Archive for May, 2006
Monday, May 29th, 2006
The Declutter Orbit: Just Moving Things Around
As you settle back in the chair after a multi-hour decluttering session you realize that the ‘outbox’ - things to be garbaged/donated/recycled is pretty darn small.
You’ve just spent your afternoon in the classic situation of orbiting around decluttering and instead just Moved Stuff Around. I’ve done that more than a few times…
Don’t get me wrong [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Resource by me
Thursday, May 25th, 2006
Decluttering Walls: Removing Drywall Anchors
Decluttering isn’t just about stuff in the closets, the floor or the garage. Sometimes the clutter is right in front of you.
When I used to do a semi-professional magic act, an old friend who was a professional told me that the best way to improve your magic act was to remove your worst effect [...]
No Comments » - Posted in HowTo by me
Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
The Two Minute Rule Applied To Decluttering and Organization
The “Two Minute Rule” goes something like this:
If it can be done in less than two minutes, do it now.
It’s found in many books on organization, including my favorite Getting Things Done. For some people, if that’s the only item they take away from these books, it’s well worth it.
The theory is that the time [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Resource by me
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
Build A Ceiling-Mounted Kids Gym
This ceiling-mounted kids gym and climbing wall has seen a lot of use, and was easy to build once I figured out a strategy. It was around $125 worth of parts. It was inspired by a friend who has an even more elaborate one.
It uses standard backyard playground equipment and the parts are interchangeable to [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in HowTo by me
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
Scanning Photographs
The ScanSnap does a credible job of reducing the chore of converting a large collection of physical photos to digital.
Read how I did this, and some tips and tricks and videos of it in action in Scanning and Archiving Photos.
I reviewed this unit earlier in Fujitsu Scansnap.
2 Comments » - Posted in Resource by me
Saturday, May 20th, 2006
Semi-Automated VHS Tape Eraser
Here’s a fun hack I put together while purging the VHS tape collection.
Semi-Automated VHS Tape Eraser
No Comments » - Posted in HowTo, wacky by me
Tuesday, May 16th, 2006
Start Small Decluttering, You May Still Fill Up the Car
I started small, but managed to create another whole carload to Goodwill.
First the Ceiva 1. A nice little device, and it was brand-new, but I was never going to activate it and the neat hack for it didn’t offer a lot of bang for the buck compared to other projects on the ‘to do’ list. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Resource by me
Monday, May 15th, 2006
Maximizing Storage and Decluttering By Focusing on Volume and Weight
How does a technical/financial person approach decluttering?
Return On Investment, of course. What things can you remove that give you the best return on your effort expended?
With that, I’ve collected my thoughts on Maximizing Storage and Decluttering By Focusing on Volume and Weight.
No Comments » - Posted in Resource by me
Monday, May 15th, 2006
Board Games Darwinism
This is going to be a tough one.
I’ve already brought 60+ boardgames to my son’s school, and donated perhaps half that amount to Goodwill. I’ve still got nearly 200+ games in two rooms, of which I played perhaps thirty in the last two years. The number is rising as my son is now able to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Resource by me
Saturday, May 13th, 2006
Determining Value of Items for Donation or Sale
I’ve received several questions from family and friends about how one values an item to make a reasonable decision on whether its worth trying to sell an item or just give it away.
I’ve written several entries on this that might be useful.
* 10-10 Rule
* Collectibles That Never Are
* Valuing Items For Sale, Donation or Junk