This game means you ask yourself silly questions, but silly or not, it helps you to focus.

You can ask yourself…

“In case of a world disaster, which memorabilia will I run to save?”

“If I was stuck on a desert island, which memorabilia would I want to have with me?”

And so on.

Silly stuff that works. For me photos would top out the list. Photos over say, my son’s artwork, or greeting cards. I’d want my son’s artwork, but in case of fire, I’d be grabbing the photo album first. (Not that I’m advocating sticking around during a fire, but you get the gist). What would you save first?

If you have 15 memorabilia items; say a quilt, photos, old notes, important mix CDs, and so on, choose 10 that are very important, and take steps to save them in other ways. You can save photos on a disc or online, eliminating all those photo boxes. You can scan old letters or your child’s artwork.

You don’t need to save it all. Even when it comes to memories. Think about what’s most important, save it, and declutter the rest from your world. Yes memories matter, but they don’t matter more than spending time in the present, which is less possible when all you do is clean and organize.

What would you save first, second, and third, in a disaster situation?  

It’s the Blogtoberfest icon! Which means a super keen (and secret) prize is hidden behind this special blog post. If you want to win the great prize that I’m hiding, simply leave a comment on this post. A totally easy way to win a prize. Within a week, the winner of the hidden prize will be announced here at Declutter It, so check back often.

Other ways to win a prize! You have lots of chances to win great Blogtoberfest prizes? Today, October 6th, there are secret special prizes hiding at the following Lifestyles Channel blogs: A Child Chosen, Babylune, Blog Fabulous,  All Holiday Cafe, Career and Kids, Cooking Gadgets, Foodie Obsessed, Jewelry and Beading, Kettle and Cup, One Book Two Book, Quilting and Patchwork, Supernanny Rules, and Weary Parent. Visit all of these blogs, look for the blogtoberfest icon on a post, and leave a comment for your chance at another great prize. 

Good luck and happy blogtoberfest! 

Post from: Blisstree

In case of a world disaster, which memorabilia will you run to save?

I’m not so much for deep storage. Basically because I can’t figure out why you’d deep storage stuff you have no room for in the first place. We discussed this before – to a point in the following posts:

• Organizing by Simplifying
• How To Start Getting Rid of Stuff – Get Rid of “Maybe” Items
• Four Tips for Clearing Out Sentimental Clutter

Because all the organizing gurus seem to be so deep storage gung ho, and because most things I read don’t differentiate between junk and useful deep storage, I figured we’d look at deep storage, and consider when it’s actually useful vs. when deep storage becomes junk hording.

All of the following items are recommended as deep storage candidates in organizing books I’ve read. I broke it down some more because I don’t agree that everything is a good deep storage idea.

Stuff that belongs in deep storage:

Holiday decorations – but not boxes and boxes. I’m talking decorations you actually put up each year.

Seasonal bedding.

Small boxes of sentimental stuff.

Items you’re saving for your children (significant baby outfits, cards, a few choice toys, etc).

Stuff that may belong in deep storage:

Holiday and special occasion dishes including textiles like holiday tablecloths – personally I think holiday and special occasion dishes are items you should purge. If you use something just once a year, you need to seriously consider if it has storage worth. I know some will disagree, but the path to clutter free and organized does call for tough choices. Dishes you don’t use daily are a waste of space. Also, if the dishes make the holiday, it’s worth it to consider whether or not your family is celebrating in a family focused way, or a visual stuff focused way.

Seasonal clothing. I’m torn. I don’t believe in deep storing clothing. I think you’re asking for trouble. One, if you buy clothes on sale out of season, it’s tough to remember what you have if you don’t see it often. I.e. if you see that stack of winter sweaters you won’t buy five more just because they’re on sale – you’ll remember that you have them. Two, once you start deep storing clothing it can become addictive. Anything that doesn’t fit in the closet can go into deep storage. Do you need more clothing than what can fit in a typical closet? Likely no. All that said, if you have an exceptionally small closet, deep storage may be your only option for seasonal clothing.

Canning supplies.

Stuff that does not belong in deep storage:

The bread machine or blender. Come on now; if you don’t use the bread machine when it’s on the counter, are you really going to pull it out of deep storage?

Knick knack collections. I read this one book that recommended keeping only one knick knack collection at a time in your living room, then keeping the others in deep storage, and switching collections out a few times a year. Talk about poor time management. Too many knick knack collections do look cluttered in one space, say, the dining room. However, having many collections stored away is just as silly, and just as cluttering. Choose collections wisely. Showcase one or two favorites in your home, or one per space (or room) and give up the rest.

Photos. Deep storage photos are photos that may never find a use, or get organized. I think photos to be sorted should be kept out where you’re more likely to take care of them.

Stuff to fix – ripped clothing, broken frames, a chair that needs refinished. Don’t ever put broken items in deep storage. That creates a pretty good bet that the item will never get fixed.

Extra bathroom items like Q-tips, shampoo, deodorant, and toilet paper. Frankly I’m surprised that people would even suggest these items as deep storage candidates. I know some people like to buy in bulk, in fact I used to buy a lot of stuff in bulk, but here’s the thing; when you get bulk obsessed you can save money, but your home can also become WAY overly cluttered. Bulk vs. clutter are two situations you usually need to choose between unless you have a huge home and unlimited extra space. In my world, I chose less clutter. We don’t buy in bulk anymore and it saves us space and keeps our organizing issues to a minimum.

NOTE: One item I do think is a good candidate for bulk buying and storage are children’s art supplies. Or adult craft supplies. If you’re careful, and don’t go nuts, art and craft supplies are not a bad thing to deep store. Why? Because these are supplies that can be majorly expensive. If you find a great deal on art paper, pastels, or so fourth, AND you will use it, then it can be a good deep storage item.

What do you think makes an item a good candidate for deep storage?

Post from: Blisstree

The Case Against Deep Storage

Sentimental ideas include things like; greeting cards, baby clothing, items given to you by someone important, such as your grandmother’s china, old notes from all your high school friends, and most items that have been a part of your child’s life such as school work, art projects, and birthday party items. Of course there are others.

Most everyone has sentimental items that they’d like to keep, but like all items many of these sentimental items take up space, especially if you don’t use them. Here are some tips for clearing out sentimental clutter.

1. Saved by tech:

In the age of computers it’s easy to save many sentimental items. If you have a scanner, or something like NEAT Receipts, you can scan almost everything. You can scan old letters, newspaper clips (like wedding announcements), greeting cards, report cards, some of your children’s art, and more. If you like to re-visit say, old greeting cards then revisiting them on disc will work for you without having three boxes of greeting cards hanging around. Once you scan your cards onto a disc, you can let your kids use the cards for art projects, you can turn them into new greeting cards, or simply recycle them.

2. Figure out why you’re saving an item:

After my grandma died I got her sewing machine. I wanted it because my grandma was likely the most important person in my entire childhood and among other activities we’d always sew together. However, a few years ago I realized that I just don’t sew anymore, not since my grandma died. The sewing machine was just taking up space. It took me a long time to get rid of it, but I did. I had to realize that the sewing machine is not my grandma. With or without it, I still think about her each day. I still remember all the cool things we did together. I don’t need the sewing machine. Also, I don’t think she’d want me carrying around extra stuff.

If you’re saving an item simply because it reminds you of someone, and said item is taking up too much space, it may be smart to let it it go. You can write about your memories of the item, snap a picture of it, and then let it go. Granted, I have lots of stuff from my grandma that I do use daily, her old butter dish and a chest for example. If all you have is one big ticket item from someone who passed away it can be harder to give up, even if you never use it. Try to consider if you can remember a person without the item around. I bet you can.

3. Reuse:

If you have sentimental items around that you’re not using, but can’t give up, consider reuse. Turn the item into something you will use. You can turn old quilt scraps into an actual blanket or quilt – same goes for baby clothing. You can turn an old set of silverware into garden art or wind chimes. Think about keeping an item in a new way. To get ideas visit this post.

4. Three boxes per family member:

I used to have many boxes of Cedar’s old baby clothes. Mainly because I might someday have another baby; but it’s a lot to cart around, and I know I can snag baby clothes from friends if I really need them. I sorted his clothing down to just one medium sized box, keeping only the most meaningful outfits. Later he can have them when he has kids, or just because. I also have a box of baby items and memorable baby toys I kept for him, and one box of paper items, such as his paintings and notes people have given him.

Three boxes per family member of memory items is a good goal in my opinion. Anymore, and you’re just storing too many boxes. Three is manageable to pass on. If something happened to you, three boxes is going to be easier for folks to sort than ten.

Memories or not, there’s honestly no reason to keep boxes and boxes of sentimental items you don’t use. It becomes a sentimental nightmare cycle. Look at it this way, your grandfather got two boxes worth of sentimental stuff from his grandfather, then you inherited the same items, and when you die, your kids will get the boxes. Each generation calling the boxes sentimental, but never unpacking them, or using the items. It’s a little silly.

There’s more you can do to unload sentimental clutter, but this is a good jumping off point. Which sentimental items have you had luck clearing out? How did you do it?

Post from: Blisstree

Four Tips for Clearing Out Sentimental Clutter