I came here via Lifehacker and am reading through the archives because they give me hope….

I’d love to read more on organising ditital possesions – and digital alternatives for curent analogue clutter – and about finding the time for decluttering – how to do it fast and effectively! Also on managing clutter when you live with friends in a rental – ways to approach shared houses and clutter management. Methods of managing pet clutter and cleanliness too, perhaps. Pet stuff storage!

My personal philosophy on simple living is that if an object is causing you some kind of excessive cognitive load – as visual clutter or requiring a lot of time to manage – with little emotional benefit, then you should get rid of it (preferably by recycling or gifting). I think happiness is to get up in the morning, walk around the house, and see only the things that are important to you that day. It brings me clarity of mind – when it happens.

I’m 24, I live in a rental property, I have been living out of home for two years. I live with my two best friends and our three cats. Soon my boyfriend of three years will be moving in with us, along with his dog. One of my best friends also has a four year old daughter from a previous relationship, who visits us once a fortnight. There’s a lot of traffic, people and agendas in our house!

We live on a tight budget. In Australia, the property market has become crazy over the last twenty years, and rentals are difficult to find and rates rise constantly. Ours just went up recently by an additional sixty dollars a week. We’d love to buy a house but the mortgage is too much right now, and it is difficult to save even with all of us working full time. Two of us also study part time on top of this!

We are all very tech savvy (myself and one of my housemates particularly so, as it is our chosen career area) and computers and technology is where we spend most of our luxury money, along with books.

It is important to me to live simply, do the things that make me feel passionate, not to get hung up on material possessions and tread lightly. I want myself and my close friends to feel at peace without needing to fill our lives with things.

In my free time I design websites, program, belly dance, read up on cognitive science and swim. I’m also learning Japanese and hope to start learning to scuba dive. Your website has helped a lot and reading decluttering advice every day keeps me focused on my simplification goals! Thankyou!

I am also a Midwesterner with a practical (most of the time) outlook. Alas, I have a penchant for keeping cluttered with paper–newspaper, notes, books, receipts, etc. I am really good about managing clutter in some aspects of my life: my clothes closet and my kitchen cabinets, for example, but my office gives me fits! I find that when I file things away, I tend to that “close the file” in my brain. My home is over 50 years old, so I have little storage space. One of my challenges in life is that as a freelance writer and PR person, I have different clients in very different industries. On any given day, I can be promoting tourism or explaining health issues, writing for the web or producing a company newsletter. So, my brain can be cluttered too!

I love 007, vintage and a great dirty martini. I think kilts are sexy. I have a passion for great coffee. Red wine and chocolate are excellent together! I love to travel, read and garden. I costumed a Zombie movie last summer.

I don’t understand emo or the fascination with video games. I’m not a morning person. I detest peas. I do not have a yarn/fabric stash.

I would love to read anything about organizing. I really would love to find something out there to store my DVD collection digitally and get rid of the boxes. My hubby and I love movies and could never conceive of giving them up. We do utilize Netflix.

I just started the simple living journey. My hubby and I are systematically going through our 900 square foot condo and decluttering. We are planning to move to a bigger house next year. This is not to “trade up” or “keep up with the Joneses”. Our family situation simply requires one more bedroom.

I think repurposing items is one of the best ways to recycle as long as you have a use for the item.

Believe it or not i hate to shop so I generally stick w/ a few stores/lines. Currently my fave is Lucky, but i also like Om Girl and Michael Stars and to a certain extent, Hard Tail. These latter 3 are California lifestyle brands and 2 have flagship stores near where I live.

For the young teacher who has the psychotically busy schedule, get a housekeeper, even if only for 1/2 day a week. You’ll never look back.

BTW, two of the women I hike with every week are professional organizers and another one is a ‘puter tutor so I get lots of tips and plenty of conversation about organizing issues.

I work at home-I’m a tenured college professor and teach all my classes online now–and a landlord with a couple of buildings that i manage myself so a home office is a necessity even though I also have an office at the college that I rarely use. My greatest clutter problem is paper!!! Because i like to keep my life simple, I drive a Prius that is economical and needs no repairs just maintenence in the 6 years I’ve owned it. I’m not tech averse, but I’m not into scanning all my paper and storing it on my computer, tho I’m considering getting a device that a friend who manages a major rock star recommends to scan business cards that come my way. i do confess that Ihave a lot of clothes. I’m a fitness fanatic–5 yoga classes, 6 spin classes 2 sessions w/ my trainer in the gym and 2 hours a week hiking with my girlfriends so I need lots of work out clothes. My bedroom is like a big closet because i store my clothes on shelves along the walls. I don’t use paper checks/bills anymore–pay all bills out of online checking and insist that i be billed electronically. I have a bunch of photos that I need to digitalize someday and some remnants of my cd colllection that i need to get on my i-pod soon. I got rid of my record collection, sadly, when I moved. I ask people not to give me gifts. Often this edict is ignored, so I will keep whatever it is for a time and then take it to the thrift store. I don’t do garage sales or sell online–too much hassle, my time is too valuable and I don’t need the cash, but I make regular trips to the Salvation Army and the local library with donations of books totchkes and clothing etc. I don’t carry a purse, so the Prius can get a little cluttered, but i try to do a purge every time I to to the carwash. I’ve bought a few things Unclutterer recommends, but I prefer the organizational tips. I don’t cook very much, so I got rid of all my pots and pans and got the nesting set that was recommended last year. My recycling container is always full on trash day–on the other hand I use about 1/8 of my trash container. My tenants in the downstairs apt, a gay couple, eat only vegetarian raw food so they generate very little trash too. I’m a vegetarian and shop only at local farmers markets so that eliminates a lot of packaging trash. i could go on but I must meet my trainer now.

I’ve seen a number of products (specifically mostly related to computer/gadget clutter) that I’ve either bought or put on a shopping list based on your recommendations. (Lifehacker is really good for software recommendations for uncluttering your computer, although they promote lots of clutter there in their own way.)

One thing I haven’t seen you discuss is clutter and disability. I don’t work because I have arthritis and we have the luxury financially of letting me not work. Decluttering mentally and physically helps me stay focused on important things at times when I’m stressed and really ill. While a lot of general decluttering advice helps, I’d be interested in discussions on decluttering that relate to chronic health issues. For instance, dealing with pill clutter is a big issue in my house, and one that I’d love to see recommendations for.

My basement still needs serious help! As does my garage. We’re planning to have a yard sale and then donate what’s left to charity this spring. (I’ve finally convinced my hubby to do this! I’m tired of storing boxes of stuff we don’t use) So any yard sale tips would be greatly appreciated!

I love when you present alternate ideas for storage, looking at things you have in a new way. I’m trying to get rid of clutter, I really don’t want to go out and buy more stuff to bring into my house unless I REALLY need it.

But here I am, years later, living in stark contrast. My husband and I have lots of space and very little clutter. Aside from some kid’s toys, our only set back is the attic. It’s free of our nonsense, but family, noting how “empty” it is.. how much space we have, insists that we house their things. Really, really annoying.

That said, we’re really glad to have found Unclutter. It’s a great resource for living and storing more efficiently. Awesome ideas, friendly support and a touch of humor. I dig.

Have you ever taken any of the advice and used it?
I really can’t recall anything NEW I’ve started doing because of unclutterer… sorry.

What is your personal philosophy on simple living?
My husband is in the Navy so we’re going to be moving a LOT… so frequently decluttering will help us out so much on those moves. I feel like anything you love and use or enjoy the sight of is OK to keep but once it “disappears” and you no longer “see” it… you need to pass it on to someone who will respect and use it.

Are you just starting out in a place of your own or are you on the verge of downsizing into an active retirement community?
Just starting out. We got married in July. We’ve moved twice, and are about to move again. (And each time we were totally unpacked -NO boxes- within a week).

What do you do in your free time and how can I help you to have less stress?
I am a writer for two blogs other than my own, and I’m starting a new business. I would love some suggestions about managing an agenda that includes “nontraditional” things (i.e., not taking the kids to school and grocery shopping, then coming home and immediately sorting your mail.)

I read Unclutterer for it good suggestions, funny articles on things you can only do one thing with, and for inspiration with my life and future business.