A Simple Saturday Post by Cindy The thrift store has been quite the topic of conversation this week, hasn't it? Today I want to look at it from another perspective - completing the circle. If you only donate to the thrift store, and never shop there, you are not completing the circle. Now, for those of you who already like to shop in thrift stores, this is not permission to run out and purchase willy-nilly "because Cindy says it's a good idea." No, no, no! The idea behind my list is to give you an idea of all the really great stuff there is available in this world that you can purchase used, … [Read more...]
Digging in the archives ~ Day 244 Recluttering ~ A guest post by Cindy Bogard
This little gem was written by Cindy before she had even started writing her weekly post. Any wonder I asked her to join me. She has come a long way with her own decluttering as well. Recluttering A Guest Post by Cindy Bogard It’s bound to happen sometime; you’re going to have to break down and buy something. Before you do, consider these factors: Do I need it? Do I want it? Did I come into the store looking for this item, or did it just catch my eye? Would I be criticized if my spouse or family members knew that I had purchased this? Can I afford it? If I cannot pay for it … [Read more...]
Simple Saturday ~ Book Review – The Overspent American
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 – 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...]
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...]
The Big Freezer “Use it Up” Challenge
This is my freezer, not Dizzy's. As you can see it's not big enough to hold food clutter. Due to that fact the food in it is constantly being decluttered. Last week Dizzy informed me she was totally committed to Buy Nothing New November, a self imposed challenge as she was not able to comply during October. Not being one to do it the easy way Dizzy has committed to only buying milk and bread while feeding her whole family with just the contents of her Freezer for the whole month.  If I attempted that my family would stave to death due to the minuscule size of my freezer but that is a whole … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ You Can’t Push a String
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom You can't push a string... Different people have different styles, styles of gift giving being no exception. In my family, specific (extremely specific) gift requests aren't considered out of line. In my husband's family, many gifts, all surprises, are the norm. Well, we all know what happens when people you rarely see or talk to give you "surprise" gifts, right? It took me years of interacting with my in-laws before I realized that I could not control them, I could only control myself. (Some very obvious lessons are nonetheless hard to learn.)Â I started announcing in … [Read more...]
Stumbling Blocks to Success
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom We all want to succeed. We all want a clutter-free, clean, and peaceful home. Yet sometimes we struggle. What are some of the stumbling blocks to success? Making Excuses Instead Starting "I'd like to start." "I'll get around to it soon." "When things settle down, I'll declutter." Those are excuses, and if you're using them, they're getting in the way of your success. One of the beauties of one-thing-a-day decluttering is that it hardly takes any time, especially in the beginning. In the beginning (which is when excuses are their strongest) nearly anything you touch … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Observations on the Church Garage Sale
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom A couple of weeks ago, my church had a huge garage sale, which netted us $6000. I worked Friday putting toys out and pricing them and Saturday afternoon as the sale was winding down, increasingly slashing prices in order to unload the rest of the items before the end of the sale when the Salvation Army truck would swoop down and take the remainder away. On Friday, while I was pricing toys, I was almost weak in the knees when a truck pulled up with trash bag after trash bag of the nicest toys you can imagine. The woman who was unloading them explained that they were from … [Read more...]