Time To Clean

I read a quote that struck me funny yesterday:

"A clean house is a sign of a broken computer."

Truly, no one has to have a messy house.  If you like your computer time, simplify your housework!  By getting rid of clutter, a quick dusting, vacuuming, and occasional sweeping and mopping should take care of everything.  It's a matter of having open surfaces, items having a place (and being in their places), and a daily maintenance routine that works wonders for your free time (to be on the computer!)

Commit yourself today to finding places for important items.  Otherwise, get rid of them!

A Direction to Go for Simplifying

Check out your medicine cabinet in the bathroom.  Can anything be tossed or organized better?

Organization Tip: Buy One Ahead

This is about decluttering your mind.  An organizational tip I've learned through trial and error is to always  buy one ahead of oft-used items.  Instead of rushing to the store when something runs out,  you have a new one in the cupboard and write on your shopping list that you need another.  It seems so simple, yet it took me years to get in the habit. 

Stamps and toiletries are prime examples.  I buy a roll of stamps and put them in this cute little dispenser.  I don't look into the dispenser to see how many are left.  So, just in case, I have a small sheet of stamps also in the drawer that are my back-ups until I can get another roll.

Contact solution, deodorant,  toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo, soap, etc. are also essentials that I have  bought ahead.  It really saves you from angst and frustrated family members.

Sweaters

It's difficult to get rid of sweaters.  They are so warm and cozy.  The problem comes when they get all "pilled" or even stretched out.  It takes effort to keep them looking nice if you wear them in public.  One of my sweaters kept collecting lint and there were little knobs forming every time I washed it.  It would take too much time to keep it from looking old.  I'm giving it away.

Books

It seems that the bookshelves in our homes can periodically be simplified.  Time has a way of making some items less valued in our minds; a book you definitely wanted to keep two years ago may not be as important now.

Ironically, I gave away the book, A Place Called Simplicity. 

Valentines

Where do you keep special letters, birthday cards, valentines, notes, etc?  There's is a nostalgia to having a bundle of old letters from a special someone tied together with string up in the attic for your children to find someday.  Should we keep them?  I say a hearty YES!  However, save only the special ones. 

As my grandparents aged, I held onto some of their letters in their handwriting.  I saved a note written on.. um... an interesting feminine product pull off strip from pranking college friends.  Letters from my husband during our dating years are tucked away.  Special notes from my own children, school kids and parents, etc. have been kept for future enjoyment.

The recent valentines from our school valentine party are gone now in the trash.  They were sweet and cute, but just had cats or dogs saying "Be Mine."  A homemade valentine from my husband will stay. 

Two suggestions to simplify this area:  if it is special, keep it, but have a certain designated storage spot like a decorative photo box from a craft store.  Do NOT shove cards, letters in a random drawer.  If the card doesn't have much personal sentiment (i.e. just a signature), generally it won't mean as much later to you as will one with a handwritten note. 

Not every note or card can stand the test of time, so don't feel guilty getting rid of the majority.  I know this is treason coming from someone who loves history, but...look at all the history we know about George Washington, yet he and Martha burned most of their correspondence to one another.  It's OK to simplify.

Expired Things

We don't mean to keep items that have expired.  They just get shoved into drawers, thrown into boxes, or pushed back into the cabinet or freezer.  In clearing a spot off in our home office, I came across two expired credit cards.  Apparently, they've been there for two years being overlooked.  I cut them up and threw them away.

The inspiration of this is to get rid of anything past its date immediately, thus decluttering as soon as possible.

Kitchen Drawer

It's Sunday.  I'll point you in a direction; see if you can find something to get rid of!

Give or Throw?

Several times in the past month I have had to pause and think, "Do I give this away or just throw it away?"  A pair of my son's jeans that had a slight rip in the leg I ended up giving away since that is often the style.  The person who gets those could just add a few more slashes to the fabric and have designer jeans!  A pair of leather dress shoes my husband had got thrown away.  The soles could have been resoled, but the uppers were cracked and we didn't think anyone would be able to fix that. 

Even if you're unsure, get those items out of the house.  Don't save them until you decide!  It's not the end of the world if Goodwill has to make rags out of something.  Sending the item to the landfill is no different than not recycling cans.  (Which we should do...)  Just get it out of your house to simplify once again.

Styles

Crew necks make my face look fat.  It's something I've come to accept and am OK with.  With very rounded cheeks, a rounded neckline just doesn't give the trim look I'm after.  So, why do I keep buying shirts with that feature?

I figured out this concept a few years ago.  I still wore my crew necked shirts, though not happily.  Over the winter I used a couple with a certain sweater just because they matched.  Each time I donned them, I groaned over the seeming increase in cheek width on my face.  So, I've decided to begin paring down the collection.  It's difficult as every school t-shirt is crew necked, but I think my self-worth can handle being chipmunk cheeked periodically. 

Is there a style you own that you feel doesn't flatter you?  Consider gradually weeding those garments out of your wardrobe. 

Since my blog is for decluttering and not fashion, I'd better stop now.  Two crew-necked t-shirts went into the give away bin today.  V-necks, here I come!

Exercise DVD

As I aged, I thought pilates would be the way to go for exercising:  low impact, soothing, etc.  I invested in my first pilates DVD, but was highly disappointed.  There are probably good ones out there, but this one had no directions, just bubbly, ethereal background music, and people holding difficult poses for way too long. 

I decided to put it in the Goodwill box.

Managing Change (as in currency)

In our home, we have two mugs that are "drop boxes" for coins found around the house.  I just scoop up the coins left by my husband when he empties his pockets, and in they go.  As the mug gets full, I have a small oatmeal box in a cupboard that will hold a year's worth and I empty the coins in there.  Once a year, I roll all the coins and take them to the bank for a nice surprise (often $70 or more). 

Suze Orman suggests that if you want some extra spending money in your budget each week, pay only with bills for everything and collect the change into a cup.  She says many people will rack up an extra $10 per week doing this.  (I haven't tried it, but it intrigued me!)

With traveling, sometimes foreign coins get mixed into the change cups.  What to do with them?  I recently sent all our British pounds with our son who is studying there for the spring, but there was also a pile of Euro coins.  I've gathered them into a baggie as a "tip pack" for if someone ever needs them.  There are banks that exchange currency if you have an amount worth exchanging.

Anyone have any hints with this?

Fundraisers

Since today is Valentine's Day, I am pondering the benefits and delights of chocolate, so that made me think of fundraisers. 

Working among children, I used to be a real sucker for fundraising efforts.  Or at home, when those little faces would knock on the door selling cookies, peanuts, or candy, I usually caved.  I still stop at every lemonade stand I see.  Perhaps some of my weakness for little salespeople comes from my own appreciation of neighbors growing up who kindly purchased greeting cards, all-purpose cleaner (we sold it for band; the director thought it was something different and practical), lemonade, etc. from me.

Part of simplifying is NOT bringing more unneeded things into our homes.  I recently received an e-mail for a Pampered Chef catalog party that will be a fundraiser for something I think deserves to be funded.  While I love all of their products, I really have each thing I need and have worked hard to unclutter my kitchen.  A good alternative is to just donate money to the cause.  Through the fundraiser, the group will get 20% of the proceeds.  Why don't I just give and they can keep 100% of the money? 

Consider donating money which will help the needy group the most in these cases, especially if what they are selling is nothing you need.

Your Closet

On Sundays, I'll just direct you to a spot to look.  See if you find anything unneeded in your own closet!

Travel Books

On a recent "snow day" off school, I drifted around the house looking to straighten up a neglected area and paused at the book shelves.  As I was pulling off books, rearranging them into a more harmonious order, I pulled off six, SIX, travel books on Great Britain.  Why we have so many is a puzzlement.  While I concede that there are no two people alike, my bet is that travel literature overlaps much of its content. 

My plan is to peruse the books as we plan to visit our college son in the UK in April, and then maybe keep one. 

Coats

For some reason, we have ended up with extra coats that aren't worn.  I can't think of a better time of year to give them away so some other person can stay warm.  Take a survey in your coat closets.  Is any of the outerwear unused?  Plan to take it this weekend to Goodwill or some place that will put your items to good use.  I put a coat, unused for years, in the Goodwill bin.

DVD's

Look over your collection of DVD's and VHS tapes.  Do you have duplicates?  When DVD's became the accepted movie channel, many of us purchased DVD's of the same movies for the crisper, more intense picture.  It's OK to part with VHS tapes, especially if you have the movie elsewhere.  My husband saw me using a work out DVD and, knowing I have used VHS ones in the past, hopefully and excitedly asked, "So, do we even need to keep the VHS player anymore?"  I kindly informed him that my Reebok Versa Training workouts were still VHS.  (Can't you tell by my strong arms??)

If your family has moved into the Blu-ray realm, you may find duplicates of DVD's and Blu-ray films.  No need to have duplicates.   Feel free to donate or sell extras.

Phone Books

I grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the backwoods.  Our phone book was a 5 x 7" size with not many names.  As a kid we had a party line, so you could eavesdrop on neighbors' conversations unless you had parents like mine who carried a dim view of such stealth.  The problem was marathon talkers; there were times you had to interrupt and politely request use of the phone. We also rotary dialed only the last four numbers of anyone's phone number.  It was a simple life...

Nowadays, we not only get one monstrosity of a phone book, but three others with exclusively yellow or white pages highlighting the same area businesses!  How many do we need, especially with the Internet?  Multiple phone books clutter up our lives.  Just keep one and toss the others (or recycle them).  I don't even bring the extras into the house.  When I see a sodden new yellow pages book sitting in my yard (always delivered in the rain), it immediately goes into the recycling bin.

If the Shoe Fits...

I don't collect sayings, but I enjoy them as almost a form of poetry.  They say so much in such little space.  An oldie but goodie is "If the shoe fits, wear it." 

Though this isn't the figurative meaning, it got me thinking about items fitting.  Now is a good time to look through your winter clothes (unless you live in Chicago, New England, or even Texas!) and determine what doesn't fit or what hasn't been used all winter.  If you give it away now, another individual can get some use out of it before spring arrives.

I have a wool sweater I haven't used the entire winter season, and most likely won't.  It is going to Goodwill.

Seasonal Decorations

I have a box in which I store seasonal decor:  snowmen, fall berries and candles, spring and summer silk flowers, etc.  When a new season begins, I go to that box and pull out items to embellish the living room or screened porch.  It is amazing that sometimes I've  forgotten what I have and  pleasantly surprised when digging through the stored knick-knacks
! 
My thought was this:  if I didn't have a central place to keep everything, not only would I forget I had the items, they might never be used and stay in storage for years.  Know what you have.  Keep it accessible in order to use it.  We want to avoid long-term storage.

Sundays

Since Sundays are to be a day of rest, I'm just going to direct us all to an area in the house to get rid of one item.  Today is the refrigerator!  If you have time, comment on what you found to throw or give away.

A Tale of Two Umbrellas

Two or three years ago our family went to the zoo and it began to downpour.  Caught without raingear, we didn't want to spend our time in the giftshop, so we bought rain ponchos and one zoo umbrella.  Of course they were cheaply  made but very expensive.  The umbrella was so zoo-like:  pandas, zebras, giraffes, and fish embellishing the top and the cover.  Right before we were getting ready to go home, I felt the top coming down.  The latch to hold up the umbrella had broken.  We had to leave then to avoid traffic, so I didn't get to take it back.

Long story short, it has been in my car since then, just in case it rains.  What was I thinking?  How is that going to help anyone if it falls down on his/her head??  The same thing happened with a Vera Bradley gift umbrella that a dear student gave to me.  I've been hanging on with the hope someone can fix such things.  Well, money spent or not, they are both now junk and need to go out of my life.  I'll do a quick google search for "fixing umbrellas" and then, if nothing helpful is found, they are history.

School Books

With the invention of electronic readers, clutter from books may become a thing of the past eventually.  However, what to do with old college books or even required novels from high school?  I found a high school novel one of the kids had and am donating it to Goodwill.  First, some other student's parent will be happy to find it cheap, and second, my child won't want to read that classic again, or can get one at the library. 

College books are more difficult.  They become obsolete very quickly.  Rarely do we look up anything in them in later years that we can't find on the Internet.  I can see keeping your favorites, but the majority can be donated or, gasp, thrown away, depending on when you went to college.

Candle

I realize it's trivial, but I have been battling whether or not to just throw away a scented candle with a few hours of light left.  No one in the family really likes the scent, " Santa's Whiskers."  It's been used to mask garlic or charred food odors, light the way when the power goes out, and to provide atmosphere.  I believe it was a gift five years ago.  After my last attempt to use it up on a snow day off school, I was ready to say it had done its duty.

Yesterday, I began reading a children's novel at school, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.    One of the underprivileged characters dreamed of owning 200 candles so they would always have plenty of light to see by.  Gulp...there went my resolve.  How can I throw away a usable candle when sometime back in history someone was too poor to have multiple candles? 

Here's my rationale today:  being a teacher, there will always be a steady stream of candle gifts, I have plenty more, and it will simplify my cupboard to get rid of it and QUIT worrying about it.  So, it's gone as of today.

Magazines

During my most recent trip to the local library, I reentered the reading room.  In that wonderous spot are almost every decent magazine that tempts me in the grocery check-out line!  There are many periodicals for men as well as women.  While one cannot check out the current month's issue, back issues are conveniently located underneath and those can be checked out the same as books, two weeks at a time.

Meaning, if your periodicals pile up in your home, there are ways to simplify and save money.  You could allow your subscriptions to run out and just borrow copies from the library.  No clutter, yet you can read up on the lastest trends, recipes, and weight loss ideas!

For the present, here's a suggestion.  Look through any magazines in your home.  If any are older than three months, recycle them.  Doctor's offices, nursing homes, and sometimes libraries accept used magazines as well.  You probably won't read them, so here is an incentive to clear out some clutter!  That's what I got rid of today.

There's More to be Done!

As I've taken a month off from the blog thinking one year would do, I am currently seeing things around my house and asking myself, "Why do I still have this?  What good is it doing other than taking up space?"  There is obviously more to do in my home, and probably in yours, so I'm back.

The goal of this blog is to encourage people to get rid of one item per day in order to simplify their lives.  Stuff, taking care of it, buying it, agonizing over it, cleaning it, storing it, robs us of time we could use for enjoying life and making a difference in others' lives or our community.  So, every day I will be writing about something I've rid my house of or an organization tip to make "life" more simple.  Join me on another journey!To get started, get a bin or box labeled "give away" so you have a spot to fill up with items you can get rid of.  A trash can is also a good thing for items no one else would ever want. 

My item to toss today was a tinted lip balm I bought on a trip last fall.  It was something I needed at the time for my chapped lips, but after using it a few times, I disliked the color and hated the taste!  It was still hanging out in my purse.  Though it cost more than some (when you're a tourist sometimes you have to pay more for necessities), I decided to throw it away rather than feeling I should use an expensive, nasty product.