Decluttering the piecemeal way

Clutter is the bane of my existence. I have too much stuff that just ends up collecting dust and the "I need it just in case" instance never comes. Culling is never easy, but a recent family onslaught (e.g., hosting a family gathering) prompted a major clean up in my home. Well, that and starting a to-do list of items that I needed to tackle. Here is how I accomplished my first pass at decluttering:

Give it away: This was done in two phases: donations to a local charity shop and then offering items for free. I had accumulated several paper bags worth of stuff that I meant to donate but I finally took the time to list each item and its worth before taking it to the donation center. This now adds to my itemized deductions. I gave six feet of books (mostly Star Wars novels) to my brother who will enjoy them and gave away almost all my videotape collection, mostly TV shows and movies I recorded myself. I also managed to give away most of my scrap fabric collection for a church's use.

Sort through it: There was clothing I was not wearing or no longer liked, fabric I was never going to use, papers no longer needed and bins reclaimed in giving away the VHS tapes. With extra bins, I could sort through my fabric collection, put away the Christmas-themed fabric, and cull various items. It also reminded me I had several pieces of clothing that I had set aside for repair. These actions reduced the clutter around my sewing machine. Many items were sent to the basement for storage until needed (e.g., box fan and electric heater).

Also, the newly opened bookshelf space--was partially filled in by books that were stacked on or in front of the bookshelf. Less clutter and easy access to frequently used books on preserving and gardening--bonus for me!

Fix it: That clothing I "found" in the long-neglected to-be-repaired pile? I fixed all of it, washed and sorted the items back into my closet and dresser. That freed up a lot of clutter from one room. However, having all these new items in my closet also reminds me I need to think about a second round of clothing culling.

Just do it: Keeping a list of what I needed to accomplish (cleaning, decluttering, moving items around) and marking them off gave me a sense of purpose as I noted my progress. Plus, I uncovered a lot of floor space that I did not know I had and hey, I have a kitchen table at which several people can eat!

However, this is only my first effort at decluttering the home. While seeing more of my house rather than my stuff is easier on the eyes, my next steps include focusing on specific thinks in each room (e.g., all the papers stacked in my computer armiore) and asking if I truly need to keep the stuff or not.

Shopping with reusable bags

One green living step that is simple but can be challenging to make a habit is shopping with reusable bags. I have been thrilled to see as grocery stores have made reusable bags available, more people have been purchasing and using them. However, many people have good intentions but forget the bags at home so they never get used or reused. Here I discuss some options for reusable bags and how to integrate them with your life.

While it is nice to have a matching set of reusable bags, buying cloth or recycled plastic bags is not a necessity. While I purchased my cotton and hemp bags and really like them, I also have a free bag made of recycled plastic I always keep in my car. This bag was handed out at my favorite farmer's market by a local bank, and I know that free bags can be picked up at tradeshows or as freebies from vendors advertising their business. The easiest reusable bags are to take the plastic or paper bags you have accumulated and use them again. Prior to ordering my reusable cloth bags, this is what I did. The grocery store bagger had no issue with me bringing in my own bags or reusing paper bags from another store.

If you are creative, sew, knit or crochet your own reusable bags. I think this is more creative and more unique than just buying some. One of my friends is knitting her bags using strips of plastic bags. I have lots of fabric so I intend on sewing a few for family members as gift bags. This way you can customize how large or small you want your bags to be.

The best way to make sure you take the bags with you is to keep a few on your person. For example, I keep at least one reusable bag in my car and carry two with me in my over-the-shoulder bag to work. With my once monthly grocery shopping, I keep my main stash of reusable bags in the house and bring them with me for the grocery trip. If you are reusing plastic bags the store gave you, rolling up a couple and stashing it in your purse or jacket pocket will minimize the "I forgot" excuse. I also keep my reusable bags in the front seat of my car to make it easy for me to use them. Hang the bag of bags next to your coat, purse or wallet. Keep the bag or bags by the door so it is easy to grab and carry with you. Most bags fold flat or small enough, it is not a burden to bring them with you.

Learning how to make reusing bags an integral part of your life is not without its challenges. It took me months to get my system in place. While I bought my cotton and hemp bags for grocery shopping, I realized I still stopped by my pharmacy or thrift store where I ended up with another plastic bag. My solution was keeping at least one bag on me and one in my car which helped me keep my vow of nearly eliminating plastic bags from my life. Now the only way I accumulate plastic bags is when someone else gives them to me. I either have a reusable bag to hold my purchases or refuse a bag completely.

Cleaning up my act

This weekend, I put together a four-shelf storage unit in my basement to store extra toilet paper, my canning supplies and bits of my greenhouse with room to spare. After I put all the items on their shelves and was happily grateful for more space to put my extra supplies, I started wondering about packing it all up and moving it. Then I had a different picture of all my stuff--a big chore to take care of.

I have talked about decluttering and owning fewer things. However, action on this good idea is another beast all together. I had an interesting realization at my first estate sale. To learn the layout of the city I purchased a house, I often visited garage sales that first year, and thought I would try an estate sale when I saw the ad in the newspaper. Just the sheer amount of stuff that the family was trying to sell was overwhelming. One woman told me that her mother (grandmother?) had 21 more boxes of Christmas stuff in the basement. Yes, they were having an estate sale without all the estate out--and the house had a large assortment of items. Two years later, the house is still for sale.

One thing I do not want to leave to my heirs is sorting through all my crap. Despite this desire, I still have a lot of stuff cluttering my house to sort through. If I do not do it, who will? I need to get serious about choosing what stays and what goes from my home. I have bought many things, usually with a purpose, but have not removed items from the home the new items displace or I just no longer use.

The first step is make a plan of attack. Each weekend, I will sort through the stuff in or on one item in one room. For example, the papers stuffed in the drawers of the commode in my living room or the books on my homemade bookshelf. Taking on an entire room is too much and I would likely lose focus before the project is done. Since I spend much of my time in my living room, this is an ideal place to start. The less stuff in that room, the more relaxed I will feel. To keep me honest, I will report on my progress and hopefully, making real inroads into the overwhelming clutter I have.

Crafting my way out of clutter

I confess I was a former fabric-a-holic. I used to haunt fabric stores for fun fabrics and dream of the projects I could create with the fabric as my centerpiece. Now I have several plastic bins full of fabric and taking up space in my house. What is a frugal gal to do? Use the fabric stash and turn it into whatever I can of course!

It all started in the late 1990s when I decided I wanted to learn how to quilt. Conveniently, an evening adult learning class on quilting was being held across the street from my apartment. I signed up for three sessions of six classes/session and learned how to rotary cut and machine quilt. In the frenzy of quilt making, I invested in vast quantities of 100% cotton fabric with many plans to make masterful quilts for myself and as gifts. Unfortunately, by the time the third set of classes came around, my interest and enthusiasm had waned. This is why I have a partially started quilt and bins full of fabric waiting to be turned into quilts.

Since I am interested in decluttering and want to add warmth to cold winter nights, I will make quilts I had planned and either give them away (or store) as appropriate. Quilting is the perfect activity to keep me warm as I try to keep my thermostat low during the winter. Furthermore, I have purchased patterns and fabric for clothing including pajamas. Producing something to wear (and not spending any money) is a good thing. Once the fabric that belongs to half or fully formed projects is taken care of, there is still fabric chosen because I liked it (who can ignore a fun cat pattern?) or thought it would be a great start to a quilt (that UFO pattern is so colorful and vibrant).

I have time before Christmas so I can make other gifts including gift bags, napkins and little girl's purses. It is difficult to find people who want to buy fabric so with leftovers, I will consider crazy quilts, doll clothing and even rag rugs. I have the glimmer of a denim chenille rug in my future. I just need to wear out a few more jeans...

Once my projects are completed, I am hoping to figure out what to do with the plastic bins. Maybe someone from craigslist will take them off my hands and store her own fabric collection in them thus keeping the balance of unused fabric in the world.

Simplify my existence!

I have written on my efforts to live more sustainably and frugally, but not so much on simplifying my life. Living frugally and green has simplification incorporated into it, but it does deserve to have time devoted to its own discussion.

I have been selling items I no longer use, or purchased and just have not used. My primary motivation for going through my possessions and trying to sell them is to bring in a bit more money to add to my found money savings account. However, the side effect of this behavior is to simplify my life. I am choosing to humanely dispose of items that no longer bring me joy or are useful in my day-to-day life by finding a home somewhere else. Sometimes people pay me for the privilege of taking my stuff; sometimes I have to give them away. Either way, my house is a bit lighter for the removal.

To that end, I have been looking over the various items I own and wondering what else I could do away with. Getting some monetary compensation is nice, but I am realizing that getting rid of stuff is its own reward. My jaundiced eye is even considering getting rid of books, an item I am particularly possessive of as I have spent time collecting novels by authors I enjoy. However, I am one of those people that once I start a collection, I have a hard time stopping even if it is no longer worth my effort (and money). Therefore, it is time to cull the book collection. My goal: reduce my need for a bookshelf by one unit. Granted, it is a small, three-shelf unit (and not full), but one step is better than none!

I have also cast my eye on my CD and DVD collection. I have goals for these as well, but is more challenging because I have CDs from a subscription and record my own (to archive downloaded music) as well as purchasing new albums. I also find myself emotionally attached to my DVD collection so I will have to work hard on these too. While some people have found satisfaction selling DVDs on amazon.com or half.com, I do not see enough money to make it worth my effort.

Clothing is also tough for me to reduce. I do not need ten sweaters, but darn if I like them all and do not want to eliminate any of them. Being ruthless is not in my personality, but my wardrobe is one place I can do it productively. My closet and my dressers will thank me for the breathing space. Yes, I do have two dressers for one person. My excuse: I have no linen closet and need to store clothing in the off season. Do not even get me started on my pantyhose collection!

I start thinking about all the things I no longer need or use and the list just keeps getting longer. There is old software, stashed magazines I have not looked at in years, videotapes I have recorded but sit collecting dust and even items in the kitchen. Many of these will need to be purged not sold for money. Regardless, it is a task will need to be done. Fewer items in my home means less time dedicated to storing and cleaning them. The time for purging will be difficult to find as spring means planting, mowing and cleaning up the yard, not to mention home maintenance (I am painting part of my siding this summer).

Writing this post reminds me that I need to make lists and organize my time to get some of these new tasks done. I spend time balancing my checkbook, subtracting money spent from my spending plan and ensuring my automatic transfers are where they are supposed to be, but need to set aside time for other more financially indirect tasks as well. Here is to purging stuff and simplifying my life!

White elephant gift exchanges--how I won this round!

The company division that my department is a part of had a holiday party today that included a white elephant gift exchange. Both my boss and I took to heart the white elephant part--take something from home that the individual would never use and did not want, and use this opportunity to foist...I mean allow another person to take it home. Last year at my family's gift exchange, I chose (and could not get another to take) an unopened box of a vintage 1970s hostess set including cow creamer, sugar dispenser, and salt and pepper shakers. I considered eBay as a way to make money and get it out of my life, but then I would have to post the listing, hope I get enough money to make it worth my while and then get to the post office to mail it. I am lazy so in my house it sat.

Then I received this party invite including a white elephant gift exchange and thought "Ah ha! I can get rid of this piece of clutter!" The damn thing haunted me and I just did not want it but could not throw it away. I was considering posting it on craigslist until this opportunity came along. Still, once I was at the party, I had to avoid getting something I despised even more and would only swap one piece of clutter for another bit of clutter in my house. Thankfully, I managed to downsize extremely well. I came away with a set of almost tealight-sized, Christmas-shaped candles. Small, usable and best of all, a lot easier to dispose of.

The gift I "received" is not completely earth friendly but compared to the entirely petroleum-based vintage set I had, I am thankful. Besides, I like candles and the size of the package is a tenth of what I had. I was able to avoid items that were completely useless to me and would only add to the clutter in my home. Besides, I already have an item I intend on using for the family gift exchange and would not want to displace that. Now if I could only be so successful Christmas eve (find something I like and no one steals it). Tall order I know. Here is hoping!