spellcheck indicates and dictionaries confirm: declutter is not a word.  unclutter, however, is. 

yet, declutter seems to be my word of choice.  the prefix “de-” suggests completeness and finality (i.e. destroy, demolish, deflate, depart); while, on the other hand, the prefix “un-” implies incompleteness (i.e. uncooked, unharmed, unfinished, uninhabited).  and when i speak about removing clutter, i prefer to think of the action as bringing completeness to an area of my life.

i think that is why i will continue to use the un-word “declutter.”

how ‘ bout you?  which word do you prefer: declutter or unclutter?

professional organizing is a service that helps individuals and businesses design systems and processes using organizing principles and transferring skills. professional organizers help individuals and businesses take control of their surroundings, their time, their paper and their systems for life.

professional organizers are gaining in popularity. 

[polldaddy poll="1800372"]

although i have several professional organizing friends, i have never hired one myself.  i am interested to know how many of you have hired a professional organizer.  and if you have, would you please tell us if you were happy with the outcome? 

(this may be a great opportunity for my professional organizing readers to sell us on your profession).

over the past 11 months, we have minimalized most of our house.  here is a list of our accomplishments:

• 2 vehicles
• living room
• bathrooms
• work office
• home office
• kids’ rooms
• junk drawers
• master bedroom
• toy room
• basement/storage room
• kitchen

after 11 months and too little maintenance, here is a list of rooms that need to be reminimalized:

• master bathroom cabinets
• work office
• home office
• kids’ rooms
• junk drawer
• master bedroom
• toy room

somehow, i’ve got to get excited about round 2… and about finding a better maintenance system.  any ideas?  it is a bit frustrating, but noone ever said living minimalist was going to be easy.

i went to the mall today.  i needed a new shirt and pants for a big ordeal this coming sunday.

i walked into my first clothing store and was immediately confronted with a minimalist weakness: the end-of-the-season clearance rack.  i’m not sure why, but it gets me everytime – EVERY time. 

early on after our decision to becomg minimalist, i was discussing clothing with a friend who challenged my thinking.  ”don’t fall into the trap of cheap clothing,” she said.  “you are far better off buying 4 things you really love at full price than purchasing 10 things you barely like on sale.”

every time i see a clearance rack, i specifically remind myself of that strategy.  and i think to myself that these items are on clearance only because nobody else wanted them.  all the good stuff is already taken.  and usually those thoughts help me keep my wardrobe a smidge more minimalist by keeping me away from the clearance racks.  except for today…

now i own 4 new shirts and 2 new pairs of pants… but i got them all for under $60.  now, which ones should i wear on sunday…. and where should i turn to find better wardrobe advice?

related posts:

• my minimalist failure – condiments
• letting go of clothes

an interesting conversation occurred with my wife last night when she informed that a good family friend of ours had offered to give our 2-year old daughter a large box of hand-me-down toys that her daughter had outgrown.  included in the collection is a large-wooden dollhouse.  my wife was interested to see how i would respond based on our decision to become minimalist.

as i began to think through what it would mean to bring in a large number of toys, i had a number of questions for my wife.

1. are the toys something that our daughter will enjoy playing?  easy answer – yes.  she absolutely loves dolls!  that’s her thing – playing with dolls.  i can picture the joy on her face already of having a dollhouse to put them in.  shame on me if my quest to become minimalist would rob her of that joy.
2. are the toys something that the other family wants to use to bless our family or just get out of their own house?  we all know the family that graciously offers to give you their old treadmill or foosball table - not for the sake of blessing, but for the sake of removing the clutter from their own house.  my wife assured me that they were genuinely hoping to bless our family - even to the point that the daughter ran up to her excitedly to tell about the toys that she had picked out for us.
3. do we have toys that we can remove from our daughter’s current collection to make room for the new ones?  absolutely!  there are many toys in the toy room that my little girl has outgrown or no longer has an interest in.  we will sort out some of those toys and remove them to make room for the new ones.

i can’t wait to see the joy on my daughter’s face when the new dollhouse appears in our toyroom!  and i am very grateful for the wonderful family whose generosity will bring her that joy.  thank you.

related posts:

• minimalism and children
• operation basement, day 1

the first time i noticed it i was 21 years old.  i had a good paying job and had just broken up with my girlfriend.  and for the first time in my life i had money and nothing to do.  i didn’t notice it right away.  actually, i didn’t notice it until a friend came over and asked to borrow a shirt.  i took him to my closet and  i began pulling new shirt after new shirt out of the closet and remarking how i really didn’t like them that much.  that’s when my friend said, “too much free time?”  and it dawned on me… because i had nothing to do, i was going shopping to fill my time and spending money on things that i really didn’t need.  idle time was leading to money spent.

now that i am older, in a career, and have a family, i find myself with less free time and less disposable income.  i don’t go shopping to fill my idle time all that often.  but the subtly of free time still remains.

many of the things that we use to fill our free time (whether it be a holiday, vacation, or weekend) cost money.  we go shopping, see a movie, improve our home, eat out, or continue a hobby.  

now, i’m not saying that we should never enjoy some downtime and i know many hard-working, successful individuals who subscribe to the “work hard, play hard” mentality.  but as i journey to become minimalist, i have learned to pay closer attention to where my money goes… and idle time seems to have a habit of taking it from me.

since my move to vermont, i have learned to enjoy more outdoor activities (hiking, the beach, etc.) that don’t require money.  what are some of the things that you use to fill your idle time that don’t cost any money?  i’d love to know…

cliff’s comment yesterday got me thinking, “what is a minimalist failure in my life that must be overcome?”  counting salad dressings, we have 51 bottles of condiments in our fridge.  does that count as a failure?

related posts: poll- pairs of jeans; i could survive for 56 days

this afternoon, we went to the beach.  while soaking in the sun, i realized how far i still have to go to become minimalist.  i looked around at our belongings strewn all over the sand and counted over 50 items:

• 3 large inflatable devices
• 19 small plastic toys
• 2 chairs
• 6 towels
• 2 coolers
• 1 pop-up tent
• 3 cell phones/camera
• shirts/sandals/shorts
• soda cans/bags of chips/fruit snacks
• 3 bags to carry everything

the goal was to have 3.5 hours of relaxation – and we needed 50 man-made things to make that happen.  we’ve got so far to go.

does our decision to become minimalist disqualify me from ever owning this?

related posts:

• the tiddy bear
• spaceship

does our decision to become minimalist disqualify me from ever owning this?