Simplify, simplify. ~ Thoreau

[socialjustice_fsu]

So as I am sorting through enough photographs to wallpaper the Lincoln Memorial and the stacks of books that would rival a small town library...I ponder...how did it get like this? This 'abundance' has moved from a blessing to a curse. So hence...this thread has been born. At 2 AM this Wednesday I am going to start my own process of simplifying my life...be it tangible or intangible.

Here's the jest...What two things can YOU do to simplify your life right now?

For example: Gather up all your old magazines (the one's you set aside for a year or so) and take them to an Assisted Living Facility just down the road.

Hang a magnetic list/pad on the frig. so when you run out of something you can write it down right away instead of making 4 extra trips to the grocery...

Okay...here is what I am doing:

1. I have sorted through all of my books and will be taking them (maybe close to 200 books sans my Butch-Femme erotica) to our independent bookstore so they can send them onto the Books for Prisoners Program.

2. I have compiled all my warranty paperwork on stuff I own and put it in a 3 ring binder for easy access.

Please share your ideas...

[Gentle Tiger]

Interesting timing for this thread. Thank you! One of my birthday goals has been to simplify my life and let go of the clutter. I am in the process of moving. I've decided to get rid of the excess weight, let go of the past and make room for my future. So for this move I am doing doing several things but two major steps are:

1. Sorting, filing and shredding/recycling three boxes (and counting) that just have just gone with me from place to place. Some things just do not need to be kept!

2. Donating 100 books (and counting). I will have to see who does the Books for Prisoners program where I live. That's a good idea. Thanks

I'm looking forward to reading what others are doing.

[Diva]

One thing that worked for me:

When I decided to finally get to my Dad's room and redo it, I emptied everything out of it...to the dining room/gathering space....THEN, I would be forced to deal with it. I redid the room ~ NOW called The Red Room (See Gallery for before & after shots) ~ and put the things in there I wanted.....sans clutter!

It was SO liberating!

And I'm whittling away at the crap in the dining/gathering space....it has wound up filed away, thrown away or given away, but not back in The Red Room!

[Stearns]

In keeping my clothes closet as minimal as possible, I'm pretty good with the adage, "If you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it." There's a Goodwill near my house, which makes it really convenient.

My outside storage closet, however, is a different matter. It needs a serious overhaul. I've let it get out of control with tools, car wash items, boxes, etc. I tend to pre-plan in my mind what to get rid of. I just need to do it.

[Gentle Tiger]

Another practice that is helping is to go paperless as much as possible. Do I really need the original or can I scan it and keep an electronic copy. Do I really need to keep the item at all? Really?

What's helped me get through these boxes of documents has been asking this question - did I even know it was in this box? Have I thought about this item in my hand? No? Out it goes.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?!

I'm sure no one else can relate. LOL

[Greco]

socialjustice_fsu,

This is an excellent thread. There are those that say that one
must change their beliefs to more productive, positive ones.

I have found that taking an action on change has worked best
for me. For example, I also have had many, many books, on
many subjects, so as I began to get them boxed for donating
to my local library, memories of all they contained came up
for me.

They reminded me that the knowledge I read in those books I
had in fact made choices about, that I agreed, or did not agree,
that I learned something new, and productive to carry me
forward. So, it was in the act of clearing, and boxing up that
I discovered that I no longer needed those books because
I had learned from them and no longer needed their physical
presence.

So, I say clutter. Begin to unclutter, and stay mindful of the
feelings that come up as one unclutters...that for me is where
the learning is, action. Great thread.

Greco

[Nat]

Originally Posted by socialjustice_fsu

For example: Gather up all your old magazines (the one's you set aside for a year or so) and take them to an Assisted Living Facility just down the road.

Alternative suggestion: If any of your old magazines are feminist, gay or otherwise subversive, stop by your local hospital or clinic and leave them in the lobby/waiting areas along with the "Good Housekeeping" and "Reader's Digest".

[LipstickLola]

I work in a hospital, the waiting rooms are always needing current reading materials, I like to replace the worn, tattered magazines and paper back books with ones from home, or that have been given to me, keeps down the clutter. I love books, so it's very difficult for me to give them away, I keep hardbacks, maybe some day I can let them go as well.

Also? being the mom of a disabled child who works for Goodwill Industries, and seeing 'Goodwill' mentioned in this thread makes me smile. It's good folks like you, who keep people like her employed.

Lola

[Gentle Tiger]

One important thing is to remember how you got in the complicated mess that now requires you to simplify. It is so easy to replace the clutter after you've worked so hard to get rid the mess whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Sometimes we do it without even thinking!

Just thought I'd put that out there because I had to catch myself on a couple of things.

[Diva]

Originally Posted by Gentle Tiger

One important thing is to remember how you got in the complicated mess that now requires you to simplify. It is so easy to replace the clutter after you've worked so hard to get rid the mess whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Sometimes we do it without even thinking!

Just thought I'd put that out there because I had to catch myself on a couple of things.

I know exactly how it happened for me......

When I came out, my ex-husband kicked me out of the house with what I could fit in my car. I basically had nothing after having 2 children, a 4-bedroom home, and every luxury one could imagine. All of a sudden, I had nothing.

So when I relocated with nothing, I was in a studio apt. with some clothes, a Dollar Store frying pan & sauce pan, 3 wooden spoons, paper plates and plastic cups & cutlery.

When I received my settlement, I went a little crazy to try and create a sense of normalcy for myself. At the time, that meant 'things'.

And now, as I begin to simplify ~ the physical AND emotional ~ I'm finding out what is TRULY important in my life, and divorcing myself from the stuff that is not....it gets easier and easier.

[Bit]

Well, I know it doesn't quite fit the direction the thread is headed in right now--that "get rid of" direction--but the way we just simplified our lives was buying things at a moving sale.

1. File cabinet and book case so we can finally get all the boxes and tubs emptied, and tea carts so we can get the kitchen working better.

2. Tupperware and Pyrex so I can finally take things to potlucks and bake sales without a hassle.

One of the things I've learned over the years through divorces, moves, and floods, is that I *will* repeatedly replace the things which are important to me if I lose them in my life, and that says to me that they must be more than clutter... so since I'm not going to get rid of them, I might as well get the furniture that makes them work properly.