Yes, of course we give our slightly used clothes to the thrift shops, but MY old clothes have had a very thorough life. I only wear clothes that I love, and after many mendings they are eventually pronounced dead by a certain person who is really tired of looking at them, and mending them. And […]
Entries Tagged as 'getting rid of stuff'
Where to take clothes too old and worn to give away
May 16th, 2013 · No Comments · Cloth, Clothing & Apparel, Re-using
Tags:cloth·clothing·getting rid of stuff·rags·re-using cloth·recycling cloth·worn out clothing
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
A few words about books
January 4th, 2013 · No Comments · Excess of Possessions, Philosophy
Ah, books! — for some of us the hardest thing to part with. Book collecting is the most excused area of hoarding, often confused with intellectual prowess. But it’s still hoarding. Remember that Umberto Eco book that was so popular, called The Name of the Rose? The one he wrote following that, Foucault’s Pendulum, was…. […]
Photo essay of junk that went bye-bye
January 3rd, 2013 · 1 Comment · Excess of Possessions, Passing it on, Recycling
As promised, here are the exciting photos of what I extracted from my home during the month of December. As you look at each one, think about the amount of cubic space freed up by the removal of that much stuff. Here’s an ironing board (a 1920s one for midgets, replaced by a taller one); […]
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
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
Inspirational Tip #1
December 8th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering, Excess of Possessions
If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for whoever’s going to get stuck with cleaning out your place after your untimely demise. It could happen. Very few people make it out of here alive.
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·encouragement·getting rid of stuff·inspiration·too much stuff
The Profound Benefits of Decluttering
December 7th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering
Clutter matters — its presence matters in one way, and its absence matters (just as powerfully, if not more so!) in another way. When I get rid of a bunch of junk and/or put things in order, the shift in my mental state is dramatic! Space opens up, and suddenly, there’s ….. room for a […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·encouragement·getting rid of stuff·inspiration·start at home·too much stuff
Life’s Important Questions about Junk
December 6th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Excess of Possessions
Nowadays, every item I choose to purge brings up a whole list of complicated questions, such as: How did this item get into my house, why did I keep it, and what shall I do with it now? After a while, getting rid of stuff becomes a tiresome chore, and you begin to ask even more […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·getting rid of stuff·purging·throwing stuff out·too much stuff
More on Cave Dweller Life
December 4th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Excess of Possessions, Trash Disposal
In Paleolithic times, the nagging household question was “Honey, where’s my club?” That wasn’t a hard one, when you only had three or four possessions. Today the question is “Where’s my this, where’s my that!?” and on and on. A different question every time. Drives Honey crazy. Why can’t we find our stuff? Because, unlike […]
Tags:cave people·finding your things·getting rid of stuff·Paleolithic times·too much stuff