Decluttering

Too Many Choices Cause Clutter

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The other day I was shopping for some new athletic shoes. I walked into a discount warehouse shoe store. Rows and rows of shoes were displayed on waist high shelves with boxes underneath. It was a large square store with a high ceiling. As I looked around I began to feel overwhelmed. With so many shoes where do I start looking?

I found the rows of athletic shoes. There were only two long rows so that wasn’t too bad. After not finding anything I liked in my size I thought I would look for some summer shoes. As I stood there looking at the vast rows in front of me I decided to walk out.

I don’t like shoe shopping because I have hard to fit feet. In my mind that store had way to many choices to even start looking up and down the rows. Of course, many people may love shoes and like having a large selection to choose from.

The question is, will you buy only what you need or will you buy more because you saw several pairs you liked and couldn’t decide which one you liked better? If you aren’t a discipline shopper then these kind of stores could spell trouble for you. Only you can decide that.

Having too many choices with anything we buy could be the main cause of our clutter. Some choice of products is a good thing. Everyone is an individual and has different tastes. But when there are too many choices it makes it a lot harder to make a decision. We’re afraid if we buy one over the other we might be sorry later. Nobody wants to make a wrong decision. So we buy both.

If you have a 100 pairs of shoes (we all know someone like that) how many are worn more than once a year? Of course with that many shoes you need lots of different outfits to wear them with. You can see where this is going.

Since we live in a materialist society we will continue to be bombarded with thousands of choices of products. With the economy the way it is many companies are discounting their products to survive. Great bargains can be found. Just remember, it’s not a bargain if it sits in the closet and is rarely, if ever worn.

I’ll admit, I’m not a shopper. But when I do need to buy clothes or shoes I prefer a smaller selection to choose from because it is easier to make a decision.

If you have a hard time knowing what styles look good on you check out this website: http://www.missussmartypants.com/. I was a member a couple of years ago and it really helped me find the styles that looked best on me. Going to the store with that kind of knowledge helped narrow the choices of clothes that I would even try on. It made shopping easier and more fun. I have joined the site again this spring because I need some new clothes. The old ones are looking a little worn out.

Ok, I know this was a rant and if you’ve read this far, thank you. The only way I know how to control clutter is to prevent it from coming into your home to begin with. I’ve learned to be selective with my shopping and that has helped a lot.

Let me know how you feel about too many choices and clutter build up. Please leave a comment.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Paper Clutter – Receipts

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After I finish my taxes I work on getting my files in order for this next year. I have a file folder in my cabinet where I put most of my receipts. These can be for clothing, misc. household items, and most charge card receipts.

At this time of year I go through all those receipts from the previous year. It’s easy to do while watching TV in the evening. I only keep those that are for products that have a warranty or if there is a reason to know when an item was purchased. If there is a warranty card or instruction book for a product I will staple the receipt to it. If the item belongs in a specific folder such as “small household items”, or “TV’s, Stereos”, it’s put in there for easy retrieval.

All other receipts are kept in a manila file folder labeled for the year. They could also be kept in an envelope if you don’t have too many.

The ones I throw out or shred are for the athletic shoes that are already worn out or the receipts for the groceries and household products that are long used up. It’s an easy decision to throw away those receipts.

Janice S.

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Best Laid Plans

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I had forgotten to post the April newsletter on the sidebar last week. I did post it today around 1:00 PM, about five minutes before the electricity went out. It was raining outside but not storming. We’ve had a lot of outages over the last few years and it involves around 10 – 39 houses in the middle of a subdivision of 119 houses. I think there is a bad electrical box that needs replacing.

I called the electrical company ( they said 39 homes were out) and a little while later I saw several trucks going up and down the streets. By about 5:30 PM I still didn’t have power nor had I seen any trucks for a while so I called the electrical company back.

The recording said power had been restored to the area. Yea, right. Why was I still without? After punching enough buttons I finally got a live voice and asked her. She told me that they had closed out the service call because power was restore. I think there is a problem with their system. I knew of at least 6 homes on my street that didn’t have power. They came out again a I finally had power around 7:00 PM.

I had planned on finishing my taxes this afternoon. Oh well, I will be working on those tomorrow. There is only six days to finish your taxes if you haven’t done so already.

Easter is this Sunday. Here are a couple of sites with crafts and other ideas to do with your children.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/easter/

http://www.holidays.net/easter/

Check out the April 2009 newsletter (on the right sidebar) for upcoming holidays and events.

Hope your day went a little better than mine.

P.S. I did declutter several file folders of papers so the whole day wasn’t wasted.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

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Feeling Unorganized Today?

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Some days I just feel like I’m unorganized. My desk is a mess. The mail is piling up. The dishes are filling the sink. The hot spots are growing (I think by themselves). I don’t remember leaving that book laying on the table or my clothes on the bed.

It doesn’t take long for the messes to grow. After all, you are living in your home. That’s a good thing. But when things start getting out of control it is time to take some cleaning action.

Some days are 15 minute days and some are 5 minute days. By this I mean I set a timer for 15 minutes to tackle a certain job that needs to be done. A lot can be accomplished in 15 minutes. It’s usually not to hard to focus for that short period of time and clean up the kitchen, family room, or home office.

But some days 15 minutes seems like too much time to take away from the other responsibilities for the day. That’s when the 5 minute day comes in. Set a timer for 5 minutes and narrow your focus on one small spot. Clean as many dishes as you can for 5 minutes. Don’t worry if you don’t get them all done. What’s important is that you took care of some of the mess. It will be a lot cleaner now than it was 5 minutes ago.

What I do on days like this is work for about 30 minutes on my writing then take a 5 minute break to clean up one of those hot spots. It’s amazing how much gets cleaned up by the end of the day.

What tricks to you use to get organized on those days you feel overwhelmed? Please share them in the comment section.

Thanks.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Check out my eHow articles.

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Happy April Fools Day

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If you want to do some silly April Fools tricks on your family check out these cute ideas.

On another matter, it has come to my attention that some people have signed up to receive the blog post through email and thought they were signing up to receive the newsletters. I apologize for any confusion with my sign up boxes on the right sidebar.

If you want to receive the weekly decluttering tip newsletter you will have to sign up in the blue box that says “Send me tips!”. By signing up in both boxes you will receive both the weekly tips newsletter and any decluttering or organizing tips I post on the blog.

You can also sign up to receive the newsletters by going to my website: cutclutterwithscissors.com. There are a few articles on there now but I plan on adding many more in the coming weeks, so check the site often.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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