Buy More, Have More, Act Now & Get One Free!

Clutter... there is no way to make it pretty!

We live in a society that seems to think more is better: more toys, more food, more money, more cars, more collections, more everything! My husband and I laugh every time we see a new mascara commercial on TV. Half the time the models have on fake eyelashes and the advertisers must think we are idiots. Is it that much better than the previous version? I doubt it otherwise the models wouldn't have on fake eyelashes! Will it make your eyelashes look like the models? I am SURE it won't... but apparently someone is buying the stuff! It's amazing the things we spend money on! I bet the average girl has so many mascara's in her makeup collection... along with those lipsticks that looked great in the package but are just not the right color in real life! (ummm... just sayin'... cause maybe I resemble that person!)

Somewhere along the line, you have to step back and ask yourself if all the buying has enhanced your life or if it has directly or indirectly lead to decreased joy in your life. For me, it's been the latter.

I love to find a good deal! I mean... I REALLY LOVE IT! It's like a drug. It's fun and I enjoy dreaming up ways to use all my good deals. I'm full of crafty ideas and I love to run out and buy supplies to create... only to never get around to actually crafting. I have a CLOSET full of craft supplies: fabrics, scrapbook papers and embellishments, ribbons, floss for needle crafts in every color of the rainbow! It goes on and on... yet I haven't even finished the cross stitch I started for Kristofer when he was born. Umm...  he's 18 now... and a Sailor in the US Navy. The Harry Potter quilt I started for him when he was about 10 is still not done. Yet I buy more. Therein lies the problem.

I'm not a depressed or unhappy person but I am very anxious and unsettled a lot. I always have trouble relaxing. I finally realized that by not having my home the way I dream it to be I am setting myself up for a never ending cycle of being on edge! I cover up my angst by shopping for more things and daydreaming up crafts... which just makes it worse. So I've decided to get down to business and make changes.

What I really want is a clean and organized home! I don't want to feel overwhelmed anymore. I don't want my mind cluttered with To Do lists of things I should be doing. The first step in learning to control the clutter in my (and yours!) home is to NOT BRING MORE IN! Whew... I said it! Admitting the problem is the first step. Right?

My new rules:

• Do not buy something on impulse just because it's a good deal.
• Know exactly where you will put the item.
• Be realistic about how much space you have to store things.

Now that I have a No Spending For One Year Goal, I am in a perfect position to NOT BRING MORE IN!
So that leaves me with... you guessed it... all the stuff I have left.


Books:  It's free to utilize your local library, so curb your book buying buy borrowing the book first if you can. See if you really like it. If you do, then buy it. But be sure it's a book that you'll want to look at again and again. Otherwise, it's just taking up space, causing more clutter and taking you more time to dust around it.

I cleaned out my books and took a bag full to Half Price Books. I earned $10. It felt really good to clear out the space and make some money, too!

Holiday Decorations: This is the perfect time of year to start thinking about cleaning out those bins. My plan is to start my Christmas decorating a little early this year and make a serious dent in paring them down. Every year I pick through the stuff and skip over the same old items. This year... I will get rid of them instead of just stuffing them back in the bin and hiding them away. Avoidance just prolongs the pain! Clean the stuff out and donate what you don't use.


Clothes: Clean out your closets! You know you're not going to wear some things. They are the things you skip past every single day. Just get rid of them. Don't look back. If you buy something new, donate something you don't wear any longer.

Kitchen Supplies: I had about 10 knives taking up space in one of my kitchen drawers that I rarely use. I have 3 knives that I use all the time. They are my favorites. The others only got used when the faves were dirty and I was too tired busy lazy preoccupied to wash them. Tupperware... what a mess that can become! I switched over to glass containers recently and I love them. I am getting rid of the other plastic stuff. It's really not all that safe and doesn't work in the microwave... so why keep it? I'm not... buh bye plastic storage that I usually melt the lids for in the dishwasher anyway! Keep what you use, donate the rest. Just do it!

In general, here's what I'm doing to gain control over my clutter.

Decide where the item needs to go. This can mean it needs to be donated, it needs to find a permanent home in the kitchen, whatever... but decide and get it there. Don't set it aside to think about it. It's not rocket science and doesn't solve any world hunger problems. I know I have a habit of making piles that I will get to "someday". Someday doesn't come often... like almost never. OK, never. It never comes. Keep it simple and don't stress over it. Make a decision and move to the next thing.


Keep going until it's done. Don't take on a big task if you only have 15 minutes. Choose your tasks based on the time you have so you don't get discouraged.

Don't just hide things in closets and in junk drawers. Those are valuable spaces. Make them as neat and tidy as possible.  This becomes a lot easier when you have less stuff.

Keep only those things that you love. I can't stress this enough. Just because you got something for free or just because you paid a lot for it, if it doesn't give you warm fuzzies... let it go! Learn to not accept or take freebies if you don't really need them and always spend your money wisely to avoid being in this position in the first place. As Tim Gunn, from Project Runway (Love you Tim!!!) would say, "Choose thoughtfully... such great advice!

Tomorrow, let's talk in more detail about Kitchens... and spice storage! I need HELP with spice storage!