Household Tiny Stuff
I received the following comment from Coonie on Tuesday and since this is the theme for this week’s mini missions I thought I should slip in a post about it before the week is up.
Coonie’s Comment
Hello! “Tiny stuff de-cluttering†is just what I needed. I am very organized and reduce clutter all the time, but “tiny†things elude me! All my tiny things are labeled and in containers (lol) I would love it if you could focus on this a while…name all the tiny things and what do you ask/tell yourself to reduce “the stash.†Help me know how many is too many and why not keep and store them if I have the space? I think my view definitely comes from raised in scarcity—but things aren’t scarce now. Thanks for your blog.
Firstly Coonie, well done containerising and labelling your tiny things. Working in the thrift store we often receive donations of kids games many of which have all parts missing. These toys are next to useless to us in this condition. My kids toys never had parts missing because all the small pieces were kept in ziplock bags or plastic containers and the kids were taught to take care of them.
As for “why not keep and store them if I have the space?” I would suggest that if your tiny stuff is of no consequence to you clutter wise then leave it well enough alone. Personally though I find every inch of ground gamed from something that isn’t being used or is overstocked in my home is a small victory in the war on clutter. Back on May 21st last year I wrote a Simple Saturday post about my stationery drawer declutter which just goes to prove how little things can add up to a lot of wasted space. When writing that post I was attempting to reduce yet again the amount of stuff cluttering up my craft space. And now after several more sessions of removing tiny items, small items and some bigger stuff from that area I have managed to declutter two sets of plastic drawers which took up about five square feet of space.
Tiny stuff tends to come in four categories. 1. Stuff that your actually use but is a little overstocked and can be used up in a reasonable amount of time if you put your mind to it. For example travel size shampoo, motel soaps etc. 2. Stuff that is rarely used but so numerous that it would take years to use up. Like the hundred or more paperclips, thumb tacks and rubber bands I decluttered last year. 3. Items that grown in number due to replacing them because you couldn’t find them when you needed them, such as Allen keys, and nail clippers. And 4. Items that you just keep buying more of because you want to. Like little trinkets, jewellery, fashion accessories etc
My guide when it comes to tiny stuff is if you aren’t using it it’s clutter. For example if you have a box of 100 paperclips and you use about six in a year then keep about a dozen (and that is probably too many) and get rid of the rest. The same goes for most of the little things you will find on the list below. Observe for a while how often you use these things and adjust how many you have in proportion to how many you will use over perhaps one year. As for the small items that accumulate due to being misplaced the best method to keep track of them is to always put them back in the same place. I know that rule sounds fundamental but it isn’t a rule always observed. Once you have this down pat you can safely declutter the excess. As for the “I just want them” things, declutter the ones you no long want or are useless due to damage on a regular basis. If you still want them they aren’t clutter.
Don’t buy tiny items in bulk just because it appears to make economic sense unless you share the cost and the quantity with a friend or family member. Such as make-up sponges, Post-it note pads, boxes of staples, pens etc. If the shared quantity is still too many give the rest away to other loved ones. It is so tempting to buy 1000 of something when it only cost one and a half times as much as 100 but then you are stuck with them for what seems like an eternity and they take up four times as much space as the smaller quantity would have. Keep in mind some items perish and become useless if left unused for an extended period of time.
Tiny Things
- Jewellery ~ Necklaces, earrings, brooches, pins, tie pins, cufflinks, bracelets, bangles, watches…
- Stationery ~ pens, pencils, markers, paperclips, rubber bands, post-it notes pads, bookmarks…
- Toileties ~ Samples, travel size, make-up items, nail clippers, nail files, cotton balls, make-up sponges…
- Hardware ~ Nails, screws, nuts, bolts, rivets, washers, picture hooks, Allen keys…
- Kitchenware ~ corn holders, skewers, muffin/cupcake papers, cutlery, twist ties…
- Sewing equipment ~Â Pins, needles, buttons, clips, cotton reals, machine bobbins, safety pins…
- Household items other ~ Keys, key rings, zip ties, …
- Craft ~ Beads, findings, embellishments, stamps, buttons, tacks, picture clippings, off cuts of wood and paper…
Ways to dispose of
- Jewellery ~ Give to friends or loved ones, donate or sell, Freecycle.
- Stationary ~ Donate to a local school, thrift shop or take into your work place to be used up.
- Toiletries ~ Most of these can be used up and not repurchased. Make-up should be thrown away if out of date. I would not advise giving it to someone else. Excess clippers, files and applicators could be shared among friends, preferably unused.
- Hardware ~ Donate, offer to a neighbour, friend or family member, give to your handman the next time he calls to repair something, Freecycle in batches.
- Kitchenware ~ Donate, offer to friends or family, freecycle, sell on ebay if worth the effort.
- Sewing equipment ~ Put together in a kit and donate to the thrift store or to your local highschool or a local craft group.
- Household items ~ In the case of old keys they can probably be recycled. Another useful stuff could be donated or Freecycled.
- Craft Items ~ Schools, craft groups, thrift store, local craft shop who runs classes, sell on ebay.
Today’s Declutter Item
Here is an example of decluttering little things. It may not look like much but just because it isn’t being used by us doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be useful to someone else. For every little thing hiding away in your home unused someone else is having to buy new. Send them out there where they can be useful. And all the little things add up to a much bigger waste of space in your home than you would think.
Decluttering Little Things
Something I Am Grateful For Today
Getting rid of a batch if things to the thrift store and the craft store up the street. It is one thing to decide and divide but the clutter disappearing act is the best part. “Hey Presto!”
“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just buy exactly what we need and not have to buy packages with more than we need. I am starting to buy our food more in the bulk section and it really is nice just to get what I need especially when trying new recipes and I only need a 1/2 cup of something for example. I like being able to buy just one screw or nail at our local hardware store. If we are at hotels with travel size shampoos, etc., we use what we need and if there are partially filled bottles left we take those home and use them right away instead of having the hotel throw them away. The Home 2 suites by Hilton is starting to just have the big soap containers that you push and use what you need. No little bottles and more eco-friendly. We try to go there when we travel to support the positive changes they have made. It is a good idea to share with someone if you have to buy a package or maybe take your leftovers to a church group or play group and let everyone take what they want. If I need special paper from a craft store, I will pay a little more and get the sheet I want instead of a package that is a better deal with more than I need. It is more expensive up front, but you still spend less in the long run.
Spendwisemom, you really earn your title with this comment. I agree and behave in the same fashion as you suggest here. I love the idea of buying just what you need, I love motels that offer pump toiletries rather than little bottles and sharing is the way to go if shopping in bulk makes sense with some products. There is nearly always someone out there to share the purchase with if you just ask. Being one who likes a chat I don’t mind butting in and suggest a cooperative purchase with a complete stranger in a store when we have stood there eyeing off a hard to resist bulk special. I have successfully negotiated such a purchase more than once in my time.
I did a similar thing the other day Colleen. I won a free voucher from the shopping centre from one of their machines and it was a $20 voucher for school shoes at a certain shop in the centre. I turned around and behind me was a mum with two school age children,.So I asked her if she still had to buy school shoes to which she answered yes so I gave her my voucher. she was thrilled and I felt good giving something they could ( especially a stranger ) use instead of throwing it in the bin. My children are adults so no school shoes needed here.
What a nice thing to do Denise. If she uses that voucher she will probably remember your kind act every time she see those shoes and how nice is that. No school shoes required here either.
Very well written, Colleen!
I have to say, those tiny but useful things are annoying me the most. I’m alway wondering about how many are enough.
It’s easy to know when you’ve got too few, but hard to know how much is enough.
I sorted through many of those “tiny things” collections in the last weeks, that’s why this hits right home with me.
Last week I bought (I said the bad word) new underwear, because it fitted perfectly (a rare thing with bras) and was on sale. It’s okay, because I needed some, but sorting through the drawer, weeding out the worn pieces, I found me wondering again, how much would be the ideal number. For bras, I’m quite confident, as I am rather on the “too few” side, but for knickers, I have not the slightest idea, it seems, I’ve always had plenty.
Same goes for stationery, sewing and knitting equipment etc. In my first round of decluttering, I tried to reduce it to one drawer or box each, but I feel now that those boxes and drawers are still too full.
I wonder, if I will ever find the perfect number for my needs…
Hi Sanna, I think you are approaching this tiny thing decluttering just the right way. Whittle down to what seems like a reasonable number and then if you find that is too much whittle down a little further. That is what I have been doing for the last two years and I am happy with that method. It is easier to step a little out of your comfort zone than running a mile from it and being anxious that you went too far.
Buy is not a bad word if used in moderation. I also bought new underwear last week so don’t feel bad. I weeded out the tatty pairs so all is well. I can relate to the fact that if you find a bra that fits you buy at least two because the next time you need one the one you love is no longer available and you are back to square one trying to get one to fit. With bras I tend to have two skin toned one, one black one and maybe one pretty impractical coloured one just for fun and one old backup one just in case. Oo there is said it “just in case” that is almost worse than bought. 😆 I find that is enough for me because I wash regularly that they rotate through my drawers nicely and I rarely need that backup one. With knickers I would stock no less than two per day but not many more than that either.
As for stocking the perfect number of things for your needs. Over time your needs change so the number is constantly changing to so just go with the flow.
Oh Underwear – I too finally found my size (in the sale to boot, which is uncommon) Bought all they had (4-6 pairs I think). I used to have STACKS of underwear, from boarding school days, where your ‘mesh bag’ would sometimes take AGES to return from the industrial laundry, and might have busted open, and you lost a few bits and bobs.
It’s hard to change my mind to having less (esp when I lived at home, and washing was very very regular!) All I know is that if I didn’t buy some knickers when I did, I would have been in trouble, as my new washing machine is still not arrived (despite promises of Tues, Wed… definitely today they say!) I had to walk past the bras, cause based on Colleen – I have too many!! I mean, I bought five in the US in June!
On twist ties, I had ‘not enough’ when bundling up fairy lights recently, but then resorted to excess floristry wire, although a little long (and sharp at the end), saved another purchase, and reduced the ‘flower’ clutter, which I’m still umming and ahhing about.
Snosie, thank you for the tip I will add shopping for bras to my US trip list for April. The bras I own are on the way out but if I can hold out until then they will no doubt be better & cheaper.
So now we know of another weakness, flower clutter. Interesting. 😉
Victoria Secret was great – just buy one, then go online, give them feedback, and then get a coupon (something that’s not really in Australia!!)
Yeah I did a floristry course in 09/10, and have lots of left over materials. I did ‘donate’ a whole heap to a friend who still does the odd wedding. Then I needed to buy stuff to do a friends wedding, so I’m loathed to ‘unclutter’ them again, cause I can’t really say to her ‘can I have some of the stuff back’ and getting it is hard (have to go to a specialist store or the markets). It’s a niggling clutter centre, don’t worry!
Snosie,
I never really like Victoria Secret bras. They didn’t suit my peculiar type of beauty or more to the point shape. And they were much more expensive that the ones I used to by at Mervyns. But Mervyns don’t exist any more so I might have to do a little trying on. JC Penny or Sears might be a good place to start.
I did a floristry course in about 1980 but never did anything with it. It was fun though and if ever I get a punch of flowers I a least know how to treat them to get them to last for as long as possible.
Thank you for your kind reply.
I think, I’m fine with my five bras then. 🙂 Still need to figure out the knickers, though. I thought about packing some away for a while to check how many I actually wear.
I just realized today that all this decluttering during the last year really paid off. Given that we still don’t use our bedroom as we host a guest there, I’m really astonished about how little clutter there is in the living room. Far less than last year at this time – and then we had a whole cluttered bedroom as well!
I feel that I’m slowly getting near my goal of a “self-tidying home” (with that I mean that everything can always be put away easily and counters are clear) – maybe even one without that ugly cabinet my boyfriend still hangs onto. I can’t say anything against it, as we do still need it, but it might become unnecessary soon. 🙂
Thanks a lot for this blog. Although I found it only when I was already mid-declutter, it’s become my favorite. I love both Cindy’s and your writing and everyone else’s comments which always succeed in making me want to continue decluttering.
Hi Sanna, i am so glad 365 has become your favourite and that you find us helpful and it keeps you enthused. I just noticed I made a mistake in my response yesterday about the knickers it should have read ~ With knickers I would stock no less than two per day but not many more than that either.
Just keep sending subliminal messages to the boyfriend about the cabinet you don’t like and maybe he will allow you to get rid of it after all. Sometimes you have to be cagey like asking ~ “What is it that you like so much about that cabinet?” You don’t say you don’t like it you just make him think about whether there really is a reason to keep it. Or maybe if he comes up with a good enough reason you may learn to accept it and you will be happy anyway.
Hmmm, thansk for the ideas of where to look. I know I have way more post it notes than I ‘need’ but I do used those constantly as they’re a teacher’s best friend. I did a round of decluttering in the pens and pencils but that may be another place for me to have a second look. And here’s another little problem spot at my place: the drawer which stores my seeds, the ones I plant each year in the garden. Because they’re so small, I just pop them in that drawer and then the packets pile up.
Ah, seed packets I hadn’t thought of that one Willow, probably because I always buy seedling. Next year I think I will use seeds, there would be less harmful packaging that way. As for you post it notes if they are something you use constantly then you probably would be better off buy in bulk cheeping but think about sharing with another teacher that way you both get the benefit without the bulk in your drawers.
A great post, Colleen. This is an area that drives me crazy. I know I am always talking about my mother but I have to admit she is a source of frustration for me in the decluttering area. She is a “I might need it sometime” and a “We will use it eventually” person. That means that if you use only half a sheet of paper she cuts the unused portion off to save. If you receive something that is on paper and there is an unused portion she saves it. I too hate to see waste, but it can go to far. Since we recycle all paper (an everything else we can) I would rather place it in the recycle bin than have drawers full of saved paper that can’t go in the printer, is many times just big enough to jot a reminder, or that is odd shaped. On top of that she hangs onto every little thing that come along. Most of the time is is something she finds. 100% of the time we don’t know what it is for. My idea is to take it to a thrift shop or show it to a bunch of men who can usually tell you what it is for. Why put it in the little drawers in the shed becasue some day we may find we need it. If we haven’t needed it before we found it why would we need it now. Not a thing comes into this house that I don’t bag and mark any spare parts or things we might need for it. As long as we have the item I keep the spare parts. When we get rid of the item the spare parts and instruction manual go with the item. So if there are items we don’t know a use for then they certainly didn’t come from something we have. All that to say that I think I am going to show this to Mom.
Hi Deb, people like your mum have such strong memories of doing without and making the most out of every little thing because that is how life was for them. The only thing you can do is challenge her mindset by gently and constantly suggesting alternative ways of thinking now that times aren’t so tough. I am pretty sure you do that but there really is nothing else for it. As for the paper scraps, I have to confess I do what your mum does except the I use the scraps for my shopping lists. Perhaps it would be best to have a small scratch pad for her so she doesn’t need to break down large sheets. As for the other little bits and pieces, I wouldn’t usually suggest this but I think I would be inclined to just make them magically vanish when she isn’t looking. She will probably never notice. If that isn’t an option perhaps this is just one area where you need to make your stand, put your foot down as they say and insist that this stops. There is no sentimental attachment and the items aren’t necessary so put a stop to it. You have a say in what comes into your house as well you know and maybe this is where you have to draw the line.
I have been magically making a few things vanish but that isn’t easy with my mom. She seems to always remember them and go looking for them at the oddest times. I have put my foot down and things no longer come IN the house but it’s the getting them OUT that’s hard. As with all things it just takes patience and forethought. I don’t mind some paper being saved but when it comes to a drawer full it’s got to stop. She has done it so long we have moved the piles several times. Ah well! I guess I can live with it since it is at least out of site.
Deb I just had a great idea. Evil and cunning but some ideas are like that. Hide the full sheets of paper (don’t leave any in the printer). That way she can only used the scraps. 😈 😆
She doesn’t use the printer. Plus, I reuse paper in the printer as it is. She mostly cuts it off things we get in the mail. Or the ends of printer paper I have used twice. I don’t use that much printer paper as it is but she has been saving this stuff for years and years.
Oh lordy, what is a daughter to do. Perhaps you should slowing but surely manoeuvre handfuls to the recycling bin. If she asked where it is going to, just say you have been using it for this and that. It is true, you have been using it to regain your sanity. 😆
What about keeping one drawer, and one only, for the saved paper?
NatalieInCa, it is in only one drawer. It’s just too big of a drawer. I think what I will do is sneek a little bit out every once in a while and take it to the paper recycling bin when she isn’t around to see me do it. Grin.
I didn’t see this comment until I wrote my reply to the last one. We are on the same wavelength. Do it!
Here’s an idea for making a pile of stuff that is unusable and driving you crazy, into something more useful. Don’t know if it will work for you, but, as it sounds as if your mother is the type of keeper who has anxiety about letting anything go that could possibly have a use someday, it might be worth trying. Second proviso: she or you would need to like crafting.
How about pulping all the odd bits, and making handmade paper out of it, and then giving it as gifts.
Your mom would feel that the paper has been ‘saved’ from being discarded, it would be turned into a useful form, and by giving it as gifts, it would go out of your house.
Your mom would still want to/get to save, but the amount at any one time would be smaller, and perhaps knowing it is moving out of the house would make it easier for you to bear.
That is a clever suggestion Sabine. And funny you should mention that today as I just donated a paper making kit to the thrift store just this week.
Sabine, you have a great idea there. Since I scrapbook you would think I would have thought of it. Thanks so much. I will have to see how this works.
Hi Deb. I don’t know your mother and how reasonable/difficult she is. Maybe you could try an experiment. Put a certain amount of paper in a bin, mark the date you start using it and the date you run out. If your mother can be shown that the bin held a month’s worth and the drawer holds three years’ worth, maybe (just maybe) she’ll see reason. Then you can decide together how much you need to keep and then OPENLY dispose of the rest. I think she NEEDS to see you recycling the excess rather than ‘disappearing’ it.
What sensible advice Wendy B. Of course I was only kidding about disappearing it, well mostly because after knowing Deb via my blog for so long now I know how difficult it is for her to get the message across to her mom at times. It can be very hard to convince someone who has had to make do at times throughout their life that they don’t have to continue that behaviour forever.
Wendy, you have a good idea. I have tried something similar but “it’s good paper.” I think I am just going to pick a time that seems to give me an opening and just talk to her about it. Who knows, she may decide I’m right.
“Hardware-give to your handyman next time he calls.” Well…I’m married to my handyman, so I don’t think that one will help me too much! 🙂 All his little odds and ends make me a little crazy sometimes, but I am SO thankful for all the money he’s saved us over the years by fixing things himself. Just like my dad.
Lucky you Lisa, my dad was a handy man too nut no so much my husband. We rent anyway so someone else is responsible for most of the handman chores.
Great advice. I recently decluttered my home office desk drawers. SO many little odds and ends that I’ve kept for years and never used. I got ruthless and reduced the contents of 4 overflowing drawers to fit comfortably into two. It’s amazing how these little things add up!
Exactly Josh, soon I will share with everybody the amazing difference decluttering little stuff has made to my craft room. I didn’t even realise myself how much difference until I compared photos yesterday. To give you some idea I had to patch the photos together to cover the before shot while it only took I photo to show the end result. Although it isn’t really the end result as it is a work in progress.
Yes, slowly but surely. Bits at a time. Hum! I wonder what else I could do that way and if she would notice.
It seems Deb that it is not only I who can turn my mind to evil and cunningness when all else fails. I think your up for the task.
An awesome post Colleen. I’m always grateful for lists like this. I never read one without being reminded of something I own that I can get rid of. This time it was buttons! I own tons of buttons for sewing, crafts, and even in decorative jars. Some of which I don’t even like.
Betty Jo, I saved the ones I new we still had clothes and a few basic colour and put the rest in a jar and sent them off to the thrift store. The jar was gone by the end of the day.
Funny how the planets are aligned on this one! Just yesterday l was going through some of my “tiny clutter” as it was on my mind what to do with jewellery, toiletries and small bits and bobs. So the jewellery the jury is out on what l am doing with that – but the skincare samples l am using to get rid of. The extra nail file and tweezers have gone in a central toiletries bag with other small items that will be used – small thread and sewing needle in there too. The bag is only small and here’s a tip – it’s a clear toiletries bag – so l can see what is in it which eliminates “out of sight out of mind”.
Well done Felicity. That sounds like a handy bag to take on holidays. Even though I pack light when we travel I always put in a small sewing kit and I think we have found a use for it every time. Once it was to sew a button back on hubby’s shirt and the other was to sew the cover back on the cheap umbrellas we bought when the weather turned on us while in Italy in 2010. And I found myself wanting for a pair nail clippers when we went to Singapore in 1997 and I have never left home without them since.
Oh what a perfekt list! (Colleen, still liking the ‘k’ thing…hee hee hee).
We had what seemed like a semi-truck supply full of post-it (R) notes for many years. We slowly whittled them down to being all-gone and now we refuse to purchase more (ahoy mattey, the “R” word! Gotta like it!). I’ll jot my grocery list on the odd piece of paper that strolls through the house (try as we can to keep them out, it’s like they’ve grown legs and walked in on their own). After that, they have to walk the plank into the recycle bin.
Hi Annabelle, I like the k too, it can be your signature more. I saw a business sign the other day ~ Kontakt ~ and I thought of you. It seems to be pens that stroll into our house. One of the family member is a pen klepto I think. I have a sneaking suspicion it is my husband since he is the one with the desk job.
Can you bundle them up and send them back to his office? I used to do that when hubby was working. Ten pens with a rubber band around them would make it back to his office, where a single one would be overlooked. Alas, he’s now retired so I can’t use that method to dispose of pens. However, he’s also no longer carting them home… W
I certainly could Wendy but I haven’t noticed the problem so much these days. When we returned from America we had about 100 pens, many from motels that is why I blame Steve because he used to go away for work a lot. If I notice them building up again I will certainly do that though.
Very interesting and useful post! My parents also are those type of persons that think “you never know” and keep anything, so I grew up with the same mentality. I have so many paper clips in my stationery drawer and I’m sure I never even bought one! They all came in with some document or another. I need to do something about it!
One of the first areas I decluttered was travel-size soaps: we travel a lot and when we leave a hotel room I always take with me the half-used stuff like soaps or shampoos. I don’t like the idea that they are going to be trashed! But at home I rarely use the solid soaps, so I finally gave most of them to my father who uses them. Then I am trying to use up some bath soap/shampoo / body lotion mini-bottles.
And I am definitely going to declutter my jewellery now that you mention it. No idea how many broken or single earrings I have in those boxes!
One more area where I’m struggling is that “household others”: I have so many small key-holders, mostly souvenirs from someone else’s travels or freebies from some fair I attended for work. Tried with Freecycle but for now no luck. Not to mention all the other small souvenirs and knick-knacks that nobody seems to want. You can have an idea if you look at these photos: http://www.reecycle.it/vari-portachiavi-720 and http://www.reecycle.it/vari-soprammobilini-oggettini-725 (hope it’s not a problem if I post these links).
Hi Sabrina, does the place where you said you can take donations not accept the key rings and trinkets that are in the photos you linked to. Our thrift store sells all that sort of items. If you live in an apartment is there an entrance area where you could leave a box of things with a sign that says FREE so other tenants can take them if they want. If you only leave the box there for a couple of days every now and again I am sure no one would mind.
Thanks for the suggestions, last time I went to the charity place I had not decluttered those yet, so next time I’ll try and see if they accept them. In my building there is an entrance area, no one has ever left anything with a “free” sign on it but you never know, I could start a new fashion… 🙂
Hi Sabrina, I believe that one of my other readers, ideealistin I think, does this with some success. I do it on my sidewalk sometimes usually with bigger items, they disappear every time.
We get all kinds of notepads and address labels from the Vets and USO and other charities looking for donations. My granddaughter loves stickers so I give her the address labels. The pads of paper go in the kitchen and every night before I go to bed, I write my to-do list for the next day and leave it on the counter. Since I have to take meds before I leave for work, I can see the list so I don’t forget anything for that day. What to take out for dinner or that I have a doctor’s appt. Nothing earthshattering but just memory joggers. Or I leave a note for my husband in case I need him to do something while I am gone.
Also, I use small baby food jars for all the little screws and nails and misc metal things I pick up around the house. My husband can then look and see if there is anything worth keeping and if not, out it goes. He is not a “saver” like me, so is more likely to toss these odds and ends.
I am looking forward to doing some junk drawer cleaning out this Memorial Day weekend. With 4 days off, I think I can get some serious stuff cleaned out. Already have ideas for cleaning out dresser drawers thanks to the notes from other posters.