See the big blocks of Styrofoam cluttering up your garage or basement. Does the thought of taking a big bite out of one of them repulse you? Surprise! — we’re already essentially doing that. Styrofoam, a brand name for polystyrene, takes 500 years to decompose. When we throw it away, it doesn’t break down in […]
Entries Tagged as 'Decluttering'
We’re all eating Styrofoam
June 6th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Disposability, Packaging, Polystyrene
Tags:environment·environmental toxins·excessive packaging·garbage problem·making a difference·packaging·polystyrene·Styrofoam·toxic·toxic materials
Aftermath of Tragedy: explosions, shootings, storms, & floods
April 24th, 2013 · No Comments · Decluttering, Philosophy
It seemed inappropriate to write about clutter with that whole bombing thing going on in Boston. I was watching and re-watching the videos just like everyone else. Maybe not just like everyone else — I’m not sure. After a point, I made myself stop. I think for a while we do it because we just […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·despair·throwing stuff out·too much stuff
Sentenced to sort
February 9th, 2013 · 1 Comment · Decluttering, Passing it on, Recycling, Trash Disposal
A few days ago I took out all the pens I could find around the house and put them on the dining room table so I could sort them: “Pens to keep” and “Pens to get rid of.” But each of those categories has several subcategories, like Pens I love but need ink refills; Pens […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·despair·getting rid of stuff·pens·plastic·recycling·throwing stuff out·too much stuff·writing implements
Wishing you a Simpler New Year!
January 1st, 2013 · No Comments · Decluttering, Excess of Possessions
New Year’s resolutions!? To that I say “Pah!” Everything is a work in progress. Why load up one poor day with so much weight! Alright, I admit it. I do it too. Make vows of one sort or another. But at least I don’t beat myself with them! That’s not what they’re for. If I […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·despair·encouragement·goals·inspiration·resolutions·too much stuff·vows
Inching up to the new year
December 28th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering, Excess of Possessions, Trash Disposal
……and we all know that means: Time for “Throw out the old year, make way for the new!” In the 70s, in Naples, Italy — a city of three to four storey apartment buildings built up around the ancient villas and castles — throwing out the old year was taken as seriously as throwing that […]
Tags:getting rid of stuff·Italy·Naples·New Year·old furniture·ratty·safety·survival
The junkless Christmas tree
December 25th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering, Excess of Possessions, Minimalism
Merry Christmas everyone! Here’s our minimalist earth-friendly tree, in the living room where we hauled it in for its third Christmas with us. Purchased as an infant in 2009 at Portland Nursery, it is now 23 inches tall. We picked a slow-grower on purpose so we’d be able use it for as long as possible. […]
Tags:Christmas·Christmas tree·holiday decorations·minimalist·ornaments·purge·target purge area
Silverfish: enemy of the packrat
December 20th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering
As promised, and as pictured here, the mother of all motivators: silver fish. Paper? They love it. And if you have it around, you’ll start having them around. Not so much with nice, new-ish books upright on the shelf. My theory is that they like lying-down paper the best. Except for musty and moldy paperbacks […]
Tags:paper piles·saving old newspapers·silverfish·stacks of paper
Paper: the worst thing to collect
December 19th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering
The most depressing of all the junk a packrat can pack is: paper. And all things made of it. If you want a recipe for squalor, save stacks of newspaper and have a lot of cardboard boxes and brown paper bags around. Paper decomposes faster than any other material — and did you know that’s […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·getting rid of stuff·paper piles·saving old newspapers·stacks of paper
Just Say NO to STUFF
December 10th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Trash Disposal
I used to blame myself for being a packrat, but I’ve noticed that every living person I know has this same clutter problem. A lot of dead people I’ve known have this problem too, and the living people around them aren’t at all happy about it. Wait. Maybe I shouldn’t blame myself. At least not […]
Tags:decluttering·excessive packaging·garbage problem·packrat mentality