One Christian Mom: Clearing the Clutter

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Clearing the Clutter

One of the recommendations that my Pastor's Wife (read below if you haven't) suggested is that I start clearing the clutter. Don't worry about if I will use it "someday." I should analyze each thing by thinking of how long it has been since I did use it, or since the kids played with it. The baby will get new toys as he grows up, I don't need to "save" my older son's discards for him. I pray she is right and things don't get harder as we go. But I do need to get rid of this clutter. I have a house full of it.

I run into two problems while trying to clear. The first is that the kids see me getting rid of things and start complaining. Especially if it is one of their things, but they complain even if it is a kitchen utensil. I think I taught my daughter too well, because she will say, "We can't throw that away, it's still useful mom!" :-) So I put it in a give away box. Then that creates more clutter. The only time the Goodwill is open for donations is in the middle of the day, so I have to pack up the kids and the boxes and try to get them all there and I can't carry the boxes and the baby at the same time, he's just getting too heavy.

Then I tell my hubby I want to freecycle it. For those of you who don't know, go to Yahoo.com and click on groups. Type in freecycle and your city or area in the search box. More and more areas have freecycles these days. What it is is a group where you give away your things and you can ask for other's unwanted things. For example, I have been giving away all of the baby's infant things on freecycle, and been asking for clothing in my kid's current sizes. It really works. The stipulation is that everything is completely free, and that the receiver picks up the things at the giver's house. That is where my hubby sees the problem. He doesn't want strangers knowing where we live, and that we have 3 small kids.

So now what? I want this stuff gone! We have been trying to organize a garage sale since about 3 years ago and just never get our act together. I figure the least I can do after having so many people help me is give away what we no longer need. But I need a viable way to do it before all of this stuff hits the trash heap (or stays in my downstairs storage area forever.)

Today we hope to get the tree up, if we do I will take a picture of it and post it later today. I pray you all are having a blessed Sunday!

With hopes for a clutter-free house,
One Christian Mom

2 comments:

Mrs. Darling said...: Hey when you get that pic of your tree up add it to my christmas tree Mr Linky.

At our goodwill you drive right up to the door and the man sees you and comes and gets the stuff.

Call salvation army. Around here they come and pick up at your house! Maybe if they dont there they will know of some organization that does. The charities are desperate this year. Im sure theres one around there that picks up unless of course you're way out in timbucktoo. :); December 7, 2008 8:29 PM
~Bren~ said...: There are lots of organizations that will pick up at your door. You just put your boxes out and they come get it and leave a reciept on the door. Salvation Army does this and also Purple Heart. Check your local Sally and see if they do this. Don't let excuses rob you from accomplishing what your heart has desired for a long time!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!; December 8, 2008 9:14 AM

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Frugal Tips

**Still under construction - please check back for more!**

Recently, a lot of people in real life have been asking me about my tips for frugal living. I have gained quite a few of them through the years as our family grows and the cost of living is skyrocketing. This list is ever growing, so check back for updates! If you have a frugal tip, let me know, and I will add it to the list, with credit to you!

TIP #1
The first thing I did was join The Grocery Game at http://www.thegrocerygame.com/. I think it's $10 for three months, but you can save way more than that. You do need to either live in a metropolitian area, or have access to the city's newspaper in order for it to work well. I have saved between 25% to 100% off of grocery items. This works best if you have no brand preference for most items. I only subscribed for the first three months. After that, you pretty much get the gist of the savings plan, and can do it on your own. It basically follows the sales at the stores, and the coupons in the paper. When the store has rock-bottom prices on the item in the coupon, it will tell you to use it. Sometimes the item is free!

TIP #2
Another GREAT tip that most people don't do is cut back on your disposable items in your household. I wrote a post on this sometime last week, I think! :-) I am not just talking about cups and plates, but also paper towels, napkins, even things like yogurt. For the paper products, just replace them with cloth. We bought dishtowels at WalMart for $5 for a package of 6, the initial cost is higher, but you will make that back in a month or two (depending on your family). We use those instead of paper towels. For napkins, we use dishrags, pretty ones! They were also inexpensive, and they wash well. When we have company we break out the "real" cloth napkins, it just looks nicer.

For things like yogurt, milk, etc - buy the larger items, then package it yourself in smaller containers. If you like to take yogurt to work, put some in the small tupperware containers from the large container. That way, you are saving money, and helping keep the earth cleaner by not throwing plastic away every day.

TIP #3
For those of you who have babies, CLOTH DIAPERS! Here is a great site for you to learn about them: http://www.diaperpin.com. There are forums there where you can ask questions, read about others who use them, etc. They also have a rating scale on how well the diapers work for others. I, personally, went with the cheapest option, which was prefolds with covers. You can get quality prefolds for $2 per diaper (if purchased in a dozen) and covers for around $9-$11 each. So for the cost of one month's diapers, you have enough to fit your baby for at least a year. Most people will have to buy two sizes over the baby's diaper-wearing lifetime, but it's still way cheaper than buying diapers to throw in the trash! Also, washing them is easier than you might think. Dump all solids into the toilet. Store wet diapers in a wet-bag or dry diaper pail or trash can. When you wash them, put them on a cold rinse cycle. Then add detergent (home-made, preferably, which I will talk about later) or about 1/4 the amount for commerical detergents and put on a warm wash, cold rinse cycle. Dry on medium in the dryer, or hang to dry! Which leads me to:

Tip #4
Hang-dry your clothes. I can hear it already. "But my complex won't let me have a clothesline!" OK, here are some remedies for that. The first solution is to have a folding rack that you can put outside when you dry your clothes, then take it in when they are dry. Since it's not a permanent fixture, most complexes will allow this. Another solution, which may take longer, is to put your clothes rack up inside near a heater (in the winter) or a fan (in the summer). It may take longer for them do dry, but it has never taken mine longer than a day to dry, and I do about a load a day.

Problem with stiff clothes when you hang? Here are two solutions. The first is to add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the rinse cycle in the washing machine. They won't be as soft as in the dryer, but they will be softer than if you didn't. The second solution is to hang them until almost dry. Then put them in the dryer for 10 minutes. You will never know they were hung to dry, and you will save 80 minutes of drying time in the dryer!

More Tips to Come!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Clearing the Clutter

2 comments:

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