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Cut Clutter With Scissors Newsletter – New Format

August 3, 2009 / Janice / 2 Comments

Here is a copy of my new newsletter. It is replacing the other two newsletter I had before. If you are not signed up to receive each week then please do so over on the right sidebar in the blue box. Thanks.

Cut Clutter With Scissors Newsletter – New format
Volume 1, Issue 1
August 3, 2009

Note From Janice I have decided to change my weekly and monthly newsletter to better serve you. I will no longer be writing the monthly “Organize By the Month News” as a separate newsletter. I will incorporate that info into the weekly newsletter.My new newsletter is being called, “Cut Clutter With Scissors Newsletter”. This is what you will see as the title of the email in your inbox. I will still have a decluttering tip each week but also include important dates and websites for upcoming holidays and events. When big holidays are coming I will start including that info several weeks ahead to help you be more organized. I also plan to use my blog for more current information so be sure to check it often. http://organizebythemonth.com
In the near future I will be including a small section called, “Recommendations”. This is where I will write a short review of a book, organizing tool or item, or even a website that I feel can help you declutter and organize your home and life. Most of the time these recommendations will be for things I personally have used and found helpful.
I hope you like the new format of this newsletter. I would love to have your feedback. You can let me know by replying to this newsletter or leaving a comment at my blog, http://organizebythemonth.com.

To a lighter load along the way.
Janice Scissors

In This Issue
1. Note from Janice
2. Decluttering Tip
3. Important Dates and Website links
4. Stay Connected

Decluttering Tip – Back to School With back to school gearing up it’s time to go through all of last year’s clothes and school supplies before you head out to the stores. Although most schools don’t start for several weeks, if you start now with planning and organizing you will be able to take advantage of the “back to school” sales.
Here are some easy suggestions to get you started.
1. School supplies. Dig out all the left-over supplies from last year and take inventory. Once you know what you already have it will be easier to buy only what you need.
a. Grade school age: Go through the left-overs with your child. It will help them learn how to get rid of clutter. Give away any usable/new but outgrown supplies. This could be last year’s fashion notebooks, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. If your child will reuse them, great! If not, it’s not worth fighting over if you budget allows. If you budget is tight then use this as a lesson for buying neutral items that won’t be outdated one year from now. If your school gives out a supply list be sure to check it against your at home supplies.
b. Older Grades: check your basic supplies such as pens, pencils, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, folders.

2. Clothes: Get rid of any that are too small, torn/stained, or your child won’t wear because it’s out of fashion. Fitting in with the “right” clothes is important to most children’s self-esteem. That doesn’t mean they should have designer brands. Many of the discount stores carry knock-offs of current styles.

Important Dates and Website Links There is not much going on in the way of holidays during the month of August. That’s probably a good thing because most people are getting in their late summer vacations and/or dealing with the mad rush of preparing for back to school.
National Night Out is Tuesday August 4. If you haven’t already heard about it from your trustees (subdivisions/complexes) then you can call your local police department to find out if they know who is setting up an event in your area. Here is the main website that can help you find out a little more information about it.
http://www.nationalnightout.org/nno/

Back to School Information. Above I talked about decluttering last year’s school supplies and clothes in preparation for buying this year’s supplies. Here are several sites with more info to help you with these projects.

Clothes Shopping:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1296

http://www.dressingwell.com/backrel.htm

http://kidsfashion.about.com/b/2008/07/15/tips-for-back-to-school-shopping-on-a-budget.htm

School Supplies:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26044914/

Stay Connected
https://cutclutterwithscissors.com (website)
http://organizebythemonth.com (blog)
http://twitter.com/jlscissors
janice@cutclutterwithscissors.com (email)

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How To Make Room in Your File Drawer

July 28, 2009 / Janice

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!

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.

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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“Are We There Yet?” Travel Games

July 27, 2009 / Janice

If you have traveled by car with children then you have probably heard those dreaded but famous words; “Are we there yet?”. When my children were young it didn’t take them long before they grew bored with the things they had brought to entertain themselves on the trip. This was a time before most hand held video games and Ipods.

So, to help pass the time we would play travel games like who could go through the alphabet first by watching the billboards and road signs. The words had to start with the letter they were on and only the person who saw it first could move on to the next letter. This kept them busy for a little while.

Here are several sites that have lots of games for traveling. You can print out the game sheets and instructions. Keep them in a pocket folder ready to go when the children pop the question. Have pencils and/or crayons in a ziplock bag or pencil box. You will also want either a clipboard, children’s lap drawing board, or some other hard surface for them to write on. With a variety of games in the pocket folder you can keep them busy for hours.

http://www.momsminivan.com/

http://familyfun.go.com/family-travel/road-trips/feature/famf48cargames/

http://travelgameideas.com/index.htm

http://travelwithkids.about.com/cs/printgames/a/gamesprint.htm

http://fun.familyeducation.com/games/travel-games/45743.html

Happy Traveling

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Traveling By Car

July 26, 2009 / Janice

It’s the height of vacation season. Are you getting ready to pack up and hit the road? Before you head out it is good to plan your packing so your travel light. They say if you add a lot of extra weight (luggage) you won’t get as good as gas mileage. Ok, I know it may only be pennies so that’s not usually a good reason. It’s better to pack light so all the luggage fits in the trunk. If you have ever traveled in the car with your feet squeezed between bags of extras and your children are packed tight in between backpacks, coolers, and other bags in the back seat then you are not packing light.

When you pack your luggage for airplane travel you take only the essentials. After all, you have to drag the luggage from the car to the airline terminal and then from the airplane and/or luggage claim to a cab or rental car. Then into the hotel or other place you are staying. That’s a lot to lug around!

With a car we tend to pack more than we need because it’s like a mobile storage unit. We don’t have to totally unpack the car each night if we don’t want to. Don’t let yourself get in this mind set. Pack light and the car ride itself will be a lot more enjoyable. Plus, think of the leg room you’ll have.

I’m researching websites with lots of travel game ideas. I will post those either later today or tomorrow. If you plan ahead you can pull these games out when the kids start complaining “Are we there yet?”. Just print out the instructions and/or game sheets and have them ready to go.

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Do You Feel Guilty For NOT Shopping?

July 14, 2009 / Janice

Most of us have been cutting back on our shopping because of the economy. Plus if you have been following my blog and newsletters (you can sign up on the sidebar) you are probably trying to cut some of the clutter out of your life.

But the stores are always tempting us with “fantastic” sales. We are told that a healthy economy is one where people are spending. So are we hurting the economy because we are cutting back on shopping? Do you feel guilty because of this?

In the past we would justify a spending spree because we felt we deserved the items. This was especially true if we were feeling down or were upset about something. Shopping helped fill the emptiness, at least for a short time. Soon many of those items became clutter. But we were helping the economy stay strong.

Once you start decluttering you will find you won’t need to fill the emptiness with things. You won’t want to bring the clutter back into your home. But now we may feel a pang of guilt for not helping the economy. Will this become the new excuse to buy things we really don’t need or want?