Tag: stuff

Breaking With the Decluttering Trends

Posted on by Jordank

We at The Organizing Blog like to think that we’re a respected authority in the #decluttering knowledge space, continually lending tips and strategies to get your home and life in order while #donating the things you don’t need to a worthy cause.

We weren’t the first on the scene, of course, and we won’t be the last — dozens of experts and gurus have made careers out of helping people #declutter, and there are as many trendy strategies to help people #minimize and #organize their excess #stuff.

While the scholarship agrees that a #clean and #organized home environment is optimal for one’s mood and health, today we’re going to remind readers that there is no single “right” way to tackle the problem. The right way to #declutter is the way that works for you.

“Decluttering is very much a personal process — it’s your home and your belongings,” says Homes & Gardens. “Some may find it harder than others, preferring a more gentle approach to a more ruthless one, and vice versa.”

For example, Marie Kondo’s much-vaunted KonMari method asks you to sort every category of possession, keeping only the things that “spark joy.” But consider the lowly vegetable peeler: It probably does not spark joy, but it is undeniably useful — and you can feel good about holding onto it.

Some #organizing schemes are just too gimmicky to keep up, Apartment Therapy says. For example, you may overlabel your stuff. You might buy too many organizing products. Or you may be too meticulous about folding and sorting small items such as socks and underwear, wasting time and energy on a single drawer.

Because #organization and #clutter are widespread challenges, the clutterati will keep inventing new ways to deal with them. Try one or invent your own. The strategy that works for you — the one that you can follow and get results — is the best to follow.

Giving Up Clutter for Lent and Life

Posted on by Jordank

Lent is a Christian observance commemorating the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry. Those who observe the period typically mark it with prayer, fasting and personal sacrifice.

A Lenten sacrifice is a spiritually motivated, voluntary renunciation of a pleasure or luxury. Common modern-day Lenten sacrifices include abstaining from meat-eating, chocolate, sweets and alcohol. Some people attempt to eschew “sinful” behaviors such as profanity.

Not every faith observes Lent, of course, but each of the major religions has a holiday observed through fasting and sacrifice. Regardless of faith or level of observance, the Organizing Blog suggests that there is something you can give up today for the betterment of everyone: #clutter.

#Decluttering can help you lead a more spiritual existence. When you don’t have to tend to all of the #stuff you’ve collected over the years, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on what really matters: health, family and well-being.

Establish a simple Lenten goal: “I’ll spend one hour per day #sorting through my stuff.” “I’ll #declutter one #closet per week.” “I’ll #clean and #organize my kitchen and bathrooms by Easter.” “I’ll fill X number of boxes and bags with stuff I no longer need or want.”

What would Jesus do? Granted, we live in different times, but he almost certainly would not let a bunch of clothing that doesn’t fit, disused household appliances and mass-market tchotchkes pile up and bog him down. He traveled light.

There’s another aspect of Lent and other seasonal observances demand: almsgiving. It’s charitable giving that puts the needs of others ahead of your own — sharing your time, money and material possessions with others, and especially those less fortunate.

ClothingDonations.org can help with this. Once you’ve #decluttered and gathered up the things you don’t want, contact us for a #free #donation #pickup. We’ll take those lightly used goods and resell them to #help the nation’s #veterans.

Once you see the results from your Lenten sacrifice, decluttering could become a lifelong habit. Have a safe and happy Lent!

Resisting the Presidents’ Day Promotions

Posted on by Jordank

The Founding Fathers would never have believed the range of merchandise that American consumers have available today, though George Washington and Abraham Lincoln probably would have enjoyed advanced dental care and mattresses that weren’t stuffed with horsehair. Some of the best deals of the year are available on Presidents’ Day weekend, however, so if you’re in the market for a new vacuum, mattress or couch, now’s the time to buy. Good Housekeeping lists some of the biggest promotions, but The Organizing Blog urges readers to refrain from buying anything just because it’s a good deal; #stuff you don’t need creates #clutter. #PresidentsDay

Organize So That Everything Has Its Space

Posted on by Jordank

Think creatively to keep your home #organized in the new year, Good Housekeeping says. It offers 100 ways to sort out the #stuff in your small spaces such as #drawers and #closets in order to help you store everything more reliably. Use bins to compartmentalize and #organize drawers, install hooks and shelves to take advantage of vertical space, and designate a “drop zone” where everything can be sorted out as it enters the home. When your stuff has a place to be, it’s less likely to get scattered where it doesn’t belong and create #clutter — and you’ll be able to find whatever it is easily when you need it. #OrganizedNewYear

Make Every Day Boxing Day

Posted on by Jordank

Happy Boxing Day! British custom has it that the first weekday after Christmas is the day to acknowledge those rendering services throughout the year with gifts or gratuities. Servants and tradesmen have accepted “Christmas boxes” of gifts, cash bonuses, leftovers and secondhand items since medieval times, House Beautiful says.

Today, the United Kingdom and former colonies such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand celebrate Boxing Day as a shopping holiday, similar to Black Friday or a post-holiday clearance sale in the United States.

We’ve likely done all of the shopping we need to do for a while, and more shopping just means more #stuff to put away — or more #clutter. So let’s return to the “#giving” definition of Boxing Day and make it an everyday tradition from now through the new year.

It’s a great holiday for #minimalists, because it calls upon those celebrating to #give things away. Assuming it’s in good working order, the stuff you no longer use — wrong-sized clothes, extra kitchen and dinnerware, appliances, books, small furniture and so on — may have a second useful life in someone else’s hands.

That’s where ClothingDonations.org can help. Our drivers will pick up those extra things and resell them to #thrift stores to fund an array of programs that the nation’s #veterans rely upon. It’s a generous, safe and convenient way to observe the Boxing Day tradition of acknowledging others’ service.

You don’t have to limit yourself to a single box, of course. ClothingDonations.org will #pick up as many boxes and bags of #donations as you want to give. And if you’re still in the process of household #decluttering, you can schedule a #donation to match your progress as often as you gather a few boxes of stuff to #give away.

As the #holidays wind down, we hope you can make Boxing Day an everyday tradition — one that recognizes service and sacrifice while helping #declutter and #streamline your home life. Get started today, and make a new habit of observing Boxing Day as early and often as you want while getting organized for the new year. #BoxingDay