Simplicity

Everyday Is Earth Day

/

earth13

Yesterday was the official Earth Day. Because it was during the week many celebrations are taking place this weekend. I’m fortunate that my city (a suburb of St. Louis) has a large event that includes recycling of electronics, athletic shoes, and even shredding of paper documents. There also is a large event taking place for the whole metropolitan area plus many other individual suburbs. I googled my city and some surrounding areas to find out the details. Try googling your city so you can take advantage of these once a year events.

Earth Day was designed to remind us at least once a year of how important it is to be considerate of the home (earth) we all share. However, we should think this way everyday of the year. After all, we want our individual homes to be clean and uncluttered, why not the larger home we all share.

There are many things each of us can do that will add up to making a big difference in the long run. In the process you might save money, create a healthier environment for you family, and simplify your life. I think those are good reasons to make some little changes.

Things I have done:

  1. Switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs where I can.
  2. Use fewer harsh chemicals for cleaning. Vinegar, baking soda, shampoo/soap, and elbow grease are safer and less expensive.
  3. Use very few harsh chemicals for landscaping. My vegetable garden is organic.
  4. Recycle as much as I can with curb side recycling plus special events. I also recycle a lot of my food scraps and yard waste in a compost pile.
  5. I use reusable water bottles around the house. I still use plastic water bottles (recycled when empty) when my husband and I take our dog for walks at a park. I’m can’t decide what kind of reusable bottle I want to buy that will be easy and light weight to carry while walking. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

These are some of the changes I have made so far. They didn’t happen all a once but a few at a time. To some people it may seem like I am doing a lot of things to be “green” while to others may think it’s barely a grain of sand.

It doesn’t matter how few things we are doing now. What’s important is to slowly keep changing our habits so we can clean and declutter our homes and the earth. Those grains of sand add up to a whole shore line.

IMGP0951_edited-1

“To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.”
William Blake

If you have children then this site below has lots of information and fun things to do regarding Earth Day and everyday. The more the next generation learns about the earth the better they will care for it when they grow up.

http://www.planetpals.com/pp_magazine22.html

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

Cut Clutter With Scissors Facebook Page

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Everyday Is Earth Day Read More »

“Things” Can Be Freeloaders

/

How do you look at your things? Are they valuable to you? Are they clutter to you? Do you wonder where all those things came from?

Most of the time clutter accumulates without us paying much attention to it. Then one day we look around and feel overwhelmed. Our things have taken over our homes! Now we start beating ourselves up wondering how we let this happen.

One reason is because we were too nice to our things. Yes, I said too nice. We have let these things take up residence in our homes even though many don’t deserve to be there. They are freeloaders!

Webster’s definition for freeloader is:  a person who habitually imposes on others for free food, lodging, etc.

If we look at our things from this angle how many of them could be considered freeloaders? They are living in your home for free if they don’t serve any purpose to make your life better.

To determine if something has earned the right to live in your home ask yourself these questions.

  • Does the item serve a practical function?
  • Does the item make you smile?
  • Does the item bring up good memories?
  • Does the item pamper you?
  • Does the item make a family member happy therefore making you happy?

Something may be a freeloader because:

  • You feel obligated to keep it because someone gave it to you. It doesn’t matter that you hate it or it doesn’t go with anything in your home.
  • It belongs to someone else but you feel too guilty to get rid of it or insist the owner take it back.
  • You bought something but realize it was a mistake. It’s too late to return it so you feel too guilty to get rid of it and waste all that money.
  • You don’t want to contribute to the landfill so you plan to recycle it. You just haven’t gotten around to finding a place to take it.
  • It no longer fits but it’s too good to get rid of. Maybe you’ll lose the weight someday.

There are all kinds of excuses that allows us to let the freeloaders take up residence in our homes. Don’t buy into those excuses. Kick those freeloaders to the curb!

Janice

 

“Things” Can Be Freeloaders Read More »

Time To Get Off Autopilot

/ / 2 Comments

Day after day you have good intentions on getting organized and clearing out the clutter. But by the end of the week do you wonder why nothing was done? Do you even remember what you did each day? If not it could be because you are on autopilot.

Autopilot may work great for airplanes but it’s not always so good for people. When an emergency happens we sometimes go into autopilot mode to handle the matter without falling apart. But to just get through each hectic day by being on autopilot doesn’t get us where we want to go.

Time to turn off autopilot! Here are three words to add to your vocabulary to help get off autopilot and take charge of your life. These are proactive, consciously, and intentionally.

Proactive: Taking the initiative. Action of taking the first step.

When we are proactive we take steps to prevent clutter from coming into our homes. This could be by reducing the junk mail we receive. It could mean not “shopping till we drop” just because we are feeling down. It could also mean setting up a system to keep our bills and other paperwork organized and not left in piles to “take care of later”.

Consciously: Knowing what one is doing and why they are doing it.

When we are aware of what we are doing we can make better choices to move towards our goals. You go to the grocery store with a list so you only buy the things you need and not a lot of things you don’t need. It also means you shop for clothes knowing how they will work in your wardrobe. You don’t buy something “just because” you like it at that moment.

Instead of going through the day haphazardly you consciously plan it out and prioritize the things you want to accomplish. You learn to limit the time wasters like phone calls with friends and the too much time on the internet by setting a timer. After your time limit is up get back to what you were working on.

Intentionally: Doing things on purpose.

Intentionally is putting proactive and consciously together. You intentionally take actions to prevent clutter and disorganization from building up in your home. You intentionally pay attention to the routines and everyday things you do so that they are in line with your goal to get and stay organized. You clear out the clutter on purpose so you can live in a more comfortable and less stressful environment.

Make these words part of your everyday language and get off autopilot. You will accomplish more each day and by the end of the week you won’t be asking yourself what you did all week. All you have to do is look around and see your accomplishments.

Janice

 

Time To Get Off Autopilot Read More »

Organize Kitchen Cabinet Clutter

/

Sometimes all it takes is a simple tool to help keep an area organized. Unfortunately it is hard to know if the sales/marketers claims are true or a bunch of baloney. I’m sure you have bought items that claimed to help you become organized and decluttered. I know I have! But many of those items don’t live up to their hype.

Along the way I have bought many items that do work and I’m sure you have too. Today I want to share one simple item that has keep one of my kitchen cabinets organized for the past 17 years. It’s a wire rack that holds my cutting boards, cupcake tins, and cookie sheets that would otherwise be a mess.

 

When I bought those wire racks they cost me $11 each. They have been well worth the $22 spent. I saw on Amazon these same racks are selling for under $10 dollars. Your local stores that have kitchen supplies may have them at similar prices.

Look at your cabinets before you buy any tools to help you organize. A tool such as this wire rack will keep you organized but only if it fits your cabinets. You may have to look for some other tool that will work for your kitchen.

Do you have other tools that help your kitchen cabinets or drawers stay organized? Please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Janice

Organize Kitchen Cabinet Clutter Read More »

Hidden Roots Of Clutter

/

Why do we have clutter? That’s a tough question. Sometimes it’s as simple as setting up a system or routine that makes it easy for us to control the clutter. Sometimes it’s as complicated as deep psychological reasons. Since I am not a psychologist (although I did take about 12 hours of psychology courses in college back in the dark ages) obviously I can only help by suggesting systems, routines or simply looking at clutter from a different perspective.

So what are some of the simple hidden roots of clutter and how do you find them? Well, the best way is to play detective.

  • Do you have a problem with paper clutter and lost bills? It could be because you don’t have a system set up to deal with paper. You need a place to put your bills as soon as your receive them so they are in one place when you sit down to take care of them. No more lost bills.
  • Do clean pots and pans stay in the dish drainer because the cabinets are so full it’s a real hassle to put them away and then take them out again? The root of this clutter is either too many pans, too little cabinet space, or an inefficient and unorganized cabinet. Figure out the root cause then you can find a solution to change it.
  • Is the bathroom counter filled with bottles, brushes, razors, hairdryers, etc. because the underneath cabinet is filled with old stuff? Cleaning out the old and unused items can clear up some space. If you lack storage space maybe some baskets or shelves put on the wall can corral some of the items.
  • Books, DVD’s, toys, and other things are cluttering up the family room. Are there too many items? Too little storage? Inefficient storage? Rarely used items mixed in with daily used items? Again, figure out the root cause then you can find a solution.

Once you figure out the hidden roots of the clutter then you have a direction to help point you towards a solution. Clearing out the old unused items makes it easier to organize what is left. If this is hard for you to do then look inside yourself to see the hidden reason you can’t let go of things. Once you know why then you can start working to change it.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Hidden Roots Of Clutter Read More »