Photo by ahisgett

How To Get A Bigger House Without Moving

Posted on November 30, 2011 by LJ Earnest

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.

Photo by It

The Easy Way To Beat Clutter

Posted on October 26, 2011 by LJ Earnest

Clutter. It’s everywhere. But it’s easy to beat, with one simple rule: Don’t let it become clutter. Let’s talk about how to keep from clutter from happening.

Photo by cogdogblog

My App Diet

Posted on October 21, 2011 by LJ Earnest

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:

Photo by simax105

5, 10 and 15 Minute Decluttering

Posted on August 3, 2011 by LJ Earnest

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.

Photo by haydnseek

8 Ways To Simplify Moving

Posted on July 27, 2011 by LJ Earnest

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. 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!)

Photo by Simon Zirkunow

The 80/20 Rule: 5 Places to Focus On To Declutter 80% Of Your Life

Posted on July 14, 2011 by GuestPost

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. Our guest author today explains how to apply that rule to home decluttering.

Photo by MrsMinifig

When Duplication Simplifies…And When It Doesn’t

Posted on May 25, 2011 by LJ Earnest

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.

The 2011 Purge Has Begun

Posted on May 11, 2011 by LJ Earnest

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. 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.