{"id":19176,"date":"2018-11-26T08:30:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T00:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mywomenstuff.com\/?p=19176"},"modified":"2018-11-25T12:56:21","modified_gmt":"2018-11-25T04:56:21","slug":"declutter-tip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mywomenstuff.com\/2018\/11\/declutter-tip\/","title":{"rendered":"Before you throw out your clutter consider first making this one small change in your life"},"content":{"rendered":"
I’m not a very neat person. I don’t have a creative eye when it comes to interior decoration or design so I live in what is a fairly servicable, simple environment that isn’t Instagram or Pinterest-friendly. But I confess to having a bit of a bad habit – I’m prone to clutter and hoarding.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is the environment in which I’ve grown up. My parents and grandmothers rarely threw anything away unless it was completely broken down, broken or just unusable. Even then, it would be cannibalized for useable parts, before finally conceding defeat.<\/p>\n
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Perhaps also due to their life and times they grew up in, they’ve usually found it hard to say no to freebies. If there is an offer to buy 3 packs of toothpaste to get a free plate, you bet we’d end up getting that free plate LOL! Sometimes, in different designs. Our dining crockery is rarely a perfectly matched set. It is usually a hotch-potch of different free plates and bowls accumulated over the years. And never thrown away.<\/p>\n
For some reason, these free stuff can be very hardy! LOL! \ud83d\ude00 I know some of you can relate \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Perhaps it’s just me – a hoarder \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n
I still have random freebies, sitting alongside free storage containers or drinking bottles, notebooks, pens etc… and I realised one day that was the key problem to my clutter.<\/p>\n
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As much as I want to declutter, simplify and Marie Kondo my life (which only works halfway for me<\/a>) I realised that I could not get much headway if I stuck to this freebie and hoarding mindset.<\/p>\n So I have made one little change in my approach to shopping, and to life, which I feel has helped me keep things a little more orderly.<\/p>\n REFUSE!<\/strong><\/p>\n Say no to freebies you don’t need.<\/p>\n One way that retailers grab you and reel you in to make a purchase, is by giving you a perceived “good deal”. This could take the form of a discount, reduced price for buying more than 1 item, or packaging a free product or samples with your purchase. Notice that towards the end of the year, from October onwards, the push by retailers to buy is very strong. Sales, discounts, free gifts abound.<\/p>\n At one time, all these little promotional gimmicks would grab me, hook, line and sinker! I’d buy 2 items when I intend to buy one. I’d buy more than I need, because I want a little discount. I’d spend above a certain amount, so I get a little free gift. It made me think I was getting “better value for my money” but I wasn’t, really.<\/p>\n Aside from spending more money than what I first intend to, I often end up going home with a free gift that I eventually find little use for.<\/p>\n These free water bottles and containers end up in the cupboards, where you eventually forget about them. Or a free notepad ends up tossed in a corner, never to be used. The only free items I do get some benefit from are free pens LOL! I’m not terribly fussy about my pens so a free pen always serves, in a pinch.<\/p>\n I am no saint of course. I held off for most of the year end sales, but did capitulate a little during the Black Friday sales this year, for some shoes and skincare I’d been wanting to try. Hey, I was getting a discount! It made sense to splurge on pricey items then instead of paying full price\u00a0– a tip I shared on how to enjoy a little splurge while saving<\/a> \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\nOnly accept free gifts that you’ll need or use<\/h2>\n
Do you need that paper bag?<\/h2>\n