DON’T BUY Containers – Yet!
Posted by Joanna on Mar 13, 2008
Working with a new client the other day I was reminded of how
tempting it is to think that buying organizing STUFF will solve the
problem. Catalogs show beautiful,serene spaces trying to convince
you that all you need is to buy a new SOMETHING.
My strong recommendation is DON’T!!! Don’t buy new shelving , new
containers nor another file cabinet. Not yet.
First – find out what you really need and want in your space. There
may be a lot of things you almost never use. Say it’s a bunch of
bowls that you want to keep for the future when you have more
time for company… Rather than purchasing a new cupboard and
filling up your daily living space … put the extra items put in
a clearly marked space in the attic or basement or even in the
back of a closet.
If you want less clutter, the first thing to do is consider
what you want to see(admire) or use everyday …
Once you KNOW for sure what you really need and want in your
active( most lived in spaces), then it MAY be time to buy a
container.
So FIRST – declutter!
Tips from YOU!
Posted by Joanna on Feb 29, 2008
Thank you all for the great ideas you have been sending in.
For my LEAP YEAR’s DAY tip, I decided to share some of them!
Nancy comments: A decluttering tip that works for me:
I take polaroid pictures of my shoes and put the picture on the
outside of the shoeboxes I store my shoes in. Digital pictures
would probably work also.
From Paula,
Here are some websites where people can get information about
donating items that are no longer needed to charitable organizations:
- Eye Glasses: neweyesfortheneedy.org
- Shoes: shareyoursoles.org
- Wedding Gowns: makingmemories.org
- Cell Phones for vicitms of domestic violence for emergencies:ncadv.org
- Upgrade Your Laptop: worldcomputerexchange.org will send one to a child in one of 61 countries
Best Regards,
Paula
www.youravon.com/pkuja
And from Katy:
re Packing: I have lists for travel on my bulletin board that fills one wall in my bedroom…The lists are not finished but are in progress. One list is for the
- cabin/family-warm
diving – warm
cabin/family – cold
Cabin/family is what I use for a sightseeing trip either warm or
cold. It helps me Sooooo… much when I try to get ready. Thanks
tons, Katy
Keeping Your Treasures
Posted by Joanna on Feb 14, 2008
It seems to me that Feb 14th is good day to mention a couple of
ways to enjoy items you treasure even when it no longer makes sense
to keep them.
I was reminded of one strategy by a lovely woman visiting from New
York who stopped by our neighborhood yard sale last Fall. She and I
got to talking about clutter (imagine that!)and how space is at a
premium living in the city. She said she was pretty good at
keeping her small space livable. For the fun of it, I gave her a
copy of my Decluttering 101.
A few days later she emailed to tell me something she’d been doing
for quite a while with treasures that didn’t really fit in her life
any more. Photographs were her solution! She’d made a “Treasure
Album.” When she wanted to pass a treasure on BUT didn’t want to
forget it, she wrote a brief note, took a couple of photos and
could then appreciate that piece of her past without having to pay
for and/or search for it in storage.
A similar solution for any sort of cloth item that is no longer
useable (t-shirts, sweatshirts, tablecloths, whatever)is a “Memory
Quilt.” Keep a small part of the cloth, perhaps a logo or a part of a
sleeve and sew the pieces into a quilt. However,if you are unlikely to ever make a quilt, a photo could work here too.
It makes sense to me to figure out one way or another to actively see
and enjoy those things you consider treasures!
Here’s a proposal- send me a strategy that has worked well for you -
I’ll send you a complimentary copy of Decluttering 101.
The Junk Mail Problem
Posted by Joanna on Jan 17, 2008
Imagine not having to deal with ANY mail that you consider junk!
What if everything arriving in your mail is something you
“love, or(a bill for) something you use, or a treasure” of some sort?
What would that be like? Really think about it for a minute!
I know I’ve written about a number of ways to reduce junk mail- but
I’ve only recently learned about doing it online! This could be super
for you who love using the internet. Seems to me that junk mail
reduction is very much a win/win since you end up with less clutter
and the environment is better off as well.
NOTE: I am told there are similar services in other countries – my
apology to readers who are not in the USA as I haven’t looked up
who you would contact. Could you let me know?
In the US, http://www.ecocycle.org is a free service that links you
to a number of mail reduction sites including one for credit card
offers.
http://www.greendimes.com charges a fee of $15 but plants ten trees
when you sign up and gives you some assistance with the process.
There are a number of other sites. Almost all of them quote bunches
of factoids to spur you on to action. Here’s one: ” Each of us will
spend an average of eight months of our lives dealing with junk mail
(Center for a New American Dream).” Yikes!
No matter how you decide to do it- give yourself and the earth a
break in 2008. Find out just how much junk mail you can stop BEFORE
it arrives!
Re-gifting in a Greening World
Posted by Joanna on Dec 13, 2007
You still have time to try this holiday tip. It’s something that
I’ve been thinking about a lot as 190 countries gather in Bali for
the UN Conference on Climate Change. My tip is about re-gifting
and making it a GREAT thing to do for your loved ones AND the planet.
I’ve just finished reading a wonderful book – THREE CUPS OF TEA,
about Greg Mortensen, an American high peak climber who turned his
efforts to building schools in Pakistan…building peace, one school
at a time. A client had read it, didn’t plan to read it again, and
enthusiastically passed it on to me.
It turns out that this book is on my mother-in-law’s AAUW book group
reading list for 2008 and I drew her name for Christmas. I KNOW
that in the “old days” giving her this well read copy might have been
considered cheapskate – a lesser present than a brand new copy. BUT
I propose rethinking this viewpoint. WHY is a brand new copy better?
There’s an animation on www.storyofstuff.com that includes these
statistics:The US has 5% of the world’s population but uses 30% of
the world’s resources and produces 30% of the world’s waste. The
video is worth watching as it gives easy to comprehend information
about HOW we got here and what we can do. Perhaps watch it with your
family and friends.
But in the meantime, how GREEN can you be this holiday? What in
your space HAVE you cherished but no longer really see or use? Who
in your life would love it? In what ways can you express your love
by regifting or giving a gift of service or shared time instead of
stuff?
The production and consumption of STUFF
Posted by Joanna on Dec 10, 2007
A friend just sent me the link to this “Story of Stuff” ! It isn’t how I usually communicate but it certainly is valid and I
wanted to make it available to you.
A 20-minute, fact-filled look at our production and consumption patterns with some solutions offered at the end. Worth a watch before going “holiday shopping .”
All the stuff in our lives, from its extraction through sale, use and disposal, affects the environment and communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The “Story of Stuff “ looks at the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Have a wonderful and stuff-free holiday!
–
Gifts You’ve Really Loved
Posted by Joanna on Nov 30, 2007
As the world of shopping swirls around you in the weeks ahead take
a moment out, take a deep breath, and think back to one gift you
received. One which, when remembered, still warms your heart or
makes you smile. Remember what it was?
When you are looking at the ads – and thinking about the frenzy of
rushing around to buy things. Pause. For sure the ads want us to go
for bigger, better and more.
But what do you remember loving? Maybe talk about this with folks
over dinner -or tea or while going somewhere in the car. What do
your friends or family members recall?
My friend Max says that guys remember food gifts and that Moms
love framed photographs. True for you? My husband likes an
“AT YOUR SERVICE DAY”coupon which he can cash in any time in the
year. I love cut flowers always … and when they are done they go
into the compost to feed more flowers.
My perspective may well be a bit skewed as I spend so much time
helping people get rid of stuff that doesn’t bring them joy. But
that’s who I am. How bout you?
Making “breathing space” for YOU!
Posted by Joanna on Nov 16, 2007
Does it seem to you that November is just racing by …How can it be only a week till Thanksgiving (for the US declutterers) and then a week later December
arrives? YOIKS! Can you sense your treadmill about to lurch into the highest speed – just when it would be so great to have the time to
be kind and gentle with yourself as well as others in your life?
In addition to time pressures there’s the pressure of STUFF- perhaps more than at any other time of the year.
SO how to make a bit of space? How to slow down just a tad?
Here’s SPACEMAKING TIP #1 ONE LESS TASK
Take a deep breath and search for ONE thing you are doing that you will deliberately let go of for the next 6 weeks.
One activity that you will specifically put on the back burner for the next six weeks. And then reassign THAT pocket of time for YOU!
Rest assured that the people in your life who are counting on you will benefit from your IN-ACTION.
(It would be super to hear what you choose and how it goes. Want support? Check the Breathing Space blog to find out
what and how others are doing with this. www.breathing-space.com
SPACEMAKING TIP #2 The SCOOP METHOD
There’s that pile of stuff that is driving you nearly crazzzzzzy. You can’t bear the thought of dealing with it.
When you imagine trying to sort it out your shoulders scrunch up,your jaw tightens and you want to do ANYTHING else
but that! So you do your best to ignore it but still it’s there nagging at you.
Get a free cardboard box from the grocery and SCOOP that pile! JUST SCOOP! Almost pretend your eyes are closed
because it’s crucial that you DON’T deal with the stuff at this moment. Toss it ALL in the box and immediately write on the box
SCOOP – the location where the pile was and the date. You have probably moved stuff out of the way “for company” other times in your life. This has a slightly different edge– you are doing this for your own sake AND you have marked the box
in BIG BOLD letters with a date on it which will help you track just how important the stuff is that went into the box. If you don’t look at it for half a year it’s going to be either saesonal stuff which you will be rady to use again OR
stuff you really don’t use – so no wonder it was in a pile!
Yes- now you have to put the box somewhere and yes- sometime soon it would be good to sort the stuff and get it where it
belongs but if you have marked the box you are already in better shape than before. You have begun to give yourself some SPACE.
The specific steps for dealing with the SCOOP are outlined in Decluttering 101. Available at www.breathing-space.com
Post-Summer Space
Posted by Joanna on Oct 18, 2007
As cooler weather once again moves your world toward the indoors,
it’s time to take a look at your prime real estate . What’s that???
That’s what I call the spaces you use most on a daily basis:
kitchen, bedroom,living room,office…
It is here where the keep test is most relevant. Ideally you can
move around these spaces- feeling supported, maybe even blessed by
your surroundings. For that to be possible I believe that those
items that occupy your daily space need to pass the most rigorous
questioning of: Do I LOVE this? Do I USE it? Is it a treasure?
Otherwise chaos can quickly take over your most lived in spaces,
taking away the security of knowing where the things are that you
really need and want.
The way I see it, there is so much stuff that comes in every day
that, if you want a sense of comfort and clarity, the items you
hold on to need to PROVE themselves worthy of belonging in your
space.
Rest assured, this is something I regularly have to work on myself.
This week it’s in my office (sigh) where it’s either me or the stuff.
So please don’t feel alone in your process…and DO feel free to email
me with your struggles, questions and/or victories.
Sweet success story
Posted by Joanna on Oct 4, 2007
From a client comes this tale of victory!
Joanna ! My cleaning out process has been amazing!
Just today i spent 4 wonderful hours, removed garden chairs from
storage under my studio….i was worried that the garbage truck
would not collect large metal chairs.
Within minutes a fellow with a truck stopped and scooped them up,plus two additional chairs, barbecue, xmas tree stand, defunct metal table frame, plastic table, and full picnic table set.
He took it all away for a weekend party, and the
rest he was going to recycle….he is in the metal collecting biz!
now, is that the universe at work?!!
It is getting easier and easier to chuck and recycle everything, so
satisfying. I have accepted that if there is something i REALLY
need in the future i WILL be able to acquire it.
Please let your readers know- It DOES work!
