Archives for September 2010

We’ve got the technology

Having the right tools to do a job can increase productivity and greatly improve your overall experience working on a project. Our friends at The Chopping Block graphic design firm recently made a fun film illustrating how difficult it would be to do their jobs without Photoshop. Introducing “The World Without Photoshop“:

What takes eight hours in this short film, takes just seconds with the modern software. Are you wasting time, energy, or money not using the right tools for a job? Is there broken equipment on your desk that needs to be fixed? Evaluate your situation and acquire the right tools for the task.

Posted by Erin on Sep 4, 2010 | 7 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Overflowing lotion bottles

Reader Sage submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I have tons of lotion bottles — and they are all near full, and perfectly good to use, but I only use about 4 or 5 of the scents. What do I do with the rest? I don’t want to throw them away because that would be really wasteful of the lotion.

In my high school biology class, we bred mice to track which genetic traits of an original pair of two mice were transferred on to the more than 100, fourth generation, great-great-grandmice. Before the project started, my lab partners were convinced we could name all of the offspring after rock stars who died from drug overdoses in the 1960s and 1970s. (One of us had recently discovered her dad’s Sex Pistols’ album.) Since I was in high school before the days of Google and Wikipedia, we ran out of names during the second litter of mice and had to start using names of rock stars we were surprised hadn’t overdosed. We had no idea how quickly mice bred and how fertile they were, in addition to our lack of real knowledge about the music industry. We were also overwhelmed with cleaning, feeding, tracking pregnancies, and separating the mice into independent cages.

I think of this lab experiment gone awry whenever I go through my lotions, shampoos, and conditioners. These liquids appear to breed like Sid and Nancy, our first generation pair of mice. Without much time and effort, they overwhelm drawers and shelves.

To keep your lotions, shampoos, and conditioners from cluttering up your space, try these tips that have significantly helped me:

  • Start by checking all of the bottles’ expiration dates and putting the liquids through a smell test. Dispose of any lotions that are past their use-by dates and throw out any lotions that smell rancid or funky. After pouring the expired lotion in the trash, you should be able to recycle most of the plastic bottles.
  • Identify the exact location for where you will store your lotions in the future and create a perimeter that defines the area. This will be your dedicated lotion space, and you need to commit to not storing more lotion than can fit in this footprint. When this space is stuffed, you’ll know it’s time to unclutter again.
  • To get rid of the lotions that are good but you no longer want, trade with friends and extended family members for scents you like or simply give them as gifts.
  • Another option is to donate the good lotions to a charity, like a women’s shelter or homeless shelter. Call the charity before you drop off your donation, and only donate products that you would use if you liked the scent.
  • You can also put them in a guest bathroom in a basket with a sign “For Our Guests: Help yourself!” on it.
  • You can commit to using them up, regardless of your love for them. Most lotions lose their scents an hour or two after skin contact, anyway.
  • Even though it’s not always the most sane financial decision, you should commit to buying only the small size bottles of lotion in the future. Anything over 4 oz. will likely go unused.
  • Finally, resist the urge to take home bottles of lotion from hotels in an effort to keep your lotion stash under control. Or, do the exact opposite, and stop buying lotion and only keep the free samples you like from hotels. (And, yes, hotels are okay with you taking these samples. I’ve asked numerous folks in the hotel industry and they view these products as advertising.)

Thank you, Sage, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope I was able to help you with your lotion dilemma. Be sure to check the comments for even more ideas on how to keep lotion, shampoo, and conditioner from becoming clutter in your bathroom.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Sep 3, 2010 | 41 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: A simple, small study

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Barb McMahon’s itty bitty netbook office:

This home office is so superbly simple that there isn’t much to say about it. The do-it-yourself desk/storage box works wonderfully with the re-purposed bathroom mirror hanging above it. The office chair is one of the dining table chairs, and the bookshelf on the left is conveniently out of the way. Brilliantly minimalist and uncluttered.

Thank you, Barb, for submitting your workspace to our Flickr pool.

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 Sep 3, 2010 | 11 Comments | Tweet This

Advice from Sebastian Junger on achieving a remarkable life

The September issue of Outside magazine has an inspiring interview with author-documentarian-bar-owner Sebastian Junger that speaks directly to an uncluttered pursuit of a remarkable life. Junger, most famous for The Perfect Storm, was once an extreme minimalist who slept on the floor until he was 40, and he continues to live quite simply in New York City with his wife.

A few highlights from Junger’s interview “The Path of Most Resistance,” which will be online when the October issue hits newsstands:

The things in life that aren’t exciting, if they’re a hassle, I just don’t do ‘em. Like, I could go out and buy a shaving mirror, or I could use the back of a CD.

Everything I do, I just assume I’m going to fail. It all seems impossible. But I’m very scared of failure — you know, everyone is — and that sense of impossibility gets me to crank up the turbines. Everything mentally and physically at my disposal I pour into a project.

The people I know personally who cannot sit down and chill out for a while are people who have not really come to terms with their emotional, inner story. They’re staying a step ahead of it. I did that through my twenties and thirties. In my forties, I stopped working so hard for a bit and confronted a certain amount of stuff about myself. I think that one of the impetuses for working outrageously hard and traveling constantly and always being on deadline is that your personality can’t catch up with you.

Also in the magazine, tangentially related to Junger’s interview, is advice from Eric Greitens about how he manages to get everything done. Greitens is a former Navy SEAL commander, Rhodes scholar, has a Ph.D., and a laundry list of additional accomplishments and activities. Speaking about how he does it all, from page 24:

It’s all about energy. Whether you’re leading a nonprofit organization, running a private company, doing something outdoors, or conducting military operations — you have to build habits that keep your energy high. This is my formula: (1) Vigorous exercise: Six days a week, I walk out of a gym, a dojo, or off a track pouring with sweat … (2) Good fuel: When I eat clean, quality food during the day, my energy never sags. (3) Good partners: Working with a team of positive people keeps your spirits up. (4) Balance: I pray every day, and I also laugh, a lot. You won’t have focus without balance. (5) A goal: A worthy challenge will take care of your motivation for you.

Posted by Erin on Sep 2, 2010 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

A very stylish document scanner

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Fujitsu company has released a ScanSnap unit with a traditional lacquered finish, but — and this is the painful part — it appears to only be available in Japan:

The S-1300 and S-1500 units can fold up to look like a decorative box on your desk, which is as clever as it is beautiful. Fujitsu announced the commemorative document scanners by way of a manga advertisement, and you can see both pages of the advertisement online: Pages 1 and 2.

In addition to the stylish new exterior, it looks like the 50th anniversary ScanSnap models might also come with two tea cups and a sushi mat (although, I don’t think the raven is included):

Now, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping the Fujitsu company considers releasing decorative models in more markets. To learn more about getting your paper clutter under control with the help of a ScanSnap, check out our article “Scanning documents to reduce paper clutter.”

Happy anniversary, Fujitsu! And, thanks go to reader Jen for letting us know about this item.

Posted by Erin on Sep 2, 2010 | 13 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: Breading Pans

All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

Williams-Sonoma has so many wonderful unitaskers that it almost feels like I’m being lazy when I use one of them in the weekly feature. This week’s unitasker is so specific, though, I just had to bring it to your attention. Introducing the Stainless Steel Breading Pan, Set of 3:

I know you could use these pans for other things (and if you own them, I really hope you do), but as advertised they are strictly for your breading pan needs. You know, for ALL those times you bread things at home. You super breader, you. You’re a breading monster! Bread, bread, bread!

I imagine, however, if you are a regular breader, you already have a system set up for breading things. I bet you use plates and bowls you already own — things you didn’t have to rush out to buy, and things that are wholly effective at breading all those things you bread.

If you are a master breader, and these things speak to you, can you please invite me over for dinner? Because right now, my mouth is watering thinking about fried chicken. I don’t even like chicken, and these Stainless Steel Breading Pans are making me crave it. Crispy, spicy, fried chicken … Mmmmmmmm … Darn you, unitasker!!

Posted by Erin on Sep 1, 2010 | 44 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2009

  • Deadheading for the future
    The more you clear out and eliminate what’s “dead” in your life, the more space you create for opportunity, love, and success in the future.
  • Lazy productivity
    If I need to do something I’m not super excited about doing, I want it to take the least amount of time possible and I want it to cause me little or no stress.
  • Letting go of sentimental clutter
    Eight tips from The Arizona Republic newspaper to help you decide what of your emotional clutter needs to go and what isn’t clutter and should be displayed.
  • Setting goals when you don’t know what you want
    Not only does focusing on what matters most to you keep up your motivation, but it also helps you to decide priorities for your time, energy, money, and space. “How to Set Goals When You Have No Idea What You Want” is a great resource for getting you thinking about the day-to-day things that are important to you.

2007

Posted by PJ on Sep 1, 2010 | Comments Off | Tweet This