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“Clutter’s Last Stand” Book Recommendation

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I purchased the book “Clutter’s Last Stand” by Don Aslet in the mid 1980’s when I was trying to get control of my bad habits of disorganization and clutter collecting. I still have my original copy and read it when I need some motivation to jump start a decluttering session. To me it’s the gold standard of books on decluttering.

Don Aslett’s humor and writing makes you question why you’ve kept the junk to begin with. When you realize how silly some reasons for keeping things are it becomes easier to let go of them.

When I need motivation on dealing with paper clutter I’ll read the chapter on “Taming the Paper Tiger…”. Or if I’m having trouble letting go of items that I never liked but were gifts, I’ll read the chapter on “Those Personal Treasures”. I don’t want to hurt the giver’s feelings if they find out I gave their gift away but at the same time why is the giver’s feelings more important than mine? Don helps me see that it’s the thought that counts.

If you have a particular clutter problem this book probably has touched base on it. You can read it over and over again to help you declutter your home no matter what is going on in your life at the moment. Life is always changing and so are we. There’s things such as moving, traveling, lifestyle changes, and children growing up.

Check this book out to see if it can help motivate you to clear out the clutter.

(Disclosure: Amazon Affiliate link)

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice Scissors

 

 

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The Biggest Clutter Maker

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You have a lot to do everyday. Many times you feel overwhelmed. So when your are finished using something, does it go back in it’s home? Or do you put it on the counter or table to put it away later?

The biggest clutter maker isn’t an item, it’s the habit of “putting it here for now”. You’re too busy to put it away immediately or you’re not sure where it should go so you establish a convenient area to put it until you have more time or can figure out where it’s home should be. You have good intentions to take care of it later but that doesn’t usually happen, at least not until it’s become a mountain of clutter.

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The “putting it here for now” habit is partly caused by the misguided notion that it takes too long to put the items in their home. Our concept of time gets distorted when we always feel rushed and overwhelmed. To break this habit you have to catch yourself doing the “for now” thing and stop it in it’s track. Take the 30 seconds to put the purchases from the discount store away. Take the 10 seconds to put the tape, scissors, markers, etc. that you needed to cut out coupons and make your grocery list. Take the 15 seconds to put the groceries in the pantry instead of leaving them on the counter. Take the 5 seconds to put the dog brush away or the hats in the closet. IMGP1726_edited-1

Sometimes they pile up anyway, but before a mountain of clutter builds too large set a timer for 5 minutes and clean it up.

Most of the time we overestimate the time it takes to put something away. Of course it is vital that the item has a place to go. The other reason the habit “putting it here for now” gets established is because we bring items into the house without having a place to store them. We put them in the pile for later (decisions postponed) because it takes too much time (at least in our minds) to figure out where to store the items.

The best way to break this cause of the habit is to think about where you are going to store that item before you purchase it. If you don’t know where you’re going to put it then you probably should not purchase it yet.

If we become more conscious of why we are doing something then it becomes easier to break the bad habits and create new and better habits.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Clean House

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Most of the time I don’t turn on the TV during the day while I’m working. It is too distracting. But today while taking a lunch break I turned on Style TV and started watching the show “Clean House”. They were showing the messiest homes in America.

When I watch these kinds of shows I become motivated to tackle some of the cluttered area’s I have been putting off. Although the show has a whole team of workers to tackle the clutter in a short period of time (unrealistic for the rest of us) it is helpful to see the before and after pictures.

You can do the same by taking pictures of your cluttered area. Print it out and put in a place you will see it each day to motivate you to take action. Even 15 minutes per day of decluttering will eventually clean it up. Take a picture after the area is cleaned up and put it next to the before picture.

You could even create a scrapbook of before and after pictures. Sort of a brag book of how far you have come!

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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How To Make Room in Your File Drawer

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This week I went through several files in my file drawer. Here is the pile of papers I decluttered from the draw and put in the recycling bin. It measured over 3 inches. There’s a lot more room in the drawer now!

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Below is this weeks’ newsletter on how I went about decluttering the files that contained warranties, instruction manuals, and other papers on products I own. This project is easy to do while watching TV. Doing a little each night will make a big difference before you know it.

Decluttering Tip Newsletter – Paper Clutter (stuffed file drawers)
Volume 2, Issue 28
July 28, 2009

I’ve been working on my ebook on paper clutter. It should be ready for purchase mid to late August. While doing the research I come across many ideas to help control the paper clutter. One of the main questions that keeps coming up is how to declutter all the papers we store in our file drawers or boxes. If your storage drawers are anything like mine then they may be stuffed to the gills. It is time to declutter them.

I figure I have to walk the walk to be able to help you with the best tips. I decided to start with the file folders containing all the warranties, instructions manuals, and other papers for all the products I own. With separate files for kitchen appliances, outdoor/lawn equipment, small household appliances, toys/game instructions, TV & stereo equipment, and small personal appliances, it took a few days to get through all of them.

I now have a pile of papers almost 3 inches thick to go into the recycling bin. That has opened up a lot of room in my file draw.

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So how did I do it? It’s easy. I worked on the decluttering while watching TV in the evening. These kinds of papers don’t take a lot of concentration or big decision making. If you have been in the habit of filing all the papers that come with a product then you probably have a lot of papers you don’t need to keep.

Follow these steps to a less stuffed file drawer.

1. Tools you will need: scissors, stapler, and a staple puller is helpful if you have one.

2. Take one file folder that contains warranties and instruction manuals for products you own.

3. Pull out all the warranty cards that have never been filled out. I fill out warranties online for major purchases. Your original receipt with date of purchase is usually the only paper your need.

4. Pull out all papers for products you no longer own. If you haven’t gone through your files for a while you will probably find a few. I know I did.

5. Look at each instruction/owners manual. Most are in several languages, one part English, another part Spanish, and possibly more languages. Tear or cut out the languages you don’t use. This is were a staple puller comes in handy along with the scissors. Once you have separated the papers then staple the ones in the language you are keeping and recycle to rest.

6. If you want to eliminate even more papers you could just keep the information on the model you have and contact information. Most manuals can be found on the product’s website. Check first before you get rid of the information on how to use the product and the trouble shooting page. These are the main pages you may need at some point.

If you have any other ideas on how to declutter these kinds of papers please leave a comment.

Please feel free to forward this entire blog post to friends and family that may benefit from this tip.

Also, if you are going on vacation soon and are traveling by car with children you will want to check out my blog post : http://organizebythemonth.com/?p=236
I have a lot of websites listed for car travel games. Plan ahead to keep boredom from ruining your trip.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice Scissors
https://cutclutterwithscissors.com
http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Craft Area Clutter

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Here is a copy of this week’s newsletter. Crafting is a popular hobby but one that can create a lot of clutter if it isn’t organized and controlled. Below is one way to organize your projects.

Decluttering Tips – Craft Area
Volume 2, Issue 25

An area lots of people have problems with clutter is the craft room. It could be a whole room or the corner of a bedroom closet. Either way, if you work on more than one project at a time, like most people I know, you need a way to keep it organized.
One easy way is to use zip-lock plastic bags and/or plastic containers. Small projects like needlepoint or cross stitch work well in plastic bags. Keep all the supplies and instructions for each project in a separate bag. Larger projects such as quilting or clothes sewing work well in the plastic containers. I’ve even used the 2 gallon size plastic zip-lock bags for clothes and home decoration projects. You can also use the jumbo zip-lock bags for the larger projects. They are easy to store under the bed or on a shelf.

Any craft projects that have sharp or bulky items such as jewelry making/beading, painting, scrapbooking, or other papercrafting projects are best stored in plastic containers. Be sure to put only the supplies you need for a particular project in to one box. That will make it easy to take out and work on it, then put it away when you are done.

Keep another box or basket handy that has the general tools you use for multiple projects. These might include scissors, pin cushion, thimbles, tape measure, and other general purpose items.

When you want to work on a project just grab your bag or box and the general tools basket. Go sit down and enjoy! When you are finished pack up your project and general tool basket and put them away until next time.

If you have a different way of dealing with the clutter in your craft area I would love to hear about it. Please leave a comment to share your ideas.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice Scissors
https://cutclutterwithscissors.com
http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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