Other People's Stuff

What do we do with other people's stuff they don't want to get rid of?  As I sit at the computer, I am glaring at an oversized retail sign that isn't even grammatically correct:  WOMENS.  (It needs an apostrophe...the teacher in me cringes).  I politely asked the owner if he was getting rid of it last week when it was lying on the family room floor; he said he had to measure it.  That wasn't what I was asking, but I dropped the subject.  Now it's leaning up against the office wall. 

There are times in our quest for decluttering we just need to be patient and put up with family members' clutter, hoping to influence each of them by our example.  I'll keep you posted about the sign...

Outdated, but Still Good

Last week I threw out a box of outdated, but still good flashcards.  It seemed such a waste that I held on to them for 9 months too long.  Why do we hold onto things that are not even current?  Give yourself permission to throw out such items like old college textbooks.  Many textbooks become obsolete within a few years, much to the chagrin of poor college students.

It's OK to simplify your life.  Don't feel bound by stuff.

Pens and Pencils

Check out your stash of pens and pencils today.  Any pen that doesn't write, toss it.  Any unsharpened pencil that irritates you whenever you grab it?  Sharpen it!

The Hurdle

I was sitting in the teachers' lounge yesterday for lunch and the conversation turned to someone talking about  her cluttered house.  Her goal is to go through some of the items this summer.  After I invited her to visit my blog, she uttered a phrase that tends to be the biggest hurdle for all:

"I'm just not ready to get rid of some of it." 

Nostalgia...a hurdle in our quest to declutter.  We all feel attached to certain items.  What do we do?  I've said it before, but it's a good reminder:

Box up the near and dear items and put them somewhere for a period of time.  Your mind will rest knowing you still have them, but they aren't underfoot.  A year or two down the road, your feelings may subside and it will be easier to unload without guilt.  In the meantime, you have still decluttered (especially if there are lots of small toys or trinkets.)

Great Quote

In reading clutterdiet.com, I came across a quote that can motivate us in our simplifying efforts:

"Hard work is often the easy work you did not do at the proper time."  -Bernard Meltzer

Note pads

Do you have notepads in key places?  In any home, usually there are places were families leave notes, write down phone messages, or need something to write on.  At some point in my life, I began keeping notepads at each of those locations with a pen.  That way, when you need to write something in a hurry, there's no rushing around looking for a pen or paper.  I have one next to the kitchen phone (our main one), and one in a drawer right by the outside door where people can leave the rest of the family a note if needed.  It has simplified the frantic-search-for-paper-problem.

Work Space

Some of you have a work space at home; others at your place of employment.  Look through your area.  Are there company items you've had for years that no one uses?  See if you can ditch them (or store them in a common area.)  With the teaching profession, sometimes we fall prey to seeing a worksheet a colleague is copying and say, "Would you make me a set, too?" We have the best intentions, but time slips away and we don't use those worksheets.  It seems a crime to toss them, and an even great crime to store them for the next year.  I plan to run my needed sheets on the backs, thus saving paper (alas...not ink). 

Today I am clearing out some of the clutter in my workspace.  Look to see what you can accomplish in a spare 5 minutes today.