Day 334: Buying Gifts or Clutter?

As you begin shopping for Christmas (or any other holiday), keep in mind, "Am I shopping for a gift or for what will become clutter very quickly?"

Day 333: Christmas Decorations

As we begin to decorate for the Christmas season, it's a good time to donate any unwanted items in your decoration boxes. I stopped in at Goodwill last week and they had a lot of Christmas items on display. If you can donate toward the beginning of the season, things will sell.

I am a big fan of natural greens in my decorating. This fall, though my bushes needed trimming, I purposefully waited to trim until this time because I want to use the greens to decorate. The nice thing about real greens is you throw them away when they dry out and don't have to store anything! One year I was driving through the bank drive-thru and noticed nice boxwoods that really needed a haircut. In my enthusiasm, I actually asked the bank teller if I could come back and trim them to keep the greens for my decorating. She looked at me strangely and told me they have a service that does that. I wanted to retort that they were a little behind schedule as the bushes looked terrible, but refrained, figuring she was about done with me.

See what you can simplify in the decorating area this holiday season!

Day 332: Greeting Cards

My timing to send birthday cards used to be very late. I could have invested in a belated line of birthday greetings. However, I have found something that simplifies my life.

When you are honest with yourself, does it really matter if a card from a friend far away has a catchy poem or a heartwarming greeting? I personally love to hear news or at least a sentence in the person's own words. Receiving a card shows me the person has thought about me; hearing news is a little like being with him/her.

My simplifying idea has been to purchase a lot of handmade cards at craft shows. There are no greetings written inside, but that is easily remedied. These cards can be employed for any occasion. Because there is a supply on hand, I am only occasionally late with sending greetings. I buy in bulk sometimes to get the best price, or at some craft shows, if you are shopping near the end of the craft show, prices decrease. I don't come up with catchy phrases, but can write a heartfelt note from me and let the person know what's been going on, just as if we'd had a conversation.

Just an idea for you, but it saves lots of time, money, and trips to the card store. That's simplifying!

Day 331: Photos again

I found a website through clutterfree.com that gave an excellent idea on what to do with boxes of old photos. The site is scanmyphotos.com. You mail them your photos, they scan them and send back the photos with a CD or DVD. You can then get a digital picture frame and play your photos.

If sending your photos away scares you, there are people you can pay to put them in scrapbooks. Having photos in boxes may seem comforting, but it certainly isn't good for the photos or for you if you want to look at them sometime. OR, you could ask for a scrapbook for Christmas to be done by a relative who has that kind of time (or a creative college student who has no money to buy gifts!)

Day 330: Gift Cards

I watched an organizing video where the organizer removed everything from a closet and sorted it into the Keep, Donate, Trash bins. In the closet he found several gift cards. His comment was, "Gift cards do NOT belong in a closet!"

Companies promote selling gift cards because they make extra money when people lose them in clutter and never spend them! It is important to have a particular place for any gift cards you receive so that you can go right to them when needed. For awhile, I kept mine in a small bag in my car. This way, I could grab one if I was running errands and happened upon that business. I have lately seen cute gift card cases. They are similar to business card holders, but more feminine. They were sold at the UPS store.

The most important thing is, make a place for the cards and keep them all there so you don't waste your gift!

Day 329: Happy Thanksgiving!

We may not have time to declutter today, depending on who's visiting, and what we have to accomplish in the kitchen. However, if you happen to see something old and unused in a cupboard as you are searching for herbs or spices, don't hesitate to toss it!

I am thankful that I have less clutter in my house than I did a year ago!

Day 328: Trash - Donate - Keep

After all this time, I still think the simplest method of decluttering an overwhelming mess is designating three bins or bags as "Trash," "Donate," and "Keep." If you have a large amount of clutter, limit your "Keep" section and stick with it! As you clean out that closet or small storage room, everything has to go into one of the three bins. Ideally, you will have pared down 2/3 of your clutter by the time you are finished. From there, you can more easily organize what is left in your "Keep" bin.

Just going through one entire room or closet this way can declutter quickly.