Frantic Find

During a frantic search for puff paint, I pulled everything out of a couple craft boxes my daughter and I have filled over the years.  I didn't find the paint, but before I put everything back in the boxes today, much of it will be thrown away and simplified. 

When you have to dig through a storage area or container, making a mess, simplify that space as you put it away.  Get rid of things you forgot were there.

Candle

Last year I wrote a couple times about using up candles.  Today I put a brand new one in the give away bin; we aren't sure where we got it.  Thankfully, different scents appeal to different people, because this one is vile to me. 

Ditching Responsibility

When I was a young teacher, recently out of college, I would put off grading handwriting papers way too long.  It's just that it seemed like millions and also a dilemma came with them...do you write in red pen over all 15 capital G's that look like S's, or do you make one example and hope the child cares enough to change his/her handwriting to match?  In my room, I remember there being stacks to grade.  Every so often, when I got terribly behind, I would get an epiphany.  "Will the kids really remember the day they practiced J and K?  Can I just toss these?"  I sometimes threw away a few stacks and no one ever knew the difference.  After that, I felt so free and also more determined to keep up on that particular subject's grading.

I'm truly not advocating ditching responsibility...most of the time.  However, in the mindset of simplifying, is there a project that has been hanging over your head?  Think it through.  Is it really going to make an impact if you just...don't ever do it?  Can you throw away that needlepoint cushion cover you began in high school?  Does your 25 year old son really care if you organize all his elementary school papers into a memory binder?  There are times that you can just simplify your life and home by ditching a project and living to tell about it!

Another Tip

For, ahem, a long time I have known I need to clean my trash cans throughout the house.  It is a task I dread.  In a strong moment over the weekend, I discovered an easy way to clean plastic trash cans!  The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser just wiped off dirt and anything on the sides of the tall plastic bin with very little effort on my part.  I felt rather euphoric because is was so easy, and it was done!

In conclusion, that is a way to simplify some of your spring cleaning.

Direction to Look

Look in the filing cabinet today.  Can anything be thrown away?

Scarf

I put an old, yet still good, winter scarf in the give-away bin today.  We have so many nicer, newer ones; this one needed to go.

Spring: A New Look!

Though we have snow predicted for Sunday, it IS spring, so we'll go with a cheerful blog look!  As we think of spring, some of us get nagged by the thought of spring cleaning.  I read a wonderful idea for simplifying one aspect of spring cleaning. 

A chore I had periodically as a kid was to wipe each leaf of house plants with milk; the task was to remove the dust and shine up the leaves, which the milk did.  I know I don't have time for that now, so the idea is to place house plants in the bathtub and let the shower or a hand-held sprayer clean off the dust.  Simple! 

Too Much Furniture?

A move that can make a big impact is downsizing the amount of furniture in a room.  Wall to wall furniture:  end tables, magazine racks, couches, chairs, etc.  create a closed in and cluttered feel.  Is there any piece that be given away or sold to just allow some more open space? 

Some people enjoy the coziness of lots of large pieces; others want a calmer feel.  It is up to you (and the person whose favorite armchair you'd love to donate), but don't be afraid to consider getting rid of large items.

Declutter and Lose Weight

There was a great article on Weight Watchers' website today.  They had advice on decluttering cabinets in order to gain self-control in eating.  A couple suggestions I thought were especially noteworthy:

1.  Get rid of the half opened bags of chips, cookies, cakes.  "Who is going to reach for a piece of fruit when there are cookies around?"
2.  If you must keep fattening snacks around for your family, put them in their own drawer or in opaque containers.  Package advertising is very tempting.
3.  When you reorganize your cupboards, make sure what is visible is the most nutritious.
4.  Restock with whole grain cereal, tortilla chips, popcorn, nuts, etc. 

I'm off to see what fattening or old items I can pull off my shelves! 

Taxes

I've been out of town, computer-less (except for a brief time on my daughter's laptop); sorry about not posting.  Living in a small, clutter free hotel room always makes me even more dedicated to simplify!

As many people have already completed their 2010 taxes or soon will, I got to thinking about how much people hate it.  Paying the government more is part of the problem.  Gathering all the information, forms, receipts, etc. is another bain of our existence.  Does anyone have a system that makes it simpler?

A few years back, I dedicated a drawer with an envelope (large) in it to any tax-related receipts, check stubs, W-2's (when they arrive), etc.  I also take a second before placing in a random receipt to write on it what the purchase was for.  A year is a long time to just try to remember.  It is nice to go straight to that envelope at tax time and have everything in one place. 

I would be interested in your ideas.

Look in the Car

For this Sunday's seach and simplify destination, try looking in your car to get rid of unneeded clutter!

Old Printer

I am taking an old printer to Goodwill.  They can use old computer equipment to refurbish or take for parts.  As quickly as technology updates, these kinds of items can make a steady stream to a thrift place as we get rid of the old.

Limit Your Clutter

As mentioned many times before, I enjoy reading http://www.clutterdiet.com/ website which has practical organizational tips and short videos on various clutter problems.  One today talked about "limiting containers."  If you collect items like magazines, change, children's school papers, shoes, etc. think about keeping those kinds of items in "limiting containers." 

What a container of a certain size does is keeps you from collecting too much of a good thing.  Once the container is full, it's time to sort out what is important to keep and what is not.  (Laundry baskets with dirty laundry are a prime example!)  A mug holds a certain amount of loose change; a small basket or decorative box can limit your magazines.  Think about the overflow in some area of your home.  Could this help?

Shoe Boxes

I am taking two shoe boxes to school today for kids to use in projects.  It's amazing how an assignment is assigned five days prior and suddenly it comes to child minds, "Oh, I don't have a shoe box and should ask."  Anyway, that's another issue. 

I'm advocating that you find a local teacher friend through which you can simplify.  There are times like these I wish I could ask someone for any extra boxes, juice can lids, toilet paper rolls, hangers, old magazines, etc.  Teachers (creative ones) often need these items in bulk for projects.  This clears out things for you and helps our education systems.

In and Out

Someone in my family stepped on our old scale to weigh in.  In contrast, stepping on the wii showed the relieved weigher a ten pound difference.  We decided it was time to buy a new scale.  I am giving away the old scale.  Hopefully someone underweight will buy it at the thrift store...

Walls

Walls are locations we overlook in our decluttering.  There are two aspects to walls:

1.  We breeze past them daily and don't pay attention to what it hanging on the walls.  Is it time to get rid of an old plaque or picture, framed cross-stitch, etc?  I had two pair of candles hanging from a decorative hook.  A couple years ago I began hanging necklaces on that same hook.  The candles became buried under jewelry.  I "found" them recently and put them in the giveaway bin.  No need to keep those old things.

2.  Walls can also be a way to declutter dressers, table tops, etc.  Hang those photo frames on the wall instead of having them all over the top of an end table.  It makes dusting SO much easier and gives a cleaner look.  Hang a decorative basket on a wall to hold mail instead of having it pile up on the counter.  Hang jewelry on a hook on the wall to declutter your drawer or top of your dresser.

Take a fresh look at your walls. 

Direction to Look

Check the top of your desk.  Is there anything you can throw away?

Dream Fulfilled

Most people wouldn't count getting an attic cleaned and organized a dream fulfilled, but if a task has been nagging at you in your mind, finishing it definitely feels like having a dream fulfilled!

What area has been bothering you about your home?  Choose one spot.  Just jump in with both feet and "git-er-done!"  It really feels good and  simplifies your mind.  Have you had a goal you've thought about for years and never gotten around to doing it?  Just start.  Even if everything isn't in place at the beginning, it will simplify your head to just do it.

For years since an acquaintance told me about her Iditarod Dogsled Race unit she taught each year at school, I have wanted to create it and use it as a springboard for weaving in all my subjects for those two weeks the Iditarod runs.  This year I finally did it and I couldn't be more pleased!  It feels good to finally accomplish what's been nagging me, and the students and I are loving what we are learning.

So, think about this simplification idea in terms of a location in your home OR a goal you've had that has never been begun.  It's worth starting.

Sock Sorting

I had a friend growing up who was somewhere in the middle of nine children.  One time at her home, our task was to sort and pair up socks before we could play.  "How bad can it be?" my young mind cheerfully pondered.  We walked into the dining room and there was a MOUNTAIN of socks piled onto the table.  I was flabbergasted! 

One organizing tip I recently picked up from clutterdiet.com was about sons who can wear socks in the same size.  She suggested buying the same size and color for both children, such as sport socks.  That way, sorting is done minimally and it doesn't matter which person gets which socks since they're all the same!

Promotional DVD

Have you ever received a promotional DVD from a company?  It seems so wasteful to toss it, even if it's not something you will watch.  We got one on the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Disposing of that seemed almost like a sacrilege!

The key is, they are promotional DVDs.  They only hit highlights.  Throw it away!

Lazy Susans

Three very good friends of mine are named Susan, and they are anything BUT lazy.  It's sad that a device has such a name.  But...it does, and it's a very handy gadget to help you organize.  If you can find one small in diameter, it can hold many of your sauces such as soy, vinegar, worchestershire, etc.  When you reach into a dark pantry or cupboard, you can just twirl it around and find what you need.  All the sauces can be in one spot.  I also use one for many of my spices and herbs.  Tupperware used to sell little modular containers for spices that all fit on a lazy susan.  It is so handy to just spin that and find what I need.

As you simplify daily, look for ways to better organize what you have left!

Spring Cleaning!

I have decided that spring must have arrived because so many of my friends on Facebook are posting about cleaning out basements, master closets, etc.  The consistent overtone is, "How did we accumulate all this stuff?!" or "Now my basement looks worse than ever.  You can't even tell I've done anything!"

I've said it before and will say it again, you often need to make a mess to clean a mess.  Don't be afraid of it.  Sorting is a great method for cleaning spaces and if you dive into an entire room or closet, you'll have to spread out.  Just have three piles or bins:  keep, give away, throw away.  Keep plugging away at the clutter.  Over a period of days, you will be proud of your accomplishment!

Direction: Freezer

Today I will just direct you to an area where perhaps you can grab an old item and get rid of it.  The freezer can have all sorts of old stuff lurking in the depths!

Toiletries

This is a confession day.  While searching a storage cupboard today, I came across a tube of "foot spa" cream.  It's great stuff, and half of it is gone, but the confession comes in that a student gave it to me in 2003.  I guess the thought was I would use it up since it was such a superior product.  Eight years later, it has outlived its shelf life. 

Keep a sharp eye out for toiletries that you haven't used in a  l o n g  while.  It's OK to get rid of it and simplify.

Tourist Traps

Before having children, I could never justify paying $.75 in a machine to smash a $.01 penny at tourist places.  You know,  you put a penny in the slot (as well as more cash) and somehow, like a speeding train, the gadget smashes and irons out the penny, leaving an imprint in the copper of the tourist destination.  Sometimes in a moment of weakness, I would let my children try it.  So today, I came across two smashed, oval pennies.  One says "World's Only Corn Palace" and the other "Rainforest Cafe'."  What do you do?  It seems wasteful to throw away the copper, but my decor doesn't really allow for displaying the smashed pennies. 

We have recycling places for scrap metal.  I could take it there (someday!) or just toss them.  I won't fall for the sweet, innocent, "Please, Mom?" again at those penny smashers!  A souvenier photo of my loved one next to the Corn Palace will be sufficient in the future.

Clothing Closet

I keep going back to the closet because it's amazing what stays in there that is never used.  A sweater I haven't worn all this winter went into the box for Goodwill.  Keep checking your closet.  That's a prime spot to find unneeded items and decluttering there will help you simplify your search for outfits in the mornings.

Little Bits of Paper

It may become a thing of the past with  the surge in technology, however, for now, little bits of paper can add to our clutter:

receipts, coupons, reminder notes, etc.

They pile up and I have this nervous feeling like I have a lot to do whenever I see the piles.  There are ways to get rid of the little pieces.  For coupons, my son bought me a wonderful accordian file that is small and fits up in my cupboard.  I can grab it before I leave for a store and inside are all my needed coupons and gift cards, gone from the counter and filed!  A similar little file could be used for receipts.  Always write the product on the receipt first so it's easy to find if needed.  Receipts can also be stapled to owner's manuals and filed in a file cabinet.  Put reminders into your phone or computer to pop up, or write the thing to remember on your calendar, eliminating the need for paper notes.  The time you save by having all your paper in a proper place so you can locate it within minutes is amazing, plus your refrigerator, desktop, and counters remain neat and easy to clean!