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Archives for December 2007
Last night I played freezer Tetris
After narrowly escaping a smashed toe by a falling item from my freezer, I decided to stack the items in our freezer a bit more compactly. Day in and day out the items in one’s freezer become rearranged by family members and they tend to take on a different shape. This leads items to being stacked on uneven surfaces and the slick frozen surfaces also tend to make them more likely to slide out and crush your toes.
In a what turned out to be less than two minutes, I rearranged my freezer’s contents into an amazingly tight and compact block. I envisioned the items as Tetris blocks and made them fit accordingly.
So, rather than slamming the freezer door shut just before that microwave meal slides out onto the floor, take the two minutes to rearrange your frozen foods. Why leave a booby trap set for the next person opening your freezer door? That next person could be you again.
FYI – Tetris also helped Homer pack his car.
Posted by Matt on Dec 17, 2007 |
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Kindle: Is it worth it?
Since Amazon launched its Kindle e-book reader, I’ve been closely following reviews of the product online. With more than 90,000 titles available for download from Amazon, it seems like a terrific way to keep book clutter out of your home. Except …
… and that’s just it, there is a giant “except” ringing in my mind.
Audio books downloaded onto my iPod seem to make so much more sense to me as a digital version of a book. I already carry my iPod with me, and have no desire to tote around an additional device. With an audio file on my iPod, I can “read” while I’m driving or doing something else, and there isn’t a book cluttering up my shelves at home. E-book readers have to be held while reading, are larger than an iPod, and have only a little more functionality than a regular book. If I’m going to have a digital form of a book, I prefer the audio form. This just seems to me to be a way for Amazon to skip out on the costs associated with storing and shipping products since the e-books are downloaded (in a proprietary format) from their site.
The Kindle device costs $400 and is not currently available for purchase because of high demand. Average book download price for the Kindle e-book device is $10, which is comparable to all of the Audible plans for audio books.
Two of the reviews I keep re-reading about Kindle are from Scobleizer and Management Craft. I think they say a great deal about the product, so I suggest reading them to help formulate your own opinion:
Scobleizer’s one-week Kindle review
Management Craft’s initial review and her one-week review
Do any of our readers have the Kindle device yet? Have you used any of the hacks to get it to read other non-Amazon e-book files? Please chime in to the comments section to let us know of your personal experience. I’m interested in knowing if my hesitations are way off base.
Posted by Erin on Dec 17, 2007 |
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What to do with holiday cards? Recycle!
Two of our readers provided creative suggestions for how to recycle holiday cards in the comments section of Matt’s Holiday gifts: Out with the old in with the new post. Not wanting to have them lost in the shuffle, I wanted to pull them out to everyone’s attention.
From Jan:
I recycle my Christmas cards. They arrive in the mail, I read them, I cut the writing off the back, I turn them into a Christmas post card with a friend’s address, stamp and short message and repost immediatly.
From Kate:
Once the holidays are over, I “massacre” [cards] into gift tags for next year using a pair of pinking shears.
Great ideas!
Posted by Erin on Dec 15, 2007 |
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Unclutterer’s Matt in the Washington Post Express
Unclutterer writer Matt is featured in today’s Washington Post Express! The article, “Experiential Gifts Create a Can-Do Spirit,” delves into the world of experience giving. It is really terrific, and it contains many ideas for giving uncluttered experience gifts this season. Check it out!
From the article:
Even kids — apt to toss a toy aside after a week of ardor — will get more out of an activity they can enjoy all year. Matt Niemi, who dishes out organizational tips on the blog Unclutterer.com, encourages intangibles for his 18-month-old daughter, Ella. “She’s in danger of becoming super-spoiled, so we’re trying to curb the toys that come into our house,” says the Pittsburgh Web designer. “We got her a year’s pass to the zoo last year, and, hopefully, she’ll get another one this year.” (Hint, hint, grandparents.)
Also, if you missed Matt’s post on experience giving as part of our 2007 Gift Giving Guide, be sure to read it here.
Posted by Erin on Dec 14, 2007 |
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Join our Unclutterer Group on Facebook
Are you on Facebook? If you are, you should definitely join our Unclutterer Group! The Unclutterer Group is a group for “people who write for or love the unclutterer.com website.”
If you’re not on Facebook, I wouldn’t use this group as an excuse to join. Facebook has a way of sucking time away from people who use it … trust me, I’ve lost many an hour …
But, if you’re on Facebook already, please join us!
Posted by Erin on Dec 14, 2007 |
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Workspace of the Week: A car’s glove box
This week’s Workspace of the Week is Toffer’s glove box modification:
Toffer explains what is featured in the photograph:
I shoved my spare hipster PDA into the tissue dispenser of my glove box, took some pens and put them in the slot to load napkins and then taped a pad of re-stickable post-it notes to the side.
Repurposing a car’s glove box as an uncluttered, personal workspace is a brilliant idea! Thank you, Toffer, for the creative suggestion.
Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.
Posted by Erin on Dec 14, 2007 |
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Holiday giving to others beyond your close family and friends
During the holidays, I would love to give something to everyone in my book club, my knitting guild, my neighborhood, my co-workers, etc.–but that just isn’t a possibility. See, I do not have bank accounts overflowing with cash like Warren Buffet or Bill Gates, so I can’t always give as much as I would like to give. When it comes to giving gifts beyond my close family and friends, I’ve discovered many ways to give that continue the generous spirit:
- Baked goods. Easy to make, inexpensive, fun, consumable.
- Secret Santa. Group members draw names and then buy gifts for only the person whose name has been drawn.
- Homemade, useful, themed gifts. Book club members get homemade bookmarks, co-workers get homemade velcro cord ties to curb cable clutter, etc.
- Group charity. Instead of everyone bringing gifts for each other, the group sponsors a needy family or gives a needed item to a local charity.
The list of ideas is seemingly endless. I’m identifying these ideas just to get your creative juices flowing. You’ll notice that I don’t suggest “white elephant” type gift exchanges because often they produce unwanted clutter. If you don’t want the singing, plastic, wall-mounted fish, it’s pretty likely your friends or co-workers don’t want it either.
Please feel welcome to post additional ideas in the comments!
Posted by Erin on Dec 13, 2007 |
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Not all small appliances are unitaskers
In a prior post, I labeled The Panini Press as a Unitasker. It did one thing: make paninis.
Today, I want to talk about small appliances that aren’t unitaskers. For example, the Cuisinart Griddler offers more options than your regular panini press. This is a mulit-functional unit that serves as contact grill, panini press, open grill, and griddle.
When and if you decide to purchase a small appliance, take a few moments to consider its functionality. Can it do more than one, specific task?
Cuisinart has a dual Blender-Food Processor that makes space-saving sense, Kitchen Aid has an Ice Cream Maker attachment for its mixers, an Egg and Toaster unit makes both eggs and toast, and the Hamilton Beach Toast Oven is a toaster and a toaster oven in one appliance. You obviously aren’t obligated to have any of these small appliances in your home, but if you want to buy one, we encourage you to consider ones that aren’t unitaskers.
Posted by Matt on Dec 13, 2007 |
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Unitasker Wednesday: Drink-O-Matic
Are you looking for a unitasker gift for the person who has everything? If you browse Sharper Image’s website in their section for Office Electronics and Gadgets, you’ll be blown away by all the unitasker possibilities!
I was most intrigued by the Drink-O-Matic 10-can dispensing machine. Yeah, that’s right, this thing can hold almost a complete 12-pack of your recipient’s favorite beverage.
Does your gift recipient enjoy road trips? Well, he or she can take the Drink-O-Matic with him because it plugs into a dashboard socket with an included DC adapter. With a size of 25 1/2″ x 16 1/2″ x 9″ and weighing in empty at 18 lbs., convenience has never been so miserable to lug around. Your gift recipient may have a mini-fridge already, but I bet it isn’t as heavy and impractical as the Drink-O-Matic!
**Unitasker Wednesday posts humorously poke fun at the single-use items that manage to find their way into our homes.
Posted by Matt on Dec 12, 2007 |
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Online organization resources for hobbyists?
I am a knitter. When I’m not eating, sleeping, or writing, I’m usually knitting. As a hobby, knitting comes with a lot of stuff. There are needles of varying size and type; yarns of different weights, fiber, and colors; and projects in various states of completion. A quarter of the space in my office closet is dedicated to my hobby.
A quarter of a closet, compared to many other knitters, is extremely minimal. As someone who subscribes to a lifestyle of simple living, however, I see the stash as a thorn in my side. I go through stages of acquiring and then using. Right now, I’m using a great deal of my stash on Christmas knitting projects, which is helping to alleviate some of my anxiety about the size of my stash.
In the knitting world, there is a new online community called Ravelry that has proven to be an incredible resource to me. I had to sort through my entire stash and catalog it with photographs and information and then enter it into the site’s database. Now, I can pull up a ball of yarn online and cross match it to projects where people have used the same yarn in the past. It saves me time thinking up project ideas and reminds me what I have and how I can use it. Additionally, it connects me with other knitters who may be willing to take some of my yarn off of my hands.
I’ve been searching for days for similar services connected to other hobbies. As of right now, I have been unable to find such services. Resources like Ravelry can be valuable for organization and planning efforts, and I would love to be able to compile a multiple-hobby list of online resources for our users.
In the comments’ section, please tell us about your hobby and any online resources that can help with its organization and planning. Services that help our readership to be less cluttered are worth sharing!
Posted by Erin on Dec 12, 2007 |
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Organize your life on your wall
Martha Stewart’s Home and Decorating website is currently featuring a terrific Chalkboard Wall Calendar. The directions for how to recreate the wall calendar are available in print and video, and look to be manageable as a weekend project.
If you have a family always on the go, or have a wall without decoration in your home office, this might be a great technique for you to try!
Posted by Erin on Dec 11, 2007 |
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Get rid of catalog clutter
Catalog Choice is a free service that you use to help curb the amount of catalogs that you receive in the mail. The process doesn’t take very long and can be completed in three easy steps. From Catalog Choice:
Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation, the Merck Family Fund, and the Kendeda Fund.
If you are tired of all the unwanted catalogs that you are receiving, you may want to give Catalog Choice a try.
Additionally, check out our previous posts on ways to cut down on junk mail in general: Undo the junk mail damage and Cut down junk mail.
(via CNET)
Posted by Matt on Dec 11, 2007 |
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Holiday gifts: Out with the old in with the new
You will undoubtedly receive some gifts this holiday season that you really don’t want, but for the gifts that you do want make sure you get rid of the old items in your home that they replace. If you receive a new pair of jeans, get rid of an old pair. A new coffee maker? Get rid of the old one that hasn’t made a good pot of coffee since the ’90s.
Try and make the holiday season a zero sum gain in the accumulation of stuff. It is also a good idea to remove old toys from your child’s collection when the inevitable influx of new toys that come into the house.
This advice won’t apply to all gifts, such as one of a kind gifts and consumables. However, for clothing and toys, it is an easy way to get rid of old items that have been replaced.
Posted by Matt on Dec 10, 2007 |
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Stop spending your weekends cleaning your home
The first time I appeared in print on the topic of uncluttering was years ago in an article for Parenting. In it, I offered up the following advice:
One day, one room: Dedicate half an hour to cleaning one room every day instead of cleaning the whole house on the weekend.
My husband and I still subscribe to this policy. In addition to picking up after ourselves throughout the day, we set aside 15 to 30 minutes for more intensive cleaning tasks like vacuuming, scrubbing toilets, and sweeping and mopping floors. Mondays we deep clean the dining room and kitchen, Tuesdays are foyer and living room, Wednesdays are bathrooms, Thursdays are bedroom, and Fridays are our shared office. We have created playlists that are 15 to 30 minutes long on our iPods with collections of fun songs to listen to while we clean. So, when the music stops, our cleaning tasks are usually coming to a close.
Check out the 2005 Parenting article for other tips on organized cleaning. Additionally, feel welcome to add some of your own in the comments section.
Posted by Erin on Dec 10, 2007 |
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Walking around with a pocket full of clutter
Taking a long walk is an activity I enjoy. I like clearing my mind and absorbing in the sights of the city where I live. I tend to walk for miles on my journeys. The end result is a satisfying experience. The one thing that used to plague my mind during these walks was the amount of clutter that used to lay claim to my pockets. In my case, and possibly in yours, clutter was in the form of an oversized wallet, too much spare change, an over stuffed key ring, and some “just in case” items.
Pocket clutter is very similar to clutter that may be around your home. You hold on to things that you may need “just in case.” I’m not sure what that “just in case” may be, but it seems to be the root of a lot of people’s clutter problems. Many of us feel the need to hold onto an item because: A. “We may need it in the future, so we should hold on to it just in case.”or B. “We paid good money for it.” Either one of these justifications are very common and they are a hindrance to becoming uncluttered.
Try and trim your walking around clutter to clear your mind and you’ll enjoy your out and about time. Hopefully, the links above can help you trim the clutter that you may be carrying around in your pockets.
Posted by Matt on Dec 8, 2007 |
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Reader suggestion: Reduce holiday clutter and rent your Christmas tree
Reader Sillahee, in the comments to Uncluttered Holiday Decorations, tipped us off to an amazing holiday rent-a-tree program in Portland, Oregon, that we wanted to bring to everyone’s attention. From MSNBC:
“The trees are taken out of the ground, roots and all, put into pots, and delivered to families in the Portland area. Soon after New Year’s, Fogel [founder of The Original Living Christmas Tree Company] and his crew pick up the trees and deliver them to parks, school districts and other groups who pay around $10 to have the trees planted on their property.”
This is such a terrific idea! I was disheartened to read in the article about the program that this is the only known rent-a-tree company in the United States. If you’re an entrepreneur living outside of Portland, this is a definite niche that you could fill. No clutter. No mess. Good for the environment.
Thank you, Sillahee, for sharing the link!
Posted by Erin on Dec 7, 2007 |
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Workspace of the Week: Clutter-free cables
This week’s Workspace of the Week is Marchandc’s cable controlled workspace:
I like this space because of Marchandc’s attention to details: the homemade desk, the beautifully controlled cables, and the efficiency of the printer stand. The space is personalized, functional, and orderly. I feel more productive just looking at the photos!
Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.
Posted by Erin on Dec 7, 2007 |
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Space-saving tables at CB2
While on a recent trip to Chicago, I visited the Lincoln Ave. location of CB2, Crate and Barrel’s spin-off modern furniture store. I’d been receiving the CB2 catalog in the mail for the past year or so, but this was the first time I had made it into a store. Honestly, it looked similar to a Crate and Barrel, but without the vast kitchen gadgets’ section.
The store definitely caters to urban dwellers. As a result, I was glad to see many space-saving and uncluttered solutions. My favorite item was the Speakeasy High Dining Table (pictured). Here is its product description from the website:
All-in-one, two-party dining table/cocktail bar/storage cabinet has amazing legroom and legions of stash space. Two flush, swing-out doors per side are outfitted with interior box shelves to hide bar stuff, coasters, gadgets. Two open fixed shelves, either side again, take on wine, spirits, drinkware, cookbooks, even our tins of flatware. Clean, no-hardware aesthetic.
Another of my favorites was the Envelope Dining Table. “Two leaves hide inside and glide effortlessly on a ball bearing mechanism to extend hospitality: seat 6 without leaves, 8 with one leaf, a party of 10 with two.”
I’m not the biggest Crate and Barrel fan on the planet, but I definitely saw uncluttered inspiration in some of these new CB2 pieces. If you’re in the market for space-saving and efficient dining pieces, you may want to give CB2 a look.
Posted by Erin on Dec 6, 2007 |
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Gordon Brown auctions off Blair’s gift clutter
Over his 10 years in office, former Prime Minister Tony Blair received quite a few gifts from his travels abroad. Due to ministerial rules, he was not allowed to take any gifts that he did not pay for himself. The result is a ton of clutter left behind for Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Brown has decided to auction it off for charity.
From the article:
Also due to be auctioned are dozens of tokens of respect from foreign leaders, including a £4,000 Segway electric scooter presented by the King of Jordan, a nativity scene presented by Yasser Arafat, and £195 bottles of Château Mouton Rothschild from President Chirac of France.
Let this be a lesson to us all. If you have a bunch of gifts from world leaders taking up space in your place, you may want to auction them off to charity as well.
Posted by Matt on Dec 6, 2007 |
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Unitasker Wednesday: Electric egg cooker
Did you ever boil some eggs in a pot and think to yourself, “There just has to be an easier way!?!” Well, the Electric Egg Cooker may not be much easier, but it sure is much more futuristic looking. The Electric Egg Cooker just may vault you into the future of egg preparation and make you the envy of all your egg-loving friends. From Williams-Sonoma:
The space-age look of this domed appliance belies its function of producing the simplest of foods perfectly—seven hard or soft-cooked eggs or four poached ones. Just place the eggs inside, add the required amount of water and set the switch. A buzzer alerts you when the eggs are done. The base is made of stainless steel.
The egg cooker measures in at 6 1/2″ x 6 1?4″ x 6 1/2″ high. In the size and scope of other Unitaskers, this thing isn’t a behemoth, but it sure isn’t small. So, if you are incapable of using a pot and boiling water on the stove top, this device that boils water on your counter could be for you!
**Unitasker Wednesday posts humorously poke fun at the single-use items that manage to find their way into our homes.
Posted by Matt on Dec 5, 2007 |
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