Tag Archives: decluttering

Stop Throwing Money Away Book Review

I can be a pretty disorganized person. I’m getting better at repurposing things I already have, but it would be nice to do better.

That’s where Stop Throwing Money Away comes in. It’s about organizing, repurposing and shopping in your own home when you need things. And it encourages you to take action, not just read the book and ignore the advice given.

One of the amazing things is how many things you will discover that you can reuse, sell or trade with someone else to get something you need.

“Shopping at home” is what Jaime Novak calls it when you go through the things you already have to find what you need. It’s too true that many people don’t realize how much they already have, and buy a new version of something they already own because they can’t find it.

She also notes how many things people hold onto that they’ll never use but don’t think they can part with for one reason or another. Often these things can be sold for money needed elsewhere. Given how tight times are for many families, this is a great tip.

She’s a great fan of repurposing. The glass jar that gets thrown into the recycle bin is one of her examples as something that can easily be reused. I really get this one, as I already repurpose my glass spaghetti jars, keeping several on hand so that when I need one, it’s there. Organized, not clutter, though. They have a place that’s not in the way of anything else around here.

You’ll learn about the “one in, two out” rule that can really help you decrease clutter. This is a great way to decrease the number of things you own and is a huge help in decluttering.

This book will help you to get organized without telling you to buy new stuff to organize the old stuff. More repurposing comes from figuring out which items can be stored in which containers you already own. It doesn’t need to be fancy, it needs to work.

I have to love how she discourages storing things in a rental unit. If you need something so little that you can store it away from your home is a point I’m very much on board with. Once in a while you’ll wish you could have something back you got rid of for lack of space, but not that often, and the savings on storage fees will make up the expense of replacing most things.

If you’re suffering from clutter, Stop Throwing Money Away is very much worth checking out. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Are You Ready to Clear Out Some Clutter?

This time of year makes me think of two things. The first is of course how I can do my Christmas shopping efficiently and with buying a minimum of junk. The second is… how do I get rid of the stuff that keeps accumulating?

I don’t feel that I do that badly overall, but still stuff that I no longer need manages to hang around.

I like thinking about how to get rid of things at this time of year also because it’s a good lesson for the kids. Even those times I’m not thinking about what I really don’t need anymore there are the toys they never play with. At this time of year it’s easy to get the kids thinking about less fortunate children.

And so, here are some ways to get the clutter out of your house. How you determine what is clutter is your own problem.

Have a Swap Party

This can work for children’s toys, clothes for people of similar sizes, even rarely used kitchen or garden tools. Just get together with some friends and see who can use the things you don’t really want anymore.

My sisters have even talked about doing this regularly with children’s videos. That way one copy can be enjoyed by many children, and it can always make its way back to the original owner when it’s really wanted.

Send It to the Thrift Store

This is the classic solution, of course. Just call up your favorite charity as soon as you have things boxed up. They’ll haul it away for you and it’s out of your life.

Pay attention to what they will and will not take. Working electronics are one thing. Broken are quite another, for example.

Craigslist and Freecycle

Two different sites, but you can use them with the same goal in mind – to get rid of things you don’t particularly want anymore. If you think you can get some money for it, Craigslist is a good option. If you don’t want money for it, even if you could get some money, try Freecycle.