I am reading this blog bit by bit and taking breaks in between to run around the house and purge it of junk that I’ve been holding on to. It goes straight into the car and tomorrow morning all of it goes to goodwill. Awesome inspiration!

Merlin - I have just discovered yours (and others blogs) that have already impacted me so much. I’m just about to start with GTD (starting to get my file system going now) and reading about ‘uncluttering’ is perfect timing (since I’m now going through all my stuff with GTD). It’s just all hitting home at the same time.

Have you heard of allconsuming.net? I find it to be an interesting site revolving around what people are reading (or listening to or watching - but I just use it for books). Seeing as I have been truly inspired by the ideas and books you recommend so far, I’d be interested to see what else you’re reading or have read.

(Hm, I thought I posted but perhaps it was just preview…)

Merlin, it seems like you’re dealing with the big initial decluttering project right now, which is cathartic and an Event. I’ll also be interested to see what you develop as small daily/weekly habits to keep stuff under control once you’re done with the purge.

Here are a few things that have helped me get more of the upper hand against my stuff in the last year:

1. Naked Lady Parties (clothes swaps). The real gift from these hasn’t been the cute, free clothes (though that’s nice) but the knowledge that every couple of months I can let go of clothes. Somehow it’s easier because they get scheduled regularly, because it’s easier to let go of things knowing that someone will be excited to get them, and because getting free clothes has given me an easy come, easy go relationship with clothes. I always keep a bag in my closet and any time I come across something that I am bored with / shrank / outgrew / replaced, I just toss it in there right away.

2. Small Batch Goodwill. I leave a bag in our entryway and toss anything I don’t want (right away! no second thoughts!) in it. Then I give myself permission to take the bag any time I’m going near a donation thrift store, even if it just has a couple of things in it. It doesn’t have to be a giant trip.

3. Cornerside Freecycle. Put it on the corner, tape a free sign to it, place bets on how long it will last. I don’t put out anything that’s not functional, and usually it’s gone within 30 minutes.

4. Weekly Reviews. OK, I’m still working on this one, but I do notice that if I’m regularly reviewing my systems, it focuses me on my true priorities and the tools (= possessions) I really need to achieve them. If piano lessons haven’t shown up on my active projects list for the last 156 weeks, maybe I can let go of the piano (or at least purge most of my music books and pack the piano away).

5. Love Your Library. This is the biggie for me. A few years back I decided to stop buying books. Our local library is wonderful, so I just decided to view all those books as my very own, that my own personal librarians do me the favor of storing and organizing, and retrieving and delivering to my local branch at the drop of a webform. I only buy reference books and cookbooks (and these only after trying them out from the library first to make sure I need them, and doing my best to enforce a one-in/one-out policy). This simple action has freed me from so much stuff, not to mention saving me money and bookshelf space. I suspect I pay for most of a vacation every year with the money I’m not spending on books.

I have also followed the flylady (www.flylady.net) but have recently fallen off the flywagon. I would LOVE to see a Merlin/Flylady podcast! I know she already does a weekly radio show. I’m sure she would be interested.

Good luck! I’ve moved almost annually for the past five years, so I’ve culled my possessions down to what I want and what I need. Ownership is a burden: having a lot of stuff means it can take you more time to find what you’re looking for, so stuff takes up space both physically and mentally. And it can cost you money, as you need boxes to store your stuff and a bigger house (or garage) to store those boxes.

Of course, one of the things I want and need is my fiancee, who, yes, has a lot of stuff. But I’m working on her…

Thanks for the ideas. Currently moving and was inspired to start dumping more and more stuff.

Oh Merlin, you rock! I try to use recycling day as a weekly deadline to purge yet more paper-based stuff. It’s mostly comics (my job) and magazines (I oversubscribe). Having to get a bag on the curb by Tuesday night is a fun challenge to myself. I think the last time I left out comics for recycling it was exactly 5.4 seconds before someone came along and scooped them up. Boy are they going to be disappointed when they find page 22 of “Green Arrow” missing!

And then the FedEx guy brings a new monthly box of comics and the sorting begins anew…

I’ve barely scratch the surface of the debris that should be tossed. But I’ve already started to feel a difference - literally. I’m not bruisng myself on box corners and I can maneuver more easily in my wee NYC studio.

Gaffer tape…Brilliant!!!

Great series, Merlin, thanks.

It’s funny that I just wrote up about doing the exact same thing. I find that the best place for the huge garbage can is in the exact center of whatever area you are trying to tidy. You should always be within underhand toss distance of the rim for any object you pick up, so you don’t even have time to reconsider as you are carrying it across the room. Not only does it save you effort, it’s very satisfying.

Some one mentioned the Flylady ( http://www.flylady.net )on the previous posts comments. Totally worth checking that out. In fact, Merlin Mann meets the Flylady would be an excellent video podcast.

I highly recommend 1-800-GOT-JUNK for junk removal. They also take stuff to the dump and recycle what they can. I’ve used them twice, and they were very fast and professional, and priced reasonably.

Still inspired. Still enjoying your war, Merlin.

Also started uncluttering my home.

Only moved to another continent four years ago, but already way too much **** all over the place. (Later this year I’ll probably have to go through all of my stuff back in Europe… Now that’ll be something…)

I’ll second what Quincy said about 1-800-GOT-JUNK. From what I know it’s a national franchise program. I used their Chicago based service to unload a sofa I broke the beam of during the 2001 Super Bowl (Salvation Army declined; Goodwill was a 2-week wait).

They were on time. They were courteous even though it was pushing 100 degrees outside. And the price was surprisingly reasonable. Highly, highly, highly recommend them.

I’d just like to point out the irony, at the very least, of BUYING NEW THINGS in order to “help” you purge old things. If you want to prevent the need for future purges, you should think about shifting your fundamental approach a bit.

@holly:

I’d just like to point out the irony, at the very least, of BUYING NEW THINGS in order to “help” you purge old things.

How is that ironic if it helps me get rid of 30 years (and three rooms) worth of purposeless stuff?

I’d call it more of a paradox — which, as you know, can also be something that just seems to contradict itself.

In my opinion, irony would be a packrat who’s so consumed with appearances that he or she didn’t acquire the modest tools needed to properly do the job — which, among other things would greatly improve appearances. ;-)

I’ve done some major purging recently of my children’s outgrown clothing, among other things.

Now, to maintain, I just keep a little pile by the door of stuff I want to get rid of, and then just make a run to Goodwill or the used clothes store to drop it off.

I have a purge of all of my children’s art hunting me down, though…

Merlin, you are a genius! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped in my clutter quest by a full trashcan! Brilliant!

John

Merlin - Good tips, especially the dump zone for removing stuff as fast as possible.

Throwing things away seems, well, wasteful. I try to reserve the trash for, well, trash. And old harddrives. So then, where to hold “the funeral”? These are my prefereces:

• eBay … sell it yourself and get some return money. Even those $10 sales add up fast! http://unclutterer.com/archives/2007/02/living_more_simply_through_eba.php

• iSoldit … have somebody else sell yourself. I think they take about 1/3 of selling price for service.

• Craigslist … a wonderful place indeed, but I’ve found that you have to offer waaay lower than ebay market price for anybody to bite

• Goodwill/Salvation Army/Out-of-the-Closet … tax deduction and they do pick-ups. I still don’t get the point of freecycle, goodwill provides jobs.

Merlin,

Thanks for another great post in this series. This just ‘clicks’ - and, for once - I’m really inspired. I spent all afternoon yesterday applying a fairly ruthless methodology to the clutter in my work office. Once I’ve won a tactical victory on the war on clutter here, I’ll move to the theater of my house.

Cable ties (found in the electrial section of the hardware store) are a great tool for actually closing those contractor bags.

Plus, if you have ties left over after your big clean-up you can use them for neatening up the cables at your computer desk or media center.