Decluttering

Decluttering With A Garage Sale

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We’re in the heart of garage sale season. My subdivision had a sale about 3 weeks ago.  Although I didn’t have a lot to sell there were about 12 homes scheduled to have sales so why not take advantage of the traffic already coming into the subdivision.

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I decided to look around my house for any items that had become clutter. This was a great opportunity to clear out as much as possible. After all, why not let other people take the items off my property instead of me having to haul it all away myself.

This included many things that were worth trying to sell but also included items that weren’t worth selling. In other words, some things should have been put in the trash a long time ago. The problem is I’m not always good at trashing some things that are useful but not donation worthy.

So what kind of items am I talking about? Well, I had some small empty but sturdy gift boxes from bath and/or perfume sets. These kind of boxes were too nice to throw away but I didn’t need them. Someone else may be able to use them for storage.

Other items were athletic shoes that were too worn to donate. Then there were some free promotional items I threw in the box. Also partly used school and office supplies that I no longer needed.

With all those shoppers driving up and down the streets I put these kinds of items in boxes with a sign stating they were free. Most of these things were taken so I felt good that someone else would be using them. What was left went into the trash.

I decided beforehand that the items I put out for the sale would go to Goodwill right away if they didn’t sell. Since I needed to fill the tables (I didn’t want it to look too skimpy) I went through each room of my house looking for things I hadn’t used and probably wouldn’t use again. So why keep them. I got them out of the house. Any money I made was a bonus.

If you are planning a garage sale or if your neighborhood is planning one then approach it from how much clutter you can get out of your house and not how much money you can make. With the clutter gone you’ll feel so much better. Your home will be much easier to keep clean.

I’ve had many garage sales over the years, some successful money wise and some not. But they all have been successful with helping me clear out the clutter.

I’ve written an eBook, “Decluttering With A Garage Sale” to give you all the tips I’ve learned over the years. So if you need help on how to go about using a garage sale as a motivating tool in your decluttering journey then check out this new eBook here:

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com/decluttering-with-a-garage-sale-ebook/

Janice

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Paper Clutter Challenge – Home Inventory List

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For the month of May I’m challenging myself to get my paper clutter under control. I’m going to use the information in the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter” to guide me.

With all the tornados destroying homes in the Midwest and South this Spring I realized it was time to update my own inventory list. So that is where I’m starting.

Please join me in this challenge by following along. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know how you are doing.

Once completed this list will give me peace of mind in case of a disaster. It can also be used as a quick and clutter free reference for important information for warranty purposes. A second copy of this list should always be kept off premises preferably in a safe deposit box.

Creating this list can be overwhelming especially if you’ve accumulated many things over the years.

That’s why I suggest you start with taking a photo inventory first then work towards creating a written list.

Here are some great reasons for taking the time to create this list.

  • Both a photo and written inventory list can help with getting reimbursed from the insurance company in case of a disaster.
  • You get to see your possessions through the eyes of a camera. It doesn’t lie!
  • Both the photos and written list can help you recognize your abundance.
  • The photos can help you see what is clutter and what is not.

Week 1 Challenge

To keep from getting overwhelmed I’m only working on one floor at a time.

I’m happy to report that many of my pictures showed that at least some of my rooms, cabinets, and closets are under control. It will be easy to do the written inventory list later. Not everything needs to be on the written list.

The good dishes in the dinning room will be easy to inventory.

The kitchen cabinets aren’t too bad either. The photo will be all that I need. Nothing too valuable here.

The pantry may not have significant things to inventory but a picture speaks a thousand words. It needs some organizing!

Again not a significant area for a detail written list. However, a good decluttering and organizing will make it easier to know what is worth replacing in case of a disaster.

My next step in this challenge will be to take pictures of the upstairs bedrooms and the finished basement. Then I’ll start the written inventory list. Of course, the more I declutter the less I’ll have to write down.

Now that sounds like a good incentive to get rid of things!

Be sure to check back on this blog for the next report.

You can sign up to receive the updates through email on the right sidebar. ——>

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

The Home Inventory List is just one part of the eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. You can see a list of the other chapters here. I’ve also extended the special sale price during the month of May while doing this paper clutter challenge.

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Is Your Email Inbox Too Crowded?

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Is your email inbox too crowded? Do you dread looking at it each morning?

I remember how exciting it use to be to see what the mailman left in the mailbox that day? A card from a dear relative, a letter from a friend who lived out of town, or a new magazine to read.

It also used to be fun to open my email inbox in the morning to see what interesting piece of information would be awaiting me. Now that I use email for most of my correspondence from friends, relatives, news, information (newsletters), and business information I have found that I dread opening the inbox. There are way too many emails that I’m not interested in anymore that are crowding out the few I want to read.

Several times a year I re-evaluate what I’ve subscribed to.

Many are the retail stores, both online and brick and mortar, where I gave my email address at the time of purchase. Although I rarely shop these stores I’m bombarded with special offers on an almost daily basis.

Sometimes I subscribed to a newsletter and find out it really isn’t what I thought it would be. But I take the time to open it just in case there is some tiny bit of information I could use.

It’s time to unsubscribe to the emails that are now clutter!

The following steps will help you keep your inbox to a manageable level. Take these steps every few months and you’ll start looking forward to opening your inbox daily.

Be sure to set a timer and only do so much time per day. It will keep you fresh and more objective when deciding what to unsubscribe to.

  1. Start with the easy ones such as retail stores you rarely shop at. Unsubscribe from the most recent email. Search for sender (each email browser is different) and delete all the old emails for that sender. Their specials are expired!
  2. Next look at what informational newsletters you have signed up for with retail stores. Most of the time you can find the same information on their website when you need it, not when they are trying to sell you something.
  3. Next look at the newsletters from individual smaller websites. Do their newsletters meet your expectations? Does the content add value to your life? Are there too many marketing emails sent in between the occasional newsletter? Only you can decide if it is worth it.
  4. Now look at your personal emails. Do you have certain friends or family that constantly forward those jokes, silly pictures, etc. If you are not interested in these email you can ask your friend/relative to please take your name off their forwarding list. Or you can set up a filter for those people and keep their emails out of your main inbox, away from your important emails.

Next time you subscribe to a newsletter or store email give it a month or two to decide if it is worth it. If not, then unsubscribe right away. You can always re-subscribe in the future.

Janice

Declutter and organize your piles of papers with the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

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Miracle Friday

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I hope everyone had a good Passover or Easter holiday this past week. Last weekend was a wild one here in the mid-west with all the tornadoes and thunderstorms. Now we are looking at potential flooding.

Many people in the St. Louis area are labeling last Friday as “Miracle Friday” because despite a tornado that took a 25 mile path of destruction through the northern part of the area there weren’t any fatalities or even serious injuries.

People heeded the warning sirens and sought out proper shelter.

I can’t even image coming out of my basement to find my home completely destroyed like the one below.

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You can view a lot more pictures of the damage on the KSDK news site.

When looking at these pictures I get a renewed sense of what is important in life. Sometimes we put an unrealistic importance on our material possessions. Most can be replaced, the lives of our loved ones can’t.

It’s something to think about when the clutter builds up in our homes and we continue to come up with excuses to keep it.

Of course if a disaster should occur to your home it would help to be prepared to handle the aftermath. That means having the important papers you need to expedite the insurance coverage and replacement of any other important things you may need.

I think it’s time for me to re-evaluate the precautions I have or have not taken regarding my household inventory (needs updating) and other important papers. I need to go over the chapters in my eBook again and make sure everything is ready in case of a disaster.

I have decide to make this a challenge for me during the month of May.  I will work my way through my papers and household inventory and post about it on this blog. Why don’t you join me in this challenge?

Ways you can join me:

Follow this blog and post comments. You can receive updates through email here.

Follow the blog through my Facebook Page along with getting other tips there. http://www.facebook.com/CutClutterWithScissors

Take the free e-course on paper clutter:  http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/ecourse/

Purchase the eBook: http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/

Together we can clean up our paper clutter and have peace of mind should a disaster ever happen. Of course we pray it never does, but just in case.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://www.facebook.com/CutClutterWithScissors

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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New E-Course on Paper Clutter

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I now have my new e-course on paper clutter up and running. If you’re stuck inside because of bad weather then take advantage of this time to get control of your junk mail.

In the first lesson I give you some websites that will help reduce all those ads, credit card applications, and unwanted catalogs that come in your home mailbox. It does take a few months to get your name off the lists so if you start today you’ll begin to see a big difference by this summer.

The e-course is free so go sign up now!

http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/e-course/

Other lessons in the course deal with magazine clutter, phone messages, photos and other paper memories, plus plenty more. All the lessons come for the eBook; “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

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So go sign up now for this free e-course. You’ve got nothing to lose but some of your paper clutter!

http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/e-course/

Janice

P.S. Be sure to share this blog post with the link for the e-course with all your friends and family so they too can learn how to get rid of their paper clutter. Thanks.

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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