Category Archives: Simpler Living

Need Help Decluttering Your Home?

By Claire Posted in Clutter, downsizing, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged ,

The hardest part of getting rid of things you don’t need is finding a good place to send them. You don’t want to just throw things away when they’re still useful (just not useful to you).

Here’s the scoop on 11 apps that will help you send your unneeded belongings where they will be wanted, and you can even make a few dollars doing so. A couple of them offer decluttering help, which will keep you on the right track so you can live a simpler life and make your home feel roomier, no matter what size it is.

My Decluttering Weak Area

By Claire Posted in Clutter, downsizing, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged ,

I’ve done really well at keeping the clutter from coming back since our big downsizing, except for one area: my sewing habit.

I actually have two designated sewing spots in my house: one upstairs and one downstairs. I’m beginning to realize that amount of stuff in each area is expanding. I just don’t seem to be able to pass up great deals on fabric, buttons, zippers, etc. when I go to garage sales, estate sales, and destashing sales (where quilters sell fabric from their stash that they don’t need anymore.)

Not that any of these things take up a lot of room on their own, but collectively, well……let’s just say my plastic storage boxes are full up and I find myself thinking about buying more of them. But I won’t let myself go there. I’m going to have to do some destashing of my own and reduce the amount of stuff I’m hanging on to in hopes of using it for future projects.

The challenge for people who sew is that we love fabric and sewing supplies, and can easily think of many different ways to use these things. We just don’t have enough time. Or, as I saw recently on Pinterest: “I have so much fabric because I shop a lot faster than I can sew.”

Digital Fast is Extended Indefinitely

By Claire Posted in Personal, Simpler Living Tagged , , , ,

My recent and ongoing digital fast has really opened my eyes to how technology can add virtual clutter to your life. But what does digital fasting have to do with decluttering?

What I’ve learned over the past month is that being addicted to technology, and in my case Internet surfing, keeps you from doing things you enjoy. With the best intentions, you buy more yarn…paint….garden plants, and then struggle to find the time to work with those things because you waste too much time surfing, or checking up to see what people are doing on Facebook, because of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Future projects pile up and supplies you’ve bought sit collecting dust because you spend too much time with your phone, tablet, or laptop.

While I’ve now discovered this for myself personally, I know of others with similar struggles, like the hoarder who lives in a mess but is constantly checking people’s Facebook and Instagram to see what new clothes they’re wearing or what they’re buying for their house now. Then she orders those new things online; they’re soon delivered and simply add to her houseful of clutter.

An Internet addiction, whether the sufferer is a news hound like me, a Facebook addict like the hoarder I know, or even a gaming or Pinterest lover, eats up enormous amounts of time that would otherwise be spent keeping up with other pursuits, including those that create clutter if you don’t follow through with them. This is one more way people end up with closets full of fabric, tabletops covered with books and basements packed with craft supplies.

In addition to the clutter those things create, we miss out on the fun we could be having with those items. There’s a peace you get from creating and finishing things that cannot be matched by satisfying your FOMO….and news junkies like me definitely have FOMO.

This experiment has led me to decide to stay off Internet news sites for the foreseeable future. After a month away from them, I feel very uninformed, and much less stressed. Best of all, my garden is in great shape, I’m reading a couple of books a week, and I’m having fun with a couple of craft projects that I may actually complete before long, now that I’m not spending so much time online.

Digital Fasting Continues

By Claire Posted in Personal, Simpler Living Tagged , , ,

So it’s been two weeks since I banned the Internet except for work and email. It has been much easier to do this than I expected. As I hoped, I do feel less stressed, and I think it’s because I’ve had more time to do things I need to do.

The mornings have been particularly different. I usually sit down to breakfast and surf all of my favorite news sites. That takes a while. But since the ban, all I do is check email. So I’m getting the breakfast dishes washed sooner, I’m getting the laundry started sooner, I’m able to run errands earlier….it really does make a difference.

I’ve started reading books again. I’d forgotten how pleasurable that is. I’ve had time to work around the house, work on my writing, work in the yard and still read for fun and relaxation. It’s been many years since I could do all those things in one day, and I realize that my Internet addiction is the main reason for that.

I should point out that I don’t have a smartphone, by choice. So as long as I keep my laptop closed and limit my tablet use to checking email and the weather, I haven’t been too tempted to surf the Internet.

As a result, I’ve decided to add another week to my Internet ban. For sure, I want to get the rest of the annuals into containers, and I’ve got a couple of sewing projects that have been calling my name. Then, once I catch up around the house, I have a book that I’ve been writing that needs to be completed.

As for Candy Crush, I may pick that up again, but only at night when we’re watching a DVD. I’ve crocheted enough dishcloths these past two weeks, so I’m ready to put down the crochet hook and pick up my tablet. But if I get stuck at a level for too long, I may give it up again. I’m finding that time is too precious to be wasted on a device.