Decluttering

Earth Day – Going Green

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This week’s newsletter (if you haven’t signed up – please do so on the right sidebar) has lots of links and info to help you go green. Although Earth Day is only one day of the year we need to learn to follow it’s principles year round.

Here is a copy of this week’s newsletter so you can get all the information you need to learn how to go green.

Decluttering Tip Newsletter – Going Green
Volume 2, Issue 16
April 21, 2009

I’m sure you have heard by now that this is Earth Week and Wednesday (April 22) is Earth Day. I remember the first Earth Day in 1970 (I’m showing my age) when you heard about the smog warnings in the big cities and the polluted lakes and rivers. We’ve come a long way with those areas but the toxins in our homes and the waste we send to the landfills needs to get under control.

It is getting much easier to reduce, recycle, and reuse many items to prevent them from filling the landfill. This site has lots of ideas you can use.
http://www.earthday.gov/athome.htm

When you apply a lot of the ideas for reducing and recycling you will find that it is easier to keep your home decluttered. For example: when you use reusable fabric bags for shopping automatically there are less paper and plastic bags filling up the floor of your pantry or between the wall and the refrigerator.

When you buy and use only what you need there will be less clutter around. By using permanent things like dishes, cloth napkins (cheap washcloths work great when you have children), mugs, and durable plastic or glass containers for storage you will get in a habit of washing them so they are ready to use. You’ll save money and the landfills by not using so many disposables.

If you are trying to use healthier cleaning items, etc. in your home, here is a great website with lots of information.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/green-cleaning/

If you don’t have curbside recycling or don’t know of a recycling center nearby it will take a little more effort on your part to recycle. Here is a site that can help you find places near you for different things, such as papers, plastic, household, etc.
http://earth911.com/blog/2009/04/20/barriers-to-being-green-accessibility/

For electronic recycling check out these sites for a place near you.
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/live.htm
http://www.therecyclingcenter.info/recyclingcenters.php5

Remember, if you reduce the amount of products and items you bring into your home you’ll automatically reduce the amount of clutter. When you find places to recycle the old items you will be able to get rid of them and take away your excuse for not getting them out of your home.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who will benefit from this tip.

Be sure to check out my blog this week for more information on Earth Day. http://organizebythemonth.com

Also check me out on Twitter. http://twitter.com/jlscissors I’m starting to get the hang of it.

To a lighter load along the way.
Janice Scissors
https://cutclutterwithscissors.com
http://organizebythemonth.com
http://twitter.com/jlscissors
http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

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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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