Tag Archives: cleaning

Controlling Magazine Clutter

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I’ve been on a pretty major spring organizing kick lately, to the tune of all of this going to the thrift store:

(Actually, there ended up being even more than that: a file box that was too big for our bookshelf, a bag of Andy’s t-shirts, and a bag of miscellaneous picture frames and decor.)

I honestly have no idea where all of this was hiding in our little one-bedroom apartment. It ended up filling the entire trunk of my car! I say good riddance…the next time we move I will be glad not to have that trunkful.

As I sifted through our stuff, one major clutter element I had to confront was my magazines:

I love getting magazines. I get excited every month when they come in the mail, and I enjoy clipping recipes and coupons. Most of these subscriptions I’ve gotten either as gifts or for very cheap during a promotional sale. I always save them thinking, “Well, I might need or want to look back at that later.” But if I’m honest with myself, I never, ever do. Even if something piqued my interest, I probably forget about it and never try to find it again. I’ve taken to marking pages for action immediately and just clipping/scanning/pinning right away. So really this giant stack was unnecessary.

I tried to find someone to give them too, but alas, most of my friends are reasonable and admitted that they had their own stash of magazine clutter! I took a few to work, as we have a small pile of magazines that people will sometimes flip through as they eat lunch. Someone on Facebook suggested that I donate them to a salon or doctor’s office. We have several of each of those right around our apartment, but I just honestly felt like it wasn’t worth the effort. And plus, they might want 1 or 5, but probably not all of these! So, even though it hurt my heart, I walked them down to the recycling bin. It felt like I was throwing away money. But I rationalized it by telling myself that if I clipped one good recipe or got one good piece of advice from each of them, then it was not a total loss.

My solution to keep the stack from getting this crazy in the future was to buy a fun colored magazine holder. It conveniently fits right between our end table and the couch!

(Yes, the floor underneath our end table has become a de facto bookshelf. Hey, it works!)

My rule is that I can keep this holder’s worth of magazines and no more. So, when it’s full, I have to decide which ones go. I feel like I might be more likely to find people who want 1 or 2 than to find people who want my giant stacks. Plus, even if I do end up recycling them, it will feel less wasteful to get rid of a few than to get rid of all the ones I just did.

I’m all about having a place for everything and keeping everything in its place, so I think this system will work well for me. It has felt SO GOOD getting rid of all this stuff and figuring out ways to tame it in the future. Sometimes it just takes being a bit brutally honest with yourself about what you use and how you actually use it.

Have you done any spring cleaning lately? Do you have any ingenious storage tricks that you’re particularly proud of?

Cleaning Closets

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or, More Thoughts on The Stuff We Keep

I’m visiting my parents for a few days, and on Saturday my mom and I finally went through the last closet of my stuff left at their house. It wasn’t much–between purging things and taking things with me to my apartment, it was mostly down to keepsake type things, or things that are too big or unnecessary for my current one bedroom digs. (Though we won’t even talk about the entire bookshelves of books I still have here, most of which I probably do want…those will be for down-the-road dream of having a house with a library…and a sliding ladder to reach the top of the floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves. Yeah, right.)

So, because I love lists, here’s a breakdown of some of the notable items. There’s definitely more I could list, but these are some of the things that stick out to me.

Things I Am Taking Home With Me:

  • the t-shirt quilt I had made as a high school graduation gift, and a twin-sized blanket that I think could be useful as an extra layer, even on our queen-sized bed
  • a few stray pairs of socks
  • a collapsible mesh laundry hamper
  • a couple of my favorite old sweatshirts
  • a pair of not-very-worn-out Old Navy flip flops
  • a carved wooden flower by George Berry, a craftsman we knew in Mississippi who always had “just one little stick” in his pocket from which to carve me a flower

Things I Am Leaving Behind To Be Loved In The Future:

  • a box of medals from swimming, a box of plaques and trophies from various things, and a notebook full of ribbons (somehow I couldn’t bear to part with them)
  • a box of stuffed animals that maybe some hypothetical future child of mine will be able to love (though the collection has been greatly pared down)
  • 2 pieces of framed art that I may have a wall for some day
  • a small collection of twin bedding
  • a collection of commemorative Habitat for Humanity Christmas ornaments that my mom bought for my grandparents every year that has now been passed on to me
  • 1 box and 1 stack of old, well-loved children’s books

Things I Finally Convinced Myself To Get Rid Of:

  • a box full of heat sheets from just about every meet I ever swam in (though, for the record, I nerdily read those over and over, even well after the event)
  • notebooks and folders full of every note and homework assignment I ever did in high school
  • a set of cheap sheets I used to cover the futon in my college dorm room
  • 2 twin-sized mattress covers (why did I even have two in the first place?!)
  • shoeboxes full of notes from my angst-ridden middle and high school days (I didn’t even let myself read them before chucking them in the recycling)

My mom had been requesting that I do this with her for quite awhile, and I can see why now. The vast majority of what she had so carefully stored away for me was junk. I threw a lot away, and we’ll be taking several bags to Goodwill tomorrow. Sure, there were some treasures, some things I’d forgotten about and will love to have now, as well as some things that will be great to have later on, but most of it didn’t need to be taking up space in my parents’ closet. It didn’t take long, and it was a nice little trip down memory lane that I’m glad my mom left for me to do. And now everything is neatly boxed or bagged up and labeled, so that next time, we’ll know exactly what we’re getting into. It was another good exercise in letting go and being discerning about what I choose to fill my space with.

Tonight we’re going to look through the box labeled “LF Artwork”…that should be fun.

Rub a Dub Dub…Cleaning the Tub

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For today’s Tuesday Tip, I’m soliciting YOUR help!

I am a neat freak in some senses, especially when it comes to clutter. I am a huge proponent of “a place for everything and everything in its place,” and I typically do a quick swoop around the apartment putting things away before bed every night. I’ve learned that I’m much happier if my environment is organized; in fact, sometimes in college I would notice my stress level rising in proportion to the disorganization of my small room!

I also hate dust. I think dust the grossest kind of home dirtiness to me. I recently bought some Pledge Dust and Shine spray, and I really like it. I’ve been attacking all the wood surfaces in our apartment with it on a regular basis. Cleaning the toilet is another one of my pet cleaning tasks. Sure, it’s gross if you think too hard about it, but it provides a lot of clean bang for your not-too-taxing scrubbing buck.

In addition, I make the bed every morning, I wash and change our sheets and towels like clockwork, and I empty the dishwasher shortly after it’s done.

But I am clueless when it comes to cleaning the tub. It just seems like such a large expanse to try and scrub! And it never really looks that dirty, so it’s not as satisfying as dusting a bookshelf. To be quite honest, sometimes I skip cleaning it entirely. I’ll spray down the edges that collect dust and hair and leave the rest. I’m not even sure what the best product to use on a tub is.

So, dear readers, what do you suggest? What are your best tips and tricks for keeping the tub shiny and clean?