Hasta La Ideas

Do you get tons of charity solicitations — along with more mailing labels than you’ll ever use in your lifetime? Surprisingly, it is possible to be generous without having an overwhelmed mailbox filled with letters from charities asking for money.

Decide which charities you’re going to support

I know animal lovers who are flooded with solicitations from groups working to help dogs, cats, horses, and more. Some of the organizations are probably more effective than others. Doing some research and deciding which ones to support are worthwhile steps. Charity Navigator and GuideStar are two places you can look for information.

Create a list of the charities you’ve selected

Many organizations have similar names, so you’ll want to be sure you’re giving to the ones you intended to give to. It’s also good to list the names of those groups whose solicitations you’ve decided to decline — so if you get more mail from that group, you can quickly confirm it’s one you’ve already investigated. And, having a list of all charities sending you mail will come in handy as you go to remove yourself from their mailing lists.

Decide if you want to get mail from charities

You probably won’t want to get mail from charities you’ve decided not to support, but you may not want mail from those you are supporting, either.

Personally, I don’t want mail from any of them. I give to my charities at about the same time every year, and I do it online. I can read about all the good work they do online, too. But other people I know are more paper-focused, and do indeed want mail from the groups they are supporting.

If you do want mailings, how often would you prefer to receive them? It might be possible to get less mail without eliminating it entirely.

Begin the mail opt-out process

You can choose to:

1. Use the DMAchoice mail preference service. The Direct Marketing Association will inform national businesses and charities that you prefer to be removed from their mailing lists. However, as the DMA notes:

   You will continue to receive mail from those organizations with which you already do business. Please note that not all organizations use DMAchoice; therefore, you may continue to receive some mailings, including from local organizations and political organizations.

2. Sign up for a junk mail elimination service. Here’s what 41pounds.org says: “Our service stops most common junk mail such as credit card offers, coupon mailers, sweepstakes entries, magazine offers, and insurance promotions, as well as any catalogs and charities you specify.”

   Another service that says it can do the same is stopthejunkmail.com, and you could also consider Paper Karma, a free app. I haven’t used any of these myself, so I can’t personally vouch for their effectiveness.

3. Contact the charities directly. Charities often rent lists to use for their mailings (more on that in a minute) but if you’ve given to a group in the past, you’re probably on its own list, and can ask to be removed. You might also ask if it’s possible to get a limited number of mailings.

   Charities don’t usually include a phone number in the solicitations they send to you, but it’s often easy to find a phone number online. I just called two charities I’ve donated to in the past and asked to be removed from their lists; it was surprisingly easy.

   I did find myself explaining that while I loved the work these charities did, I just didn’t need the mail. In one case I spoke to the founder of the organization, and she was very understanding. She said she’s working to reduce her incoming mail, too!

Ask charities not to sell or rent your name.

Charities sometimes provide the names and addresses of their smaller donors to other related organizations; it’s another fundraising mechanism. If you don’t want to get mail from even more charities, ask for your donor information be kept private.

Some groups do this automatically. For example, one of my local public radio stations says on its online donation form: “KALW will never sell or loan your personal information to any other organization. We respect your right to privacy.”

Others provide an opt-out option. Another one of my local public radio stations, KQED, has this option on its online form: “Do not exchange my name with other non-profits.”

Charity Navigator provides information about each organization’s privacy policy. If a charity doesn’t have a policy that gives you a way to keep your information from being shared, you may want to re-evaluate if this is a group you want to support.

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Since the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in many homes (that’s certainly true for mine), it can get chaotic quickly. Still, keeping it organized can be a relatively easy thing to do. It’s likely to be the one room that has the most cabinets and drawers for storing often used items. As a result, it will be easier for you to designate specific cabinets for specific purposes (e.g. baking, cutting boards, spices). That’s not to say that your kitchen will look pristine every day, but you can create a plan to maintain your space that will help you keep it looking neat and uncluttered on a regular basis. The following five steps will help you to get started.

Put things away immediately

You’ve probably heard that you should put things away instead of putting them down. This rule of thumb works well in the kitchen, particularly when you cook often. Putting your kitchen gadgets back where they belong straight away means that you’ll find them easily and quickly the next time you need to use them. Be sure that you designate a drawer (or section of the kitchen) for those items that you tend to reach for frequently. Even if the items are not similar to each other (they don’t all perform similar functions), but you use them in sequence with each other, keeping them together means that you won’t have to search or dig through drawers looking for them.

Organize and clean as you go

There’s no need to wait for a special day to clean and organize your kitchen (though it is helpful to have a day of the week to specifically focus on the kitchen). Use a small block of time or even walk-by moments to remove things that don’t belong or to put away items that didn’t make it back to their storage spot. And, if you have broken items or things that no longer function as intended, remove them immediately. (Are you really going to repair it and will it still work the way you need it to after it’s fixed?)

Keep your utility drawer organized

Your utility drawer can be a functional space that houses things you need (though not necessarily every day) without becoming a junk drawer. And, while it can be tempting to put things in the drawer that you don’t know what to do with, doing that consistently will fill the drawer with potentially useless items. Carve out some time to sort through papers and non-kitchen items instead of filling up your utility drawer with clutter.

Use easy-to-store gadgets

Storing your stuff shouldn’t be like trying to complete a puzzle. Make it easy to do by purchasing collapsible gadgets and tools, like colanders and graters. You’ll get the same function from those items and not have to worry so much about how or where to store them.

The website Quirky.com has created a set of compact collapsible tools that fold and store flat. They’re still in the production phase but you can find similar products at your local housewares store or online.

Image credits: Quirky

Keep your most used appliances accessible

If there’s a small appliance that you’re not using on the counter, consider moving it to a lower cabinet and put those that you use all the times in an accessible location. You might also want to keep those appliances close to the area that you’ll use them. For instance, it would be helpful to keep your stand mixer near the cabinet with your baking supplies.

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“Is there such a thing as a fake unclutterer?” This question was asked by an Unclutterer reader in response to a previous post, “Uncluttering is a lot like running.” What exactly does it mean to be a fake unclutterer? One person replied:

… yes there are fake unclutterers, my mother-in-law is one. She has convinced everyone she is uncluttering but has instead just moved the clutter to her bedroom …

Someone else commented:

My mom was the perfect example of a fake unclutterer. She had every closet crammed with stuff, all categorized and neatly organized in plastic boxes. It didn’t look bad until you pulled it all out and realized just how much junk she saved. Yes, junk–hundreds of neat little bundles of twist ties for one example. All useful junk in reasonable quantities, but several lifetime supplies of pens, pencils, sewing needles, thread, chopsticks, notepads, letter openers, grocery bags, paper coasters, tape, hotel soaps and shampoos, ad infinitum.

Family dynamics aside, I suspect many people have their own notion of what it means to be an effective unclutterer as well as what the opposite looks like. The underlying impression of the latter is that you’re not really ridding yourself of clutter. Even if you move your stuff to a different location, hide it, or make everything look neater (though a reasonable first step), it is still clutter. If the items are useful but not used by you, that’s clutter, too.

The following are three steps you can take to begin the process of letting go of things you don’t use:

Figure out why you’re keeping items

It can be a tricky endeavor to figure out where to store everything you own and that’s probably why some things still linger throughout your home. You might feel sentimental about a few items or you might keep something even though you don’t want it because it was received as a gift. Maybe you think you might use it someday. In addition, when you don’t use something often (or at all), it may not be clear where it should be kept. There’s no framework for how to store and access it. So, if you find yourself surrounded by (or are hiding) items that you’re not using, look at the reasons why letting go is difficult. Your reasons for holding onto things can help set the stage for creating a successful plan for letting go of real clutter.

Create a plan and take action

Before sorting through your stuff, create a plan with steps that you can follow through on easily. For instance, your plan might include working in microbursts to avoid getting overwhelmed. You may also want to work during times when you are most alert and focused (so, if you’re not a morning person, you likely won’t be productive during early morning hours). Each of these strategies can work very well when they are incorporated in a regular routine. On the other hand, you’re not likely to see consistent results if you don’t commit to taking action on each item. If you begin to feel stressed or overwhelmed, resist the temptation to shuffle things from spot to spot or to put them in closet.

Think about the purpose of each item

What’s the likelihood that you’ll use the item and how often will you use it? Is that item essential to getting things done? Can someone else benefit from having it? Is it still in good working order? The questions you ask yourself will vary depending on the things you need to act on, so consider the purpose of each one so that you can let them go. If you still have trouble deciding, you might want to work with a friend who is a good accountability partner (or professional organizer) who can help you through the decision-making process.

Letting go of things that are not useful to you or that you don’t want doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Set aside some time each day (or as your schedule allows) to sort through and decide what to do with these items so that you can free up your space for things that you do use.

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You see, I believe that should is one of the most damaging words in our language. Every time we use should, we are, in effect, saying “wrong.” Either we are wrong or we were wrong or we are going to be wrong. I don’t think we need more wrong in our life. — Louise Hay, quoted by Jim Hughes

When we go to make organizing decisions, we often know, deep down, what’s right for us. But then sometimes we listen to the “shoulds” — from other people or from ourselves — and veer away from those right-for-us decisions.

I need to keep these books because I should read them

Unless you’re in school, you can probably let go of this “should.” If you have absolutely no interest in reading some of the classics, you can give the books away; you really don’t have to read them. You only have so much reading time available in your life, so why not use that time to read the things you truly want to read?

I should convert from my paper planner, address book, or to-do list to a digital system

Digital tools certainly have their advantages — but if paper works for you, there’s really no need to change. You may want to look at how you could back up these physical copies just in case they get lost or damaged, but there’s no reason you need to switch from what’s working well.

I should keep this sentimental thing

Well, perhaps you should keep it. Is it actually sentimental to you or is it the kind of thing most people find sentimental? I got rid of all but a few pages of my high school yearbook because I just didn’t care about it, even thought this act would horrify other people.

Alison Hodgson wrote about the collection of love letters from her husband that she held onto because, when she asked her siblings for their advice, two of the three said she should. Here’s what came next:

I tucked the letters back into their box, and there they remained, untouched, until the day they burned in a house fire. And I have never given them a second thought.

Looking back I can see I really wanted to get rid of them but didn’t think I ought to — that was the tension. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what I wanted to do, it was that what I wished to do conflicted with what I thought I should.

I should never check email in the morning; that’s what Julie Morgenstern says

That’s advice that works for many people, but not for everyone. If you give it a try and it’s interfering with your workflow or just doesn’t suit your personality, it’s fine to ignore this suggestion. The same goes for the advice from any organizing expert. What is most important is finding the productivity system that works best for you.

So take a minute to ponder: Are you holding onto something or making any other organizing decision just because it’s what you think you should do? If so, maybe it’s time to reconsider.

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Destination Station serves as a public informational resource about the International Space Station. It is a mobile museum exhibit that allows visitors to experience what it’s like to be in a space station.

Destination Station is NASA’s International Space Station Program national awareness campaign that promotes research opportunities, educates communities about activities performed on the International Space Station, and communicates the real and potential impacts of the station on our everyday lives.

Just as NASA’s Destination Station serves as a resource, a similar set up in your home can have a positive effect on your daily life as well. No, I’m not suggesting that you outfit your house with space artifacts and informational posters, but you can create a go-to space (see what I did there?) — also known as a command center — and it can prove to be very helpful.

Here are five benefits of creating one for yourself:

1. Stay in the know. In busy households, communication can sometimes seem like a child’s game of telephone. A destination station can be a place to stay in contact with family members and housemates even when you’re not all present. For example, you can post a calendar to keep track of joint appointments, parent-teacher meetings, vacation schedules, etc. You can also mount a chalkboard to leave important notes and messages.
2. Find things quickly and easily in one central location. Skip the scavenger hunt for bills that need to be paid or items that you need to mail or return to the store. Instead, keep those items in the command center so you can quickly put your hands on them when you need to, and use baskets and containers to collect specific items in an organized way. By having them in one central spot, you won’t have to search your entire home to find what you’re looking for when you need it.
3. Keep track of frequently used items. The command center can also be a place to keep things you use often. This can be a great spot for your keys, daily bag, mobile phone and charger, tablet, sunglasses, or any other items you need before heading out the door. You might even install a hook for your favorite jacket. Again, since the items are kept in one location, you’ll always find your things quickly and easily.
4. Stop clutter from creeping into various spaces. When the things in your home don’t have permanent storage places, they can often bounce about various rooms and create clutter. It can be tricky to know where to put things that won’t be staying in your house, and the destination station will give you a location to organize and store your stuff until it’s time for the items to leave.
5. Flexible to suit your needs. One of the helpful things about a command center is that there is no right or wrong way to create one. It can have elements that will help you (and everyone in your home) keep things in order. You might have a section for each person in your household, an area to collect shoes, wall files or binders for important papers, or hooks for keys. The beauty of it is you can create an area to address your specific circumstances.

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