there is no way we can rummage in the bags and pull an item back out again :)

 

I've helped other people in their homes and I have only one rule. "You may not get mad at me." If I overstep my place, just tell me that item is off limits. Setting parameters ahead of time keeps people from getting upset. 

 

 

Meg

 

I've been doing my kitchen uncluttering pretty much all on my own, but I get "help" by having my daughter-in-law choose what she likes from everything before I move it on out. She and my son have recently bought their first house and they can now use a few things. My mom has taken a couple things to replace her more worn items, and I'm giving away many things to friends who own food-based businesses. Nobody can really afford to buy anything in this stupid economy.

 

 

Deb J

 

I have helped friends with decluttering several times. As an organizer I have a way that I set this up when there is more than one person there. I have home owner(s)decide ahead what things need to be gone through so there is some order to the process. When everyone is there I have them divide into teams and assign them a particular room. They are to go through everything that has been designated to be sorted in that one room. They are to make 3 piles--keep, give, toss. Once that is done the home owner goes in and looks through the piles and decided if she agrees with the piles or not. If there is something in the give or toss pile she wants to keep then she needs to defend her decision.

It's amazing how well it seems to work. In most cases very little is taken out of the give or toss piles and many times more is taken from the keep pile and put in the other two. I think it sometimes helps to have someone who is unattached to the things help with the sorting.

I happened to see 5 minutes of an old Bewitched rerun this morning on television before I went to work. It struck me as amusing that this episode started out with a magazine subscription seller coming to Samantha’s door. Bewitched was filmed between 1964 and 1972 and even back then subscription sellers were harassing people to buy their wears.

I lived in Seattle between 2000 and 2007 and I remember how sad it was that these companies ripped these poor people away from their families to locations thousands of miles away in the vain hope that if they sell enough they will climb to the next rung of the ladder and maybe just maybe get somewhere in life. Purhaps these companies are legit and really are helping these people but I couldn’t help but think they were just being exploited.

Now that I have had my rant about that I’ll get back to the subject that I meant to talk about in the first place, sharing publications.

For no other reason than the reduction of polution caused by producing the paper and printing magazines and newspapers  we need to start either sharing publications or opting for online alternatives rather than buying hardcopies. Sadly even recycling these publication can be a sourse of polution according to a Wikipedia entry I have read on the subject.

Here are some ideas on how you can share publications…

• Share with friends, family, neighbours and work colleges.
• Borrow them from the library
• Read on-line
• Buy from second hand book stores you may not get the lastest edition of  magazines here but unless it is up to date news stories you are seeking this shouldn’t be a problem.
• Pass on the publications you do buy to school groups, craft groups, clubs or even your doctor’s surgery could use them in their waiting room.

I personally have stopped buying magazines and newspapers. The magazines I used to buy I can either subscribe to on-line or get the information I require from other on-line sourses. Like most clutter, out of sight out of mind,  if I don’t take the time to look at them on the newspaper stand I don’t know what I am missing.

ITEM 200 0F 365 LESS THINGS

I think these old golf magazines were sold on ebay but my husband isn’t home tonight to ask.

Below I have listed some alternatives to clutter gifts. By clutter gifts I mean anything that is not consumable or an act of service that will remain in your home after it is has been used.

Edible Treats

• Chocolate/Candy
• Cake (provide a cake for someones happy occasion)
• Fruit basket (what could be more colorful or healthy than that)
• Bottle of wine / 6 pack of Boutique Beer…
• A home cooked meal is always a treat for a special occasion
• A cookie basket
• Take them out to dinner/lunch/ breakfast etc

Gift Certificate

• Dining Out
• Hardware
• Groceries
• Spa Treatments
• Travel Vouchers
• Personal promise to do some household chores

Donations

• Give a donation to your favourite charity in the name of the gift recipient
• Donate your time to help out a charity on their behalf

Time

• Spend quality time together
• Do a favour that will save someone precious time
• Take care to someones children so they can have quality time with their significant other
• Recharge a prepaid cell phone for more communication time

Garden

• Plants/cuttings/seedlings/flowers
• Doing some gardening for them
• Mowing their lawn
• Prune bushes

Friends

• Arrange a get together with a group of friends
• Bring two old friend together

Entertainment

• Buy tickets to a show/event
• Take them out to a show/event
• Ipod downloads

If you have some ideas, and I am sure there are many I haved listed here, please leave a comment and I will add your suggestions to the Uncluttered Gifts Page I have created so that we can all refer back to easily in the future.

ITEM 199 OF 365 LESS THINGS

If you do take someone to an event as a gift please discourage this souvenir clutter

I was on my way to the thrift store with yet another load of donations yesterday and I was naturally thinking about the amount of stuff that has left my home over the last three years. I have lost count of the number of times I have loaded up my car with the same crates full of odds and ends and driven across town to the Lifeline shop on Hubbard Street.

During the drive I got to wondering what it will be like the next time we pack up our household to move to a new location. Due to the nature of our removal contract we have to do a complete inventory of our belongings for insurance reasons should anything go missing or get damaged during the move. Everything on this inventory is allotted an estimated value. I am looking forward to seeing if the overall value of our belongings has dropped considerably since the last time me packed up. I am also looking forward to the cubic metre estimation for the shipping container.

All this lead to another thought:-  wouldn’t it be nice if the value of our belongs has dropped so much that we will be able to reduce the value of our home contents insurance. That will be a saving that I will be more than happy accept. There are so many unexpected advantages to reducing ones belongings that I don’t understand why more people don’t jump on board with this lifestyle.

Well the lady at the thrift store was thankful for my donations and I made it known to her that I was just as thankful that she was taking then off my hands. That will not be the last she sees of me.

ITEM 198 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Here are some books that took a ride with me to the thrift store yesterday

Yesterday at about 10:40pm I was finally getting around to reading the new comments on my blog when I found one from Gogol who hadn’t commented before. I enjoyed it so much and I thought you would to. It is an interesting approach to declutter decision making that I don’t think I had heard of before. It runs along the same line as putting all your stuff out in the garage and only bring items back into the house if you really feel they are worthy but with a different twist.

Gogol if  you are out there reading this  leave a commet and tell us a little about yourself. Here is what Gogol wrote…

There is one thing that I would like to share with you all.  While decluttering, it can be a really difficult task to identify which things you need to keep and which you can donate/throw away.
Here’s my tip: Imagine all your possessions have been sold to a pawn shop (by a junkie friend or an evil in-law, whatever).
Now ask yourself, which of them would you buy back? The price doesn’t matter. I bet there will be a lot of items that you don’t wanna spend money for,  however small. These are the things that need to go!
Let me know if this works for you.

Now that is a novel approach isn’t it.  And I was very thankful for the suggestion because like I said it was 10:40pm and I hadn’t settled on a topic for todays post. See what a symbiotic relationship blogs can be.  I help you, you help me and we all learn something new and sometimes are amused along the way.

ITEM 197 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These drink coolers are a blast from the past. A time that will never be forgotten that I can assure you my husband doesn’t need any visual reminders of. He and his best mate talk so often about those good old days that I am starting to feel like I was there myself which would have been great because it sure sounds like it was fun.

A place for everything and everything in it’s place!

• If you always know where everything is you won’t need to replace it because you can’t find it.

Know the difference between need and want

• It is easy to convince yourself that something you want is something you need. Don’t be fooled by this.

Only shop for what you need

• This one speaks for itself, if you aren’t bringing anything you don’t need into your home it will stay uncluttered.

Make it clear you don’t want clutter gifts

• If you plan ahead with this one it will save a lot of embarrassment of refusing to accept such gifts.

Remove clutter receptacles in your home

• Adding clutter is difficult if you have no where to store it. Things such as bookcases, display cabinets, baskets, shelves and storage containers are clutter receptacles. Get rid of them as soon as you get rid of the clutter that was in them or you may just fill them up again.

Don’t sacrifice your principals for the desires of others

• Don’t accept other peoples clutter just so you don’t hurt their feelings. Your feelings matter too and you shouldn’t be expected to sabotage your lifestyle in this way.

Remove any items that become useless immediately

• Lifestyle changes are inevitable as time goes by. Once an item become of no further use to you remove it from your home or once again clutter will start to develop. Just because something wasn’t clutter once doesn’t mean it won’t become clutter in the future.

It am sure there are more strategies that should be on this list but it is late and I am tired so I will leave it at that for now. If anyone has anything they think should be included please leave a comment and I will add it  and perhaps make a page of it.

ITEM 196 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Maybe I should add cancel magazine subscriptions to the list above

I don’t usually write about computer clutter in my blog as it is not really an area of expertise for me. However I am going to mention it today because it can be a problem for some. I would like to concentrate on email clutter.

I am not actually talking from a personal level here more from a professional point of view. It can be very annoying when you share a computer, specifically email, in he work place with  people who are not very computer savvy. The idea of using folders to sort emails is alien to some and even deleting unnecessary emails does not seem to be a priority. Therefore the inbox is forever full.

While I was at work today I made it my mission to delete and file all the emails that arrived in the inbox today and yesterday. Late in the afternoon one of the ladies asked me why it was that when she looked at the inbox there was no mail except what had arrived last week. She was surprised to find out that I had filed and deleted to the point where there was nothing left  in there. If you are wondering why I don’t do this all the time it is because I only work 17 hours of a roster of about 210 hours  so most of the cluttering goes on in my absence

As for my own personal email I  probably receive too many decluttering and lifestyle blog updates  but they often inspire my posts so even though they use up time they also save time otherwise wasted pondering over what I am going to write about. I try to make sure I empty my inbox everyday which mostly involves reading and deleting but sometimes I move emails to folders for future reference. I clean these folders out on a regular basis too.

Most of the time I spend on my computer is used writing my blog and responding to the comments and emails that it generates but I consider this my volunteer time. What I do is helping others so I feel justified in that.

As for desktop, my document and other files, I am a lover of  folders there also. I can usually find exactly what I am looking for because I create folders with major categories, and inside them I create subfolders to break down those categories. That keeps thing neat, tidy and findable.

It really is that easy!

ITEM 195 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These microwave bowls are now in the donation pile which I think will be heading to the thrift shop this week sometime.

I received an email from Cindy recently with a list of topics she thought would be good to address on my blog. The one I chose for today is an issue I am sure we have all come across during our decluttering efforts. This is one of those dilemma decluttering issues. Here is some examples Cindy had to share with us…

The trouble with owning something “too good to use”

1. One on my friends started using her “good” dishes after hearing this story: A woman who had married a widower was using the good dishes of the previous, now deceased wife. She (the first wife) had never used the dishes, died without using them, as they were “too good.” The second wife decided she wasn’t going to let that happen to her.
2. At our house, I have wine glasses that are too good to use. (All Gifts) I probably have 60 Waterford wine, champagne, water, sherry, even brandy crystal glasses. I HATE using them. They have to be hand washed and EVERY time we use them, one gets broken. At $75 each, I feel so angry at the person who broken them, which puts a damper on my party hosting. My solution? My Mom bought me a dozen plain, sturdy glasses from the restaurant supply store. The Waterford stays in the china cabinet where it looks pretty (I guess, if you’re into that kind of thing, and my husband is) and it’s behind glass doors, so it all stays clean. We look at the Waterford, and use the cheap glasses.

1. When I was a little girl my godmother used to send me a china teacup and saucer for my birthday. I thought she meant for me to use them so I did. Years later she asked me about them and I told her they had all been broken over the years. She was very disappointed as she had expected me save them for when I was married I suppose. I made no apologies I liked them, I used them and they met their demise having been used for what they were intended. If I still had them now I may be sentimentally tied to them causing a decluttering dilemma.
2. Like Cindy I have a china cabinet cluttered with a selection of crystal glasses that very rarely get used. The wine glasses have been used over the years but the port glasses and decanter are just a waste of space really. We tend to use the less expensive glasses instead. Most of the crystal pieces were wedding presents but luckily not from anyone who would know if I got rid of them.

Unfortunately for Cindy not only does her second example fall into the “too good to be used” category but they were also a gift from someone who would notice if they suddenly were no longer in her possession.  If it were me I think I would enjoy using them for what they were intended and let fate do it’s own decluttering.

That being said I have decided to practice what I preach and put  all the cheaper glasses I have aside for my children for when they leave home and just use the good ones in future. Should they get broken then c’est la vie.

I received this comment from Calico Ginger this morning after she read this post and I thought it worth adding in case people don’t read the comments.

Well, I say use the “good” stuff for these reasons:
1. we all need as much beauty in our lives as possible
2. if you have kids, it teaches them to be careful – if you only use plastic/cheap stuff they never learn that
3. every breakage is an opportunity to a) make do with less or b) replace with something even more beautiful.

ITEM 194 OF 365 LESS THINGS

More of my daughter’s childhood stuff she has decided she doesn’t need to keep

You are probably wondering where on earth I am going with this post today and what decluttering has to do with public toilets. Well I am fairly sure you are going to think I have lost the plot when you are done reading this post but I just don’t care. I have a pet peeve which has inspired me to start my own mini revolution here and you can either join me or not but it is something I hope catches on.

I hate hand driers they take too long to dry your hands. Couple that with the fact that half the time they either aren’t working properly or don’t work at all it can be very annoying. Not to mention a little late to find out when your hands are dripping wet. So I would much rather that there are paper towels provided in all restrooms. Unfortunately, this also causes another problem due to laziness and lack of common sense.

How many times have you been in a public restroom and have just finished drying your hands but there is no where to dispose of your paper towel because the trash receptacle is full to overflowing. You might immediately jump to the conclusion that the maintenance company ought to be more diligent at keeping the restrooms clean and tidy but in fact unthinking people are the problem here.

There is a very simple solution to this problem. Just follow the three steps below whenever you dry your hands…

1. Limit your towel usage by only choosing one piece of paper towel.
2. Dry your hand in the usual way.
3. And this last step is the key to the solution and yet so little effort is involved…

Roll the piece of paper towel into a tight ball in your hands before throwing it into the bin

Now how hard was that. If you think one piece of paper towel isn’t enough you will be pleasantly surprised to find the ball rolling step will actually prove to dry your hands that little bit more while being executed.

Just think of how many less environmentally unfriendly plastic bin liners will be required using this simple method. I would guarantee that the bins will need emptying at least five times less just by this one small effort. If the towel is made of recycled paper that is all the better.

So how many of you are with me on this. I don’t care if you think I am crazy or not just give it a go.

ITEM 193 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These magazine have been saved from recycling for now because someone was happy to pay $8.50 for them on ebay