close cousins of frugality

**bluebird728** · 09-02-2007, 11:58 AM

I gotta say that I love this site. Mostly I lurk, and in my own quiet way I appreciate the warmth and support that is found here.

I am curious if others are also working on what I consider the close cousins of frugality - voluntary simplicity and organization. I doing a major rework of my life - dumping about 1/2 of my posessions, will be moving to a new city and a much smaller house next year, and working on gaining a more complete understanding of the financial world. I'm finding that as I have less stuff my life gets easier. The voluntary simplicity naturally leads to less spending and now I want what I own to be well organized.

**Tamerama** · 09-02-2007, 12:04 PM

One thing that i would like to do is scale back the amount of clothing this family has! Which will mean for us only buying things we love and not buying things because they are 95% off..lol..I can't tell you the amount of things I have purchased during my lifetime because they were cheap. CHeap does not mean useful!! Plus it just adds junk to your life and if its clothes it seems like their is MORE laundry too!

**baxjul** · 09-02-2007, 12:06 PM

I did this when we moved here 3 years ago from PA. We got rid of about 1/2 of our stuff. I don't miss any of it, and it has made my life alot easier.

**Jaded** · 09-02-2007, 12:08 PM

That's an "in progress" thing for me. I'm dumping at least half of what I own, and maybe even more. I'm trying desperately to get organized, and getting nowhere so far, but haven't put much effort into it yet, I have to admit.

My goal is to be clutter free and organized by January 1st, and I can do it, if I just take it in small bites, because my life and possessions have become unmanageable.

I actually have a garage and one bedroom I cannot walk in, because of the clutter. It seems to grow every day.

I posted here that I'm going to take at least two things to Goodwill (or maybe give away to Freecycle) every day, and I'll start that tomorrow (the drop off isn't open on Sundays). I should be through with the Garage by the end of the month. I've also just decided to do a Freecycle "free for all" once a week, by putting stuff out on the lawn with a "free" sign. That way I can get rid of a lot of stuff at one time. What doesn't go, will be brought back in to be put into the Goodwill pile.

My friend had a Freecycle yard sale, where she posted it on Freecycle, and everyone just came by and grabbed stuff. She cleaned out her garage in one day! One lady wanted it all, but she said no, but that she could come back when it was over and get what was left.

**Missourimom** · 09-02-2007, 12:58 PM

I've been going through things in our home for the past few years and I can't believe how much stuff I got rid of. I don't like having too many "things." It just bugs me and makes me overwhelmed. I still have a ways to go though.

**ladykemma2** · 09-02-2007, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Jaded

That's an "in progress" thing for me. I'm dumping at least half of what I own, and maybe even more. I'm trying desperately to get organized, and getting nowhere so far, but haven't put much effort into it yet, I have to admit.

My goal is to be clutter free and organized by January 1st, and I can do it, if I just take it in small bites, because my life and possessions have become unmanageable.

I actually have a garage and one bedroom I cannot walk in, because of the clutter. It seems to grow every day.

I posted here that I'm going to take at least two things to Goodwill (or maybe give away to Freecycle) every day, and I'll start that tomorrow (the drop off isn't open on Sundays). I should be through with the Garage by the end of the month. I've also just decided to do a Freecycle "free for all" once a week, by putting stuff out on the lawn with a "free" sign. That way I can get rid of a lot of stuff at one time. What doesn't go, will be brought back in to be put into the Goodwill pile.

My friend had a Freecycle yard sale, where she posted it on Freecycle, and everyone just came by and grabbed stuff. She cleaned out her garage in one day! One lady wanted it all, but she said no, but that she could come back when it was over and get what was left.

that's what I do. I don't have time to go to goodwill. i just recycle nice things by putting them in the front yard. they go fast in this starter home neighborhood.
easy and fast

**Telephus44** · 09-02-2007, 06:30 PM

We're also working on both. I think of decluttering as on on-going process - kind of like rather than going on a diet you modify your lifestyle - so I don't think that I'll ever truly reach the point where I've completed decluttered our place. I actually sent an email out to friends and family last week as a kind of mini-Freecycle for a bunch of things before actually freecycling/donating them. DH has freecycled a mixer rack this week, and has 4 things up on eBay. We've also targeted a bunch of other things to get rid of soon.

On the voluntary simplicity front - we are moving towards and anti-consumerism lifestyle, which while it overlaps a lot with voluntary simplicity, is not exactly the same. We have chosen not to buy many toys for our son, we have not owned a TV set in years - we are still working on this, but we've made a lot of progress.

**changed4life** · 09-02-2007, 06:38 PM

Oh, I can so relate!
It's gotten much better since the kids are now older (15 & 9) and toys aren't an issue with my daughter and have drastically scaled down with my son).

I have a decent sized kitchen, however, most would think I'm lacking in cabinet space (it's because of the windows and lack of ample wall space. I rather like it that way. The kitchen is bright and I don't have endless walls of cabinets to store God knows what. This prevents me from having only the essentials and forgoing the unnecessary kitchen gadgets that just clutter up the place. In exchange for the cabinets I placed an antique hutch in my kitchen and store my kitchen linens and sale items. I find I have plenty of space.

My motto for the past several years has been, "if I haven't used it in a year, toss it!"

I have a large pantry-type supply closet on my second floor next to the linen closet. It holds the household needs like light bulbs, toiletries, H&B aids, blankets and the like. Every few months I reorganize and dump things like excessive amounts of extension cords, shoe polishes, night lights, etc. Why am I keeping old shower curtain holders when all my bathrooms are equipped??

Anyway, I feel like my mind is more free when my house is not full of junk and stuff. If I need more curtain holders one day, I'll go buy them at the thrift store!

And, really, how many food storage containers does one need? Why do I have three pizza cutters? I've paired down in all these areas and it feels good.

**Luv2BeFrugal** · 09-02-2007, 09:23 PM

Yup! That's us! We've gotten rid of SOOOOOOO much stuff!! It is MUCH easier to clean and just function in general. I never imagined that frugal living would kick us this far into simple living...I've never been one to like clutter...but we've reduced MUCH farther than just a "reduced clutter home" and Dh has really begun to take part.

**Nada.Leona** · 09-03-2007, 10:17 AM

and I have really downsized things for ourselves. We wanted to have a yard sale, but we never had the time or luck, so we took everything to the Salvation Army.

On a similar note, whoever coined the term "voluntary simplicity" never lived in our house! The routines may be simple, but there's a lot of work involved.

**bugsmom125** · 09-03-2007, 11:30 AM

I have been trying to do the same thing, my goal is to do alittle at a time cause when I think about the whole house it can be very overwhelming, have been using freecycle alot lately love it.

**Marie78** · 09-03-2007, 11:43 AM

I am trying to do a better job of sorting out our clutter. I have a hard time parting with things though, because we can never afford to replace anything. If I get rid of an extra can opener we don't use or a mixer, it will be difficult to replace the one if it breaks. I know this isn't a great mind set, but I'm working with a very tight budget. I'm hoping when I look back at this time of my life later, I can say that I survived the "lean" times. With that being said, I know I can work harder at purging cluttered closets of things we don't need or haven't used in years!

**TheRootedNomad** · 09-04-2007, 08:01 AM

I am on a continuous journey to a simpilar life. It's also a journey of compromise though as DH is not of the same mindset. He kind of gets the frugal stuff and will jump on board often with most of the financial ideas but simple living for my cable TV junkie and collector of things is not something he understands. I'm also begining to do things for environmental reasons as I travel down the frugal road.

**bluebird728** · 09-04-2007, 09:23 AM

One of the interesting changes along the way is that my daughter is becoming very environmentally conscious. She is talking about our carbon footprint and wanting to reuse things like grocery bags. She has also become a vegetarian for ethical reasons.

I've been actively simplifying for a little more than five months and we are very much enjoying the journey.

**Siebrie** · 09-04-2007, 10:17 AM

I have never been a clutterer. This came about when I was fifteen and added up how much my guest soap collection (200+ pieces) had cost me. I was shocked by the amount and vowed never to 'invest' in shelf-fillers and dust-gatherers again.

My house is small and well-organized, just the way I like it. Sometimes I do have to battle the clutter out of my life, like when my parents (confirmed clutterers) show up with 'junk'. As soon as they have left, I take it to the thrift shop or consignment store. By now, they know not to ask what happened to their gifts. This may sound very unkind, but we have discussed it often. I do not need plastic LED candles in my home, nor do I need fake silk scarves with pictures of horse gear. If they want to bring a present from their holiday destination, I much prefer a piece of local cheese, jam, bottle of wine. Something I can enjoy while I do not have to offer it a shelf to live on. They know it, but persist, so I guess we can all live with the situation.