The lovely Lenetta used to often remind me that clutter is made up of “unmade decisions.”
So true.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about pre-made decisions.
What things can I decide ahead of time will be pitched in the trash?
Well, for one . . . pantyhose with big ol’ runs in them.
I just tossed those pantyhose in the picture above. I rarely get runs in my pantyhose for the simple reason that . . . I rarely wear pantyhose.
After wearing those yesterday, there was a big hole in them. And yet . . . a feeling of panic rippled through my chest as I threw them in the trash.
I know that I won’t think about my need for pantyhose until 5 minutes before the next time I need to walk out the door wearing them. So, for some reason . . . that makes me want to keep them.
Keeping them would soothe my slob brain just enough that I wouldn’t worry about not having ANY pantyhose.
Until the moment when I put them on and realize they have a hole. The moment when (re)discovering a run would be a most annoying thing.
Maybe . . . maybe . . . the nagging knowledge that I do not own any pantyhose at all will cause enough mental discomfort that I’ll think to get some before the next time I need them.
Maybe?
Do you have a ay of capturing this mental note? I keep a note pad on the side of my fridge (with one of those magnetic pencil holders which are sold in office supply stores at back to school time) and write down the grocery stuff I need on top and stuff I need to get while out on errands at the bottom.
Then as long as you write down “pantyhose” and grab the list hen you leave the house–you’ll never have to worry about it again.
Maybe it would work better to keep such a list in your purse. My mom uses her daytimer.
I gave up on lists years ago because I was constantly losing them. But . . . your comment made me think that I should start making a running list on my phone. LESS likely to lose that . . .
Fabulous! That sounds like a plan.
It’s very high school I know, but if there’s something super important that I know I’ll forget if not reminded, I write it on the back of my hand.
I also use a little whiteboard on the fridge for less vital things, since I always know where it is.
Forgetfulness is such a pain sometimes!
I love the free app. Remember the Milk
🙂 🙂 🙂 i feel so famous! I’ve been thinking it’s time to do another decluttering spree… The stuff has been quietly multiplying.
online shopping is your friend…add it to your amazon , target or walmart cart….or just plain order them…if you know you’ll be shopping at one of these shortly..put it in one or all the carts
Celina, What a FABulous idea! I never in a million years would have thought to buy pantyhose on AMazon!
Those pantyhose that have a run in one leg are not really trash. You can use those as an emergency pair. If you have 2 pair of panty hose, one has a run in the left leg, one the right leg. Cut off the leg with the run in it. Put on both pair. No one will ever know but you. I do this all the time. Saves money too.
DON”T GO THERE! I used to do that all the time when I wore hose to work almost everyday. Now I wear them about 5 times a year. It is not worth it now. I would never have two – one leggers in the same color or size in the color I would want to wear. Just more junk in the drawer making you believe that you have a pair and instead you just have a leg! Throw it away and get it on the phone list.
DON’T GET SUCKED IN if you only wear hose every now and again.
However, I do agree that it is a great idea, and used to do it myself, when I wore hose all the time.
Teresa, I love that thought and it speaks to my frugal soul!
But . . . as an infrequent wearer who generally has whatever color I happened to find in a clearance bin . . . I probably shouldn’t. But if, while cleaning out a drawer, I found two pairs that were the same color with runs in them . . . I would totally do that!
Pantyhose aside, my new premade decision is to throw something away the second it’s broken unless it is incredibly sentimental. I used to have this habit of keeping things around because I was going to fix them, or see if they could be fixed. Invariably six months later they’d still be around waiting to be fixed. Sort of like the George Carlin cycle of leftovers (I’m saving food. . .I’m saving my life).
I did make an exception once and collect a whole binful of my daughters art projects and decorations that had fallen off toys and sit down and had a hot glue afternoon together. But now if it can’t be hot glued in the trash it goes.
I actually thought at first that not throwing things out postponed the sadness of it being broken. Turns out it just prolongs it, I get over broken things quicker when I get rid of them immediately. Less physical clutter, and less emotional clutter.
About the one-legged panty hose paired with another to make 2 legs. I used to do that until my husband said it made him feel like he was not providing for me adequately that I felt I needed to do that. So when it comes to pantyhose and underwear, I say get rid of the ratty. It is Valentines Day after all.
Try cutting up your hose into squares you can use to remove nailpolish. Seriously beats any cotton balls or cotton pads!! I keep mine in a small box in my vanity.
I will try this 🙂
I simply love my Shop Shop app. ( I got an I-phone, I think it works on other android telephones as well )
I have one list for food and other itmes purchaced at the grocery store, one list for things I need to buy other places ( apothecary items, wine, paint, furniture, hobby related items and other stuff) , one list for clothes, and one list with all the things we have to remember to have with us when we are travelling somehwere. Each time we forget something its added to the list. As I always have my phone with me, I always have my shopping lists with me too. Last trip we only missed 2 small things – that’s our record. 🙂 The travel list never gets wiped out completely, but things to remeber change as the kids grow and with the seasons.
When I visit my friend with the very tidy house I can see she has such rules. Out goes junk mail, kids schoolwork that comes home at the end of the year, most artwork during the year (just a fraction is displayed) and all greeting cards received are disposed of after a short period of display. For me I try to put envelopes and junk mail out for recycling the day we get it. I try to get rid of toy packaging if I my children let me. I try to return school forms as quickly as possible. All trying to minimise clutter.
SO proud of you for throwing them out! It’s different if they’re an everyday for work item, but if you wear them rarely, then here are 2 suggestions that have worked for me with the ever dreaded pantyhose:
1 – buy in bulk with a coupon on sale once a year or so (bulk usually being an 8-10 pair box)
2 – assume that pantyhose are a one use item. If you happen to get through wearing and washing them without a hole, it’s a bonus, but it helps with the guilt and panic if you start out assuming you’re not going to wear them more than once.
Yes, there are many uses for old pantyhose (tying plants to stakes without hurting the plants, games with kids that involve either balls or flour in the hose which are then used as a game item, straining stuff that isn’t for eating like the dye I use for pysanky), but really, unless you are organized enough to know where they are and disciplined enough to go get them when you need them, they are just clutter.
I know I should probably comment on a more current location but I’m up to here with my reading so this is where I’m commenting.
I helped my sister in law declutter today, she really DID need some help, there were paths, she couldn’t put stuff away because everything was full, and I know just how that feels. I used a lot of your tools and they really really helped.
We used:
The 2 decluttering questions, as well as ‘love it or like it?’
‘other peoples memories – they didn’t have room for it in their home …..’
Do the easy stuff first.
Would you spend money to fix this up? (you said that right?)
and I had to explain that the bikes that the kids had grown out of should go out on the verge for rubbish collection because they would cost too much to fix to be used again, we discussed how they could be donated and what if they weren’t taken away by the rubbish man? Well – then you can donate it. ( I’m sure the rubbish man will take them if they don’t get taken before then)
We threw out her old VHS movies, decluttered clothing, paperwork, toys, magazines, trashed out of date icing fondant, and focused on what would create floor space (which is where a lot of this stuff was).
She was AWESOME and really got into the whole process and wants me to help her do more. Last time a friend helped her declutter a year or so ago she didn’t sleep for 2 nights. We did all of this in between 10 and 1.30.
Thank you Dana for giving me the tools and thinking process to help my sister(in-law).
BTW-she does the dishes twice a day so we didn’t start there – we started with the trash!
Love it!! Go y’all!!!