Day 210: Leftover Christmas

Going through my kitchen cabinet, I discovered a "cranberry mustard" left over from a Hickory Farms sausage/cheese pack we received for Christmas. It may have been from 2008; I don't remember. I figured that if I hadn't used it yet, it could go. Have you saved any specialty items that came in gift packs? Do you still want them?

Day 209: On the Refrigerator

A refrigerator can collect clutter on the outside as well as the inside. Magnets hold lists, photos, kid drawings, but how long have some of those pieces of paper or photos been on our refrigerator? How many souvenir or plumbing company magnets does one refrigerator need?

Decluttering the front or sides of a refrigerator makes the room seem fresh and cleaner. Try it! I got rid of some excess magnets today.

Day 208: Leave for Others to Clean

I am going on a plane trip soon, and the thought "What if I don't return?" morbidly has come to mind. Would my family have a hard time clearing out my things?

On Facebook this morning, a couple friends were posting about cleaning out deceased relatives' homes and how daunting the task is. Albeit macabre, this could be a motivating factor for us to simplify and declutter.

On a happy note, I do like to fly, am not scared, and I am leaving my side of the closet neat!

Day 207: College Prep Results

From this week's assignment to my children who are heading to college in a few weeks, we got rid of some books and more clothing. I've asked for two drawers or shelves per week to be sorted through, so their rooms are "welcoming" and decluttered when they come home for visits.

Day 206: Goodwill, A Better Option

We are hesitant to get rid of a lot of items that have sentimental value, are still good and have years left, or we've relied on for years. Throwing them away is definitely out as we were taught to "waste not, want not." (Probably Benjamin Franklin!)

However, giving still-good items to a place like Goodwill makes sure your things continue to help. Not only does Goodwill sell your items discounted to needy or thrifty shoppers, they use the money to help put to work disabled, mentally handicapped, unemployable people (such as former prisoners, uneducated, etc.) They have a cleaning business, laundry business, etc. where these folks can gain pride through work. They also do career training to help people become more skilled so they can get better jobs.

So, to declutter for you is a win/win situation when you can donate to a place like Goodwill.

Day 205: One Per Day

What is your one thing to get rid of today? Mine is a shirt of my son's he has either outgrown or doesn't wear anymore. If you have time, post what you got rid of. Keep up the good work!

Day 204: Coupons, Receipts, etc.

If you are a coupon clipper, a rebate shopper, or a receipt saver, clutter can accumulate quickly. An accordian check folder is a good organizer for them. However, if you feel weighed down with what you have, ask yourself some questions:

1. Are the $1 or $2 rebates I can get from filling out and mailing all this paperwork worth my time and angst about keeping these organized?
2. Do I really need to keep the receipt here? Can I staple it to the instructions that came with the product?
3. Will I really buy five cans of soup to save $.25?
4. Do I really need anything from the craft store that I need to keep this 40% off coupon?

I've had to clear out some stuff like this and just enjoy LIVING, not always thinking about what money I can save through keeping all these little scraps of paper.

Day 203: Clothes Decluttering

Summer isn't really winding down, but the clothing stores think it is over. If you go shopping for new summer clothing, you'll find fall items.

Now is a time to go through your summer wardrobe. Take a 10 minute look through your closet and/or dresser. Are there pieces you haven't used all summer? Get rid of them. I got rid of some more clothing today from my daughter's purge effort.

Day 202: Placing the Blame

Watching a "Clean House" episode brought back a memory. The husband and wife on TV blamed each other for the clutter, and neither took the time to pick up his/her things. It was almost as if one person's clutter enabled the other to be messy as well.

At the end of my junior year of college, Shelly approached me about rooming together in the dorm. I cringed. I liked the girl a lot, but she and her roommate had lived in a disgustingly messy, dirty room all year. Susie had slept in a sleeping bag on her bunk all year, no sheets; there were at least five borrowed popcorn poppers scattered throughout their room, still with old oil in them. (A couple of us had peeked in once looking for our poppers.) Clothing, books, papers, shoes were strewn helter skelter. I told Shelly I just couldn't live like that. She assured me that she hadn't wanted to live like that either, but she just got in bad habits living with Susie. We did end up rooming together senior year and had a beautifully decorated, NEAT room the entire year. There was no problem.

These two stories made me wonder if we allow lots of clutter in our homes, are we enabling our husbands and children to develop bad habits as well? If we clean up OUR stuff, I've found that it encourages good habits for whoever else lives with us.

Day 201: Hangers

When my kids cleaned out their closets, they also came up with an inordinate amount of unused hangers. I was amazed! Perhaps that's something you can look for in your closets.

Of course, if you find clothing on those hangers you don't need, get rid of it as well!

Day 200!!! Kids' Clutter

I asked my two college age children to clean two drawers or shelves in their bedrooms by the end of last week. I'm starting them now as if I wait until August, it's too rushed. This will keep up weekly until they have sorted through what they really want to keep.

We put a nice amount of clothing into the give away bin!

Day 199: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

A friend and I were looking at a covered dish she had. She said she hadn't used it in a long time but still liked it a lot. We took it out of its box and set it tastefully on top of her hutch so she would see it and remember to use it. It worked! Now she sees it and uses a serving piece that had been tucked away.

As we find these "out of sight, out of mind" items in our homes, we can either give them away if we've lived so long without using them, OR put them in a more visible place to remember to make use of them.

Day 198: Homes In Other Countries

Watching "International House Hunters" or shows like that is interesting to me for decluttering purposes. Except for little French flats in Paris, the homes don't seem to be cluttered, even after the buyer moves in. They don't spend their money on "stuff" as much as we do. They go on more vacations, sit outside in cafe`s, hang at the waterfront/beaches, visit people more. Perhaps this is a generalization based on little experience, but I have seen it in actual homes I've visited in various countries.

Why do we gather so much stuff and sequester ourselves in our crowded homes? Wouldn't it be a more pleasant life to have less in the house and go out with people more?

Let's think about that as we declutter.

Day 196: Prokofiev

In sorting through my music cabinet, I came across a classical piano book by Prokofiev. I had to learn a few songs in it as a teen. I use learn loosely, because I hated the music. It's the only time I remember my piano teacher telling me I could just stop on a piece and move on to something else. I just couldn't make myself work on those pieces...sorry for any Prokoviev fans.

I laughed about it, wondered why I'd kept it for so long (did I think I might "learn" to like it as an adult?), and put it in the box to give away.

Day 195: Fabric Scraps

I have mentioned fabric before, but with simplifying, sometimes you find more of something and go through the thought process again. It just seems sacrilegious to throw away leftover chunks of fabric. Our ancestors made quilts and patches and used every scrap! They also had eight children, long winter evenings at home, and no cheap imports from China.

I'll admit that I stashed some larger pieces for "someday." They aren't taking up a lot of room, and I just couldn't throw them away yet.

Day 194: Costumes

I finally went through our stash of costumes from the past ten years. There were costumes from church plays, trick-or-treating, school skits, etc. I don't know that Goodwill wants such things, but I passed them on and then threw away an old, frayed clothes hamper which stored the costumes.

Day 193: Objects Bring Back Memories

Some of our stuff does bring back memories, good and bad. I think sometimes we are worried that if we get rid of an object, we'll forget the story behind it. As has been mentioned, you can always take a photo of it, write the memory down, or do both...then, get rid of the object if you don't need it.

I see a change mug on top of our refrigerator every day and dump loose change into it. There is a funny story behind it. When I was single, my roommate's boyfriend helped us move. For some reason, I wasn't around for this leg of the trip and they put my complete dresser into the back of his truck. When he whipped around a corner, the drawers came open and my underwear apparently flew all over. They gathered it up, and he gave me the "Love One Another" mug as compensation for any embarrassment he caused. Now, it's a good memory, but I have other mugs I like better and once again, my cabinet has multiplied mugs (I'm a teacher...) so I'm going to give away the underwear-pennance mug and use another now.

Day 192: College Things

I've been out of college for a long time. When I delved into the attic last week, I found my "art for teachers" portfolio. It contained a lot of faded construction paper project idea for kids. They were great ideas, but in the public schools today, you already have an art teacher so regular ed. teachers don't need to teach art for art's sake. It was tough, but I threw them out.

A few years ago I relinquished my college files of notes from various courses I had never looked at since the exam for each course. I did keep a couple research papers that impressed me, written in my youth.

If you have college books (now out of date), papers, notes, binders, projects...think about getting rid of them.

Day 191: One Thing Per Day Multiplies

Everyone is doing so well! Knowing we need to get rid of one thing per day ususally multiplies like rabbits and we find multiple items to give away or discard. I gave away an old homecoming dress of my daughter's (with permission) that was 3 years old and she'll never use again (and saw some other items I'll ask permission to give away to help her simplify...)

Day 190: Creativity, a ball and chain?

The gift of creativity can be a ball and chain in our quest to simplify our lives. Creative people often have lots more ideas than they have time. We collect items to use in our creative pursuits. Those materials sit and sit somewhere in our house until we "find" the time to create. Unfortunately, that time doesn't usually present itself and we collect and collect more stuff. "I can make that into..."

I have simplified my head and my house by getting rid of well-meaning projects because at this phase of my life, I just don't have time to finish them. It really has made me feel free.

Day 189: Picture Frames

At least five years ago, the practice of framing lots of photos and having them on dressers, side tables, etc. came into vogue. Though they are a dusting nightmare, they were helpful as conversation pieces and made rooms have the cozy, friendly feel.

I don't know if it's still in style, but it's time to look at that decorating practice. Do you ever look at the photos? Is it time to change the picture, hang the frames on a wall, or just put the pictures in an album and declutter that space? It's up to you. Just make a conscious decision about whether you still like that display.

I got rid of some frames we'd never used.

Day 188: Sewing Patterns

If you are a seamstress, getting rid of patterns is really difficult. I have tried selling them at yardsales and rarely do they sell. Perhaps this is because fewer people sew nowadays? If the pattern is out of style or you have no one that size anymore, gulp, you can throw it away. I found a stack in the attic that I threw out because of those two reasons, and I'm not grieving at this point.

Day 187: An Influx of Stuff

A principle to keep in mind is if you get a large influx of new things into your home (i.e. Christmas presents), plan to get rid of some old. The space in your house stays the same and without this reciprical turn around, clutter will reoccur.

Today I got rid of a scarf, even though I didn't buy a new scarf. :)

Day 186: Benefits of Decluttering

From the website, www.clutterdiet.com, I found these benefits of decluttering your home:

1. Relax: feel less stress, have peace of mind, feel free
2. Have more free time and fun with your family
3. Have people over more often without embarrassment
4. Feel proud of and enjoy your home
5. Find things quickly
6. Feel more in control of your life
7. Save money on late fees and unnecessary purchases

I hope this give you a kick start to begin tackling one area of your home. Just take a half hour to start with. Set the timer. Sort into keep, give away, and trash piles. It will give you a boost to clear at least a little!

Day 185: Elvis Pants vs. Memory

When we were newly married, 22 years ago, we were asked to be in an original Valentine's Day play which involved me being Japanese and my husband playing Elvis. (You had to be there...) I sewed some Elvis pants for him: white polyester with red flares inserted in the bellbottoms.

Well, I found those pants in the attic. Not only is my husband happy that no one took photos of the event, I'm sure he will be glad the evidence is now gone. Why I kept them for so long, I'll never know. Why do we keep items people don't like or will never use? Is it to bring a smile to our faces when we see it? I'd like to think we have good enough memories to tell the funny stories of our lives without storing the props that go along with the stories. So, if you have something as atrocious as Elvis pants in your home, get rid of it and feel free to rely on your memory!

Day 184: Kids' Art

During my forage through the attic, I came across some of my children's art from elementary school I'd saved. I pulled it all out and looked through it. My son and I laughed at a self portrait he did, trying to decide if the object above his head was a bird or a plane.

What to do with cute things like that? Here are some options: Take a photo of the artwork before discarding, frame some to put up in the house, keep only key selections, or just enjoy one last look and realize those are the past and we are making new memories now.

Day 183: In the Attic

Though my lower house is looking neater, the attic is a disaster. Part of me likes the nostaligic thoughts of letting grandchildren wander through the disarray in the attic someday and find "treasures." On the other hand, I would like to get rid of excess.

I took and broke down the rest of the computer boxes (kept for sending broken computers back for repair) and took them to the dump for recycling. That made a huge difference.

Day 182: Half Way There!

Congratulations! We've been into our simplifying journey for six months now. A lot has been accomplished and new habits have been formed. I have loved hearing of your successes and plans with simplifying your life and home. If you have a good story you haven't shared, feel free to comment so the rest of us learn from you.

Today I am finally getting rid of a piano lesson carrying bag my grandmother bought for me many years ago. It is red and flashy, and I loved putting my books in it to take to piano lessons all through high school. The problem is, it sat too near a heater and the plastic bubbled up. I didn't mind using it back then, but now it doesn't look too professional to carry it to a wedding when I play. So, it will go to Goodwill and they can decide its fate. I have wonderful memories still of my grandmother, so don't need damaged "stuff" to remind me of her.