Comments on: Addition by Subtraction: The Benefits of a “Fall Cleaning”

By: Arthi

Arthi — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:18:05 +0000

My two cents:

I follow these principles:

1. Other than perishables and clothes, whenever we buy one item, I make sure that we throw another out.

2. The one-month-wait rule works well to resist impulse buys

3. We use up things like toothpaste, incense sticks etc totally before going for a new brand or a different type. Else I throw them out.
E.g. I’d love to buy scented reed diffusers, but I’m going to use up our supply of incense sticks and throw out our scented candle before I buy them.

By: Missy

Missy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:35:41 +0000

I get caught between frugal and cluttered. Frugal says save everything, reuse everything, etc., but that causes clutter. A bit thing helping me declutter was having to have an auction after my parents passed away. So much STUFF! How could they possibly have enjoyed it all there was so much of it. And in the end, nobody in the family really wants the majority of it. I don’t want to do that to my family when I die.

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:53:11 +0000

No matter how much they love you, no relative is ever going to build a Museum of You after you die.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:42:58 +0000

How timely this article is. I just started doing this for the first time in many years. I’m fortunate that my parents are retired and have a booth they maintain at a local flea market. My castoffs provide them with new items (weekly at the moment) and they keep a small percent of the sell price and keep an envelope to put the rest of the money in until I come to drop off more.
I find that having a goal for the money keeps me more motivated. Right now I’m saving to put a new patio in next summer complete with shrubs and patio furniture. I won’t plan my project until late summer when everything is discounted so I have some time.

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:35:10 +0000

See? I knew I wasn’t the only one doing this ;) My friends have been laughing at me because I’ve been cleaning out my apartment again.

Great advice, Trent (and much-needed motivation!).

By: Joyful Abode

Joyful Abode — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:53:34 +0000

I’m going through this right now, because we’re moving again. This will be our fourth move in just over 2 years (military) and I do love the opportunity it gives us to go through EVERYthing and purge. You’d think after 3 moves, we’d have everything pared down pretty well, but we seem to acquire more “stuff” everywhere we go, and we always find more to get rid of when we look.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:07:02 +0000

Generally, I’m not very good at getting rid of stuff. That’s my husband’s forte. But what I’ve developed over the years with my girls is the semi-annual closet cleanout.
Every spring (usually over spring break) and late summer (a few weeks before school starts), I have both my girls go through their closets, and take out items that either don’t fit, they decide they don’t like, or that they have not worn (by buying lots of items at thrift stores, that doesn’t sting as badly had I paid retail!). The older sister sends her outgrown items to the younger sister’s room. The younger sister throws all of her castoffs items in a pile. We neatly fold older sister’s castoffs, and put away in younger sister’s closet for future possible wardrobe (there are 4 years between them). The pile in the younger sister’s room gets sorted by either Consignment shop, Goodwill or trash if it’s really too bad to even donate.
This method ensures 1) that they have needed items that fit and that they like in their closet 2) For the upcoming season (summer/fall) we can determine what their wardrobe needs are..(OH! you only have one pair of shorts that fit?!!)(Wow…didn’t know you outgrew your underwear!)and make sure that everything they need is there.
One daughter hates doing this…the other daughter could do this activity every week and not get tired of it! We also keep seasonal things that still fit in a tote in their closet…when the next season rolls around, we can see what still fits and can go another season, or what needs to move on because she’s grown faster than I thought she would.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:56:40 +0000

So is it free stuff that creeps back in or is it kids’ stuff that multiplies out of nowhere (as it is prone to do)? I figured you had gotten pretty good at not buying “stuff” anymore, so I’m curious about where the clutter you find comes from…other than junk mail of course.

By: Shevy

Shevy — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:03:01 +0000

See, I don’t *want* an empty, spartan house. Clean and organized is great but you don’t have to toss all your possessions to have that.

I want a cozy, comfortable place, filled with visible mementos that remind me of events in my life (like the huge woven palm mat on the floor of my daughter’s room that I got in Fiji when I was 8 or 12, the glass animal they made right in front of me in Venice when I was 4, or the leaf ashtray I made my dad in Brownies when I was 5).

Clean things and organize them by all means and toss things that have no meaning to you (like junk mail, the peeler that doesn’t work well, or the two phones you used back when you had a landline and a 2 story house). Just don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

When I read Flylady and see something from someone who went all gung ho and tossed their old love letters, their photos and the ticket stubs from their first date I’m so sad. They’re riding on endorphins right now. What about later when they really realize what they’ve done?

Just because Flylady says you can’t organize clutter doesn’t make it true. Think about your sneakers and dress shoes. They’re clutter if they’re blocking your front door. But they aren’t if they’re on a shelf in your front closet.

By: Rosa

Rosa — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:29:39 +0000

@Chelsea – I’m with Rosa Rugosa (even though we’re not the same person) and with the people who say you need to do your stuff first.

My partner isn’t in for the big purge parties I like, but he’ll give me 5 minutes for thumbs up/thumbs down on a specific amount of stuff – one drawer, one box.

Having a defined space helps with defining how much we’re doing and with giving an objective reason that’s not just “because she says so” – all of the clothes have to fit in the bureau, all of the Christmas junk has to fit in the Christmas box, all of the books have to fit into the bookshelf.

By: Rosa Rugosa

Rosa Rugosa — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:17:00 +0000

@Chelsea – my husband isn’t really a packrat, but he’s certainly not going to go through most of our stuff twice a year like I do. I gather together the things I think he might want to toss, then bring him into the room for a brief “session” of thumbs up or down. He’s fine with that, and I think he appreciates the fact that I would not presume to dispose of his belongings without his approval.
As far as magazines go, we subscribe to a lot of really nice magazines, about 13, that we do read and enjoy. But every single one has a next destination. One of my employees loves getting all my garden magazines, my sister-in-law and moyher-in-law enjoy several others. They get them as soon as we’ve read them for the most part, so they don’t build up and they get pretty current free magazines.
I’m pretty good at keeping clutter under control. I think our very small house helps keep me honest. The frugality and decluttering complement each other nicely – I think carefully before bringing more stuff into my life. Of course, we still have too much crap like just about every other household in the country!

By: Steven@HundredGoals.com

Steven@HundredGoals.com — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:15:31 +0000

@ Chelsea #7- If you can’t get your husband onboard the “minimalist train” it is best to lead by example & show him the benefits. Harping & complaining will do little more than make him resist even more. Eventually he will come around as he is able to understand the benefits and how they can be applied to his own situation.

Always remember this bit of advice: It is easier to pull a rope than to push a rope.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:09:44 +0000

If you feel overwhelmed or don’t know where to start, just rent a U-Haul and load it up. Salvation Army will take almost anything at their donation centers, and you just unload the truck right there and you’re done.

By: Steffie

Steffie — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:31:18 +0000

About opening all of your vents even if you don’t use the room, an unheated room will make the other rooms/walls around it cold too. Open the vent a little bit to keep out the chill but not heat it to the same temperature as the rest of the house.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:27:21 +0000

Flylady talks about getting rid of (either throwing out or giving away) 27 things per day until your house is manageable. It is a good system. Personnally I find it harder to declutter when my kids are around. They were away for the day (6 hours) not long ago and it was amazing how much garbage I threw out or recycled.

By: Nicki

Nicki — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:09:07 +0000

“I usually wind up with enough stuff for a yard sale, along with boxes of items to give to Goodwill and to mail out via PaperBackSwap and other such online trading services.”

I’m really curious – what other online trading services do you use?

By: sewingirl

sewingirl — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:04:13 +0000

I always do my big cleaning in the Fall. In the Spring, I’ve been IN the house all winter, it might need a little airing out, but it should be pretty clean. In the Fall, the windows have been open all Summer, and I have been doing yard and garden work, not housework, so thats my BIG clean.

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:58:28 +0000

Are obstructed vents really an issue? I see so many websites on energy savings telling people to close vents to rooms that aren’t used. It seems you’re advocating the opposite.

By: Andi

Andi — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:25:37 +0000

I would have to argue that this is not a great approach. I’m all for getting rid of the clutter – I’ve given away and thrown away more in the last two months than I have in a long time. However, those few days of really deep cleaning and throwing stuff out are exhausting and if we’re honest, how many of us have those kind of days to devote to decluttering. And for me, the thought of having to clean out an entire room or house is overwhelming to me – I don’t know where to start. I think I saw flylady.net first mentioned here (or was it another blog). She argues that a little each day is better than a lot once every few months. I was a bit skeptical but my house is in better order than it has been for years.

By: MKL

MKL — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:14:22 +0000

Honestly, if you have husbands or wives that do not want to get on board, you have to wait until they actually want to get on board for anything meaningful to happen. Me, I go in waves. Sometimes the accumulation of stuff just becomes so overwhelming that I can’t stand it any longer and I just go into full blown purge mode. Other times, I find things that I enjoy or feel like I just can’t get rid of.

If you are not familiar with the site unclutterer.com, head over there and read some of their archives. I’ve found that site to be a wonderful place to go whenever I need a pick-me-up in the purging department. Another thing to do is to see if there are ways tath you can get said stuff into hands taht can actually use it. Much of my outdoor gear was trimmed down considerably when I donated it to my son’s Boy Scout Troop. Now I only keep the items that are truly and personally mine, everything else is not part of the Troop’s inventory at our church. I have a number of tools that I honestly do not use or have a high lielihood that I will never seriously use, so I have them slated to be donated to Habitat for Humanity (I just need to bring them down to them, but they are on a shelving unit waiting for the drop off… and the shelving unit will be going, too :) ).

If you have a guy (or gal) that really can make a compelling case as to why they want to keep something, let them keep it, but encourage them to follow through on items that really aren’t being addressed or there isn’t a compelling reason.

My personal goal, to clear away the 2nd perimeter that has made its way into my garage. I don’t mind the stuff that’s actually against the wall and going vertical, because there are shelves and cabinets for those. It’s all the stuff that’s in front of the shelves and cabinets that are the bigger problem (LOL!).