Posted on 01 October 2010. Tags: Clutter Control, Saving Money, Streamlining
The other day as I was shopping in one of the national chains specializing in home goods, it occurred to me just how easy it would be to leave with more than I intended to buy. The pleasing displays shouted out “you just might need me”!
The truth be known, I am not a shopper. Just owning up to that little detail raises eyebrows; a woman not being a shopper is like a man not interested in sports. It breaks the stereotype.
Don’t get me wrong, it is not that I dislike things. As a matter of fact I probably like nice things more than the average person. When analyzing my aversion to shopping I consider it a blessing otherwise I can only imagine the challenge I would face in my home with clutter and organizing, not to mention the real possibility of going broke.
I am not sure when I developed this problem but I do know why. Shopping requires decisions, time and money. The time and money thing I cherish too much and decisions have a tendency to make me nervous. So there you have it, you might say I have three strikes against me although my husband doesn’t look at it that way, he just smiles.
Despite this abnormal affliction, I still need to shop and as I said, I like things. This particular day I was looking for only one thing. As a matter of fact I didn’t even have a list. It was going to be a quick run in and out. All I needed were plastic liners for my refrigerator shelves. Going in I asked for directions, no sense in wasting time! The directions were not exactly direct and I found myself wandering the store. Even for me that was bad news. Everything was displayed in such a way that temptation took hold. As I enjoyed the fun of looking a bit closer at a bread-warming stone, dish drying gloves, a digital kitchen scale and a lid jar opener I reminded myself of a question I keep handy when temptation comes calling. “Will it be PHUN when I get it home?”
I may not be crazy about shopping but nevertheless for years this question has come in handy for me. The idea of analyzing where I am going ‘to put’ something or do I already ‘have one or more’, then will I really ‘use it’ and finally that all important question ‘do I need it’ usually is the trick to put it back on the shelf.
For the most part I have found that when I keep PHUN handy I find it more fun when I arrive home. I don’t need to put as much away and I am able to smile as I think of my courage in having kept impulse buying at bay. Although this particular day it did take hold as I picked up and put in the cart a pastry brush and two small butter dishes that were on sale. I have to admit that it was still fun when I got home because I knew where I was going to store them, use them and I certainly needed them as what I had should have been retired a year ago.
All in all it was a very good day remembering how I clung to the ‘P’ in PHUN when I spotted the candy bars at the checkout counter. As I sat down to my salad lunch I knew that the ‘P’ had saved me once again from an impulse that would have resulted all too clearly in an increased number on the bathroom scale!
Do you have any tips or cautionary stories of your impulse buying experiences?
Posted in Discovery
Posted on 18 May 2010. Tags: Streamlining
Have you ever thought about the concepts we take for granted and yet seldom take time to really consider? “Beauty” may be one of those concepts.What is beauty and why do we all crave it? As far as I am concerned it must be built into the human DNA to want it and to want lots of it. It is what lifts our spirits when we are down, causing a smile to emerge on our faces. It is something hard to explain but we know it when we see it and when we are denied it, there is a disconnect. The idea of beauty is one of our incentives to be protective of the natural environment. The recent oil spill hurts all of us even if we don’t live near the Gulf. Just the thought of its natural beauty being damaged creates an inner sadness.
There are many things that most of us will agree are beautiful: a small child waking up fresh after a nap, a beautiful sunrise and sunset, a manicured park accented with blossoming flowers. At the same time there is a familiar saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” that most of us also embrace wholeheartedly. We are individuals so, in many ways, what is beautiful for one may not be so for another. I find this particularly true when it comes to homes. We all have different tastes which makes life interesting and if I may say, more beautiful. We all would be bored to tears if there were only one or two varieties of flowers, in fact I doubt gardening would exist. It is the same with our homes – variety is the spice of life. Our homes should be an extension of who we are. Our homes should naturally manifest our personalities. Then we ask ourselves “is that what makes a home beautiful?” In part it is, as long as a second and powerful ingredient is added. In my humble estimation that second, powerful ingredient is order.
In nature, we see the rhythm of its order causing each season to create its own beauty. There is beauty in a park that is protected by citizens who avoid trampling the plantings and take care to pick up trash. Order we could say is the foundation that makes beauty come alive and shine.
Today we have many more “things” available to create what we call beauty. Unfortunately we can be fooled into thinking that things are the magic ingredient when actually they could be the very things that block out the beauty we crave. Any home can be beautiful when there is order and cleanliness which naturally accent the things we own, whether they are few or many.
To illustrate my point I want to share with you an afternoon that made an impression on me. A number of years ago I had an opportunity to tour what was referred to as “A Parade of Homes”. It was a lovely day in which we went through a number of professionally decorated homes, gathering many ideas most of which we could never afford. At the end of the day we went back for a few minutes to the home of a lady that I had met that morning. As I walked into her small two bedroom condominium I was more attracted to it than all the fabulous homes we had just toured. In its order and cleanliness it was truly lovely. It called out to us to ‘sit down and relax awhile’.
So in short, it is not how much we have but rather how much we care for the things we have, which creates the environments that are truly “us” and are the “bright and cheerful” homes we call beautiful.
Posted in Discovery
Posted on 04 May 2010. Tags: Meal Planning, Saving Money, Streamlining
Spring is a time for many family celebrations. All of these gatherings mean you may need to stock up the pantry. At the same time, we are all looking for ways to save. So this seems to be a good time to think about the “plusses” and possible “minuses” of bulk shopping.
Since three is my favorite number let’s see if we can condense bulk shopping into three simple stages; after all, bulk shopping is meant to simplify grocery shopping.
1) Three questions that may help you to decide if bulk shopping will work for you:
- Do you have the space to store the items?
- Will you use them before they spoil?
- Might some of the items might be on sale again next month?
2) Three bulk shopping problems to consider:
- Storage problems: The big warehouse retailers specialize in big and bulky packaging. Do you have the space to take advantage of bulk shopping?
- Menu problems: Buying lots of a particular item can be a challenge when you haven’t taken into consideration how the items will be used in your regular meal planning efforts.
- Waste problems: Buying items you really don’t need or don’t use often can result in waist and spoilage.
3) Three wise product areas to “bulk up” on if you have the space:
- Paper products: toilet paper; tissue; paper towels
- Personal care products: bath soap; toothpaste
- Cleaning products: detergents; various household cleaning agents
What is your favorite bulk shopping caution or success tip? Join in the dialogue and share your ideas here.
Posted in Meal Planning
Posted on 09 February 2010. Tags: Clutter Control, Streamlining
It would always be nice to have more time, more money, more energy, more sleep! But when it comes to clutter, “less is more.” Simplicity has become a watchword for many of us because we realize that our daily lives are so filled with activities, noise, and “stuff” that we don’t have time to reflect and enjoy what we do have.
It is natural to want to have “more” in our lives–not just more things, but more happiness, more meaning, more peace of mind. But often, “more” just means “more things” that add clutter and confusion.
Most of us think of clutter as all the “stuff” we have around the house or the office. In fact, clutter is not the “stuff” itself — clutter happens when all of those things are out of place. And the more things we have the more space we need for them!
To keep clutter at bay…
- Be selective when you buy. Ask yourself: “Will I really use this?”
- Don’t be afraid to give it away. What may be clutter for you may be useful for someone else.
- Find a place for everything and then put things in their place. (If you can’t find a place for it then ask: Do I really need this? Or: What else do I need to get rid of to make room for this?)
The more we have… the more clutter we can create… and the more work we have in the end. So consider the “less is more” principle — find more peace of mind and less stress with less “stuff”!
Stay tuned for more clutter control tips.
Posted in Organizing
