Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I heard someone the other day complaining that they needed a bigger house. The truth is that rarely do we need a bigger house. The truth is we just need to get rid of the junk that is making our house crowded.

Just as work expands to fill available time, stuff expands to fill available space.

What do you think? Would you undergo a major decluttering to have a bigger house?

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Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Clutter. It’s everywhere. But it’s easy to beat clutter, with one simple rule:

Don’t let it become clutter.

Now before you start sending nasty emails at the simplicity of this, let’s talk about how to keep from clutter from happening.

Clear the Horizon

Clutter accumulates on flat surfaces. If you make a habit of scanning flat surfaces and cleaning them off, you will find your clutter goes down exponentially.

I’m not talking about just clearing clutter off of horizontal surfaces, I’m talking about clearing all horizontal surfaces. For instance, we kept our remotes on a table near the couch in the living room. But other things would pile up there. By moving the remotes to a basket attached to the couch, I could glance at that spot and stop anything from being on there, knowing nothing needed to be on the table. Clearing the horizontal surfaces in that one room has stopped all sorts of things from accumulating.

Put Out The Hotspots

This is a Flylady term: a hotspot is any place, when left alone for a while, will burst out in flames of clutter. We all have hotspots. My personal ones are my mailbox by the back door, my bedside table, the right side of my desk (don’t ask why it’s just the rights side, I don’t know) and a table next to “my” chair in the living room. By making sure I clear these spots out every day, I don’t end up with piles of clutter in them.

Dump At the Door

A lot of clutter in many houses ends up being right by the door that people come in. They dump keys, phones, book bags, briefcases, mail, papers, lunch bags…you get the picture.

The secret to eliminating this clutter is to provide a place for it to go. When you have a place to put everything right when you come in, it ceases to be clutter, but rather becomes stuff in its appropriate place. Some ideas:

• Hang a key rack for keys
• Put up hooks for coats and bags
• Provide a spot for mail to be placed, and a shredder/recycling bin for junk
• Having a charging station where phones and other devices can be plugged in.

Even Exchange

Sometimes clutter is simply having too much of something. This is where the even exchange rule comes in. When you bring something new into the house, something old, preferably the same type of item, needs to go. When you get a pair of new shoes, an old pair needs to go. New bedding? Get rid of the old.

This prevents the buildup of items that won’t be used anymore, and prevents hidden clutter from taking over your storage areas.

Do you have any simple ways to keep clutter from happening? Share below.

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Fridays are tip days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Back in my “Open Loops 10/18/2011: Articles I Think Worth Passing Along”, I mentioned an article from Lifehack called “Why and How I Went on an App Diet”. I knew, deep down, that I needed to do this as well. My iPod Touch was crammed with apps that I never used and I was having trouble finding things.

I spent some time clearing things out, and here is my list of 15 apps:

1. Weatherbug. I use this application to help me track not only the forecasts, but to let me know when there is severe weather. There are other apps that do this, but I find their severe weather warnings are not as prompt.
2. MyKeepass. I use Keepass at home and on my thumb drive to track my passwords. MyKeepass is the best option I found to have that data with me on the go.
3. Flashlight. If you need a light source when the power suddenly goes out, Flashlight is a good choice. This app has saved many a jammed toe as I try to find my way around a pitch-black house.
4. Remember The Milk. This app is one that hooks me up to my task powerhouse Remember The Milk. I like this app because even though it links to a web application, you do not have to have an active web connection to use it. You can work locally and it will synch when it has a connection.
5. Use Your Handwriting Gold. The tiny keyboard on the Touch makes it difficult for me to take a quick note. With this app I can write with my finger – essentially drawing a note- and email it to myself for processing.
6. Awesome Note. this was one of the first apps I purchased, and I use it frequently. It pulls a subset of Google Docs down to my Touch. Since Google Docs is where I store things like birthdays, equipment specs and other lists, I have these with me everywhere.
7. NFL Fantasy. I’m currently playing Fantasy Football, this app allows me to view scores, arrange my team and trade players without having to drag my computer down in fro of the television.
8. Ambiance. I have written before about how I use ambient sound in order to concentrate. This app allows me to download various tracks to block out noise.
9. iChakra. This app is a beautiful set of sounds that are intended to balance chakras. I bought it because of the singing bowls, but I find the chanting captivating. I find that listening to the chants brings my stress levels way down. I have come to rely on this app as a stress-reliever
10. iPeriod. Keeping track of my monthly cycles, with email reminders. ‘Nuff said.
11. Kindle. While I do own a Kindle, I use the Kindle app when I am at work and want something to read over lunch. It’s harder to read from, and I have to “turn pages” more often, but it’s better than nothing.
12. Book Crawler. I have been keeping track of what I have read since the late 80s. Book Crawler allows me to know what I have read, what I want to read, and what I thought of a particular book.
13. WordPress. While I don’t often blog from my iPod, sometimes I need to do things. WordPress makes it possible.
14. Office Zombie. There is an app called Office Jerk, where you get to throw things at an annoying co-worker. The same company came out with a version where the coworker is a zombie. It’s absolutely hilarious, and I love throwing things at him.
15. Shralp Tide. I live in an area where tidal flooding is a problem. With Shralp Tide I can check to see what the tides are going to be like and avoid areas that are prone to everyday tidal flooding. This means the difference between driving on high ground or driving through water up to my doors.

Now I did keep some extra apps on the device. They are applications I could live without, but I do use them frequently:

1. Handy Level. My husband always forgets to put the level in the camper bag. So we get to a camp site and we have no way to make the pop-up camper somewhat level. This app solves the problem.
2. Sally’s Spa. This is a fun little game where you get to run a spa.
3. Nebulous. I like this DropBox client because I can hold files locally and not need an active connection to get the information.
4. Bump. When my daughter got her iPod Touch, we tried this out as a way to share photos and addresses. She loves the built-in messaging feature.
5. Pain Killer. I don’t often get migraines, and I have medicine for when I do, but there is still that excruciating time in between when they strike and when the medicine starts to work. Pain Killer plays a low-level frequency that does take the edge off the pain.
6. Koi Pond. This one is just cute. It is a fish pond filled with koi, and you can feed them and disturb the water. It also has a sleep timer on it, and I have used it as a way to relax before bed.
7. Read It Later. The mobile version of the application. It has problems that I find grossly annoying, but I will use it in a pinch.
8. EZ Feeds. This feed reader allows me to read on the go. Mostly I process the articles into ReadItLater.

There’s my list. That is what I have on my iPod at the moment.

Did you know you can get Twitter and Facebook updates from this blog? For Twitter, look for @SmplProdBlog. On Facebook it’s Facebook.com/SimpleProductivity. You can also find me at Google+ as lj@simpleproductivityblog.com.

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Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog. I am taking a break this week, so please enjoy this article from the archives!

Originally published on 8 July 2009

Most people I know won’t embark on a big decluttering because they think it will take too long. I decided to put together a list of quick decluttering projects to get you started getting rid of the junk in little chunks of time.

5 Minute Decluttering

1. Clean out your wallet. Get rid of old receipts, expired coupons, business cards and outdated pictures. Consider putting club and membership cards in a separate holder.
2. Clean out your pen cup. Either at office or home, go through your stash. Get rid of anything that won’t write. Or anything you won’t use (like the pen with yellow ink)
3. Purge your socks. Go though your sock drawer and toss anything that needs to be tossed. Don’t keep things with holes or without mates.
4. Clean the place where you stash take-out goodies. Wherever you keep them, get rid of old menus, chopsticks, plastic forks and packages of condiments.
5. Purge your magazines. If you have more than three unread issues of a magazine, recycle the older ones. Let’s face it, if you haven’t gotten to it in three months, you probably won’t get to it at all.
6. Clean out your nightstand. Get rid of trash, dried up lotions, broken pencils and books you have been meaning to get to.

10 Minute Decluttering

1. Clean out the center console in your car. Remove the change, wrappers, receipts and anything else that has collected there (Barbie shoes? Playdough? I’d love to hear what people find).
2. Go after the kitchen sink. Remove anything from around your sink that you don’t use daily.
3. Purge one bathroom shelf. Pick a shelf and clean it out. This may be a 5 minute job, but if you have extra time, put things back neatly after wiping it down.
4. Clean one clothing drawer. Get rid of anything not wearable because of its state, or because you don’t like it anymore.
5. Purge utensils. I swear my kitchen breeds spatulas. Get rid of anything that is obviously over-worn or broken. Remove anything you haven’t used. Remove as many duplicates as possible.
6. Purge your media. If you have CDs or DVDs (or VHS tapes!) or video games you don’t use any more, clean them out! (Please remember it is a violation of copyright law if you get rid of the original media and use a copy you have made…if you still use it, hang on to the original media)

15 Minute Decluttering

1. Clean out your medicine cabinet. Anything that is expired or no longer of use needs to go. Contact your local pharmacy for a take-back program, or contact your local hazmat location for drop-off instructions. Do NOT flush old medicines!
2. Purge and clean one refrigerator shelf. Cleaning the refrigerator can be a daunting task. Do one shelf, pulling everything out, wiping it down and getting rid of old half-used stuff. You will be amazed at the difference.
3. De-gunk your glove compartment. I think the maps must breed too. Purge outdated and duplicate maps. Make sure your registration and proof of insurance is handy and up to date.
4. Purge under a sink. Under-sink cabinets become a dumping ground for all sorts of stuff. Clean yours out.
5. Remove unused kitchen gadgets. Gadgets are fun and cool, but unless you actually use them regularly, get rid of them. The grilled sandwich maker looked cool at the time, but I used it maybe three times? Same with the deep fryer. Out they go!
6. Purge your plastic. Plastic containers grow extra tops, which then consume other plastic containers. Match up what you have and get rid of the rest.

Decluttering doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Pick a small spot and declutter. By constantly decluttering small areas, we make long-term major progress.

Photo by simax105

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Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

A reader is facing a major move in her life, from a small attached house to a free-standing house, this time with a young child in tow. She asked me to write an article on how to simplify moving. So here it is!

Bear in mind, I haven’t moved in 8 years, but the last time I moved, my husband and I did it with the help of three other adults, and I had a 10 month old baby and 2 cats running around underfoot. The move was successful: everything ended up in the right place, and I had the kitchen in such order that by the second day after the move I made brownies. From scratch. (Yes, it can be done)

Plan Where Things Will Go

You know where things are now, and you know what the new layout of the house will be. Make a list of rooms in the new house, and decide where things will go from the old house.

When we moved from the condo to the house, items from various rooms were dispersed. We used to store extra blankets in the master bedroom; these were delegated to the new guest room. One and a half baths were put into two and a half; the extra storage for pantry items was moved from a closed bookshelf into the kitchen.

With a little thinking about where things will go, you will spend less time unpacking.

Have Materials On Hand

It is almost impossible to pack if you don’t have the right materials to do so. Make sure you have plenty of boxes, bubble wrap, paper (preferably the non-printed leftover newsprint paper), and lots of strong tape, in a dispenser.

We bought boxes for our last move: many packages of bankers boxes for heavy objects like books, wardrobe boxes to hold our hanging clothes without having to fold, compartment boxes for glasses and dishes, and bigger moving boxes for lighter items.

It is well worth it to pay for these boxes. You will have clean, strong boxes to work with, and suited to what you are packing. Uniformly sized boxes can help with packing a moving truck as well. If you absolutely have to go for free boxes, check with your local Freecycle to see if anyone has moving boxes they can give you. When you are done, Freecycle any boxes you don’t need.

Bubble wrap is essential to cushion breakable items. You can use things like towels, but towels don’t give the protection of bubble wrap.

Buy or borrow a packing tape dispenser that will not have you swearing. Nothing is worse than being ready to seal a box, and having to pick the ends of the tape off the roll.

With proper supplies on hand, the actual act of packing will go much quicker.

Label Each Box

After you are done packing and sealing each box, label on the top and one side the general contents of the box, and where it will go in the new house. This will allow the movers to put the boxes in the correct locations as they unload, and will allow you to find what box you may need to look in, as well as what order you may need to unpack things.

For example, we had books in our office that were going in two places: our new office upstairs and the built-in shelves in the living room. The books were split into boxes accordingly, and each box labeled with “books” and the location they needed to end up in. This also applied to my kitchen: I put all of the items I needed for feeding my daughter (bottles, spoons, bowls, baby food) in a box and labeled it “kitchen” and “baby food”. That way I found the box right away after we moved and unpacked it before littler used items like the blender.

Purge As You Go

As much as possible, get rid of anything you don’t need as you are packing. Old magazines, unused books, outgrown clothing should all be gotten rid of appropriately. Some charities will even send trucks to pick up discarded items, and the more you get rid of, the less you have to pack, move and unpack.

Cycle Through The House Multiple Times

Although it might feel like a great idea to fully pack each room at a time, you will still be living in the house as the packing is going on. Pack the least used items in each room, then cycle back through the various rooms as the moving gets closer to pack other items.

For instance, the first round of packing included the holiday decorations, the winter clothes, the clothes my daughter had yet to grow into, books not in use, and rarely used kitchen appliances. This went on, until the last week all that was left to pack was a skeleton kitchen setup (we were using paper plates at that point), my daughter’s necessities, a week of clothes for all of us, the cat food and the litter box.

Organize for the New House

As much as possibly, plan for where things will go specifically in the new house. This is really great if you can do this in the kitchen. Figure out where the silverware, glasses and plates will go. Decide what will be stored in the kitchen, and what will be stored elsewhere. Plan your pantry.

This may seem like a lot of effort, but it will make unpacking the kitchen a snap (and it was how I was able to bake the day after moving!)

Resist the Urge to Dump

At some point you will have the urge to run your arm over horizontal surfaces and dump everything in a box. Try to resist this as much as possible. It will only create chaos and confusion as you are unpacking.

Leave Other People’s Messes Until the End

If you live with another able-bodied adult who has packrat tendencies, leave his or her own mess alone. The urge to declutter will be great, and will not be well-received. This also applies to things that the person may value but for which you see no worth (such as a beer can collection or a large chunk of metal from an engine used as a toe-stubber doorstop).

You may end up packing some of these things in the end, but I recommend leaving other people’s messes for their own packing.

With just a bit of effort, you can streamline your packing and make your move go smoothly.

Do you have any tips for the reader? Share below.

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This post was written by a guest author. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guest post guidelines.

Most of us have probably heard of the 80/20 rule, also called the Pareto’s principle. Pareto’s principle states that 80% of effects come from 20% of the cause. Sometimes the actual ratio fluctuates to 70/30 or 90/10 but the main idea behind the rule still holds true.

Humble Beginnings

The idea that only 20% of anything account for 80% of the overall result was first proposed by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in the early 1900s. He discovered that 80% of Italy’s landholdings were owned by 20% of the population. The principle was first adopted to explore serious social issues as probably intended by Pareto himself, but soon enough people began to realize that the 80/20 rule is visible everywhere.

Since then Pareto’s principle became a sort of mantra among individuals who want to stay on top of everything that’s going on in their lives. Our hectic modern schedules don’t leave much room for careful planning, and most of the time we’re content doing things on the fly and letting things run their course. However, the 80/20 rule invites us to take a closer look at our everyday activities and to weed out the important stuff from the not-so-important ones.

With the Pareto principle in mind, you can actually change the way you run your household, office and ultimately your life. The idea is that by changing 20% of the things that you usually do, you can improve the overall results of your work by 80%.

The 80/20 rule means that you don’t really have to exert too much effort to bring about the results that you want, but identifying that critical 20% is the challenge. If you want to simplify and declutter your life, you have to focus on that 20% to ensure that you don’t waste your time doing. The key is to find the value in everything that we own or do.
Here are some places where you can apply the Pareto principle to bring about higher satisfaction and productivity levels:

1. Closet. Your closet is home to clothes that you probably don’t use. Are you already short on storage space because of all the clothes you’ve accumulated but have never worn? Identify the clothes that you actually like and use, and then throw out the others or donate them to charity. Other people can use the things that you don’t, so why keep them? Besides, you will have a better experience choosing your outfit if everything is hung or folded neatly inside a roomy closet.
2. Worktable. Your work desk is probably the most disorganized area in your house. What are the things that you really need on that table? What are the things that are just taking up space and accumulating dust but are never actually useful? Put away the things that don’t help you with your work because you’re better off having more elbow room as you take phone calls or answer emails. Besides, these unwanted items can only distract you from the task at hand and slow you down.
3. Kitchen. Your kitchen may be filled with all the fanciest equipment and the most expensive ingredients, but probably cook with only 20% of them. Don’t waste your money and time on things that are just meant to impress guests. If you’re not a professional chef, you don’t really need all those shiny chrome gadgets and copper pans.
4. Bedroom. Some people sleep better with clutter around them, but it’s actually more sensible for to sleep in a room that’s clean and organized. You will be able to get dressed for work faster if everything is where it should be, from your socks and shoes down to your ties and cuff links. You no longer have to spend the better part of an hour looking for your lost briefcase amidst all the clutter of your room.
5. Attic. Most homeowners think that their attics are black holes that simply suck their unwanted and forgotten junk into oblivion. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Instead of putting away unused items in boxes and storing them up in your attic, you have to sort through them regularly and determine which ones should leave your home for good. Otherwise you’ll just end up having a house where all the unwanted stuff collects dust in the attic.

What are the areas you think would have the most payoff for decluttering? Share below.

When not out building relationships with other bloggers, Krisca Te can be found visiting blogs that cover topics about productivity. She is also a personal finance junkie who is currently working with Australian Credit Cards, a personal finance guide based in Sydney, Australia. You can follow ACC on Twitter if you like to stay updated on their latest contents.

Photo bySimon Zirkunow

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Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Simplicity generally means paring down. We get rid of junk we don’t use, and find ways to use tools for multiple applications. Most people involved in simplicity and uncluttering will also tell you to get rid of duplicates.

But I think sometimes having duplicates is a good thing.

• Camping supplies. I have duplicates of many things in the camping supplies. Can opener, utensils, plates, etc. This saves me from having to remember to pack them each time we go camping.
• Pens. Some minimalists argue you should have your single writing instrument on you at all times. Well, apparently they never reckoned with the lack of pockets in most women’s clothing. And I’m certainly not going to pull a Queen of England and carry my purse around with me in my house. So I keep pens where they will be used: on my desk, next to my bed, at my reading station and next to the phones.
• Chargers. I charge my various devices in multiple places: at work, by my computer, in my car, and by my bed. I keep charging systems in all those places so that I don’t have to remember to bring them with me.

These are some examples of how duplicates make my life easier. But here’s the kicker:

None of the duplicates are stored together.

Duplicates are there to simplify multiple uses, but I do not keep them together. A pen by the phone is good. 15 pens by the phone is clutter.

If you are trying to unclutter your life, think about this concept. Where are duplicates good for you, and where are they just clutter?

Photo by MrsMinifig

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Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I was walking down my stairs at home the other evening and I realized how much “stuff” we had acquired since we moved from the condominium to the house eight years ago. Granted, the house has three times the space of the condo, and we had to fill several rooms with new furniture. And a bigger house does, to a certain extent, require more things for maintenance, like a full-sized vacuum instead of a hand-held.

Yet how much of my house is filled with things simply because I have the space for them?

I started looking around with new eyes.

Last year I did a fairly sweeping purge of the house. Now I will be purging again, this time not only getting rid of things that are not used, but also making sure I use up what I have (notebooks and candles are two things that pop into my mind on that).

Unclutterer ran a great article on books at “Keeping book clutter off the bookshelf”. I’ll be applying the unread amount rule to my bookshelves, as well as removing the “look-how-cool-I-am” books. No more books will be purchased until I get this under control.

My kitchen needs to be purged, particularly my pantry. With my husband grocery shopping, I have lost track of what is in there, especially because when the grocery list says “1 can of tomato soup” he will bring home 4 (“to have on hand”).

The music room is one I have never purged. Perhaps it is time to let go of all the flute pieces I picked up with good intentions of learning, or ones that I simply cannot stand anymore?

The garage is brimming with stuff again. While the brewing supplies are not mine, the gardening stuff is. It’s time to let go of the unused stuff.

I’m sure I will be purging more than what I have listed above.

My question for you, is if you had one area to purge first, where would you start?

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I am taking two weeks off from blogging. Enjoy this article from the archive! This article was originally published on 1 June 2007.

This one is tough to do. It is so easy to file things in email and completely forget about them until your mailbox gets so large that you can’t do anything!

I use Gmail at home and Outlook at work, but the same concepts apply to both.

Folders

Reference Folders

I have reference folders set up in both instances. At work, the top folder is called Reference, and underneath I have folders for the letters. (At home I combine letters, A-C; at work, each letter has its own folder).

At home, I use the tag “Reference/[tagname]” to classify my emails. That way I know this is reference material and the tag allows me to search on that folder.

When I need to file something, it goes in the appropriate folder — where I would look for it again. If there are multiple places I might look, I file it in all folders.

Project Folders

For each of my current projects, I have a folder. All emails pertaining to that project get placed in there.

Processing folders

These are places where all my email ends up. Either it goes directly via rules/filters or I pop it in after reviewing it. I have an Action, Print, Waiting For and Read.

Going Through Email

Inbox

I keep my inbox clean. As I go through my mail, I file it in the appropriate working folder, reference, or throw it out. Please note that I only tackle my email box at work twice a day: 10 am and 1 pm. At home I tackle it once per evening.

Going through the Working Folders

When I am set to work on my email, I go through the working folders. Action may need to have another project folder created. @Print is self-explanatory.

WaitingFor gets reviewed weekly and acted upon then.

Cleaning Up Reference and Project Folders

I find it essential to keep on top of my email folders. I review the reference folders once every three months or so, purging them as I do my paper files.

Project folders get purged when the project is closed. I delete out email chains, leaving only one copy of each message.

Summary

I hope you have found these simple decluttering instructions helpful.

How do you declutter your workspace?

Photo by girl_named_fred

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I am taking two weeks off from blogging. Enjoy this article from the archive!This article was originally published on 31 May 2007.

What is on your computer desktop? Do you use everything on a daily basis? If not, you might want to consider moving some of the items.

Some people have so many shortcuts on their desktops that they cannot see the wallpaper. When you have that much visual clutter, it’s just like having piles of things around your workspace. It’s distracting, and it’s hard to find what you need.

(Macintosh users, I apologize for the Windows-centric slant here. I’m not anti-Mac, but my experience with them ended back in ’93).

Disclaimer: while the instructions presented here are accurate, I will not be held responsible or liable for the misuse of the instructions. Always backup your computer before performing any changes.

Start Menu

One of the first things you can do to make things easier to find is to rearrange your start menu. To do this, drag and drop items into folders. Most every program installs itself at the root level, and cleaning them up can make it easier to find things.

I like to classify my programs. For instance, my Programs contain Accessories, Administrative Tools, Games, Internet, Palm, Programming, Publishing and Microsoft Office. All my applications are stored under these folders.

Quick Launch

Next to your start menu is the Quick Launch tool bar. If you don’t see it, right mouse click your task bar, choose properties, and check Show Quick Launch. You can put your most used applications here by dragging them from your desktop or program menu onto the tool bar.

If you really want to clear off your desktop quickly, right mouse click on the desktop, choose Arrange Icons By and uncheck Show Desktop Items. Next, right click on your task bar and from the Toolbars choose Desktop. Now everything that is on your desktop is accessible via menu, but the icons are hidden from view.

I used this for a while, but I found that cleaning off my desktop and showing the icons was better for me. I always forgot to empty the trash when the icons weren’t showing.

More…

Window can be a very flexible and customizable environment. Use what makes you feel most comfortable!

Photo by pinkiwinkitinki

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