Simplify, simplify. ~ Thoreau

socialjustice_fsu · 08-17-2012, 07:59 PM

Thank you for the link and the synopsis of the article. I have been perplexed from time to time about this 'opposing' shift of view. Personally, I tend to lean more toward having what I need with a dash of objects that fill my senses, my wants. Following a move from a large home to a two bedroom apartment I took note at how much lighter I felt. My energy was not tempered down with stuff. Albeit, I had to take a long, skeptical look at the objects that stayed with me. I was taken aback by the amount of stuff I produced for a huge (successful) estate sale prior to my move. It was then I felt as if I was an organized hoarder. In the past I could spend hours upon days sorting, filing, and packing in just the right decorative box that, yes, I had spent a number of hours shopping for...only to discover there were some major issues I had going on in my life that I simply could ignore by diving into the perpetual move of organizing a box, drawer, closet. Now that I have been in my apartment a couple of years with much less stuff and a lot more chi I feel lighter, not so burdened with the organizing and the upkeep of such a system. I have also discovered that life really does pass one by rather they overtly or covertly hoard. Call it what you will...but I know now that when I jump into that "I need to revise, re-do, reorganize mode" - I just might need to take a look at what I am avoiding and find a healthy means to cope with it.

cinnamongrrl · 08-18-2012, 04:00 PM

Let me start by saying I do prefer organization...i strive for it. With teenagers...its not always feasible. One thing i HAVE learned... its SO important to have a place for things. Whenever I'm shopping at thrift stores, I always look for baskets, containers and totes. If i cant find an immediate need for it then my girls typically do.

We are getting ready to move, so it's a perfect time to declutter our lives. I went through my closet and have gotten rid of things that dont fit, I dont like or wear etc. I went through papers and whatnot and recycled a whole lot of stuff that way too.

In closing.....I can see where y'all are coming from...but theres no way Im getting rid of my books! :P

Kelt · 11-01-2012, 03:37 PM

Digital clutter

Digital clutter is one of the last "clearing out" areas I have to deal with. Also one of the most insidious. It's one of those out of sight out of mind things for me. It's still kind of crazy making though. I can't really even figure out how bad it has gotten. Especially with all of the cloud storage available for free. With auto save set up, I know where it goes to live, can search to find whatever I want, and it's all safe and sound even it the house burns down.

Even so, it feels like I have a Fibber McGee closet somewhere and one day it will crash down and bury me.

The joy of digital photography. Now, without the cost of film or developing I am free to take as many shots as I want. I can try different angles, lighting and focal distances to my hearts content.

The downside of digital photography; see above.

My photo 'organizing' software has a really handy way of grouping things by date and time so that like items tend to stay together. You can then go further and make specific types of albums and things, use keywords, rate them, map them, all kinds of interesting things when you get around to it. Until then, they are clumped in time chunks.

Well, about a year or two ago I started noticing that when I would go to look for a specific picture it would take a while to find it, but eventually I would. I figured I would get around to organizing them 'someday'. But, the whole out of sight, out of mind thing was working on me. Well, I'm putting my foot down and going to start on this. Of course it has taken a couple of days to bone up on how to best do this for the best outcome, and how best to use the tools at hand, batch sorting, that kind of thing. Sharpen the saw before cutting down the tree.

The irrefutable conclusion I have come to is that in one way or another this will involve individual attention to each separate photo in some way. Either delete (a lot of them), move, re-catagorize, name, etc. So, okay, open up the big fake box in the sky and look.

Seven years worth. Slightly over 9,000 images.

See you in about a year.

Then I can start on documents, email archives………….

chakra · 11-01-2012, 04:28 PM

Great Thread!!

I feel as though I am in an ongoing process of decluttering. I am perpetually finding things to take to the Salvation Army and to the shelter here in town. I have consciously ensure for every one thing I bring into my house, three things must leave. Despite that, I still own a lot.

I was laying in bed last night thinking of what my kids would want when I die. I think in those terms now. I was in a serious car accident that has made me completely re-evaluate EVERYTHING. I don't want to own anything. I no longer feel attached to life. Not in a "I am going to kill myself" way, not at all. But, when I came home from the hospital and looked around my house I wondered why on earth I own so much useless crap. And how did I ever attach any value to any of that 'junk'. So, the painful process of decluttering my life began.

I gave away my camera. If I can't remember it, who cares.
I gave away my cookbooks. If I can't make it, I can look it up on line.
I gave away my all my fiction books. I want to live here, now, not escape it.
I gave away all the clothes I had not worn in six months (except my super warm coat cause -40 and colder is not uncommon where I live)
I gave away all my china.
And the list goes on. I feel lighter when things leave my house.

What is important. That is the question I ask myself, truly ask myself, every day now.

Life is a blessing. My monetary holdovers, not so much.

Greco · 11-02-2012, 08:00 AM

Well, I am down to the most essential...my wife's kitchen things, my books, and things I use for creative "work"...all "things" I enjoy, love, find beautiful.

To say that life is a gift doesn't come close for me, and I am grateful beyond words to live with simplicity, economy, beauty (essential for me)...moving once again soon...and will keep it minimal, spacious, uncluttered, comfortable.

Greco

tygr_grrl · 06-13-2013, 10:04 PM

find myself moving and that tends to help me lighten my load. clothes that haven't been worn in over a year (or dont fit), long ignored household gadgets....they all get rounded up and bagged to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Also, nothing quite like coming across a half unpacked box from the last time I moved. Hmmm....a couple cd-rom backups of scanned old photos (keeping after I download to my gmail), a SANDisk memory card to a LONG dead digital camera, a place mat, a picture of my mom (oops, what's that doing in there?), some random hardware from something requiring assembling, a spool of red and green holiday ribbon, an unsent card and a box of straight pins that opened up and needles everywhere.

Sweet Bliss · 07-16-2013, 10:03 AM

I am surprised that this thread has only two pages. I was looking forward to spending hours learning new pearls of wisdom.

Lol, then I laughed at myself, why spend hours avoiding the simple life I keep saying I want?

Instead of goofing off online why am I not filling bags with donations? Getting prepared for the next phase of my adventure. Hello ooo..... snap out of it....

Thanks y'all.

08-17-2012, 07:59 PM	#1
socialjustice_fsu Member How Do You Identify?: Feminine Preferred Pronoun?: She, her Relationship Status: It’s all good. Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The gulf waters are sapphire blue and the beach sand is white as snow. Posts: 607 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 6,866 Thanked 2,155 Times in 439 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	... Thank you for the link and the synopsis of the article. I have been perplexed from time to time about this 'opposing' shift of view. Personally, I tend to lean more toward having what I need with a dash of objects that fill my senses, my wants. Following a move from a large home to a two bedroom apartment I took note at how much lighter I felt. My energy was not tempered down with stuff. Albeit, I had to take a long, skeptical look at the objects that stayed with me. I was taken aback by the amount of stuff I produced for a huge (successful) estate sale prior to my move. It was then I felt as if I was an organized hoarder. In the past I could spend hours upon days sorting, filing, and packing in just the right decorative box that, yes, I had spent a number of hours shopping for...only to discover there were some major issues I had going on in my life that I simply could ignore by diving into the perpetual move of organizing a box, drawer, closet. Now that I have been in my apartment a couple of years with much less stuff and a lot more chi I feel lighter, not so burdened with the organizing and the upkeep of such a system. I have also discovered that life really does pass one by rather they overtly or covertly hoard. Call it what you will...but I know now that when I jump into that "I need to revise, re-do, reorganize mode" - I just might need to take a look at what I am avoiding and find a healthy means to cope with it. __________________ If you are going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill

11-01-2012, 03:37 PM	#3
Kelt Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Beach Butch Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: SoCal Posts: 2,751 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 19,765 Thanked 15,276 Times in 2,538 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	Eating my own hat Digital clutter Digital clutter is one of the last "clearing out" areas I have to deal with. Also one of the most insidious. It's one of those out of sight out of mind things for me. It's still kind of crazy making though. I can't really even figure out how bad it has gotten. Especially with all of the cloud storage available for free. With auto save set up, I know where it goes to live, can search to find whatever I want, and it's all safe and sound even it the house burns down. Even so, it feels like I have a Fibber McGee closet somewhere and one day it will crash down and bury me. The joy of digital photography. Now, without the cost of film or developing I am free to take as many shots as I want. I can try different angles, lighting and focal distances to my hearts content. The downside of digital photography; see above. My photo 'organizing' software has a really handy way of grouping things by date and time so that like items tend to stay together. You can then go further and make specific types of albums and things, use keywords, rate them, map them, all kinds of interesting things when you get around to it. Until then, they are clumped in time chunks. Well, about a year or two ago I started noticing that when I would go to look for a specific picture it would take a while to find it, but eventually I would. I figured I would get around to organizing them 'someday'. But, the whole out of sight, out of mind thing was working on me. Well, I'm putting my foot down and going to start on this. Of course it has taken a couple of days to bone up on how to best do this for the best outcome, and how best to use the tools at hand, batch sorting, that kind of thing. Sharpen the saw before cutting down the tree. The irrefutable conclusion I have come to is that in one way or another this will involve individual attention to each separate photo in some way. Either delete (a lot of them), move, re-catagorize, name, etc. So, okay, open up the big fake box in the sky and look. Seven years worth. Slightly over 9,000 images. See you in about a year. Then I can start on documents, email archives………….

11-02-2012, 08:00 AM	#5
Greco Senior Member How Do You Identify?: GNC, not Trans, REAL. TIME. ONLY. Preferred Pronoun?: REAL. TIME. ONLY. Relationship Status: REAL. TIME. ONLY. Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: In a good life. Posts: 3,200 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,160 Thanked 6,616 Times in 2,285 Posts Rep Power: 0	minimalist Well, I am down to the most essential...my wife's kitchen things, my books, and things I use for creative "work"...all "things" I enjoy, love, find beautiful. To say that life is a gift doesn't come close for me, and I am grateful beyond words to live with simplicity, economy, beauty (essential for me)...moving once again soon...and will keep it minimal, spacious, uncluttered, comfortable. Greco

06-13-2013, 10:04 PM	#6
tygr_grrl Junior Member How Do You Identify?: Fiesty Femme Preferred Pronoun?: She, her Relationship Status: free Join Date: May 2013 Location: Southwest Posts: 39 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 351 Thanked 161 Times in 32 Posts Rep Power: 2062689	keep moving on.... find myself moving and that tends to help me lighten my load. clothes that haven't been worn in over a year (or dont fit), long ignored household gadgets....they all get rounded up and bagged to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Also, nothing quite like coming across a half unpacked box from the last time I moved. Hmmm....a couple cd-rom backups of scanned old photos (keeping after I download to my gmail), a SANDisk memory card to a LONG dead digital camera, a place mat, a picture of my mom (oops, what's that doing in there?), some random hardware from something requiring assembling, a spool of red and green holiday ribbon, an unsent card and a box of straight pins that opened up and needles everywhere.

08-18-2012, 04:00 PM	#2
cinnamongrrl Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: cleverly disguised as a responsible adult* Preferred Pronoun?: wild woman Relationship Status: No, thank you. Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Home in NC..gonna dig in like a tick this time… Posts: 7,665 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 15,247 Thanked 27,604 Times in 6,959 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	Let me start by saying I do prefer organization...i strive for it. With teenagers...its not always feasible. One thing i HAVE learned... its SO important to have a place for things. Whenever I'm shopping at thrift stores, I always look for baskets, containers and totes. If i cant find an immediate need for it then my girls typically do. We are getting ready to move, so it's a perfect time to declutter our lives. I went through my closet and have gotten rid of things that dont fit, I dont like or wear etc. I went through papers and whatnot and recycled a whole lot of stuff that way too. In closing.....I can see where y'all are coming from...but theres no way Im getting rid of my books! :P

11-01-2012, 04:28 PM	#4
chakra Junior Member How Do You Identify?: female Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: canada Posts: 16 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 24 Thanked 76 Times in 14 Posts Rep Power: 1764517	Great Thread!! I feel as though I am in an ongoing process of decluttering. I am perpetually finding things to take to the Salvation Army and to the shelter here in town. I have consciously ensure for every one thing I bring into my house, three things must leave. Despite that, I still own a lot. I was laying in bed last night thinking of what my kids would want when I die. I think in those terms now. I was in a serious car accident that has made me completely re-evaluate EVERYTHING. I don't want to own anything. I no longer feel attached to life. Not in a "I am going to kill myself" way, not at all. But, when I came home from the hospital and looked around my house I wondered why on earth I own so much useless crap. And how did I ever attach any value to any of that 'junk'. So, the painful process of decluttering my life began. I gave away my camera. If I can't remember it, who cares. I gave away my cookbooks. If I can't make it, I can look it up on line. I gave away my all my fiction books. I want to live here, now, not escape it. I gave away all the clothes I had not worn in six months (except my super warm coat cause -40 and colder is not uncommon where I live) I gave away all my china. And the list goes on. I feel lighter when things leave my house. What is important. That is the question I ask myself, truly ask myself, every day now. Life is a blessing. My monetary holdovers, not so much.

07-16-2013, 10:03 AM	#7
Sweet Bliss Senior Member How Do You Identify?: I Am Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: solo Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: the Beach, Pacific side Posts: 4,160 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,354 Thanked 7,268 Times in 2,159 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	I am surprised that this thread has only two pages. I was looking forward to spending hours learning new pearls of wisdom. Lol, then I laughed at myself, why spend hours avoiding the simple life I keep saying I want? Instead of goofing off online why am I not filling bags with donations? Getting prepared for the next phase of my adventure. Hello ooo..... snap out of it.... Thanks y'all.