Unclutterer

1. Posted by Brock Tice - 09/08/2007

   You know, for a blog about uncluttering, you guys sure do talk about a lot of stuff to buy. It was enough to make my wife unsubscribe, and I may shortly follow her example.

2. Posted by Jon Matthias - 09/08/2007

   @ Brock – sometimes, uncluttering does require you to replace your old stuff with new solutions. If you can replace 5 old widgets with one new snazzy one, how is that a bad thing? There’s only so many ways to unclutter by organizing and getting rid of stuff.

   I love the *idea* of wireless speakers, but the 2 different sets I’ve tried just haven’t been satisfactory. They get interference, the batteries don’t last, and most of them don’t offer true surround sound. Luckily, I don’t really care about the “home theater” experience anymore – the two attached to the screen are good enough for me.

3. Posted by akml - 09/08/2007

   Check out soundbars, both Polk and Yamaha make one. You get to replace your five speakers with just one.
   http://www.polkaudio.com/homea.....rroundbar/

4. Posted by Anonymous - 09/08/2007

   We have three sets of the Sharper Image’s version of the same wireless speaker. They’re incredible. We use two with our television system in the living room. The other four in the kitchen/den/back deck and we have them running from Sirius off my laptop. We use rechargeable batteries so there are no wires. You can purchase these at Linens and Things for about the same price as the ones you listed. We could not live without them at this point. We got rid of our entire stereo system and now just use the laptop and these speakers and it’s wonderful. Uncluttered and provides terrific sound. Can’t recommend them enough.

5. Posted by Erin at Unclutterer - 09/08/2007

   @Brock – Jon’s comment to you is right on target. In this case, if you have a living room with speaker cables running every where and constantly causing people to trip, then you have a cluttered stereo system. If you can replace you current speakers with new ones that create less clutter, then you’re improving the quality of your life. The assumption, of course, is that you GET RID of your old speakers when you buy new, less cluttered ones.

   This isn’t a blog that promotes asceticism. We, instead, promote “smart consumption.” Check out our philosophy statement on simple living here.

6. Posted by Brock Tice - 09/08/2007

   @Erin – Fair enough. It is spelled out pretty clearly in the linked philosophy statement.

7. Posted by Erin at Unclutterer - 09/09/2007

   @Brock — We hope to keep you around as a reader! Even if every post isn’t for you, hopefully some still speak to the type of unclutterer you are

8. Posted by BigNerd - 09/09/2007

   Not to pile on Brock but his initial post made me think of the following:

   All should be reminded that this blog offers ‘free’ advice and professional ‘how-to’s’ of which the authors spend a great deal of time and effort compiling credible content. To compensate for the expenses of running a web site and making a plausible income/living, the owners strategically place adverts throughout their site and link product ideas via Amazon.com withing their articles. Reader ‘click throughs’ on these links (especially when a purchase is made) equal money for the Amazon.com ‘associate’ – just like Google Adsense does. Fortunately for us it’s done unobtrusively and doesn’t interfere with the design/layout/content.
   I come and read, deduce what uncluttering idea speaks to my life, check out products that support this and keep in mind that everyone on the Internet is trying to sell me something at any given time. That’s not a bad thing, just a cog in the cognitive wheel.
   I’m going to go clean my sock drawer now.

9. Posted by Tim K - 09/09/2007

   I realize that the idea of surround sound is appealing, but my clutter-free solution to speaker wires running round my apartment was to simply invest in some high quality front speakers and save the surround sound experience for the theatre. Besides, two really nice speakers will always sound significantly better than four or five so-so speakers.

10. Posted by Brock Tice - 09/09/2007

    @akml: The soundbar is a lot more expensive, but it definitely wins in the uncluttering department.

11. Posted by Brock Tice - 09/09/2007

    @Erin, I’d say I’m more of a minimalist than just an “unclutterer”, but not an ascetic. Certainly I’ve found the posts under “Minimalism” to be of interest.

    Thanks for taking the time to address my comments/concerns.

12. Posted by Joshua - 09/10/2007

    I’ve been looking to get some of these for a while, but I wish there was a decently priced sound system around that included wireless speakers as an option. If any of you run across one let me know! :p

13. Posted by Mike - 09/10/2007

    I’m with TimK as far as not having surround speakers. I did have them for a couple years, and honestly, they add very little to the movie experience. They’re usually underused, and even when used properly, a good two speaker setup can sound better.

    I do, however, run a total of 4 speakers off my stereo. Two are in the office, and two in the living room. The way I accomplished this was with these awesome “HomePlug” devices I got at Radio Shack, made by Accurian. They convert the speaker signal to a 128kbps MP3, and transmit it over the powerlines in your house (only one cord to plug in), then decode it on the other end. Amazing little boxes, the sound is perfect. Unfortunately, it seems like you can’t get them anymore, but there are other companies that still make HomePlug products. Something to consider to avoid running new wires.

14. Posted by SuperChuck - 09/26/2007

    RocketFish has a wireless speaker “kit” which can be used to wireless rig up your speakers.

    http://www.rocketfishproducts......r-kit.aspx

    While it’s not as good as wired speakers, it’s supposed to be pretty good, and allows you to use YOUR speakers (matching speakers is very important to good sound reproduction).

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