The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer by Juliet B. Schor was published in 1998, but the information seems as relevant today as it did more than a decade ago. The book is geared toward middle and upper-income families, who seem to be caught up in a never-ending cycle of keeping up with the Joneses, no matter who the Joneses are. "The Joneses" are our first error, according to Dr. Schor. In the past, our Joneses (or reference group) would be our neighbors, who all lived in houses about like ours, drove cars similar to ours, and likely had two adults and only one … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Gift Buying Traps – Don’t Fall In!
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Perhaps you're rushing about, buying some last minute gifts and stretching your brain to figure out what to purchase. Beware! There are gift buying pitfalls that you should avoid. They're the route to clutter for the recipient and likely a waste of money for you. Read before you buy! Trap One: Here Comes Another One, Just Like the Other One Susie enjoys her subscription to Better Homes and Gardens, so she'd surely enjoy a subscription to Good Housekeeping as well. Leslie has a life-figures drawing book that she really enjoys. Surely she'll enjoy another book and maybe … [Read more...]
Simple Saturday – Cindy’s Cord Control
Cindy's simple solution to cords and chargers out of control and either tangled on the desk top or snarled in the drawer. A great use for the over-abundance of plastic containers wasting space in your kitchen. … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Preserving Memories or Creating Clutter?
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom We just passed Thanksgiving (in the US) and are coming up on Christmas and Hanukkah, and I am willing to guess that December is the most heavily photographed month of the year. Well, last month, I spend an hour sorting through a huge box of photos and memorabilia. There were packets of organized photos from my college years, but beginning with my wedding (1997), nothing was organized, culled, etc. What a miserable experience! Here are the things I learned: If you don't sort through your photos when you get them, it will not get easier 14 years later. If … [Read more...]
Simple Saturday – Say NO to Freebies
The Rule of Reciprocity by Maria Lin, Real Simple, Dec. 2011 issue About 40 years ago, Disabled American Veterans, a Kentucky-based nonprofit, had a bright idea: The charity decided to send potential donors free personalized address labels. After the labels arrived in mailboxes across the nation, contributors to the group nearly doubled - jumping from 18 percent to 35 percent of those solicited. Why was this marketing gimmick so successful (and copied by countless others)? Because of a phenomenon called the rule of reciprocity. The concept is simple enough: When people are given something … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Don’t Be Fooled into Buying for Charity
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom What do all these things have in common? Buy (Red): 10 to 50% of the proceeds of which go to eliminating AIDS in Africa. Book Sale: 20% proceeds go to your child's school! Would you like to buy some wrapping paper to support our band trip? How about a beautiful $200 beaded bracelets that supports JDRF? An undisclosed portion of the proceeds are donated to the organization. Rubber bracelets for sale for every cause possible. Typically $1 each. Obviously, these are all ways of coaxing a donation out of you; that is, providing a rationalization for a … [Read more...]
Simple Saturday – Corinna’s Color Coordinated Bookshelves
I wrote about bookshelf organization for Cindy's Weekly Wisdom this week, and I showed my friend Corinna's living room book shelf. Here are photos of her ninth grade daughter Audrey's color coordinated shelves, along with the letter Corinna emailed me explaining the hows and whys of the color coordinated books. Audrey's colour coordinated bookcase. The color book order is only about looks. We’ve just retrained our brains to visualize what a book looks like, and therefore what color it is, when we want to find a book. That’s actually easier than it sounds. It also reacquainted me … [Read more...]
Happy Thanksgiving & Black Friday Advice
Colleen and Cindy wish all our American readers and the good folk of Leiden (Netherlands) a very happy Thanksgiving May you eat all you want and not gain an ounce. Now that would be something to be grateful for. A little more Wisdom from Cindy In the United States, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, the day that marks the start of the "holiday shopping season." It's a day of amazing sales and deep discounts. Some stores open as early as 4:00 am, with people staying up all night in the parking lot so they can be the first in the door, as the very best sales (aptly named … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ How do you store your books?
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Books are a collecting weakness of many people. I know that in my early 20s I dreamed of having a library - ideally one with a rolling ladder. Then I moved every year for four or five years and put that foolish idea behind me. Books are heavy! I've been a library user my whole life. I remember when I was a girl going to a particularly library that kept the Nancy Drew novels separate from the rest of the books - heaven! And I have clear memories of Library Period in elementary school. Back then, I read biographies of famous females. Annie Oakley, Mary Todd … [Read more...]
World Diabetes Day – November 14
An important awareness post by Cindy Today's post has nothing to do with declutter and everything to do with another subject dear to my heart. As many of you know, my daughter Clara is one of the approximately 3 million people in the United States with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. She was diagnosed at her 10th birthday check up. We had no idea that there was anything to be concerned about. Clara had gained weight during third grade until she had become worrisomely plump. In the months leading up to her 10th birthday, she had slimmed down and shot up in height, just like a healthy girl … [Read more...]