How Do You Do It? Frugal home organizing

[Julia Rose]

I want to be frugal. I want to be simple. I want to have next to no stuff. But I'm also seduced by the perfectly beautiful, neat, organized homes I see in magazines, and am confronted instead by my own haphazard home with six bookcases filled with indispensible books, overflowing baskets of kid's toys, dressers bulging clothes (most of them second-hand). How do you reconcile what you aim for with what you have? I get that the magazines are meant to seduce you into buying things. But there must be a cheap way to organize my home that doesn't look so funky.

[imnotsupernanny]

Simplify! It sounds easy but can be tough.

I'd go thorugh things over the next couple of weeks and declutter and re-organize things.

Have a look in the de-cluttering section for some support and ideas.

I don't have much money so don't have much for stuff I don't need anyway.

You'll feel better after getting rid of "stuff" you don't really need.

[hellyaellen]

i've found that doing a few of the monthly de-clutter challenges really helped me clear out enough stuff to see how best to organize the stuff i kept.

good luck mama, its a process (i'm stuck myself right now: )

[marybethorama]

Reduce, Reduce, Reduce

It really helps.

Paint can also help

Seriously I'm all about repainting stuff to match. It does help.

It's tough. I'd love to buy nice storage furniture or even nice matching baskets but it's not in my budget. I repurpose what I can but mostly I decide if I really need something. Visible storage is at a premium at my house so I have to be sure I want something to be there.

[Curlita]

I think a lot of people buy cute storage bins and organizing contraptions instead of decluttering... it doesn't really help! You just have a bunch of crap stuffed into really cute containers. A professional organizer I know says that is one of the more common mistakes -- buyng storage containers before you really know how much and what you want to store.

Decluttering and organizing are a slow process. It took me three tries to organize the closet in our house until I found a method of keeping it organized, a method that made sense with the way we use the stuff. Pay attention to where you need things, where you use things, how often you use them and how hard or easy it is to put them back where they go when you are done. A lot of it is trial and error.

The less stuff you have, the easier it is to organize it, and keep it organized. Start by "shopping" for things you can get rid of -- just wandering around the house looking for random objects that can go away. After a while, you'll start building momentum.

[Julia Rose]

Thanks for the ideas and even more, for the support. I have done a lot of throwing away of things, but I've ended up missing the things I thought I was done with. I have tons of books (two whole bookcases are for my dissertation in progress), and I've purged some of them, only to replace them later! So it defeats the purpose.

I've always thought that cute organizing bins would change my life - thanks mamas for the heads up! I suppose it's a substitute for the actual organizing . . .

What about clothes? What do you throw away? If you throw away stuff you may use at some point later, it's not exactly frugal, is it? I think that it may be more frugal to keep a lot of stuff around that you may need, but then you're overrun . . . :

[root*children]

Good for you! Although, I hope you are donating and not throwing away

For books, I only keep the ones that I reference quite often or are hard to find. Most books can be found at the library whenever I need them!

For clothes - if something hasn't been worn in about 2 years, it gets tossed into the giveaway pile. Or if it's just getting too worn looking or stained, etc. it's out! For kids clothes, they can have maximum 2 weeks worth of clothes - it's alot I know, but one of my DS's has a very hard time parting with any of his beloved bazillion t-shirts, so I had to make a limit!

[hellyaellen]

for clothes i just go through them as i sort out my clean laundry. if i hate it i get rid of it. when i'm out of a phase of life (ie pregnancy, bar-hopping, workplace, whatever) i weed out and get rid of all except the pieces that still work for where i'm at now, have sentimental value, or are mw very favorites that i know i'll go back to

i don't really have a set number of items i keep but when i feel like i'm doing nothing but laundry i go through it all

i need to do this now

[jmo]

Originally Posted by Julia Rose

What about clothes? What do you throw away? If you throw away stuff you may use at some point later, it's not exactly frugal, is it? I think that it may be more frugal to keep a lot of stuff around that you may need, but then you're overrun . . . :

This is totally my problem too. I'm a sahm now, but someday I'll be working again so I feel like I should save all my work clothes even though they have been sitting in a box for the last 2 yrs and probably won't fit anymore anyways. Oy. :

[sarasprings]

Originally Posted by Curlita

I think a lot of people buy cute storage bins and organizing contraptions instead of decluttering... it doesn't really help! You just have a bunch of crap stuffed into really cute containers. A professional organizer I know says that is one of the more common mistakes -- buyng storage containers before you really know how much and what you want to store.

I have a very good friend who did that. She keeps complaining that her boys (3 and 5) make a mess of the room still. I keep telling her to rotate the toys so fewer things are up. I don't want to tell her to get rid of stuff. Her DH things the best thing about having a big birthday party is getting lots of presents. :

[nabigus]

Originally Posted by Julia Rose

I have tons of books (two whole bookcases are for my dissertation in progress), and I've purged some of them, only to replace them later! So it defeats the purpose.

Same problem here. Academic books are a little different than "regular" books. Yes, they take up space. No, don't purge them, you may very well need them again, especially if this is your long-term career.

[astrophe27]

1) Declutter. Aim for your living space being LIVING space and not STORAGE. Also aim for 50% "air." Blank wall, blank floor. Just... space for you to move around in and enjoy. If you need tips, look at "Organizing: Plain and Simple" and/or "The Life Laundry: How to De-Junk Your Life"

Once done, live by this rule: "One comes in, one has to go out." There is not point in decluttering if you are just going to build it up again. Got a new CD? An oldie has to leave. New pants? Some other clothing has to go.

2) Invest in storage. Most people don't, which is why things fall down and get crazy. Keep it simple and functional. And keep 50% of your storage space clear. You need the room in the closet to get the Christmas tree junk out decently and not knock over other things on to your head. YKWIM? A pleasant closet means you keep it so, and you use it effectively. A psycho ones means you open the door, fling something in, and quickly shut the door again so you don't have to see it.

3) Don't feel obligated to keep gifts that don't thrill you to death. Return them ASAP, or donate them to charity. They don't HAVE to stay at your house.

4) Be cost effective, don't "save stuff" just for sake of saving or being frugal. Everything in your home takes up real estate. Figure your rent or mortgage out over your square footage, and that is how much keeping some old clutter around is costing you per month. If you wouldn't be willing to pay that much to store this thing offsite at a storage facility, why are you paying for it to stay in your home? It isn't saving you a dime -- it is costing you!

GL!
A.

[madskye]

Clothes that you don't need now, but might need later, like maternity clothes?

Do you have any pregnant friends that you can lend to--just tell them that when you are preg again you'd like them back.

You can do the same thing with toys that your kids have outgrown.

[Julia Rose]

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