ClutterBlog

One of the yuckiest parts about trying to get your home under control is the actual act of having to sit through and organize everything. This means taking time out from everything that you have going on to focus only on getting something accomplished. It’s very likely you will look around at piles of chaos and think “I’ll never get this finished, so why even start?” Please take heart. Here are the steps I use to break down a monstrous organization task.

1. Bite off a small piece. This means that instead of attacking your entire residence, or even one whole room, you take a small, manageable part of your life to organize. It might be your filing cabinet is a little messy, or maybe underneath your kitchen sink. Try to keep it simple, and the satisfaction of completing a small task will motivate you to continue on to the next one.
2. Maintain your projects. Not only do you need to organize your small section, but you need to keep it that way. If you decided to attack your filing cabinet, and you kept it simple by organizing only what was in it, next time you happen to see a document that should be in there, go ahead and stick it in.
3. Keep going back to it. If pruning the DVD rack or bookshelf for things you no longer want or need was the project, then keep returning to it. You may have a change of heart when you realize the last time you watched There’s Something About Mary was the day you brought it home. Things you weren’t willing to part with the first go around you may be stuffing in a “To sell” box two weeks later.
4. Set goals. Pick a room or maybe a theme that you want to get organized. It may be your media (CDs, DVDs, books, etc) or maybe a room, like your kitchen. Break down several small projects, and outline them - in order of preference or urgency - on a to-do list. [I prefer RememberTheMilk.com for my to-do lists, but several email applications also provide them - and there's always a regular sheet of paper!]
5. Pat yourself on the back. Job well done! Don’t forget to enjoy all the great progress you’ve made.

For book lovers out there, there’s a great site for trading books, and it’s called PaperBackSwap.com.

The idea is that you post any books that you are willing to send away to other readers across the nation on your “library shelf”. You get three free “credits” after you post your first 9. You can order any book that’s been posted on the system and it costs you one credit per book that you order from the system (2 per audiobook). The sender pays for the cost of postage out of their own pocket, and in turn, if someone requests a book from you, you are the one to pay for the postage. The cost is usually $2.13 (media mail). For an extra 18 cents, you can purchase Delivery Confirmation to ensure the delivery of your package. Once the book has arrived and the member has entered into the system that the book has been received, you receive another credit.

I have been using this service since March and I’ve found it to be absolutely wonderful. I’ve sent out several books without Delivery Confirmation and they’ve all reached their destinations without a problem. The selection is actually pretty good, although anything quite recent is generally unavailable, especially best sellers. Fortunately, there is a Wish List option - anything that is not currently posted you can add to a Wish List and when it becomes available, the system notifies you by email. Wish Lists work on a FIFO system - First In, First Out. Basically, when you add an item to your Wish List, you are put at the end of the line. Anyone that adds that book to their Wish List after you, is put after you on the line. As the book is posted, the first person in line gets it and so on through the list. It works the same for books that are posted onto the system. This keeps the trading system fair and running smoothly.

Along with the trading books portion of the site, there is also a lively community discussion forum and book reviews. This site is a sister site to SwapACD.com, and you can trade credits back and forth between them. SwapACD works in much the same way, but since it is newer the database is not as full as PaperBackSwap’s is.

To join, just click the link below! It will automatically fill me in as your referral - and enjoy your “new” books!

This is my new blog! There’s nothing here yet, but check back soon!