Comments on: The other pile

By: Weekly Round-Up: Getting into the New Routine — Almost Frugal- a frugal blog

Weekly Round-Up: Getting into the New Routine — Almost Frugal- a frugal blog — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:19:15 +0000

[...] The other pile @ Unclutterer [...]

By: Daryl Tay

Daryl Tay — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:59:20 +0000

I think the idea of adding a due date is great. I’ve been trying that out and I realise it really encourages me to GET IT DONE for that day before I go to bed. When I don’t set a date, it just piles up like there’s no tomorrow!!

By: Sky

Sky — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:22:11 +0000

I also have a “HOLD” category for things I probably want to get rid of, but hang onto for a few weeks so I don’t have regrets. Or sometimes, I will think of a way to re-purpose an item.

Also, I keep a Goodwill box in a closet so I can drop stuff in it whenever and not just when I’m doing a big decluttering.

By: Bakelite Doorbell

Bakelite Doorbell — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:39:49 +0000

I used Keep, Donate, and Other piles when I sorted my old audio tapes recently. That worked out fairly well, and I discovered that the Others were mostly junk.

When I went through my books, I found it helpful to first divide them up into subjects. That way I could look at a small stack of books related to an idea or project, and choose the 2-5 best ones to keep. When I put the keepers back together the volume of the whole library was cut way down. I do still have an Other book pile that I’m planning to ignore for a couple of weeks, so I can get used to the idea of it not being a part of my collection.

By: Dawn F.

Dawn F. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:19:20 +0000

Our coat closet by the front door is my “To Go” closet – it has things to take to my mom’s house, gift(s) to take a party, items to return (which is rare), library books to return, drop-offs for Goodwill and a couple of items waiting to be sold on Craigslist.

Keeping our “To Go” closet as empty as possible is a priority to me. Before I leave the house, I take a quick peek in the closet and see if I can grab anything to take with me during my errand-running. For me, this system works perfectly!

P.S. Our family coats are in our clothes closets in our bedrooms and there is still plenty of room in the “To Go” closet for guests coats along with a coat rack in the hallway.

By: Christy Z.

Christy Z. — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:47:10 +0000

When I’m purging, I can’t stand sorting and then re-sorting the “other” pile again. So I subdivide other, so I don’t have to do the second sort.

I use bins with post-its: keep/recycle/thrift store/trash/auction etc.

By: Ally from Zwaggle

Ally from Zwaggle — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:01:24 +0000

Excellent tips! Another option is to take some of those items from your “other” pile and post them on Zwaggle.com. We’re an online marketplace for parents to post their used kids’ gear, for FREE. We use a points based system, not dollars, so all items are free. We even have an option for you to post your items and donate the points to a local charity. So, if you have some toys that your kids don’t play with, or some clothes that they grew out of, please visit http://www.Zwaggle.com for more information!

By: Brandon Green

Brandon Green — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:39:39 +0000

I’ve been eliminating a lot of paper by photographing receipts as soon as I get them on my iPhone. Once I verify that my credit card number isn’t on it, I just throw it away.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:31:47 +0000

I would also add “to look up recent sales for similar items on EBay”. This is valuable step to determine if the item is worth your time and effort to sell it or just to donate it. I have often thought my stuff was really worth some good dough but reality hit when I looked up recent sales. Wow , usually not worth my time and a real breath of fresh air just to have it gone from my space.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:31:00 +0000

I’m reading “Getting Things Done” and this idea definitely echoes David Allen’s theories on creating “actionable” items. My specific decluttering problem is that creating a good eBay listing is time consuming! It definitely takes longer than your typical two-minute action-processing time. I think I just need to take a Saturday and do a marathon eBay listing blitz.

By: Egirl

Egirl — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:07:28 +0000

Instead of using paper to make a separate list of “other” actions, I use medium or large post-its and attach the action to the item. This also helps me reduce paper clutter by not having a separate list(which I would misplace or have to deal with otherwise).

By: Lori Paximadis

Lori Paximadis — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:28:27 +0000

For me, it’s easier if I create several more detailed piles (or boxes) when I’m sorting. That way I don’t have to sort most of the stuff twice. So my piles typically look like this: file, take upstairs, Goodwill, give to sister, return to Mom, take to recycling, deal with (invitations, order forms, correspondence, etc.), and so on. And I also tend to break down that “file” pile, too, if I have things that can be grouped.

Anything that has to leave the house and be driven somewhere (donations, cardboard and paper recycling, things to return to Mom) goes into the car for my next errand run. Adding those errands to my to-do list helps me remember all that stuff is in the trunk. I try to deal with the “deal with” stuff right then, but anything I can’t, I add to my list.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:21:40 +0000

I’m unsure as to the reason for three piles. Starting with two, “Stay” and “Go,” and then subdividing “Go” into the aforementioned categories such as “Recycle,” “Trash,” “Return,” etc. would close that pesky loophole provided by “Other.” To my thinking, “Other” is where a clutterbug might put something s/he knows should be gotten rid of but is reluctant to part with. Sitting in the “Other” pile gives the illusion that it’s going to be dealt with, but for too many people, I fear it would translate to “I’ll decide what to do with this later.” Just my 2 cents.

By: Magchunk

Magchunk — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:16:56 +0000

This is so smart! I’d sggest getting all the necessary things together while uncluttering. For instance, if I was planning on freecycling a coffemaker, I’d want to find the manual, which would be with all my houseware manuals. You’d also want a camera and cord (if necessary) to list things on ebay (and gather up shipping materials if that’s the route you want to go. Then as you decide “this could be worth something to someone on ebay”, you just photograph it, post it, and package it immediately (label it!)

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:54:30 +0000

I hugely, hugely echo writing down the “other” tasks. As Indy’s father said, “I wrote it down so I wouldn’t have to remember!” I realized that there was as much mental clutter from trying to remember what to do with all my “things” as there were actual things themselves.

My wife and I had adopted a “projects sheet” process, but for the purpose of purging clutter, I think your direct sort described here might be better. I’m going to try to incorporate that into the projects sheet and see if it helps clear things up and make things easier.

Even for “recurring household task” cleaning, let alone “decluttering” cleaning, there is a tremendous release of occupied mindspace gained by making checklists. Doing it on a computer means you can print a fresh one any time, and modify it week-by-week with no trouble (though after the first few weeks, we had worked out the kinks in the recurring tasks and haven’t had to make further changes yet.)