Keeping Trash
October 2nd, 2008
One of the most absurd things that you can do is to keep trash yet this is exactly what most of us end up doing. The first thing most people will do is deny the fact they keep trash but they do, I know I do from time to time. Now before I go any further I should quantify what I mean by keeping trash, I’m not refering to actual garbage that ends up in the dump (though some of it should). What I’m referring to are items that are no longer useful; they’re broken and should be taken out with the trash.
What kind of trash people keep around?
When an appliance like a toaster stops working as well as we would like it too or worse still breaks we get a new one to replace it. A lot of the time that appliance or item gets put into the basement or tucked away somewhere just in case. This stuff is now junk that clutters up our lives and it doesn’t just include toasters but pretty much everything. For years I kept an old printer around that still worked but I never used it because it wasn’t very good. I had gotten a replacement and was using that.
Take a good look at your stuff and pick out the trash
Next time you’re in the process of cleaning out your garage or basement look at all the stuff you’ve kept just in case. When a new piece of furniture comes into the house the old one gets kept for emergencies that never come up. Granted some of the trash we keep has potential value but for the most part these items are nothing more than trash.
Trash forces us to buy bigger homes.
My wife and I recently moved into a larger home and I’m starting to notice a lot of items are being kept around even though they have no real purpose anymore. These items are trash or they will be soon enough. Once our house becomes overly cluttered we’ll start thinking we need a bigger home when in reality we need to get rid of stuff.
Getting rid of the trash
We become attached to our possessions for some reason and we have difficulty throwing them out. How many people keep their old cell phones just because there’s a ring tone we used to have on it or a phone number we’ll never call? You have to be ruthless with your trash, if there is no reason to keep an item get rid of it; don’t let it clutter up your life.
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Destroying Magazines to Declutter
September 10th, 2008
Magazines and newspapers can take up a great deal of space if you let them. There was a great post over at Productivity 501 where they suggested destroying your magazines. Personally I think this is a great idea - keep only the stories that you need and just get rid of everything else. I know this doesn’t work for everyone since people sometimes share magazines or want to keep them, but in general the practice can really help keep down the clutter of magazines.
When you get a new magazine go through it and tear out the stories that you want to read then get rid of the rest. Once you’ve read the stories you can decide if you want to keep them or get rid of them. Most of the time the information can be found online so you’re safe getting rid of the magazine. Keeping a few magazines isn’t a bad thing but when you have dozens of them littering your house you end up with clutter.
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Donate Your Old Clothes
September 4th, 2008
One of the big things that clutter up a house is clothing. Even if you keep your clothes organized and neat in your closets there is a good chance that you’ve got a bunch of clothes that you no longer use or no longer fit. A great way to declutter your house is to go through all those old clothes and get rid of the ones that you don’t use or don’t fit.
Be ruthless
I know I’ve made impulse purchases in the past where I bought clothes and never wore them. It was a good idea at the time but I ended up wasting money on something that now takes up space in my closet and my dressers. Get rid of this stuff, even if there’s a tag still attached to the item. If you’re particularly attached to your old clothes have a friend help you sort through the clothing. Reducing clutter can really simplify your house.
Donate
Rather than simply throwing out the clothing donate it, most cities have charities that accept clothing as donations. If the clothing you’re getting rid of is in pretty good shape give it to one of these charities. By doing this you can help while clearing out clutter.
Technorati Tags: decluttering, closet organization, clothes donation
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