I switched to Firefox almost as soon as it came out. While I work with Microsoft products for a living, I hated working with IE6. Firefox gave me so much more… tabbed browsing, and the ability to expand functionality with extensions! Oh my, the extensions!!!!

Don’t you hate it when something that works well for a long time stops?

But it was bound to happen. Firefox slowed down. To the point where I couldn’t use it at home anymore. I would click on a site, and it would be slow to load. And then any time I was typing anything — search, URL or whatever — there was a significant lag, and sometimes my typing didn’t always show up completely.

Back to Basics

Mozilla recommends that the first thing you do is remove all extensions.

Remove my extensions? Are they nuts? My extensions make Firefox easy for me to incorporate in what I do. Still, I had to do something, so I opened up the screen to see what I could remove. Surely there were things I wasn’t using.

What I Found

If there ever was an area that needed decluttering, it was my Firefox extensions. I never realized how much stuff had accumulated. 3 different managers for GMail, tools for dissecting and reassembling web pages, and some extensions that I don’t even remember why I installed.

So out they came.

But It’s Still Slow!

The Great Shoveling of Extensions had no effect. So I had to go further. I knew it couldn’t be all the extensions, more likely the problem was in one or two of them.

So I made a list of the ones I had to have. Then I removed everything.

Zippy!

Firefox came back to a quick little browser. So I started re-adding the extensions one by one.

Problem Child Found

It turns out that the problem child was the Google toolbar. So while I miss having my Google bookmarks right there, I am currently working without the extension. And Firefox is still zipping along.

Please note this doesn’t mean it is a problem everywhere – I’m still using the toolbar at work with no problems. Go figure.

Photo by fczuardi

An acquaintance of mine was eager to talk. It could have been out of a sitcom: a woman walks into a house, laden with bags. She announces: “I’m going to get organized. Look at all the containers I bought!”

Stop.

All that pretty containers will get you is a bunch of clutter stored in pretty containers.

I don’t agree with Flylady on everything (see Why Flylady Didn’t Work for Me), but this one I do: you can’t organize clutter. Putting clutter in boxes just gets it out of sight. It may not be visible, but somewhere in your mind it will be weighing you down.

Getting organized is one of the top resolutions people make every year. And every year, people fail at this, because they are trying to organize what they have, rather than getting rid of the stuff they don’t need.

Organization is simply applying the rule: “Everything has a place, and everything in its place.”

I will be re-organizing this year, and I have already started. But the difference is that I am decluttering first.

But Where Do I Start To Declutter?

I like a gut-level approach. I know when things bug me. So I decide I’m going to spend some time decluttering – I will usually take a look around the room I am in and figure out what bothers me most. For instance, I was in my bedroom recently and decided that my top dresser drawer really bugged me. This has turned into a junk drawer of sorts, so I spent some time clearing it out.

You can also do a systematic approach, where you cycle through the rooms and areas of your house and regularly declutter them.

How To Declutter

There are many ways to declutter, but the method I prefer is the pile/basket method. Here are the steps:

1. Get some containers or set aside space for piles. You are going to need four: keep, give away, throw away, put away. I like using boxes or baskets for the give away and put away. I usually have a trash bag for the throw away, and I just put the keep to the side, for it will go back in where it came from.
2. Pull everything out. The key to making decluttering work is not to tackle too big of an area. You need enough space to pull everything out of the area you are going to declutter.
3. Sort. Go through the pile and put it in one of the four categories. If you can’t decide right away on something, put it in the put away pile.
4. Put the keep items back. Clean out the space and neatly put the keep pile back in place.
5. Remove the garbage. Take the garbage out of the house.
6. Remove the give away. Put the give away in a place where you will get rid of it in the next three days.
7. Put away the rest. Here’s the key to successful decluttering. You have to have a space for everything. And you have to tell yourself you can’t dump your stuff in an area you’ve already decluttered. (Otherwise you run the risk of just moving piles around the house). If something ended up in the put away pile because you didn’t know what to do with it, think seriously why you can’t get rid of it. If you are still very attached to something that serves no purpose in your life, put it away, out of sight for a while. You’ll get back to it.

Once everything is decluttered, you’re going to find you don’t need all those storage containers. And things will be organized!

Photo by taberandrew

Sometimes when things get really overwhelming because there is just too much stuff, I do a mini-blitz decluttering session. This takes no more than 10 minutes, and yields quick results. Here is my recipe for quick decluttering:

Mini-blitz Decluttering

1. Select an area.
2. Gather materials.
3. Declutter.
4. Put things away.

Select an Area

It is important that you select a small area to declutter in the mini-blitz. It’s fine if you want to declutter your entire kitchen, but it can’t be done in 10 minutes. Look at the room you want to clear up and pick the messiest part. For example, in my kitchen, it is the landing strip by the door where everyone drops everything when they come in the house. In the great room, it is undoubtedly my chair and crafting area. In my daughter’s room it is the floor. Each one of these can be tackled in 10 minutes.

Gather Materials

You will need four containers: two boxes or bins, and two bags. The boxes are for things to give away and things to put away, and the bags for recycling and trash.

Declutter.

Set a timer for five minutes. Quickly sort through everything in the area. If it is no longer needed and it is not useful as a re-use item, recycle or trash it. If someone else could use it, put it in the give away box. If it belongs somewhere else, put it in the put away box.

At the end of this quick sort, you will have only the things that belong in the space. Put them in the correct spot in that space. For example, we have a hook in our desk in the landing strip for the extra house keys. I hang them up. I put the pens and pencils in the basket. In my daughter’s room, nothing will be left on the floor except the furniture.

Put Things Away.

When the timer goes off, put the trash in the trash, the recycling in your bins, and move the stuff to give away out of the house (we have a bin in the garage to store these items and when it is full we take it to the drop off point). Next take the put away box and quickly put everything away. Make sure you don’t just dump it in the area where it goes – make sure to put it away or you will be creating another spot for decluttering!

If you don’t have a spot to put the item, ask yourself if you really should keep it. If you must, find a permanent home. My answer to my daughter’s routine question of “where should I put this toy?” is “in the trash”. It encourages her to think of places to keep her things, or if she should keep things at all.

These mini-blitzes really help with keeping the clutter down. I find that if the house really feels out of control, it only takes an hour of mini-blitzes to bring the house back into manageability.

Photo by CaterinaAnna

It is funny that this topic was one I picked for today, because the moment I picked it, an online group I belong to tackled the same subject.

If we apply my standard definition of clutter to be “something that you don’t love and don’t use”, we can apply this to the “baggage” we carry around in our heads.

But what is mental clutter, and what can we do about it?

Mental Clutter

Mental clutter can be classified into two different categories: things that need to be done, and things that were already done. In the things that need to be done, it’s all the things you are aware of, as well as unspoken commitments you have made (see Examining Commitments, Spoken and Unspoken). Things that were already done are things that we cannot let go of, for whatever reason. This can also be categorized as future items (things not done) and past items (things already done).

Clutter and Isolation

Just like physical clutter in our homes can prevent us from having anyone over and leading to physical isolation, mental clutter can also isolate us from others. If we are so busy thinking about the future or the past that we cannot enjoy the current moment, we are in our own little world, isolated from the people we are with.

Removing Mental Clutter

I can’t tell you the best way to let go of the past, if that is where your clutter is. I can only mention the many sources out there: reading, journaling, therapy, self-help groups, and support groups. I can only recommend, from personal experience, to put the past to rest, so that the ghosts of yesterday don’t haunt your present moment.

However, there are specific things you can do to help with future items that are spinning in your head:

• Write everything down. As David Allen points out, anything we have to keep thinking about takes energy away from what we are doing. Write everything down in a trusted system, whatever that system may be. Don’t waste your energy trying to remember things.
• Take a realistic look. Sometimes our perceived list of things to do isn’t as big as we think it truly is, and it preys on us. Take a look at your written list, and see how big it is. If it really is big, see if there and a bunch of little things you can knock off of the list quickly.
• Purge. Just as you would purge physical clutter from your living space, purge your commitments (see How to Reclaim 50% of Your Free Time). This can really free you up mentally. Are the things you need to do really things you need to do? (see What Makes A Project Worthwhile?)
• Get some rest. I find that the more tired I am, the more my mind seems cluttered. A quick nap (I use pzziz (no affiliation)) is a sure-fire way for me to get more realistic.
• Get unstuck. Sometimes something seems too big because it is a chunk of un-do-ableness. Break projects down into manageable chunks.

By routinely applying these techniques, I can keep my mind un-cluttered and focused on the task at hand.

Photo by danagraves

For many people, myself included, having stuff in my visual field is a distraction. The worst part is that after a while, the clutter isn’t even seen.

I realized last night that my home desk was out of control. I no longer even wanted to be near it, which in turn means I don’t move forward on my writing. I needed to get rid of the junk so I could be productive. So I’m going to take you on a photographic journey of my visual declutter.

As It Was

I started out just pulling stuff off the desk. I began to see the desktop — after I removed six empty shopping bags, my lunch dishes, two dirty coffee cups and a bag of Styrofoam peanuts. (I removed the things before the picture because it looked like the trash can had emptied itself on the desk). Files everywhere, cords, stuff to distract all over the place.

Step 1: The Desktop

I’m going to corral the loose things into their proper places.

Step 2: The Inbox

It’s time to purge not only the top basket, but also my “project” baskets underneath.

Step 3: Decorations

My bulletin board had become really nasty. It got completely purged.

Step 4: The End

Just walking into this space the next morning felt different.

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.
2. Clean out your pen cup. Either at office or home, go through your stash. Get rid of anything that won’t write.
3. Purge your socks. Go though your sock drawer and toss anything that needs to be tossed.
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.

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. I found scrubbers that were well past their prime, and a baby bottle brush (my “baby” is six).
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.
4. Clean one clothing drawer. Get rid of anything not wearable.
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.

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.
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!

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

In the past few weeks several people have asked me for organizational advice. My super-organized mother instilled it in my upbringing, making it almost second nature to me. But one of my friends complained that she hadn’t been trained as I had, and needed to know how I did it, step by step. Over the next few weeks (or possibly longer), I will lay out how I organize various areas in my house to be effective and efficient.

This week I’m tackling the laundry, because this area seems to collect dirt and clutter fast.

Step 1: Know What You Have

Remove everything from the area. That means all the gooey bottles, boxes with a smidgen of something left, and empty stain sticks as well.

Step 2: Purge

Go through everything. Chances are you have a product you bought for its amazing abilities and then abandoned it when it didn’t live up to the promises. Get rid of empty containers as well.

Step 3: Clean Your Spaces

This is the hard part. Laundry areas collect fuzz, lint, and dirt. Move the appliances and clean beneath. Vacuum out your dryer to prevent lint buildup (which could cause a fire). Make sure your hoses are properly clamped. Clean off the tops of the appliances, and run a rag around the dials. Clean out the doors. You get the idea.

Step 4: Put It Back

At this point, your laundry area should be ready to be restocked. Put things back in an organized fashion. If something is prone to drip, put something to catch the drips.

Step 5: Add Other Supplies

Go through your closets and pull empty hangers together. Store them near the dryer. If you own a drying rack, find a spot for your drying rack in the area so it doesn’t stay out all the time.

By following these steps, you should have an organized laundry area. The best part: once organized, you can keep it that way with very little effort.

Photo by Mzelle Biscotte

Disclaimer: I received a sample of this product with a request that I review it for my blog. I have no connection with the company outside of this.

A few weeks ago I was asked to review a product called the FileIt box. At the time, I had just written an article about filing heresy (see Filing Heresy: One Box Filing). I thought this product would be worth looking at in this light and agreed.

File It Boxes can be found on their website is www.fileitbox.com They offer three sizes: 4″ x 8″, letter and legal. The boxes can be used together as a closed box, or used separately on top and bottom for expanded filing capacity.

The company representative said it best:

“The File It Box was developed to replace big bulky boxes that are only partially filled and do not fit on shelves very well. File It Boxes fit on open shelves, in most filing cabinets, lateral files, open on desks and much more. Not very person needs big bulky boxes. With File It Box you can separate different types of information in a organized space.”

These boxes, made out of heavy-duty cardboard, have two parts: two open topped containers that slide together to make a covered box, with an opening for inserting the provided handle.

Review

Assembly. Assembly was a snap. Take one of each of the bottom and top, do some folds along pre-scored lines, push the tabs together in the order shown, and viola! A box. It slid together with no problems.

I thought it might be difficult to get the boxes apart again, but all it took was putting my fingers in the open holes and pushing the bottom out. Once the box was loaded, there was no difficulty in getting the box apart.

Size. The description claimed that the boxes will fit in most filing cabinets. I have two standard home office cabinets at home. The boxes would not fit with the hanging bars in place, but once I removed the file folder hangers, the boxes slid in. It was a bit tight, but they still fit.

Stand-alone. The claim that the boxes will stand alone is very true. This is heavy-duty cardboard, and it stands up with no problems. It is much more sturdy than the magazine holders I am currently using to organize receipts and warranties.

Surprising application. I am a semi-pro musician, and I have music. A LOT of music. Most music is also slightly bigger than the standard letter size. It doesn’t do well in filing cabinets because of the soft covers, and I currently have two magazine racks in which I store tightly packed music upright. I decided to try the box on the music. I was amazed. All of my American-printed music slid right into the box. While I would not keep the standard black-and-white file box in plain sight in my music studio, it can easily be covered with paper to make it fit into the decor.

Results

I am impressed with the product. I can see a multitude of uses for this, beyond the standard one-box filing. Warranties, music, craft projects, scrapbooking, all would benefit from using the File It Box.

Contest

In order to pass this product on to my readers, I will be giving away four of the File It Boxes, letter sized, in a contest announced on Saturday 4/18. Look for that!

I have two main reasons for putting things in storage containers: the first being putting everything in one place. If I want to work on my scrapbooking, I pull out one container, and everything is there. The second reason is that it sets limits. If my designated yarn box fills up, I know I have gotten ahead of myself in projects, and I cannot buy any more yarn.

I like re-using containers around the house because it means less landfill usage, and often times I have a better container than if I were to buy one designated for the purpose.

Here are some of the storage solutions we use at my house to help corral supplies:

Sewing Boxes

If you have sewing supplies, a specially-designed sewing box can be a wonderful investment. Mine has spokes to store thread, plus covered compartments to hold loose items like pins and snaps. I had made do with other containers, but have grown to love my sewing box. My husband also uses an old sewing box for his trains; the spikes hold various spools of wire and solder, and the compartments are filled with switches and bits of track.

Pencil Boxes

These little boxes can be had in August and September for very little money, and are great for corralling items. We have boxes for crayons, colored pencils, scissors, stickers, rubber stamps, electronics chargers, crochet needles, gift ribbons and puzzle pieces. We reuse these boxes from year to year, and have had gifts arrive in them as well.

Tackle Boxes

My daughter and I use small tackle boxes to handle earrings. My husband uses tackle boxes for small train parts. The boxes are compartmentalized in various sizes, great for holding small items together. The bonus with these boxes is that they are hard to accidentally open. Obviously, you will want to clean these out thoroughly to avoid any fishy smell.

Old Plastic Cups

Plastic cups from restaurants seem to multiply around the house. We take them out of circulation and use them to hold paint brushes, cords and lotion tubes.

Diaper Wipes Containers

These plastic boxes are taller than pencil boxes and can be used for larger items. We keep our nail polishes in one, and spare toothbrushes and toothpaste in another.

Old Tupperware

While I have my share of off-brand plastic containers, I have found that I have never been able to destroy a piece of Tupperware (perhaps I haven’t tried hard enough). Many older (ugly) pieces of Tupperware make their way into non-food purposes. I like to reuse them because the seals are wonderful and don’t pop open easily. We use old Tupperware to hold Moon Sand and craft dough, as well as containers of glitter (in case of spills).

Old Coffee Jugs

Maxwell House comes in largish plastic jugs with a wide mouth. I reuse these jugs to hold my daughter’s small toys. Her space men live in one, and her Little People occupy another. They’re easy for her to use, easily labeled, and stack well on shelves.

By reusing these items around the house, I have better solutions for my storage needs than custom-designed containers.

Photo by SideLong

In the past few weeks several people have asked me for organizational advice. My super-organized mother instilled it in my upbringing, making it almost second nature to me. But one of my friends complained that she hadn’t been trained as I had, and needed to know how I did it, step by step. Over the next few weeks (or possibly longer), I will lay out how I organize various areas in my house to be effective and efficient.

This week I’m tackling the freezer, because this tends to be a neglected area.

Step 1: Know What You Have

You will need an empty space to do this. The floor in your kitchen will work, or counter space, or a table. Pull everything out of the freezer and place it in the empty space. If you are going to be defrosting the freezer at the same time, have an insulated box or a laundry basket and blankets handy.

Step 2: Purge

As you are pulling things out, purge. Get rid of anything that is not labeled or is unrecognizable or has freezer burn (a layer of ice on it). Also get rid of things that you know you won’t use. Also empty any ice cube trays where the cubes have shrunk. They’re not going to taste good.

Step 3: Sort It All Out

Put all your veggies in one pile, meats in another, novelties in a third. Group things together logically.

Step 4: Purge Or Consolidate Again

Look at what you have. Do you have three half-empty bags of frozen peas? Put them together. Notice that you have a gallon ice cream container that has been in there for six months? Get rid of it.

Step 5: Clean

If you need to clean the inside of the freezer, use a cloth dipped in hot water. Make sure you do not let the cloth freeze to the sides. Pull out any shelves that need to be cleaned and wash them in the sink, drying well before putting them back.

Step 6: List

Make a list of everything you have in the freezer. This will help you stay on top of what you have in there and prevent your buying duplicates. I use a form I made myself, which can be downloaded directly, or accessed from my Ebooks page. I put one diagonal mark in a square for an item, then when I use it, I complete the X.

Step 7: Put It Back And Organize

Put things back logically. I keep all my frozen veggies in the built-in basket at the bottom. I use an old ice cube bucket to hold popsicles.

If you are going to defrost, place your food in the insulated box or laundry basket with blankets on top.

Step 8: Clean the Outside and/or Defrost

Clean the outside of your freezer, wiping down with a cloth. Make sure to clean the coils, as this can make a difference in how well your freezer works.

You can also defrost your freezer if you need to, using pans of hot water (see How to Defrost the Freezer–eHow.com). Do not use sharp objects to chip ice off your freezer as this could damage it!

Tackling Multiple Freezers

I have two freezers, one attached to my refrigerator, and a chest freezer outside the kitchen. I tackle these at one time. I keep things more often used in the refrigerator freezer, like veggies, popsicles and breakfast items. The chest freezer is used for longer-term storage.

By following these steps, you should a clean and organized freezer. The best part: once organized, you can keep it that way with very little effort. Keep track of what you use on your inventory sheet and regularly purge. This will keep the appliance in great condition.

Photo by sporkist