Personally when I save that much stuff I usually buy a new one when I need it and then discover the one I kept from 3 years ago shoved in the back of a drawer the next week.
Recently I have been thinking about decluttering. I know I have way to much "stuff" but what if I need it someday? How foolish would it be to throw out a sour cream container when it is the perfect size for starting tomatoes?
The fact remains that we have to create a balance between our making good use and re purposing our items and accumulating so much "stuff" that it begins to complicate our lives.
A perfect example is my garage. I recently did a major organizing/decluttering job on it. My garage, although we do park a car in it, is my shop, lawnmower repair facility, seed starting area, storage and a few other things area.
As I went through it I realized there are no hard and fast rules on decluttering. I have heard the old "if you haven't used it in six months get rid of it" rule but that isn't always right. For instance I have special tools for changing drum brakes, now I haven't used those in about two years but I know I will be using them within the next year or so. That means those will be staying in the tool box.
My biggest struggle came when I begin going through the shelves and drawers in one my work areas. After cleaning off the top and rearranging the pegboard it looked really nice. However, I new what was inside the cupboards and drawers. What a mess.
As I stared blankly into a couple of drawers that I had been stuffing things into I got overwhelmed. I knew what I had to do.....I had to call in a professional!
"Honey! Could you help me in the garage for a minute" Yes I wasn't messing around I called in the "A" team of organization-my wife! Even though the "for a minute" turned into a couple of hours she helped me get the ball rolling.
I have to admit I did wince a little bit when she made me throw out about 20 Altoids tins I had been hoarding for .......um.....small things. With her help I began to see what I really should keep. I ended up eventually going through my entire shop and got a bag of garbage and two garage sale/Ebay boxes of "stuff".
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| One of my work areas. With free Craiglist cabinets. |
You have to remember though our grandparents use to "save everything" they only had a fraction of the stuff we get today!
I'm frugal and organized, it's a nice feeling. I had an old metal shed full of 'stuff' that I dealt with 2 years ago. I cleaned it out and purged. I them put the 'limbo' items in 9 trash cans w/lids to go through later. I got the cans for free when our trash service switched to larger containers that they provided. I then built a fence out of the old shed and then planted vines over it. This fence helps keep frost damage off on orange tree and reduces traffic noise. I eventually purged all the limbo stuff from those old trash cans, now I use them to make soil for my garden. For me, being frugal is planning ahead, to make the most of what's closest to me, and cheap or free.
ReplyDeleteKalgopian,
DeleteMaking another use for the old shed reminded me of my youth. We didn't have a lot of money. If we needed wood for a project we scrounged re-purposed or found used stuff. We seldom just drove to a store and bought new lumber.
I know what you mean. For me the balance between frugality and de-cluttering has boiled down to opportunity cost. If keeping too much of a certain item gets in my way, it ends up costing more than it is worth in the long run, so out it goes. If my kitchen is overrun with margarine tubs, I will have a harder time cooking from scratch, which saves quite a bit more money than say a nice orderly set of storage containers in lieu of margarine tubs. I still have a hard time letting go of some items though, I would be the one to save up Altoids tins as well, they are pretty useful little things. :)
ReplyDeleteApril,
DeleteThe Altoid tins kinda hurt but I already got another one :) My shop is a lot more organized now though.
You made me laugh as I so feel your pain. I love things to be in perfect order but getting it that way and then keeping it that way can be a challenge. Just think, if your totally organized that means you can see all your "stuff" or know where it is...that will save you money. No doubt about it. You will not have doubles of things or lose the pieces to somthing then need to buy it again. You are on a great path there. Good luck. Nice photo of your raised beds by the way.
ReplyDeleteTamantha,
DeleteI agree the hard part is keeping in organized :)
Visiting from the Frugal Days link up. I think the resounding theme is that if you're going to be frugal...you should also strive to be organized. It's not frugal to run to the store for a $5 doo-dad only to find out that you have 20 doo-dads shoved in the back of a closet!
ReplyDeleteI find that being well organized means I also have a sense of what things truly have been sitting around unused for years. It makes it much easier to finally chuck those things.
More importantly, though, you have to find a sense of inner peace in the fact that you WILL throw out things only to find a use for them a month later. Food WILL sometimes spoil before you eat it up. And so on...people that drive themselves insane trying to save everything they might need "someday" are the people that develop hoarding tendencies - and hoarding is a mental illness.
Jill,
DeleteVery true about the hoarding. I know a few "boarderline" hoarders.
Your shop area looks great! I like to do a "clean sweep" style of cleaning where I tackle a room or one side of our shop and literally remove everything out of the area - empty drawers etc. I do a cleaning and repairing (painting if needed) and then go through things:
ReplyDelete1) items that I want to keep and belong in that location are returned and put away properly
2) items that I want to keep but below elsewhere are put where they belong (things have a way of migrating to areas they do not belong!)
3) Items I no longer need are either discarded (junk), recycled, or donated.
The last thing I do is assess if something needs to be ADDED! Yes, I said it. When I am going through the pantry for instance, I often realize I have run low on a staple and will take the time to make up a restock list and just go do it.
We just did the annual house version of this process in November so I am good until next year with the house - but my shop is quite another matter... a holy mess in there and in real need of a "clean sweep"! Maybe I will make that my February project. Thanks for the inspiration!
P.S. got the bean seeds this week - Thanks! You were very generous in how much you gave. I will try to package your seeds up shortly and get them out to you too. I don't have nearly as many to share but hopefully they will give you a good planting and grow well for you.
It sure feels different when an area is clean and organized. I am getting some 1"X12" rough cut cedar for my new beds tomorrow. I have some onions sprouting and just noticed some kale coming up on my heat mat set up. It looks like I might survive the winter!
DeleteYes, there's a balance. We live in a small house with ZERO space for storage, so I lean more towards tossing (recylcing) most items, but it sure is nice to have just the right size jar/container/bag tie, etc when I need it. My limit comes built in to the size of cabinet or drawer that holds the items. What I'm realizing right now is that the number of quart jars necesarry to hold fresh milk in the summer is a burden to house in the dry months! In the summer there are as amny as 14 gallons (that'd be 56 quart jars) of milk in the fridge, plus the ones recently emptied, plus the ones rotated out to friends and family. At times I had to find a new container to hold some milk so that I'd have jars for that day's milking. Now I'm packing them away in boxes because I don't know what else to do with them!
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree with the 6 month rule being in effective. What about the suit/nice dress that only get worn for special occassions? Holiday decorations, stuff like that...
Wow! That's a lot of milk to deal with but what a blessing at the same time!
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