tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50337402241706175822012-02-03T04:11:41.672-08:00Convenient, personally satisfying and eco-friendly tips for reducing cluttersestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-1157103978363595032008-02-28T04:05:00.000-08:002008-03-09T07:51:34.859-07:00

I didn't want to close out February without a nod to Valentine's Day. In keeping with my goal this year to reduce my intake of stuff, to celebrate V-Day, I applied a few of the suggestions from my Holiday Survival Guide. The Intangible Gift With my own krafty little hands, I created my version of the coupon/gift card: Themed Origami Hearts The design of each represented the sentiment I wished to

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-34083726607602773032008-02-17T08:42:00.000-08:002008-03-09T07:28:13.063-07:00

Back in the fall I discovered craigslist! Of course, I had heard of it. I'd viewed the occasional apartment listing and read articles about it's phenomenal, almost cult-like popularity, but beyond that I hadn't had occasion to actually use it myself. That is, until receiving a less than enthusiastic response for something I posted on Freecycle™ one lazy Sunday afternoon. I remembered that my

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-53543021131619823552008-01-31T19:41:00.000-08:002008-02-17T08:39:15.933-08:00

I finally settled on Title Trader as my CD/DVD swap site of choice. Although I had some initial difficulty figuring out how to list my items, once I did, I was good to go, and was able to successfully trade the bulk of my items there. Also, Title Trader does not limit you to trading only CDs or DVDs. You can list all kinds of other stuff such as books, magazines, audio-cassettes, even household

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-43973017841878578482008-01-26T06:19:00.000-08:002008-02-02T08:36:21.991-08:00

Another swap site that I looked into as an Exit Strategy for my CDs and DVDs was SwapSimple. At SwapSimple you can trade books, DVDs and video games, but not music CDs (go figure!). Setting up an account was easy enough. I provided an email address, made up a password and I was in like Flynn. I then received an email confirming my registration which included a clickable link leading to a few

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-89596118195591613082008-01-20T11:27:00.000-08:002008-02-02T08:19:10.221-08:00

SwapaCD is a popular music CD swap site. I actually discovered this site while checking out Paperback Swap, with whom they're affiliated (I also see they've added a DVD swap site to their offerings. I'll have to check that out!).I have not, as of yet, used SwapaCD for reasons initially outlined in My CD/DVD Cup Runneth Over and which I will discuss in further detail below.Shipping While not

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-37901003269507077242008-01-12T07:48:00.000-08:002008-01-12T08:12:48.939-08:00

A year ago today, I took the plunge and began this blog (see What Yet Another Blog). Why? Well, for one thing, I had finally finished grad school and consequently, had time to turn my attention to other matters. Since me and my tiny apartment harbor an Inner Packrat, paramount was the need to reduce my accumulation of stuff.Over this past year, slowly, but surely I have made great strides in

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-80315613556193823392007-12-31T10:51:00.000-08:002007-12-31T11:53:59.859-08:00

Before the New Year gets under way, I just wanted to share a few pix from my very own wrap party where I used some of the tips revealed in the Holiday Survival Guide, pt.2. When I get into this mode I give my Inner Packrat time off and my Inner Krafty Kat Wrapper gets pressed into service.First: The Stash...As a self-confirmed packrat I've accumulated quite a bit of wrapping paraphernalia over

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-3500460885542941962007-12-16T07:05:00.000-08:002008-02-02T08:15:25.068-08:00

One of my decluttering projects from August (Wow! That was awhile ago already!) involved weeding. I think of weeding as a complimentary strategy to decluttering. The way I see it, decluttering has more to do with identifying objects for eventual removal OR allowing you to reorganize what you have so that it is neater. Weeding, on the other hand, involves reviewing a category of things you have,

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-82764231568067467472007-12-08T16:12:00.000-08:002008-01-31T19:46:51.374-08:00

I was poking around the Internet, and came across BookMooch. I was immediately intrigued! The site's look and feel is delightfully whimsical, but at the same time uncluttered and easy to use. As you know by now, All Qualities I Like!So, I signed up and listed my available titles. Thus far I have sent out three items.When someone requests your book, you get a detailed email with a lot of helpful

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-52669800535264888422007-11-24T09:14:00.000-08:002007-12-01T08:58:35.522-08:00

So! You've decided that transitioning away from giving and getting stuff that will contribute to clutter, is for you. However, at the same time, perhaps you are also a little concerned that the actual giving experience could be a little underwhelming and impersonal.Nothing could be farther from the truth!Because you won't be frantically running around shopping, that should leave you with more

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-1203437162919755652007-11-24T08:14:00.000-08:002007-11-24T09:13:57.583-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, but my decluttering activities have outstripped my ability to keep up with writing about them. More on that in the future, but for now... It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone! But, perhaps even more significant for the Packrat, is the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, which has traditionally marked the official start

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-14460044061094323082007-10-14T08:14:00.000-07:002008-01-31T19:51:10.843-08:00

Last week in Magazine Madness I discussed my attempts to find solutions for dealing with old magazines. Other than recycling, I really didn't find too many, but I did figure out a better way to organize what I had. In the absence of actually getting rid of stuff, organizing it can be the next best thing to help make clutter more manageable. My magazines used to be stacked about in various and

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-16563571533242023632007-10-06T10:24:00.000-07:002008-01-31T19:51:10.844-08:00

Researching ways to reduce my magazine clutter was one of the things that originally propelled me onto my DeKlutter Quest. In this blog's inaugural post What Yet Another Blog!? I wrote about the difficulty of finding new homes for still usable stuff, and I have definitely found this to be the case when it comes to magazines.After scouring the Internet for magazine donation, reuse or exchange

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-60845858169015902232007-09-16T13:31:00.000-07:002007-10-06T10:38:11.823-07:00

Up until now, I have mostly described projects that involve the removal of an item. However, as discussed in Weeding, even though you are paring down your belongings, there will still be some things that you want to keep or are not quite ready to get rid of just yet. This summer one such project that I undertook was to pull out and examine the collections of cards and letters I had squirreled

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-38407239552242236752007-09-08T14:45:00.000-07:002007-09-08T14:59:35.677-07:00

As I mentioned earlier this week a clutter Exit Strategy will often involve donating your no-longer-needed items to a non-profit or charitable organization. In this entry, I will discuss a couple of tools available to help you learn more about the organization to whom may have chosen to donate your stuff. They will help you to determinewhether an organization is a legitimate non-profit or

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-54255268846749975712007-09-05T04:14:00.000-07:002007-10-06T10:39:25.230-07:00

Greetings to my fellow Packrats out there! Hope you all had a pleasant summer. I took a bit of an unplanned break in August! This is the first summer in four years that I have not been in school and towards the end I got a little lazy, basking in my new-found freedom.Be that as it may, my I have not been idle. During this brief hiatus from the blogosphere, I began several projects:went through,

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-18297952413019167142007-07-22T05:46:00.000-07:002007-07-22T06:03:07.505-07:00

I was poking around in one of my closets again, doing DeKlutter Assessment, that is, reconnaissance for possible, future deklutter projects. Ohhhhh, the forgotten things I found up on my closet shelves! Birthday presents for example! I called myself trying to be proactive so I wouldn't end up running around at the last minute, and then forgot they were up there! So, I probably ended up running

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-4465272405228562282007-07-18T18:40:00.000-07:002007-07-18T18:59:22.709-07:00

There are millions upon millions of cell phones either lying around collecting dust in people's homes, waiting to be recycled, or which may have already been tossed intot the trash. Millions more will be added to one of these three categories with each passing year. In A Tale of Two Computers, I talked about how recycling electronics was relatively easy compared to other items, because of the

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-37212399941665425722007-07-03T15:55:00.000-07:002007-07-03T16:13:26.453-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was poking around the NYC WasteLe$$ site and came across a page that I think is a very cool and invaluable tool for the Packrat. It's the NYC Stuff Exchange. According to the website:This website offers a quick and simple way for NYCresidents to search for places in their neighborhoodand throughout the city where they can donate, sell,buy, rent, or repair different types

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-64841889554293226452007-06-29T03:32:00.000-07:002007-10-06T10:38:11.824-07:00

In the upcoming months I will be undertaking a variety of weeding projects. What is this? Well, many deklutter projects involve getting rid of those things you no longer need or use, however you will still end up having to keep some stuff, just not as much of it! For example clothing, magazines, CDs, audio-cassettes (anyone remember mix tapes....!?) Things like that. Weeding involves the same

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-66230460975632248242007-06-17T09:52:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:47:53.289-07:00

With this entry, I more or less bring my Electronic DeKluttering Project (EDP) (see Digital Spring Cleaning) to a close, something I'm very pleased and excited to report!Harboring three computers was bad enough (see a A Tale of Two Computers). However, it may be less obvious that electronic gadgets spawn their own peripheral, klutter-y, flotsam and jetsam. And, as the list below will graphically

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-33169387681347757712007-06-10T13:25:00.000-07:002007-06-10T13:50:37.729-07:00

Today, I participated in my first Freecycle™ exchange! Although I discussed Freecycle™ early on, in Join A Freecycle™ Group! I had not as of that time actually exchanged anything through it. However, recently a request came over my Freecycle™ list serve, which I thought I could help out with. It was from a teacher who was planning an end-of-year party to reward their students for their hard work

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-63037357317046948172007-06-05T03:14:00.000-07:002007-06-10T13:54:47.916-07:00

Identify Sometime last month, I received an email regarding a FREECYCLE™ sponsored FreeMeet. This event was described as a . . . chance to unload unwanted, but usable items, take home things you can put to good use and meet other folks from the Freecycle community. Anything leftover at the end of the event will be donated to local charities or recycled to the extent possible. As the name suggests

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-39585695919980910152007-05-28T06:48:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:50:07.725-07:00

In Digital Spring Cleaning and Diskard I mentioned that I had somehow come to harbor three computers in my tiny apartment. How could that happen, you ask?IdentifyI acquired one of the computers when I returned to graduate school, the first time around. It was the first PC that I ever owned. A CompuAdd PC running DOS. Great computer! Never had any real problems with it. Sturdy and solidly built.

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-68764910150425850402007-05-14T03:49:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:50:48.403-07:00

Last week in The Diskard entry I described my difficult, but ultimate triumph in disposing of an accumulation of 5.25" floppy diskettes, and advised that this was part of my multi-faceted Electronics Discard Project (EDP), discussed in Digital Spring Cleaning. For The Diskard's "Removal step I used Green Disk, which turned out to be a really easy solution! Just the way I like them! According to

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-23425806325676451802007-05-06T07:05:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:52:04.946-07:00

The Diskard was one facet of my overall Electronics Discard Project (EDP), which I alluded to in the Digital Spring Cleaning entry last week.IdentifySomehow, I had managed to accumulate about 13 boxes of 5.25" diskettes. Each box held or was capable of holding about ten diskettes, twenty with a little shameless cramming. I also had a number of what I think were never used, blank diskettes that my

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-70494810109607447752007-04-28T10:25:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:52:35.836-07:00

After several weeks absence I am happy to get back to twigg hugger! March and April were unusually busy months for me. As a result, I confess to having experienced a bit of Deklutter-er's Block, that is, a state where decluttering activity slows down or just plain comes to a halt. I am now pleased to report that I finally was able to complete several phases of a long term and multi-faceted

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-37759694744119041832007-03-04T18:16:00.000-08:002007-07-22T06:07:45.339-07:00

Many years ago, one of my hobbies was sewing. I used to subscribe to several sewing magazines and through them discovered fabric clubs. I ended up joining three of them! Each month I would receive swatches in the mail. Of course, I drooled over those samples while visions of garments I would sew myself, danced in my head! I guess you can see where this is heading, right?Although I had accumulated

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-23729859873810541642007-02-25T15:15:00.000-08:002007-02-25T16:41:50.483-08:00

In the Exchange Game I talked about exchange or swap sites as one of the tools a Packrat should include in his or her Decluttering Arsenal. In Something for the Bibliophile I discussed the Bookins site, which is specifically for the exchange of books (hard cover, paperback) and audio books. This week I would like to tell you about Throwplace.com®, an exchange site where all sorts of items can be

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-58871097503293254102007-02-18T07:51:00.000-08:002008-01-31T19:46:51.375-08:00

With this entry I begin to discuss specific solutions that I found and have used for divesting myself of clutter. Step 1: Identify I'm sure many of you may feel like you have too many books. What?!?! Impossible! You can never have too many books you retort. Alright, so maybe you have more books than you have room for. This is my problem. My wall unit shelves are stuffed to the brim with them.

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-44861474226884452392007-02-10T10:37:00.000-08:002007-02-10T10:48:59.779-08:00

Another option for getting rid of stuff is through online exchange or swap sites. I stumbled across them in the course of trying to find a place to get rid of some magazines. I tried throwing various combinations of the terms "exchange", "magazine", "donate" and "recycle" into the search engine but pretty much came up empty. What I found for the most part were either local public libraries,

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-7789754912929307762007-02-02T04:29:00.000-08:002007-06-05T03:56:33.794-07:00

When I first made a serious decision to reduce my clutter, Freecycle™ was one of the first options I considered. I found out about them while poking around on the NYC Wa$tele$$ site several years ago. For a number of reasons I didn't actually end up using Freecycle™ (or as it is formally known The Freecycle Network™), but I'd still like to mention this option first, since others may still find it

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-14204338363374033772007-01-26T03:58:00.000-08:002007-02-02T17:51:54.683-08:00

Once you pick a Project, that is, you have selected an area of attack, you need to avoid setting off a Klutter Krisis, which can further impede your ability to get going. In this situation you have pysched yourself up, actually gotten together the items to be discarded, BUT, suddenly lose steam. The items either end up in the middle of the floor or in some other state of disarray.All you've

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-6761850500825116342007-01-19T12:37:00.000-08:002007-02-02T17:43:38.046-08:00

So! You've finally come to the realization that it is time to take a stand against The Klutter! But how do you get started? How do you overcome that internal inclination to hoard? Before getting down to the nitty gritty of "unconsumption", I thought it would be useful to take a moment to talk about approaches for getting started, which can be a major stumbling block. The way I approached it was

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5033740224170617582.post-38771250356283577452007-01-12T03:32:00.000-08:002007-02-02T17:40:13.299-08:00

Welcome to twigg hugger!I started this blog for a number of reasons, one being that I recently completed graduate school (a most unusual and uncommon experience, but that's another tale for another blog) and I've finally got time to once again turn my attention to other interests and pursuits. I am also responding to Barbara Sher's Jolly 2007 Challenge, which is to pick a project for '07,

sestinaverdehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668433461461168957noreply@blogger.com7