Rebecca, Days 8 & 9

Day 8:

Limit your media consumption. This tip won’t be for everyone, so if media consumption is important to you, please skip it (as with any of the other tips). However, I believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, etc. — can come to dominate our lives. Don’t let it. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it. Try a media fast.

While this challenge was in many ways covered by my Day 7 post, I do have some additional relevant experiences I can share.

We got rid of our DirectTV package a year ago, and sold our television set at a yard sale earlier this summer. We haven't missed either at all. I would use DirectTV's DVR feature to record all kinds of programs that I'd never have time for, and when I turned it on, I'd bizarrely feel as though it was a to-do list I needed to get through. (Remember, I love lists!) So although I worried I might miss DirectTV, the system was prompting me to spend more time than I otherwise would have, and the result is that I feel much freer now.

Now, we do Hulu and Netflix through a computer--it's much cheaper, and easier to avoid the ambient television viewing that happens when a set gets left on all day long.

In all honesty, I think this wasn't a big challenge because I'm just not that inclined to watch much television. I'm too busy for it, and I don't LOVE a lot of what's out there, anyway. And if I don't love it, why spend time on it?

There are a few shows I truly enjoy watching, like 30 Rock, but I can get these on Hulu. (The only one I can't find online and really miss is What Not To Wear.) I watch between, say, two and five hours of television over the course of a week--way less than the national average of 28 hours a week. Some weeks, I watch no TV at all; actually, I can't remember what or when I last viewed. I think it was at least two weeks ago.

I believe that overall, my screen time has been displaced from television to the internet. I don't know how many hours I spend online, but I suspect I have more in common with teenagers than I'd think.

Day 9:

Purge your stuff. If you can devote a weekend to purging the stuff you don’t want, it feels seriously terrific. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate or toss.

This is something I try to do regularly. I strive to keep only things that are useful and/or beautiful in my home, and to make sure every item has its own place. I do not always keep up with this--I'm so busy!--but I find that when I can keep up with decluttering/purging unused items, it's easier to tidy up, as fewer things lying around means less time cleaning.

I do like trying to get cash for the things I no longer need when I possible; we have a yard sale every summer (ours was a couple of weeks ago) and plan to have another in October. Also, today I took a pile of clothes I can no longer use to Buffalo Exchange and got about $40 for my efforts, yay! Then I gave several items to my friend's daughter, who was delighted. Now I need to see if any friends can use the remaining items; I'm proposing a clothing swap for next week. :) Anything they can't use, I'll donate them to charity.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Days 10-13. Does anybody have really special tips/tricks/suggestions for discarding or rehoming items? I may watch an episode of Hoarders for extra motivation. I kind of can't stand that show, but the results are great--it's the perfect motivator!

Christa, Day 9: My Dirtiest Little Secret

Truth: I am compulsive straightener. I like that everything has a place, and I like when things are in their places. Stop by my house most days and you won't see too much of a mes because I'm the clean as you go type, and my husband is, too. BUT my dedication to neatness comes at a price. I like to call that price the Closets of Dorian Gray, the Basement of Dorian Gray, and the Bathroom Cabinets of Dorian Gray. Not to mention the Pretty Boxes of Dorian Gray.

What's today's simple living list item?

Purge your stuff. If you can devote a weekend to purging the stuff you don’t want, it feels seriously terrific. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate or toss. Here’s my guide on decluttering. Here’s a post on starting small. More on purging below.

So what's the problem? Considering how many donation pick-ups I do each year, I ought to be a pro at decluttering and simplifying by losing the stuff, right? Problem is, I have a couple of blockages that get in the way of my ever doing a purge that goes beyond two boxes of said stuff.

One of which is my attachment to sentimental clutter and gifts. I realized only recently that yes, I am in fact afraid to get rid of items that I associate with special people or places because I'm afraid I'll forget those places without the things.

Which isn't true, and is actually kind of silly.

Second on the list might be the little voice saying "But I might need this someday!" Which is sometimes true, but mostly not true. And when it is true, I usually don't remember I have the thing I need until after I've bought a new one OR I can't find the thing I know I have. Considering that this doesn't happen often, having to buy the occasional new thing shouldn't bug me.

And third, being that I am a habitual straightener, I sometimes need somewhere to stash the "indecision items". That's the stuff I'm on the fence about. Do I shred it or file it? Donate it or make a pledge to wear it come winter. Where should spray paint really be stored if I plan to use it soon? And so on. The consequence is that my closets and basement and certain other areas are often full of stuff that needs to either be put away or tossed - whenever I happen to figure out which.

So today I finally felt like I had a concrete something to work on. Step one was taking photos of the problem areas, which I was going to share here but really, cluttered closets just aren't that visually interesting. Step two was actually doing some decluttering. Since I couldn't get to everything today, I chose one problem area to tackle: the front coat closet. Here's a before and after:




No spectacular change here, but the closet floor is ready for shoes and I hung up what needed hanging. I also organized our cold weather gear in preparation for fall and winter, and pulled a lot of stuff to either be packed away for future babies or go to the Goodwill. Or to where it actually belongs. In the next couple of days, I plan to do the same for the other areas I photographed. Like my daughter's closet, the cabinet over the toilet, and the "kitchen dump" that's supposed to be a temporary placement area for keys and mail but has a lot more in it than that.

Honestly, I do feel a little anxious about showing my secret clutter to the world - especially after the Attorney At Large's neat-riffic Day 9 - but I think it's healthy in that it will help me STOP STASHING STUFF IN CORNERS JUST SO NO ONE WILL SEE IT. Yes, I have clutter! Yes, I have stuff that never seems to find its proper place. Come over some time and ask to see it and I will. How about that?

Julia's Day 9: In Soviet Russia, Stuff Purges You

Check out my Day 9 post in which I reveal why purging your stuff now saves your family a mountain of trouble after you die.