We teach people to think about organizing as more than just "cleaning up"... we want you to think about your house just like you'd think about weight loss: Prevention, Reduction, and Maintenance. With weight loss, you limit your caloric intake and make sure you're eating only healthful foods. With organizing, you want to bring fewer items into the house, and you want to bring in only high-quality items you really need.
People who live in urban, mostly pedestrian areas often have to abide by the rule that they can buy only what they can carry. (Of course, many stores have delivery services, and people do have those little rolling carts for shopping, but you understand what I am basically saying.) Every time I visit a city like this I am reminded about how judicious I become in the store when I know I have to carry it home!
So, that is a great question to ask yourself: "If I had to carry it home with my own two hands, would I still buy it?" You might also ask yourself, "If I had to pay cash for this, would I still buy it?" I was just in San Diego and walked to buy some snacks, and I realized I had only a $20 bill on me. I had to have the cashier take off one item from my receipt because it totaled over $20, and I did NOT miss that item at all. It was an interesting lesson!
My husband once called me to rescue him from Costco. He had driven a scooter there! He got in the store and got carried away with all of the cases of stuff you can buy, checked out, walked out to the parking lot, and then realized-- "DOH!" He did not have a way to bring it home. It was really funny.
We have a great little freebie that you can have when you get our complimentary weekly newsletter-- our Clutter Prevention Wallet Reminder Sleeves. They have on there the five questions you should ask before buying anything! You print them, cut them out, and fold them up. You use them to store your favorite credit or debit cards in your wallet, to be noticed right at the point you can prevent the clutter! Click here to go to our free tips page and get the wallet sleeves, along with our 12-page report, "30 Ways to Find Time to Get Organized." Both are free and so is the newsletter. You can also click here to watch a YouTube video about our wallet sleeves.
What do you do to help prevent clutter from entering your home? Share in the comments!
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It was started to save money, but turned into saving me from buying unneeded junk! My husband and I started a weekly allowance. We can use the checkcard for groceries and gas, but if for example, if I walk into a Target - I have to use my allowance!
Posted by: Andrea | August 30, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Your headline made me laugh. Reading why you wrote it made me ROFL! You crack me up. Oh and good point.
-- Allison
Posted by: allison carter | September 03, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Love the concept but if I had to live buy that my busy life would become only worse. I USED to live like that prior to having children. I lived in Japan and shopped for groceries every couple days becaue 1. we had to walk and carry it or on a bike ( no cars ) and 2. very very very limited storage space - unlike we are used to here. So yes, love the concept but with three children and a husband that is gone all the time I really on Costco and bulk shopping. Otherwise we would be going everyday and that is not fun with three small children and heat of ove 100 degress for months now --
Posted by: Shannon Bissanti | September 03, 2009 at 11:56 AM
I could just picture your husband walking out and seeing his scooter with his cart full it sounded like. How funy. Then it makes us thankful for cell phones. I avoid clutter by thinking before I buy, "where will I put this when I get home--do I have a place for it?" If I can't answer this question it stays at the store.
Posted by: Marilyn Bohn | September 03, 2009 at 04:37 PM
I've taught myself to resist the urge to buy by realizing that I was merely giving my stamp of approval by purchasing that doo-lah-ly (thing-a-ma-jig).
"Oh that's cute! I'll buy it."
"What a neat idea! I'll buy it."
Just because I approve of its existence doesn't mean that I should buy it. Most of the time, it actually looks better in the store than it does in my home. Since I can't do it justice, I leave it where it is obviously meant to be.
Posted by: Rae | September 10, 2009 at 10:21 AM