I just found this GREAT uncluttering blog called unclutterer.com. It provides daily tips on decluttering. (Why they didn't call it declutterer.com is beyond me.)
The tip for the day concerns those big bulky wallets people end up carrying around (like my husband). Is it really necessary to have so many cards in your wallet? The blog post suggests keeping another wallet in your glove compartment to hold your loyalty cards. You can just grab the relevant card when you need it that way.
I actually like the suggestion one of the commenters has: punch a hole in each card and thread them on a keychain, and keep that in your glove compartment instead. Others take photos of their cards and store them in an iPhone app. These are all creative ideas to declutter your wallet.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Apple harvest time!
We have two apple trees in our backyard, and they typically bear fruit every other year. I wish the trees were on alternate years, but unfortunately all the bounty arrives at once!
Often we have more apples than we can use, and two years ago I am ashamed to admit that many of the apples went rotten, because we didn't get ourselves organized to do anything with them. (This is why this post is on my "One Year (or Five Years) to an Organized Life" blog!)
My parents handed down a large homemade food dryer several years ago, and we have dried apples in the past. However, it's powered by a lightbulb (and consequently takes a couple of days to dry the fruit), has to stay in the backyard because of its bulk, and has screens with wooden frames (that are difficult to wash). As a result, it's cumbersome to dry food. I decided that if I were really to actively dry fruit this year, I needed to invest in a more user-friendly food dryer. This is what I ended up with:
 |
| Nesco food dehydrator |
To prepare the apples, I used my trust apple peeler/corer/slicer, which I bought several years ago. It only comes out of the cupboard when we have a lot of apples. I LOVE this thing. It makes the process so much easier and faster.
The one downside to the food dehydrator is that it doesn't take the quantity that the homemade one does (although I could purchase more trays to do more fruit at once). After filling the dryer, I kept coring/peeling/slicing and made a pot of homemade applesauce.
I followed Mark Bittman's recipe (from my iPhone app of How to Cook Everything
!), which consisted of cut apples in a pot with 1/2 inch of water and a sprinkling of salt. Then he offers suggestions for additional ingredients. I added peeled fresh ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a couple of spoons of brown sugar. It turned out great, and I won't be surprised if it's gone by Friday. Next time I will make more.
!), which consisted of cut apples in a pot with 1/2 inch of water and a sprinkling of salt. Then he offers suggestions for additional ingredients. I added peeled fresh ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a couple of spoons of brown sugar. It turned out great, and I won't be surprised if it's gone by Friday. Next time I will make more.Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Purging, donating, and giving away!!
In addition to the 350 pounds we took to the dump earlier this month, we have also disposed of:
Our garage is looking AWESOME. It's not completely photo ready yet...but soon I will post before and after photos.
- A box full of alcohol and wine, including a fancy bottle that someone gave to us and Mike was hoping to save for the day he got published...turned to vinegar!
- More kids' books--posted to paperbackswap.com, taken to the consignment store, donated to friends with a 1-year-old, and donated to the school rummage sale
- Two strollers, a high chair, a play yard, and a crib (given to a friend)
- Old dresser and wardrobe (that once held my own baby clothes!), given to the same friend when she saw them in our garage and asked us what we were going to do with them
- A bike trailer...which we bought at a neighbor's yard sale YEARS ago and never used...our neighborhood has so many darn hills that it's hard to imagine being able to huff and puff up one of those hills hauling a bike trailer behind us...plus, Nick would rather ride his own bike now (given to the same friends with the 1-year-old, who live in a flatter, more bike-friendly neighborhood!)
Our garage is looking AWESOME. It's not completely photo ready yet...but soon I will post before and after photos.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
350 pounds to the dump today!
Today Mike spent plowing through all the junk we had accumulated in the garage, and I spent the whole day on the kitchen.
My great resolution to keep the kitchen counters clean has fallen to ruin.
The dishes had stacked up all over the counter, and it needed some serious, down-and-dirty TLC. I am happy to say that it's clean now...although every time I clean the kitchen I want to redo it. We've been living with the same linoleum, paint, etc., for 11 years now, and it's definitely looking worse for wear. The countertops are still in good shape, fortunately.
Photos tomorrow!
My great resolution to keep the kitchen counters clean has fallen to ruin.
The dishes had stacked up all over the counter, and it needed some serious, down-and-dirty TLC. I am happy to say that it's clean now...although every time I clean the kitchen I want to redo it. We've been living with the same linoleum, paint, etc., for 11 years now, and it's definitely looking worse for wear. The countertops are still in good shape, fortunately.
Photos tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Spending less (and differently) makes people happier
I've been off track in my organizing and not keeping this blog up to speed. Vacations and life craziness have gotten in the way, and I need to get back on the wagon.
The house and mess in it are getting out of control. Kids' junk piled up everywhere, the little boys' room is a disaster zone, and remnants of my organizing efforts (bags ready for storage or donation) are piled in hallways.
Recently I got an iPhone that has enough memory to house all my music. I downloaded as much as I could onto iTunes and am planning to offload tons of CDs. I've posted many of them on swapacd.com, and others I will donate. But that needs to be finished.
We have taken three vacations this summer: (1) 20th anniversary trip for the two of us to San Francisco, (2) trip to Orlando, and (3) trip to Vancouver BC. What we had in savings has now been depleted, and we're dipping into our home equity line of credit.
A friend posted this article on Facebook: it's about how people are much happier when they change their lifestyles to spend less. In a recent study, researchers found that spending money on "experiences" makes people happier, longer, than buying stuff. "‘It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch’ is basically the idea,” according to Professor Elizabeth Dunn (from the University of British Columbia), citing the research done by her colleagues, Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich. The theory is that vacations and other experiences offer longer-lasting memories than new stuff, which eventually becomes old stuff.
This is timely information for us, as we have always spent a great deal of our expendable income on vacations and entertainment. It also reflects our lifestyle, in which we drive old cars and do not spend very much money on our house.
Our plan for the fall is to HALT THE SPENDING! I've started taking this very seriously as we have cut back dramatically on eating out, and I am trying to stay away from shopping. I will try to confine most of my shopping for clothing and personal items to my favorite consignment shop, where I can get credit for what I consign. Last Sunday Portland had an event I was looking forward to attending, Bargain Hunting PDX, where local craftspeople and vendors have a summer bazaar of sorts. Even though I had planned to attend, I decided not to in the end. However, this weekend is our neighborhood festival, and I love their annual sidewalk sale. I think I will inventory everything in my "gift box" before I go to avoid buying lots more gifts for Christmas--that tends to be one of my downfalls!
I continue to observe that most of what we own does not get used. And I need to remember that to avoid buying more things we are not going to use.
The house and mess in it are getting out of control. Kids' junk piled up everywhere, the little boys' room is a disaster zone, and remnants of my organizing efforts (bags ready for storage or donation) are piled in hallways.
Recently I got an iPhone that has enough memory to house all my music. I downloaded as much as I could onto iTunes and am planning to offload tons of CDs. I've posted many of them on swapacd.com, and others I will donate. But that needs to be finished.
We have taken three vacations this summer: (1) 20th anniversary trip for the two of us to San Francisco, (2) trip to Orlando, and (3) trip to Vancouver BC. What we had in savings has now been depleted, and we're dipping into our home equity line of credit.
A friend posted this article on Facebook: it's about how people are much happier when they change their lifestyles to spend less. In a recent study, researchers found that spending money on "experiences" makes people happier, longer, than buying stuff. "‘It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch’ is basically the idea,” according to Professor Elizabeth Dunn (from the University of British Columbia), citing the research done by her colleagues, Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich. The theory is that vacations and other experiences offer longer-lasting memories than new stuff, which eventually becomes old stuff.
This is timely information for us, as we have always spent a great deal of our expendable income on vacations and entertainment. It also reflects our lifestyle, in which we drive old cars and do not spend very much money on our house.
Our plan for the fall is to HALT THE SPENDING! I've started taking this very seriously as we have cut back dramatically on eating out, and I am trying to stay away from shopping. I will try to confine most of my shopping for clothing and personal items to my favorite consignment shop, where I can get credit for what I consign. Last Sunday Portland had an event I was looking forward to attending, Bargain Hunting PDX, where local craftspeople and vendors have a summer bazaar of sorts. Even though I had planned to attend, I decided not to in the end. However, this weekend is our neighborhood festival, and I love their annual sidewalk sale. I think I will inventory everything in my "gift box" before I go to avoid buying lots more gifts for Christmas--that tends to be one of my downfalls!
I continue to observe that most of what we own does not get used. And I need to remember that to avoid buying more things we are not going to use.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
21 things you should never buy new
Poor, neglected blog!
I like this article on Yahoo, 21 Things You Should Never Buy New. A few comments:
DVDs and CDs: I almost always buy these new, but I also do get them out of the library quite a lot, so I'm probably coming up even there.
Books: Typically, the only books I buy new are gifts. Otherwise I get them out of the library, at book sales, or my favorite: Paperbackswap.com. The recent exceptions are the final two books of the Stieg Larsson series, which I just bought new.
Video Games: Couldn't agree more...when I think of all the $ Chris has wasted buying and selling video games! We have bought some Wii games new, though, when we were too impatient to wait for them to come out used (also, some games rarely get sold back)...namely Wii Rock Band, Beatles Rock Band, Sports Resort, and Fit.
Special Occasion and Holiday Clothing: I've found great holiday dresses and boys' sportcoats and suits at my favorite resale shop, Katelyn's Closet in Multnomah Village. Haven't seen too many prom dresses, though, but I don't have to worry about that!
Jewelry: As you might know, I never buy expensive jewelry, so this is not an issue for me.
Ikea Furniture: Good point about Craigslist. Assembling furniture is no fun, although it is nice to have that great feeling of accomplishment at the end!
Games and Toys: I'm gradually learning not to buy very many games and toys for my kids, because so often they do not end up playing with them much. Buying them secondhand is definitely the way to go...but even then, I only buy inexpensive items because I don't want to waste my $.
Maternity and Baby Clothes: Why buy new, unless you can't find a particular item used?
Musical Instruments: I agree with this point in general, but after a lifetime of playing used musical instruments, it is great to have a new mandolin and guitar! But for kids, I would never buy new. We bought Chris' drum kit at a music store that sells used musical instruments.
Craft Supplies: One of these days, I will get to the Portland store SCRAP. But not until I use the craft supplies already filling my closet!!
Houses and Cars: Goes without saying. We've never owned a new car or house.
This article is a good reminder that many items depreciate in value immediately, or rarely get used and continue to be in good shape. It's easier to get more for your $ if you shop secondhand.
I like this article on Yahoo, 21 Things You Should Never Buy New. A few comments:
DVDs and CDs: I almost always buy these new, but I also do get them out of the library quite a lot, so I'm probably coming up even there.
Books: Typically, the only books I buy new are gifts. Otherwise I get them out of the library, at book sales, or my favorite: Paperbackswap.com. The recent exceptions are the final two books of the Stieg Larsson series, which I just bought new.
Video Games: Couldn't agree more...when I think of all the $ Chris has wasted buying and selling video games! We have bought some Wii games new, though, when we were too impatient to wait for them to come out used (also, some games rarely get sold back)...namely Wii Rock Band, Beatles Rock Band, Sports Resort, and Fit.
Special Occasion and Holiday Clothing: I've found great holiday dresses and boys' sportcoats and suits at my favorite resale shop, Katelyn's Closet in Multnomah Village. Haven't seen too many prom dresses, though, but I don't have to worry about that!
Jewelry: As you might know, I never buy expensive jewelry, so this is not an issue for me.
Ikea Furniture: Good point about Craigslist. Assembling furniture is no fun, although it is nice to have that great feeling of accomplishment at the end!
Games and Toys: I'm gradually learning not to buy very many games and toys for my kids, because so often they do not end up playing with them much. Buying them secondhand is definitely the way to go...but even then, I only buy inexpensive items because I don't want to waste my $.
Maternity and Baby Clothes: Why buy new, unless you can't find a particular item used?
Musical Instruments: I agree with this point in general, but after a lifetime of playing used musical instruments, it is great to have a new mandolin and guitar! But for kids, I would never buy new. We bought Chris' drum kit at a music store that sells used musical instruments.
Craft Supplies: One of these days, I will get to the Portland store SCRAP. But not until I use the craft supplies already filling my closet!!
Houses and Cars: Goes without saying. We've never owned a new car or house.
This article is a good reminder that many items depreciate in value immediately, or rarely get used and continue to be in good shape. It's easier to get more for your $ if you shop secondhand.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Making progress
I haven't been blogging much here lately, but I have been making steady progress on my organizing.
The houseguests we were expecting from England (tomorrow) had to cancel their trip. (Lesson learned: if you have an early flight, do not rely on a hotel wake-up call! They missed their flight and KLM told them they'd have to pay for new tickets because they were "no shows," so they cancelled their trip.)
But I've made a huge amount of progress on the family room. I'm not completely finished yet--still have to clean off the top of the desk and tackle the games closet (again), but I should be able to post photos soon.
I assembled a cube system that we bought at Costco sometime last year, and we're using that for various Wii and video paraphernalia. It took me about an hour to completely detangle my son's PlayStation wiring. Ugh! Yes, I probably should have had him do it...but that is definitely not his strength.
It is SO MUCH nicer to do my Wii Fit Plus with a clean, uncluttered family room! Love that!
The houseguests we were expecting from England (tomorrow) had to cancel their trip. (Lesson learned: if you have an early flight, do not rely on a hotel wake-up call! They missed their flight and KLM told them they'd have to pay for new tickets because they were "no shows," so they cancelled their trip.)
But I've made a huge amount of progress on the family room. I'm not completely finished yet--still have to clean off the top of the desk and tackle the games closet (again), but I should be able to post photos soon.
I assembled a cube system that we bought at Costco sometime last year, and we're using that for various Wii and video paraphernalia. It took me about an hour to completely detangle my son's PlayStation wiring. Ugh! Yes, I probably should have had him do it...but that is definitely not his strength.
It is SO MUCH nicer to do my Wii Fit Plus with a clean, uncluttered family room! Love that!
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