Weeding

In the upcoming months I will be undertaking a variety of weeding projects.

What is this? Well, many deklutter projects involve getting rid of those things you no longer need or use, however you will still end up having to keep some stuff, just not as much of it! For example clothing, magazines, CDs, audio-cassettes (anyone remember mix tapes....!?) Things like that.

Weeding involves the same underlying drill (see Getting Started (Part 2)):

• Identify
• Gather
• and Remove

but is generally undertaken once you begin to tame or gain more control over your klutter. At this stage, it is no longer the overwhelming and undifferentiated mass of stuff it once was. It has hopefully become a little more organized or neater, making it easier to zero in and drill down on really specific deklutter projects.

For example, all those magazines you may have had are now in neat piles (or even better, magazine holders!) and in one area of the living room rather than scatted all over the house. You may have even already gotten rid of a lot of them, but there are still some left that you'd like to go through more closely. Perhaps there are individual articles you would still like to keep. Now you can!

Since I've had quite a bit of success in clearing a few larg-ish swathes of klutter (those extra computers for one thing! See A Tale of Two Computers), I can now begin to do "touch-up" work like this.

So, at my leisure, I will slowly be going through some of my stuff for a second round of cuts.

Stay tuned!

Digital Spring Cleaning: The Final List!

With this entry, I more or less bring my Electronic DeKluttering Project (EDP) (see Digital Spring Cleaning) to a close, something I'm very pleased and excited to report!

Harboring three computers was bad enough (see a A Tale of Two Computers). However, it may be less obvious that electronic gadgets spawn their own peripheral, klutter-y, flotsam and jetsam. And, as the list below will graphically demonstrate, this just adds up to a big ole' pile of stuff!

Once again, my cousin Julio (see The Diskard) came to the rescue and happily took the whole kit and caboodle off my hands. When he picked it up earlier this past week, he advised that he had already found new homes for a lot of it! This of course delights me to no end.

All I can say is, thanks again Julio!

In any event, I am posting this list in all its klutterish glory, not only to show what exactly had accumulated that I was no longer using, but to also show that with a little imagination, persistence and knowing who to contact, you can actually responsibly dispose of quite a few more things than you might at first think.

Perhaps some of you will be able to create even longer lists than this! Well, I say have at it and happy dekluttering!

http://twigghugger.blogspot.com/2007/05/diskard.html TARGET=NEW> The Floppies

1. 9 boxes (10-20 disks each) of disk
2. 4 boxes (10-20 disks each)
3. a number of blank, never-been-used disks

Hardware

1. Altec Lansing speakers & subwoofer
2. BSR External CD-ROM player - 6800MX
3. Iomega External Zip Drive 100
4. Panasonic KX-P1180 Impact Dot Matrix Printer w/stand and cables
5. several computer cables

Related Accessories

1. Mouse Pad
2. Plastic keyboard cover
3. Telephone cords
4. HP Inkjet print cartridge - black (#45)
5. 5.25" Disk Holders/Cases - 4 (medium sized)
6. 5.25" Disk Holder- 1 (large)

Manuals and Books (scads of 'em!)

1. Advanced Graphics With the IBM Personal Computer by Ian O. Angel (1985)
2. ACS295 Altec Lansing User Guide
3. CompuAdd - Color Monitor (VGA) User's Manual
4. CompuAdd System Manual for Models 212/216 (1989) - loose-leaf, w/ various system disks (8) CompuAdd Model 212/216 Setup Disk MS-DOS v. 401 Install
   MS-DOS v. 401 Operating 1 MS-DOS v. 401 Select 1
   MS-DOS v. 401 Operating 2 MS-DOS v. 401 Select copy
   MS-DOS v. 401 Operating 3 MS-DOS v. 401 Shell
5. Daily Planner & Calendar for Publisher: 3.0 for Windows (User's Guide) (1993)
6. Dell D1028L Color Monitor User's Guide (Digital AutoScan Color Monitor)
7. Dell Dimension Vxxx and Vxxxc Systems Setup Guide (1998)
8. Dell Dimension Vxxx and Vxxxc Systems Reference & Troubleshooting Guide (1998)
9. Dell-Installed Microsoft Windows 98 Set-up Guide (1998)
10. Fast EtherLink XL User's Guide & Quick Guide (1998) - w/ disks
11. Getting Started: Microsoft Windows 98
12. Halo DTP Manual (Desk Top Publishing Editor): v. 1.3 - Guide to Operations (1988)
13. Hand - Scanner Utility Scankit v.1.01 (1989) - w/ 3 Program disks v. 1.3b
14. HP DeskJet 880C Series Printer: User's Guide (for Windows) (12/98)
15. Integrator Manual 3rd ed (3/89) - w/ diskettetopics covered include: The Calculator File Manager
    Appointment Calendar Game
    Editor PC-FullBak
16. Keyboard (Ergonomic) User's Guide
17. Logitech Paintshow Plus: User's Manual (1989)
18. Logitech MouseMan User's Guide - w/ diskette
19. Making the Most of Your Money (Intuit) Quicken 2000
20. Managing Your Money: User's Guide for 256K IBM(R), PC and Compatibles - v.5.0 - by Andrew Tobias (1988, Meca)
21. Managing Your Money: The Official Guide to Version 6 - by Andrew Tobias (1989, Brady Books/Simon Schuster)
22. Mars 105 Hands-Scanner Users Manual (Marstek)
23. Microsoft Works Suite 99 Manual w/ disks
24. Norton Antivirus User's Guide - v.5, Windows 98 / Windows 95 etc.
25. Outlook 98 10 Minute Guide: Master the Essentials You Need in 10 Minutes or Less by Joe Habraken (1998, Que)
26. PC-FullBak - Manual w/ disk
27. ProComm Reference Manual (1986) v.2.4
28. SD-M1202/ATAPI DVD-ROM: Technical Notes v.A0, 6/98
29. Software CineMaster DVD Playback: User's Guide - w/ CD
30. VGA Card Software Manual: A Supplement to the VGA User's Guide (1988)
31. VGA Card User's Guide: For IBM PC/XT/AT & Compatible Computers & IBM Personal System/2 Models 25 & 30 (1988)
32. WordPerfect Manual (1989) - v. 5.1, loose-leaf w/ 11 diskettes Install/Learn/Utilities 1 Spell/Thesaurus 1
    Install/Learn/Utilities 2 Spell/Thesaurus 2
    Program 1 Printer 1
    Program 2 Printer 2
    PTR Program/Graphics 1 Printer 3
    PTR Program/Graphics 2

Miscellaneous Software (mostly DOS based)

1. 3Com U.S. Robotics CD-ROM
2. Art Gallery BAK-UP Diskette
3. Best EGA/VGA Tetris Clones (Reasonable Solutions, 4 disks)
4. CityMap - NY (Softkey) 5 diskettes
5. Crossword Puzzle Creator (Reasonable Solutions)
6. Dell/AT&T ConnectDirect CD
7. Dell Dimension ResourceCD
8. Epson Driver(?)
9. Grammatik II original disk & BAK-UP
10. HealthAide (Reasonable Solutions, 2 disks)
11. Home Buyer's Guide Collection (Reasonable Solutions, 2 disks)
12. Inmagic
13. Kedit
14. Managing Your Money (1987) 4 disks
15. Managing Your Money (1988) 5 disks
16. Managing Your Money (1989) (v.6) 5 disks
17. Meal-Master (Reasonable Solutions, 3 disks)
18. Microsoft Works Suite 2003) - 6 disks
19. Mouse Software v. 4.10 - original disk & BAK-UP
20. Music Trans Sys II (Reasonable Solutions)
21. Paintshow Plus (Logitech) v. 2.21
22. Pianoman (Reasonable Solutions)
23. PC Outline (Shareware Express)
24. PCWrite Utility BAK-UP Diskette
25. PCWrite Program BAK-UP Diskette
26. PrintMaster
27. Procomm 2.4.2 - Premier Computer Innovations (1988)
28. Sierra Entertainment Demo w/ Manhunter & Goldrush
29. Software Labs Print Shop Graphics Library
30. Unicom RemDat2(?)
31. VGA Card Utilities (2 disks)
32. Wheel of Fortune (3rd ed)

Miscellaneous DOS-based Games

1. Beyond Columns, VS2 Demo
2. Blocks, Fallout, Dlink, Stetris
3. Blockout
4. Brix
5. Egaint
6. Carmen San Diego
7. Colors
8. Comrade
9. Flip
10. Frac
11. Paga2
12. Paga3
13. Quatris2
14. Rampcube
15. Sitris

Knick Knack Round-Up

Today, I participated in my first Freecycle™ exchange!

Although I discussed Freecycle™ early on, in Join A Freecycle™ Group! I had not as of that time actually exchanged anything through it. However, recently a request came over my Freecycle™ list serve, which I thought I could help out with. It was from a teacher who was planning an end-of-year party to reward their students for their hard work during the year. They were looking for "any knick knacks you may have in good condition . . . that a child . . . may enjoy."

Identify

Well, you can be sure any Packrat worth their name has got knick knacks aplenty! I contacted this person to let them know I might have a few things they could use, and to find out when they would be needed.

Mind you, I had already liberated quite a few of my chatchkis at the Freecycle™ Freemeet last week, however as you also know, a Packrat can never quite get rid of everything all at once. Often something is held back so, I still had a few things on hand when they emailed me to follow up.

Some of the items I had ordered a number of years ago through one of those offers they stick in your credit card bill. I had some vague notion of using them as stocking stuffers, grab bag or Secret Santa gifts, but they got stored away and I forgot about them. Some of the other things I had simply accumulated over time (as packrats tend to do), and just faced up to the reality that I probably wouldn't use them, at least any time soon!

Gather

Thus, my second knick knack sweep included the following:

1. 3 combination digital alarm clock/picture frames
2. a wallet
3. wooden picture frame
4. set of 5 flowered pencils in matching case (so not-used that they had never even be sharpened!)
5. a nice pen with an embroidered holder
6. lacquered stick/hair ornaments, still in their original packaging

I gathered everything up and placed it in a nice gift bag (more reuse at work!)

Remove

The teacher and I spoke briefly by phone to arrange a pick-up time, and the hand-off was made earlier today!

Every little bit helps!

Spring Cleaning - The FREECYCLE™ NYC FreeMeet

Identify

Sometime last month, I received an email regarding a FREECYCLE™ sponsored FreeMeet. This event was described as a

. . . chance to unload unwanted, but usable items, take home things you can put to good use and meet other folks from the Freecycle community. Anything leftover at the end of the event will be donated to local charities or recycled to the extent possible. As the name suggests, the Freecycle™ FreeMeet is FREE and open to the public!

You don't need to bring anything to take anything (though a tote bag might help). Please bring portable items only and leave furniture and other heavy stuff at home (log on to www.Freecycle.org to find people who can pick these items up from you).

The FreeMeet was sponsored by a local YMCA, Freecycle™ New York City and the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE).

Well! My eyes fairly danced at the thought of such a DeKluttering Extravaganza! This would be an opportunity to get rid of an assorted collection of items in one fell swoop, sans some of the difficulties associated with the typical Freecycle™ exchange or other swap strategies that I have previously discussed (see Join a Freecycle™ Group! or Throwing Away at Throwplace.com® for the particulars).

However, my glee was short-lived. Unfortunately, I had another activity scheduled later that same day so I wasn't sure I would be able to attend the FreeMeet and then get home in time to get ready for my other event. Never the less I passed the information on to a friend who is also trimming his klutter. He said he would probably go and graciously offered to take my stuff along, so it worked out.

Gather

I had already identified a variety of things that I planned to part with and had gathered them together in a shopping bag, so all was in readiness. By way of inspiration for my fellow hoarders out there, here's a list of the accumulated objects that I hoped would find happy new homes:

1. Snowflake candles (3)
2. Christmas candle
3. Apple candles
4. Liz Claiborne purse
5. Daffodil bookmark
6. Scooby Doo bookmark
7. Pair of patent leather red thongs
8. Ballerina finger puppet
9. Personal organizers (paper based - 2)
10. Cloud address book
11. Ice scream scoop
12. Fanny pack
13. Coaster
14. Washington DC marble/pewter paperweight
15. Stationery set
16. Kiddy kalculator - (2)
17. Samsonite garment bags (2)
18. Wallet
19. Camera (non-digital)
20. Cosmetic bag and mirror set
21. Plastic lei
22. Assorted paperbacks (9)

Assorted Paperbacks

1. Connecticut - Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to a Unique Place
   
2. Possessing the Secret of Joy - Alice Walker
   
3. If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin
   
4. The M.D. - Thomas M. Disch
   
5. The Dark Tower II: The Gunslinger - Stephen King
   
6. With a Tangled Skein - Piers Anthony
   
7. Native Tongue II: The Judas Rose - Suzette Haden Elgin
   
8. Dragon's Egg - Robert l. Forward
   
9. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands - Stephen King
   

Not a bad haul, eh?

Remove

At the appointed time my friend swung by and picked up my stuff and proceeded to the FreeMeet.

Later he called to tell me that it was pretty easy. He was met at the door by volunteers, who took the things he had brought and whisked them to the area where the actual swapping was taking place. He didn't even have to stay or go down to the swap area. However, he did go just to take a peek to see how it was set up.

I don't know if all FreeMeets are organized in this manner, but this format certainly worked for us!