Be a choosy consumer
Buy what you need and use what you buy. This leads to less material possessions, which means that there is less to organize.
Tag Archive for: reducing
How are you enjoying your summer!
For me, summer has been filled with travel, family, friends, beach, and home improvement projects. We got our hardwood floors refinished. That means every single thing in 5 rooms of our home needed to be removed. Everything!
In preparation for the big clean out, we decided to sell some furniture and decor. We hosted a yard sale at our house with my sister. She downsized and closed an online shop, so she had a ton of things to sell.
I can’t get rid of that!
Have you ever declared, “I can’t get rid of that, it cost too much!” If you don’t use it or wear it, why does it matter how much it cost? It won’t cost any less if you hold onto it for another year or two. Let it go now! This way someone, other than you, can get some use out of it before it depreciates in value.
The simplest way to organize
The simplest way to organize is to have less. The simplest way to have less is to buy less. The less we have the less we have to organized, maintain and manage.
2 Most Common Organizing Issues
One of the most common issues people face when organizing and downsizing is deciding what to keep. Here is a tool that is helpful during the decision making process. This tool is from the book, Organizing for Dummies by Eileen Roth and Elizabeth Miles.
When deciding to save or not use the acronym WASTE.
- W = worthwhile
- A = again
- S = somewhere else
- T = toss
- E = entire
This acronym is a great tool because it prompts us to ask questions regarding the usefulness of the items on which we’re deciding. We need to be honest with our answers and with our assessment of the items in question.
- Why is this item worthwhile to keep?
- When will we use it again within the next year?
- Can we find it easily somewhere else, if we need to?
- What will happen if we toss it?
- Do we need the entire thing? If not, keep what we need and toss the rest.
A second common issue people face when organizing and downsizing is deciding what to do with the items that aren’t being kept. The options are countless, but what I have witnessed over the years is that it’s helpful to find a donation destination that motivates us to let go of stuff. Let me share some of the most common ones that I use for myself and for my clients.
- Give to someone we know, friends, family, neighbors
- Always ask! Don’t assume people want things that you want to pass along to them.
- Donate to a non-profit organization that will give directly to those in need
- Clothes To Go, North Attleboro, MA 401-651-3936
- Docas International, Providence, RI 401-784-8600
- New Life Furniture Bank of MA, Walpole, MA 774-316-6395
- Donate to a resale organization
- Savers, North Attleboro, MA 508-695-1068
- Saint Vincent dePaul, Plainville, MA 508-695-5150
- The Goodwill Store, South Attleboro, MA 508-399-7601
- Offer up for free
- Freecycle
- Buy Nothing
- Put on curb with free sign attached
- Sell the items yourself
- Consign the items
- PoshMark.com
- ThreadUp.com
- Blackbirds Consignment Shop, Providence, RI 401-353-2028
©November 2021 Janine Cavanaugh, CPO All rights reserved
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