craigslist

Back in the fall I discovered craigslist!

Of course, I had heard of it. I'd viewed the occasional apartment listing and read articles about it's phenomenal, almost cult-like popularity, but beyond that I hadn't had occasion to actually use it myself.

That is, until receiving a less than enthusiastic response for something I posted on Freecycle™ one lazy Sunday afternoon. I remembered that my cousin had mentioned getting stuff through craigslist so, on a whim, I decided to give it a whirl. How bad could it be? I set up an account, posted my item in the "free stuff" section, and didn't give it too much more thought. However, when I checked my email later that day, I was astonished at the response my post had received, since the same item hadn't gotten so much as a nibble on Freecycle™.

I selected a respondent, made p/u arrangements, and the rest is declutter history. Let me tell you, I got rid of more stuff in the month after that than I would have ever thought possible. I'm talking even the odd or unusual stuff that mysteriously accumulates over time. The kind of stuff you can't imagine anyone else would want, but, therein lies the problem for the Packrat, eh?

That is not to say craigslist was not without its drawbacks, which I'll get to in a moment, but in spite of the pitfalls I encountered, it was like discovering a Secret Declutter Weapon, and craigslist remains an extremely vital tool in this Packrat's arsenal. Again, I only have experience with posting items in the "free stuff" section. I haven't tried to sell anything through the site, so I can't speak to what the experience is like using any of those categories.

The good news. . .

• there's no charge to set up an account and it is very easy to do
  
• you can upload photos of your item at the same time you enter your written description, also quite easy
  
• you can choose to anonymize your email so it is not exposed to the "elements". The site creates a unique email for that post which responders see, and their queries are then forwarded to your email. You decide whom to contact after that.
  
• although your posts remain available to you indefinitely on your Acct home page, they "expire" or are delisted from public viewing after a certain period of time. You can also manually de-list an item if you want. Alternatively, it is easy to relist an item as well. I find this feature to be hugely convenient, since on Freecycle™ this must be done manually.

. . .and the not so good news

• be forewarned, craigslist is strictly no frill's. If you are looking for a slickly designed site, with java script animations, flash displays, etc then turn back now! The craigslist interface is plain, Plain, PLAIN!

• for completing certain tasks, the site's design is less than intuitive, so it can be tricky to navigate or figure out how to do what you want, or why something occurred

• like Freecycle™ there is the problem of people indicating they are interested in an item, but then not following through when you contact them about P/U arrangements, however, I have been fortunate that given the number of items I've gotten rid of using craigslist, this hasn't happen too often.

• there are numerous craigslist communities for different cities or regions both in this country as well as all over the world. You must post to the one to where you (and your item) are geographically located. craigslist communities are "self-policing" and may vary in their thresholds for what they consider to be bad or inappropriate behavior. Community members can flag a post for removal if they deem it to be spam (i.e. advertisement or promotional in nature, or too many posts from one user within a certain timeframe) in violation of site policy, or otherwise inappropriate. If a post receives too many flags, it will most likely be removed.

  The problem is you have no way of knowing beforehand what that threshold might be, nor are you necessarily even alerted to the fact that a particular listing has been flagged, that is a message in your Acct while you are logged in as opposed to an email that may not be sent until sometime later. If you even get that. From what I could gather after wading into the help forum, some people said the didn't even get an email.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I got the first email, perhaps 30 minutes after initially posting what I thought to be a mere four items (not a problem on Freecycle™). Up to that point I had just posted one thing at a time with a day or two in between. But Hey! It was the beginning of the New Year and I was feeling ambitious! I would later find out that apparently all four posts were flagged. Luckily only two received a threshold number of flags, but they were still up long enough that a few responses trickled through so I was ultimately able to carry out my Exit Strategy for them.

However, obtaining even that much information was a hassle. The email I received was an automated thingy with a boilerplate advisement stating that the vast majority of postings were usually removed because they violated craigslist guidelines and it suggested that I check the terms of use to make sure my post was in accordance with it (as far as I could tell they were). For a more detailed explanation I was directed to post a question in the appropriate craigslist help forum. After some minor difficulty figuring out how to access and post to the help forum, I was able to glean several possible reasons as to why my posts had been flagged, but It I was still left feeling a bit nebulous about the whole thing.

Be all that as it may, I have still found craigslist to be an extremely effective declutter tool. After My Experience I made sure to space my posts out or tried listing multiple items in one post and don't seem to have had any more problems.

Title Trader

I finally settled on Title Trader as my CD/DVD swap site of choice. Although I had some initial difficulty figuring out how to list my items, once I did, I was good to go, and was able to successfully trade the bulk of my items there. Also, Title Trader does not limit you to trading only CDs or DVDs. You can list all kinds of other stuff such as books, magazines, audio-cassettes, even household items ala Freecycle.

Here's how Title Trader stacked up against my criteria:

1. Shipping

   Alas, while you can print a shipping label, inexplicably, it is not paid postage!?! nor at this time, are you able to pay for it online via credit card. . .
   

2. Avoiding the Post-office

   . . .therefore you still have to go to the post-office, stand on line and deal with the quirks of the postal staff. Bummer!

   For example, I do not trust the postal service not to manhandle my CDs/DVD packages as they wend their way through the system. So, to decrease the chances of any damage during shipping, I err on the side of caution and try to pad the envelope really well. One postal clerk eyed my package suspiciously and asked what was inside. When I told him, he asked why was it so thick, was anything else in there . . .? But, after processing it he just carelessly tossed (more like hurled) it into the mail bin behind him, which is EXACTLY why I padded it to the hilt. I'm thinking to myself, "My package has hardly even gotten into the post office good, before it getting roughed up! Thankfully, so far the CDs/DVDs I've shipped seem to have arrived intact.

3. Liner notes, artwork & case

   At Title Trader you have the option to send as much or as little of the accompanying material as you want. Some traders will note this type of information in their listing, which I found helpful in choosing with whom to trade.

4. Simplicity

   It's very easy to set up an account. The site also loads quickly on my dial-up connection.

   Each book, CD, and DVD is worth one Request Point and can be used to request a book, CD, or DVD from Title Trader's collection once you have received positive feedback. An email notification is sent when one of your items has been requested and you can print a shipping label at that time. I listed several items, and got requests right away, but again, how quickly or how many of your items are requested will be dependent on what you have to offer.

   Although, at first I found Title Trader a little tricky to navigate (I couldn't figure out how to list my items) once I did, things went more smoothly. Searching by UPC or ISBN can also be a little tricky. Sometimes those number don't work, but then, plugging in the title or artist will yield the item. Just be forewarned that you may have to fiddle around with your search queries a bit.

   Also, in one case, I had a problem printing a shipping label because the recipient's address could not be verified in the USPS database. Although, I emailed the site for assistance on several occasions, as far as I can tell, I never received a response unlike the speedy one obtained from SwapSimple's customer service department. (see my post on that here) However, since shipping labels are not postage paid, you can manually create your own shipping label without losing anything, which is what I ultimately ended up doing.

All in all, even though the need to go to the post office is somewhat of a hassle, the site's overall ease of use and laid back feel is what won me over in the end.

One More Thing: Premium Features

Title Trader premium access costs $19.95/year. However, when you first sign up, they will give you a 30 day trial that includes a few of the site's premium features, most notably a daily, customizable, email listing newly added items

Other premium features include:

• Wishlist Notification - email alerts when items appearing on your wish list have been added to the Title Trader inventory
  
• Saved Searches - allows you to maintain a list of your most frequent searches. When an item is added to the site
• Buddy List - allows you to bookmark your favorite users so you can keep an eye on what they have listed.
  
• Safe Swap Premium Member - enhances you status as a reliable trading partner.

Again, please note that this reflects my particular experience ONLY! You're mileage may vary.

Swapsimple

Another swap site that I looked into as an Exit Strategy for my CDs and DVDs was SwapSimple. At SwapSimple you can trade books, DVDs and video games, but not music CDs (go figure!). Setting up an account was easy enough. I provided an email address, made up a password and I was in like Flynn. I then received an email confirming my registration which included a clickable link leading to a few other questions to answer, such as how I'd heard of the site, my age (you must be 18 years or older), and stuff like that.

However, for me, that's about where the "simple" part of SwapSimple hit the road, and what I will mostly be discussing in this post.

1. Shipping

   SwapSimple members can print a free shipping label, which to me was very appealing. 'Nuf said!

2. Avoiding the Post-office

   Of course the pre-paid shipping label also removes the need to go to the post office, so long as your item weighs less than one pound. Another plus!

3. Liner notes, artwork & case

   SwapSimple, members are expected to send all accompanying material, rather than just the disk alone, so that suited me as well.

4. Simplicity

   Now, here's where things started to fall apart.

   Although, I initially listed three items, I only actually ended up trading one of them. And while I was able to send out that one item without incident, I found the actual process of doing that to be so exacting, that shortly thereafter, I delisted the other two items.

   • Pop-up Panic!

     For one thing, to even list an item for trade, in addition to my name I had to provide my gender and telephone number, something I wasn't too wild about, and wondered why that was necessary. Then, some pretty specific and rather stern pop-up instructions appeared about using the site and what needed to happen when, in order to effect a successful trade.
     
     There were other, similarly dire, warning pop-ups at just about every subsequent step of the transaction, through finally printing the shipping label once someone requested one of my items.

     Don't Get Me Wrong! In and of themselves, none of the stipulations were at all unreasonable. I definitely understand that some people need to have such things spelled out as explicitly as possible, because left to their own devices they simply won't follow through. Still, as a fairly reliable sort, myself, I was left feeling vaguely anxious. Even with the best of intentions, we all can slip up at one time or another. I tend to pursue several Exit Strategies at a time in order to maximize the chances of actually getting rid of something! As far as I'm concerned, all bets are on until that item is out of my house and into the hot little hands of someone else. So, I was terrified that I might fail to remove a no longer available item from my SwapSimple inventory quick enough! Consequences for such a failure included possible penalty charges or the suspension of my account.

   • Point System

     SwapSimple says that their point system is straightforward, but it seemed a little complicated to me. The site figures out and assigns a "market" value to the items you post. You receive a fraction of that value immediately upon listing the item (aka Instant Trade Credits) and the rest of it upon successfully completing your trade. From this standpoint you begin accumulating points and can request items right away. Also, as long as you have points, you can trade for any category of item. For example if you trade a book, you are not limited to requesting another book. You can request a DVD or a video game of whatever value, so long as you have accumulated the necessary points.

     However, when I went back to check on my account after the one trade I completed, I was surprised to find out that I hadn't earned any credits! I contacted Customer Service about it and to their credit , they got back to me pretty promptly. They explained that my trade item had a "market value" worth less than $0.50 and that they only award credits in whole numbers. Unfortunately for me, they round down instead of up. So my traded item ended up being worth zero points instead of one. They further advised that there were many 0-credit items that could be requested. I checked this out this category, but there weren't all that many things available, at least on the date I looked. But, in honor of completing my first swap, SwapSimple credited my account five points. Still, if I had not contacted them, I probably would never have received these points.

     Also, swapping is not actually free, unless you are:

     • swapping within a personal swap network of friends, their friends, etc. or . . .
     • . . .swapping items worth 10 credits or less
     otherwise, trading items worth more than 10 credits with people outside of your network will cost you $1.00 (items worth 11-20 credits) or $2.00 (items worth 21 credits or more) per swap.

     While not completely inscrutable, I would not exactly call this system straightforward either.
     

   • Site Feel and Navigability

     Finally, swapping via the Internet is probably an inherently social activity, however I would say that this social networking aspect is very much accentuated at SwapSimple. Just to say, that this may not be everyone's cup of tea.

     Also, I am probably one of the few people left in the universe with a dial-up connection, so it took a bit of time for some of the site's graphics and doo-hickey's to load as I navigated through the site. This became a particular issue while I tried to figure out how to display my inventory. Me and my dial up connection spent more than a few frustrating minutes clicking various links and then waiting for the screens to load while I tried to figure it out what I was doing wrong.

Obligatory Disclaimer: Anyway, as I stated in last week in the SwapaCD post, this review reflects the criteria that are important to me and how this impacted my particular experience ONLY! You're mileage may vary and SwapSimple may suit your needs perfectly.

Next up: Title Trader: The CD/DVD swap site, I finally settled on.

SwapaCD

SwapaCD is a popular music CD swap site. I actually discovered this site while checking out Paperback Swap, with whom they're affiliated (I also see they've added a DVD swap site to their offerings. I'll have to check that out!).

I have not, as of yet, used SwapaCD for reasons initially outlined in My CD/DVD Cup Runneth Over and which I will discuss in further detail below.

1. Shipping

   While not necessarily a complete deal breaker, ideally, a swap site would allow me to generate a postage paid shipping label (either free of charge or for which the costs can at least be prepaid by credit card). SwapaCD members must pay the shipping costs when responding to requests, as well as a charge of 0.49 per trade, plus 1 CD credit. SwapaCD provides a downloadable template for a paper envelope mailer, which pulls the recipient's address information, however at this time, it does not also include the postage.

2. Avoiding the Post-office

   In terms of ease and convenience, I would prefer to avoid a trip to the post office or waiting on a long line there. If you just send the CD in their special mailer as recommended, SwapaCD estimates that postage costs will probably be little more than a first-class stamp, give or take, and you can just drop it in the mailbox. However, if you add the goodies (jewel case, liner notes, artwork) it will probably be more. Depending on what you decide to ship, unless you have a scale at home or are comfortable guestimating the charges, a post office visit could be in your future. Which brings me to my next point.
   

3. Liner notes, artwork & case

   Not so much with DVDs, but for music CDs I like having the artwork and liner notes, which can often include song lyrics or information about the artist and other musicians. A jewel case makes it easier to store, but those are otherwise easy enough to get elsewhere, if you want them.

   While SwapaCD members are certainly free to ship as much of a CDs accompanying materials as they like, in order to keep mailing costs to a minimum, SwapaCD recommends that they only ship the CD itself, using the aforementioned envelope mailer. However, they also provide tips and information about the approximate costs for various other shipping options and configurations.

   Incidentally, I have to say that at the particular time that I was considering SwapaCD, I was skeptical that a mere paper envelope would allow a CD to be delivered through the mail unscathed, while shipping them in their protective, plastic jewel cases might actually increase the likelihood of their being damaged (this in spite of proper padding which adds to the shipping costs). But, that was before I discovered and joined a popular DVD rental club and have since come to experience the efficacy of the paper envelope mailer, as paradoxical as it may seem! So far, in about a year's time, I have only had one DVD to arrive damaged.

4. Simplicity

   Finally, a swap site should be as simple as possible to use, not only in terms of listing and tracking items for trade, but in comprehending the point scheme. Of primary concern would be

   • How is value assigned to the items being traded?
   • How do you accrue the necessary value to make requests?

   In all fairness, since I did not end up joining SwapaCD, I can't really speak to how easy or not, it is to use the site, but based on the information I was able to read there, it seemed easy enough. Of course, you'll need to take my comments here with the necessary grain of salt.

   The point system in use seems quite straightforward. As previously mentioned, each CD trades for one SwapaCD credit along with the 0.49/trade charge. You can earn one free credit after posting your first ten CDs. If you want to request CDs before you have accumulated enough points you will need to purchase SwapaCD credits available in increments of $5.00.

   Now, depending on your reasons for trading, the point scheme may be less important to you. Perhaps you have a glut of CDs you just want to get rid of and don't care so much about acquiring others. On the other hand, you may get into swapping as a way to acquire and enjoy new content, while avoiding the accumulation of stuff that you don't like so much. As I explained in Something for the Bibliophile, swap sites allow you to hold onto an item for as long as you want (forever, if that's the case), or trade it back once your finished with it.

   So again, logistical matters such as these are something to be aware of and keep in mind when considering a swap site.

Obligatory disclaimer: These are the criteria that are important to me and how they played out in evaluating this particualr site, however your needs may be quite different.

Next up: My experience using SwapSimple, another media swap site.

twigghugger turns 1 years old!

A year ago today, I took the plunge and began this blog (see What Yet Another Blog). Why? Well, for one thing, I had finally finished grad school and consequently, had time to turn my attention to other matters. Since me and my tiny apartment harbor an Inner Packrat, paramount was the need to reduce my accumulation of stuff.

Over this past year, slowly, but surely I have made great strides in achieving just that. While constantly chanting the twigghugger mantra to myself over and over (...and over!)

• Identify
• Gather
• and Remove!

I searched the Internet for donation, reuse and exchange options. I was delighted to find that there were many more such choices available than had even been the case just five years prior.

Space cleared, has miraculously, remained so! Let me tell you that I consider this to be a huge accomplishment! Before, I was basically just shifting the piles around, but the Secret to My Success has been the gradual, but actual removal of excess things. Now, not only does it look more neat and orderly, it stays that way. I even survived the holiday frenzy without too much disruption to this hard fought for turf.

If you are as serious, a packrat as I am (was...?), reaching this point may seem daunting, if not impossible, but by breaking it down into many, tiny steps over time you will gradually see results, like I did. As I stated last year, maybe the idea of hugging a tree is overwhelming, so start off small and do it one twigg at a time, and you'll get there! Also over this past year, consciousness about the environment has grown phenomenally, so I'm hoping my approach to decluttering will continue to grow easier as well.

Now, I'm not quite out of the woods yet! There are still a few things to tweak here and there, as well as working on a couple of projects like my Magazine Mountains, better clothing organization and Oh! A special mission impossible type project I've been procrast…that is saving for last: Kitchen!: the Final Frontier! (aka as 2008: A Lack of Space Odyssey).

But, this year, for the most part, will be about Accumulation Control. I plan to maintain last year's gains, by giving careful consideration to what gets brought into the house in the first place.

Anyway, in honor of twigghuggers first birthday, shout outs to

• Barbara Sher - for issuing the Jolly 2007 Challenge which was to pick a project for 2007, something fun and enjoyable, and to write about it.
  
  R. Walker - at murketing.com (a blog I stumbled across in December 2006), who posed the question Can getting rid of stuff feel as good as getting it?.

A year later, I can definitely answer, "Yes it can!"

My CD/DVD Cup Runneth Over

One of my decluttering projects from August (Wow! That was awhile ago already!) involved weeding. I think of weeding as a complimentary strategy to decluttering. The way I see it, decluttering has more to do with identifying objects for eventual removal OR allowing you to reorganize what you have so that it is neater. Weeding, on the other hand, involves reviewing a category of things you have, such as books or clothing, selecting particular items to get rid of, while keeping certain other items. This is what I did with various music CDs, DVDs and audio cassettes.

There are a number of options for dealing with CDs or DVDs. You could give them away to friends or relatives, or via The Freecycle Network™ or craigslist, or donate them to a non-profit organization, which they in turn sell to raise money. Again, be aware that the criteria of accepted items can be very specific, which may or may not coincide with what you want/need to get rid of at any given time. So, you'll need so keep that in mind should you go that route. Here are a couple of organizations I came across that accept such donations, however I have not tried myself:

• Eco Encore
• Housing Works Used Book Cafe (also accepts records and CDs)
• Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter's Amazon.com Shop, Emporium Online

As with my books, I decided to go the swap route again and checked out the following three sites:

• SwapaCD
• Swap Simple
• Title Trader

Creating an account at each of these sites is free and fairly simple to do. However, on SwapaCD you will be charged 0.49/trade plus one SwapaCD credit.

I'm sure at this point, with the growth of the Internet, there are hundreds of swap sites to choose from, so you may be aware of others that you prefer. In fact let me offer this disclaimer right now:

My upcoming reviews of these sites strictly reflect my particular experience ONLY! (as does everything else discussed on twigghugger!) You're mileage may vary, so the sites described here (and elsewhere on twigghugger) may or may not end up being your cup of tea.

Having by now accumulated a bit of swapping experience under my belt, my ideal swapping situation

• allows me to generate a shipping label (free, or the allowing the postage to be prepaid by credit card)
  
• allows me to drop the item in the mailbox, thus avoiding the lines at the post-office or dealing with cranky postal clerks
  
• allows the option of sending/receiving all materials (jewel or DVD case, liner notes, artwork, etc)
  
• is as simple as possible to use in terms of listing and tracking items for trade

None of the three CD swap sites that I considered had all three qualities together. So far the only swap site that I have used that meets all these criteria is Bookins (see Something for the Bibliophile), but alas at this time you can only swap books through them.

Be that as it may, for my purposes, one CD/DVD swap site did emerge as my preferred site. Here is a quick and dirty chart summing up my overall opinions.

but I will discuss them all in more detail in separate, upcoming posts. Stay tuned!

BookMooch

I was poking around the Internet, and came across BookMooch. I was immediately intrigued! The site's look and feel is delightfully whimsical, but at the same time uncluttered and easy to use. As you know by now, All Qualities I Like!

So, I signed up and listed my available titles. Thus far I have sent out three items.

When someone requests your book, you get a detailed email with a lot of helpful information, but directly relevant to sending out the item are:

• the requestor's name
• the book they want
• the address to which the book should be sent
• the points you' ve been awarded for the immediate request at hand, as well as a tally of the total points you have earned so far

Also conveniently included in this email are links allowing you to

• log-in to the site and accept, delay, reject or indicate that you have sent the request
• visit the USPS.com site's postage cost calculator page

However going to your BookMooch inventory page and clicking into any of the links for your listed titles will allow you to perform these tasks as well.

Another element that some may find appealing to swapping through BookMooch is a philanthropic one. BookMooch members have the option of donating the points they accrue through swapping, to charity thereby subsidizing book requests for such organizations (See http://www.bookmooch.com/charity).

A couple of logistical considerations. I found the BookMooch point system used a little confusing, but since I'm more interested in finding new homes for the books I already have rather than requesting books, understanding it was less important to me. But, if it is important to you, you can read more about it at the site: http://www.bookmooch.com/about/interview. Also, at BookMooch the sender pays for and arranges the shipping.

Happy Mooching!

twigghugger's Guide to Surviving the Holiday Season - Part 2: The Art of Wrapping "Nothing!"

So! You've decided that transitioning away from giving and getting stuff that will contribute to clutter, is for you. However, at the same time, perhaps you are also a little concerned that the actual giving experience could be a little underwhelming and impersonal.

Nothing could be farther from the truth!

Because you won't be frantically running around shopping, that should leave you with more time and energy to take a more creative approach to "wrapping" or presenting your intangible gifts. With a little imagination, you can have a lot of fun doing it. You can also put all those little "couldn't bear to part with" snippets of wrapping paper, old greeting cards, bits of ribbon, small gift boxes and other baubles you have stowed away to good use.

Imagine, de-cluttering and giving gifts at the same time! If I'm not mistaken, that's a two-fer right there!

Printer Prowess

If you've got a laser or ink-jet, color printer, NOW is the perfect time to take a moment to actually check out some of those e-newsletters you've probably been receiving but ignoring, from your printer vendor each month! Or, to take a second look at those inserts that accompany your ink-cartridges. Both often describe all sorts of fun, exciting and hopefully simple projects you too can make with your very own printer.

For our purposes, this will mostly involve designing and creating unique certificates or note cards in order to inject a little something special into your "personal favors" or gift card exchanges. I'm sure you will be quite amazed at what you can come up with and that your printer can gracefully jump through your artistic hoops.

In The Ultimate Cardmaker: 180 Card Ideas & 20 Essential Techniques" edited by Sarah Crosland (ISBN-13: 978-0-7153-2596-4), there's a wealth of card ideas that you could probably adapt for non-tangible gift presentations. I picked it up last week (ah yes...craft books are one of my weaknesses!)

That's a Wrap!

As hinted above, wrapping intangibles can provide excellent opportunities for making use of the odd bit of wrapping paper and various other gewgaws. In "Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrapping, Tags, and Gifts From Everyday Materials" (ISBN-13: 978-0-06-112277-4), Danny Seo has a variety of clever gift wrapping ideas that make use of items you might find around the house (for you or I they’re clut-ter-ing the house) or which can be picked up inexpensively at flea markets or thrift stores.

It's a small book with only four chapters, but I think it packs quite a wallop:

• Chapter 1: Cards and Tags
• Chapter 2: Boxes
• Chapter 3: Gift Wrap and Bows
• Chapter 4: Handmade Giving

Check out Chapter 4, p.102 for a cute way to gussy up that otherwise, innocuous little gift card.

In addition to his book, Seo has a blog with a never-ending parade of creative and innovative, but inexpensive gift or reuse ideas.

Another website with fun wrapping ideas is WrapArt, but, I'm sure there are plenty of other sites like it out there.

Below are some examples of my Inner Krafty Kat in action. Be forwarned! The pix ain't fancy, but they should give a more visual idea of what I'm talking about. These are a few items from my very own wrapping stash: ribbon, tissue paper, bows, and a box! And then, what I did with those items (MacGyver eat your heart out!)

Here is another gift that I wrapped using a technique from the Wrap Art site:

Now, Tag IT!

Old greeting cards are a great alternative to those drab, store bought gift tags so go through that stash (and I know you've got one!) and see what you can come up with. Colorful, shiny, or sparkly cards are good choices. With a hole punch and some ribbon you'll be good to go. You can cut them up into rectangles and take advantage of the random, colorful patterns that emerge, or cut out elements of the card itself, which might lend themselves to making unique or decorative tags. There will probably be snowman, ornaments and other holiday icons a-plenty to get the job done.

If you're feeling particularly ambitious you might have a go at re-using....are you ready for this one....? Old business cards to make a more elaborate gift tag! Because you and I both know, you can't seem to order less than 10,000 of them at a time and invariably the information will probably change before you can possibly use them all. Head right over to Chapter 1 , p. 2 of Seo's "Simply Green Giving" to get the low down on making these tags, as well as a host of other innovative gift tag ideas.

Anyway! That should keep you busy (and clutter free) for the moment!

Happy Wrapping!

twigghugger's Guide to Surviving the Holiday Season - Part 1: Giving, Getting and How!

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, but my decluttering activities have outstripped my ability to keep up with writing about them. More on that in the future, but for now...

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone! But, perhaps even more significant for the Packrat, is the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, which has traditionally marked the official start of the holiday shopping season. All those shoppers lining up at the crack of dawn, waiting for the stores to open....I shudder at the thought of what this means for folk like us. If you (or someone you know) have been diligently working all year long to declutter your space AND can actually see some progress, then this time of the year could represent a serious setback to your hard earned success.

Below are six suggestions to help keep that momentum going. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but should at least get the wheels in your brain turning for “giving” alternatives. Because these ideas may represent a dramatic departure from what you’ve done in the past, it may be a good idea to discuss it first within your giving circle. This way everyone understands what is trying to be accomplished, is on the same page and awkward surprises or disappointments are avoided. To my mind the ultimate goal is to keep the holiday clutter in check.

1. Exchange the intangible instead of the physical - give or make gift certificates for:
   • services: a day at the spa, a manicure, a hair salon visit, cell phone minutes, ring tones or whatever other doo-dads are hot this year for the mobile communicator
   • an entertainment or event experience: theatre or movie tickets, a Netflix gift certificate (to those who know me...hint...hint...;-) ), dinner for two at a local restaurant
   • personal favors: promises to baby-sit, shovel snow, rake leaves, or keep the [pick an area of the house] tidy

2. The Gift Card - heck, with perhaps the exception of the personal favors, there's probably a gift card to be had for anything else in the other categories I just listed. You can get them easily enough at the particular establishment or order them from the merchants’ websites (e.g., Barnes & Noble, Starbuck's, Trader Joes, Target's, Red Lobster (yeah!) to name a few). Recently, I've even noticed kiosks at my local pharmacy, displaying all manner of gift cards for sale!

   The main take-away here is that this option facilitates targeted giving, allowing the recipient to choose their very own heart's desire (and from their favorite store to boot), rather than your having to guess at what that might be. How can either of you go wrong?!

3. Give the Gift of Blog - encourage the writer in your midst. Creating a blog is easier than falling off a log, at least on Blogger it is. I've given the Gift of Blog twice already! My Inner Packrat took a vacation day and I pressed my Inner Krafty Kat into service. In each case, I created and designed a special blog gift card, recycling bits of leftover gift-wrap and greeting cards to create something new and fabulous!

4. Snacks! - gifts of food are inherently un-cluttery, since they will likely need to be consumed within a specific period of time. As a result, they won't wear out their welcome by taking up too much space, at least for very long. Gifts of food can be store bought or for a nice personal touch, made with your own two little hands! Think mini quick breads, muffins, cakes, cookies, jams or jellies, fruit baskets, cheeses, wine and other beverages, munchie packs for movie night...the possibilities are really endless.

   Two books that survived my Great Book Purge were Gifts of Good Taste and Gifts That Taste Good both edited by Anne Van Wagner Young (Leisure Arts (c) 1989.

   

   A quick search at either of the two big online booksellers revealed that used copies of these (and other similar) books are still available. Of course, I got my copies before the Internet came along, but I'm sure there's a website or a blog out there that's chock full of ideas to suit your tastes (and yes the pun was intended! {{giggle}}

5. Charitable Donations - Sites such as Just Give.org or Network For Good.org (also known as "charity portals") offer a variety of options for charitable gift giving such as:
   
   
   • charity gift certificates
   • ability to create wedding registries or charity wish lists
   • shopping via charity malls
   • charity auctions

   Options such as these will allow others to make a donation in your name or to have a portion of the proceeds from actual goods purchased through a charity mall, to be donated to an organization or cause (e.g. mycause.com) of your/their choice.

   Just Give provides a variety of tools that enables someone to search and identify organizations to donate to, and which have also been screened as fitting certain criteria, defined at their site (see also Check Out That Charity for additional tips on selecting and evaluating a charity).

   Please Note: that in order to provide this service to non-profit organizations, charity portals do deduct a small fee from each donation transaction (in the case of Just Give it's 3%). This is just something to be aware of and keep in mind when deciding how much to donate or even whether a given charity agrees with this condition and will accept donations generated through portal sites.

   Perhaps you're thinking that charging such a fee might impose a hardship on organizations already strapped for funds, however for some it is actually more cost effective to do it this way then to recruit, retain and pay personnel to provide e-commerce functionality for themselves.

6. The Wish List - Finally, if you must or still want to give actual "things" the wish list is another way to more effectively focus gift giving by getting items a recipient truly wants or needs. If you've done any kind of online shopping you will probably be familiar with the wish list. If not, the wish list, is similar in concept to the bridal or baby shower registry, allowing you to add selected items from the site to a list for future reference. The drawback is that if there are several sites that a person frequents, gift givers will have to be directed to multiple places, which could be tedious.

   Not to worry! I came across a couple of sites (and undoubtedly there are many, many more) that allow you to coordinate and manage wish lists from multiple sources and share them with others.

   froogle.google.com/shoppinglist

   This link basically takes you to the "Google Product Search" page. In the upper right hand corner is a link to "My Shopping List". If you already have a Google or Gmail account, then you're pretty much already in business to use the service, otherwise you'll need to create an account. This service is in beta, so it was difficult to find any written explanation for how the wish list part works, but it's pretty easy to figure out if you poke around a bit.

   …and no, I’m not a shill for Google! I just either already use or happened to stumble across these services, but if you find or use something you like better, that’s fine too!

   thethingsiwant.com

   Another site I came across was The Things I Want.com I haven't actually tried it, but according to the site "...TheThingsIWant.com is an all-occasion universal gift registry site that enables users to add any item from any site to their wish list. "

So there you have it. I hope these suggestions have given you some ideas to keep from re-accumulating too much stuff over the holidays.

Good Luck and Good Giving!

Next up: twigghugger's Guide to Surviving the Holiday Season - Part 2: The Art of Wrapping "Nothing!"

End of Summer Update!

Greetings to my fellow Packrats out there! Hope you all had a pleasant summer. I took a bit of an unplanned break in August! This is the first summer in four years that I have not been in school and towards the end I got a little lazy, basking in my new-found freedom.

Be that as it may, my I have not been idle. During this brief hiatus from the blogosphere, I began several projects:

went through, sorted and organized an accumulation of old letters and greeting cards.

continued my ongoing magazine weeding project

decluttered my bathroom rolly cart

I'm steeling myself to tackle the kitchen! But one thing at a time.

Anyway, as you can see the past month has still been a busy and productive time and I'll be describing these efforts in greater detail in upcoming weeks.

But before I get to all that good stuff, I will talk about the charity check. Quite often an Exit Strategy for your clutter will involve donating the no-longer-needed items to a non-profit or charitable organization. So, I thought it would be helpful to discuss a couple of ways you can learn more about an organization to whom you have selected to donate your things.

More on all these topics soon!

A Fair & Square Send Off

I was poking around in one of my closets again, doing DeKlutter Assessment, that is, reconnaissance for possible, future deklutter projects. Ohhhhh, the forgotten things I found up on my closet shelves! Birthday presents for example! I called myself trying to be proactive so I wouldn't end up running around at the last minute, and then forgot they were up there! So, I probably ended up running around at the last minute, anyway! But that's a tale for another time.

Identify

Anyhow, while I was so engaged, I found another shoebox of fabric swatches!

If you recall, in Fabric Free, I talked about the swathes of fabric that I had accumulated when I belonged to not one, not two, but three fabric clubs(!) and that I had stashed this bonanza away up on a closet shelf, but that I finally managed to part with it (well most of it) by donating the fabric to Materials for the Arts. You may also recall that I had also accumulated the swatches (about 2" x 2" square) the fabric clubs would send once or twice a month, and that I had come across a whole shoebox full of them in another closet!

Gather

Well, I found another box of them this week! Yes I did.

What I didn't tell you, was that back when I found the first box, I was actually able to identify a new home for the them. Since I will be sending this more recently discovered stash to the same place, I thought it would be useful to share my Exit Strategy for these goodies, in case someone out there in the blogosphere finds themselves in a similar predicament. Don't look so skeptical. It could happen!

Unlike the lengths of fabric, I ended up sending the swatches somewhere else. A woman named Joyce, had posted a small classified ad at one of the reuse/recycle websites I frequent. Apparently she works at a senior center or a nursing home and she was looking for beads and "findings" to use the beading classes she teaches there. At the time, I wasn't exactly sure what "findings" were, but I decided to contact her about the fabric swatches to see if she might have any use for them. It turns out that she did!

They have various arts & crafts and sewing classes for the seniors and Joyce advised that they could use the swatches to make lap robes for people in wheelchairs at the nursing home. Having found this other box of them, I followed up with her to see if she could still use them and she assured me that she could.

As I also learned, findings are the different accent beads that are used in making jewelry. For example in a necklace, there may be five beads of one type, then an accent bead of another, to provide contrast. At the center, the seniors will take old necklaces apart, use the beads, and create something different. Even chain-type necklaces can be taken apart and the sections used in a new necklace. Earring wires and clip-ons are also considered to be findings.

I had some old necklaces I knew I was not going to wear again, so I threw those in along with the swatches. Joyce was very happy to receive everything.

Remove

I popped the fabric into a small mailer and headed to my favorite place, the post office!

So if have any old jewelry or necklaces that you don't want and don't know what to do with, send these items her way. She can definitely use them! Joyce can be reached at

tiredted [at] comporium [dot] net

The Exit Strategy Made Easier

A couple of weeks ago, I was poking around the NYC WasteLe$$ site and came across a page that I think is a very cool and invaluable tool for the Packrat. It's the NYC Stuff Exchange. According to the website:

This website offers a quick and simple way for NYC
residents to search for places in their neighborhood
and throughout the city where they can donate, sell,
buy, rent, or repair different types of gently used goods

But of particular interest is the Events Calendar!

What this means, is that for those of you in the NYC area, you can search for possible Exit Strategy opportunities from the comfort of your browser!

You can search

1. within the following four categories:
• donation drive
• rummage sale
• used book fair
• swap meet
2. within specific date ranges
3. by keyword

It will list the event, the date and time, and the sponsoring organization.

You can also click on the listing for more details such as the specific location of the event, contact information, a website if available, and a little blurb about the items being accepted.

Wowee! I think this is terrific!

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!

GreenDisk

Last week in The Diskard entry I described my difficult, but ultimate triumph in disposing of an accumulation of 5.25" floppy diskettes, and advised that this was part of my multi-faceted Electronics Discard Project (EDP), discussed in Digital Spring Cleaning. For The Diskard's "Removal step I used Green Disk, which turned out to be a really easy solution! Just the way I like them!

According to their website, "GreenDisk began on April 22, 1993 (Earth Day!) . . . [and] was founded by high tech industry veterans who had a particular passion for the environment." I had actually first heard of them many years ago through a professional list serve I subscribe to. Someone on the list asked if anyone knew of an environmentally friendly way to dispose of disks and CD's, and Green Disk was suggested. Packrat that I am, I tucked this bit of information away for future reference. Once I decided it was time to finally get rid of these floppies, I untucked it and decided to give GreenDisk a try. You see! Hoarding can have its advantages!

Through a series of partnerships with both for-profit businesses and non-profit agencies GreenDisk takes advantage of existing recycling centers to process what they call "technotrash". This arrangement also provides employment opportunities for disabled adults. Certain of the refurbished "technotrash" items are sold as GreenDisk's branded line of office supplies. Those items that cannot be refurbished are dismantled and properly disposed of, and they will provide a certificate to that effect. Everyone wins!

There is a fee to take this stuff off your hands (varies depending on the service you use), but for me, this was well worth it. Another great thing about GreenDisk is that they handle both small (30 lbs or less) and large amounts (over 300 lbs) of technotrash, so this deklutter solution is one that is suitable for both individuals as well as businesses. They accept quite a wide variety of electronic refuse:

desktops

laptops

monitors

printers

CDs

DVDs

videotapes

cell phones and other PDA equipment

but this list represents just a smidgeon of it. For a complete list visit their FAQ.

I used the Technotrash Pack-It service, although there are other service options available: Technotrash Can and the Computer and Component Recycling Program. With the Technotrash Pack-It service you use your own box and fill it with up to 20 lbs worth of whatever technotrash you can fit into it. At this writing the cost was $6.95 plus you have to pay for shipping. Anything over 20 lbs will costs 0.30¢ per additional pound. It took mere moments to set up an account. Placing my order and the final checkout process was also a breeze. The mailing label was included as a .PDF attachment to the order confirmation sent via email. Regular users of their services can manage their account and product orders through the site.

The Technotrash Pack-It service is good for small amounts of such items as floppies, DVDs, CDs, mice, cell phones, PDAs. Smaller, computer-related stuff like that. For larger volumes of this type of trash, you should use the "Technotrash Can" service. Various box sizes and pricing are available, however all the ins and outs are clearly spelled out at their site.

For computer components like monitors, printers, laptops, or complete desktop systems, they require you to use the Computer Component Recycling Program. If you or your business has unique needs, you can contact them to arrange a solution tailored to your particular situation. Note: "Technotrash Can Service is available only in the 48 contiguous states. Service is not available in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, or outside North America."

I packed up my floppies and just for the heck of it, tossed in a bunch of promotional CDs that I had (such as might be received from a certain internet and email service provider that starts with an Amer...?). I took the box to the post-office in order to weigh it on the self-service scale. It came to a little over 9 lbs. Later, I placed my order and printed out the label, then went back to the post-office to mail it. I used US Postal Service Media Mail, however you can choose whatever shipping method you like (e.g. UPS, FedEx or whatever). A week later, I received a Certificate of Destruction, which GreenDisk states is a bonded guarantee that the intellectual property and all of the physical materials were disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.

And that was that! Diskard Mission accomplished!

Digital Spring Cleaning

After several weeks absence I am happy to get back to twigg hugger! March and April were unusually busy months for me. As a result, I confess to having experienced a bit of Deklutter-er's Block, that is, a state where decluttering activity slows down or just plain comes to a halt.

I am now pleased to report that I finally was able to complete several phases of a long term and multi-faceted Electronics Dekluttering Project (EDP), which I will discuss more fully in upcoming entries. My EDP involved the disposal of a many year's accumulation of the following

Hardware

• two computers
• a dot-matrix printer
• external CD-ROM drive
• scanner
• set of speakers and sub-woofer

Software

• old DOS based computer games
• along with other DOS based applications

Various other electronic accessories

• old used and unused 5.25" floppy disks
• computer software and hardware manuals
• a Unix-based email account!

Mmm hmmm! As you can see the tenacity of my Inner PackRat is phenomenal! But I was committed to disposing of this stuff in as responsible a manner as I could in spite of some of the challenges this presented.

I am nothing if not persistent, so stay tuned!

Throwing Away at Throwplace.com®

In the Exchange Game I talked about exchange or swap sites as one of the tools a Packrat should include in his or her Decluttering Arsenal. In Something for the Bibliophile I discussed the Bookins site, which is specifically for the exchange of books (hard cover, paperback) and audio books. This week I would like to tell you about Throwplace.com®, an exchange site where all sorts of items can be posted for exchange. They describe themselves as "The Internet's Landfill Alternative".

I stumbled across this site in the course of searching for, what else? Recycling information! Unfortunately, I initially forgot to bookmark the site! Also, of the many sites I'd viewed that morning, I couldn't remember where I'd specifically seen the link to Throwplace. Adding even further insult to injury, I hadn't even correctly remembered the name of the site. I kept thinking it was "Drop Place" or something like that. As you can see I was batting a thousand. How-some-ever, I am nothing if not persistent. Oddly enough, for some reason I was able to remember one of the sites they had listed as having written about them, and was eventually able to get the URL in this manner. Needless to say I bookmarked the site immediately this time!

Why did I go through so much trouble to find my way back to this particular site? Well during my initial visit, I just really and immediately liked the site's look and feel. I wanted to poke around it some more. When I did get back to it, I found the site was easy to navigate and getting set-up was equally simple. As you know simplicity is one of my main criteria for giving something the thumbs up, and as I've also said, this quality is particularly important in the war against clutter.

It's free to set up a basic account, which will allow users to list or "throw" items in any of the following four categories:

US Charities

International Charities

Business/Individuals

Up-For-Grabs

However, only premium users can "take" from all four of those categories. Regular users are just allowed to "take" from the "Up-For-Grabs" section. But, since our main goal is to get rid of rather than acquire things, this should suit most purposes just fine. I set up an account back in October and since then have been able to dispose of about 27 out of 30 or so of the items that I've listed. Many of these items have included books, which for whatever reason, could not be listed on Bookins or were not requested after listing there.

Once someone requests one of your listed items, you will be sent an email with a link to the request. You will then need to sign in to obtain additional information regarding the request. After logging in, if there are multiple requests for the item in question, you can select the one you want and accept their request. Once you have accepted a request that "throw" is removed from the browse list of available items. An email is then sent to your chosen recipient advising them of your acceptance. Each of you will then receive an email containing each other's email address so that you may contact each other to complete the arrangements for the exchange. If for whatever reason, a "throw" falls through, relisting the item is simple by using the appropriate links in the item's listing. However, see their FAQ and Overview pages for all the ins and outs.

Once your account is set up, listing and keeping track of your "throws" is a snap, which are organized on your account in separate sections based on whether an item has been accepted (Older Throws) or not (Active Throws). Other helpful features include links to the US Postal and UPS sites for calculating shipping costs, along with a few additional tips related to getting your item to its intended recipient. Of additional and potential interest are various green or environmental resources at the site, such as

a directory of socially responsible vendors, retailers and suppliers

other green or eco-friendly related sites

participating US 501(c)(3) verified charities as well as International charities (not verified) or US charities who lack 501(c)(3) status charities

a classified ads section

However, these extras DO NOT get in the way of, what for me anyway, is my main goal in using the site: to facilitate the disposal of unwanted items!

In closing, I would like to offer one more final good word about Throwplace. I have found their Customer Service to be very friendly and helpful in resolving the few problems I have encountered, thus far. One particular issue involved my ISP, who on two separate occasions tagged their automated notification emails as spam and blocked them. However in distinct contrast to my ISP, whose basic stance is to require their paying customer's to chase around the necessary documentation before they will remove such blocks, all the while making you feel like some common bulk spammer, Throwplace worked cooperatively with me to get the problem resolved. This only served to enhance my overall positive attitude towards them and I would highly recommend at least checking them out.

So then! The twig hugger drill is as follows:

1. Identify that quaint little gewgaw quietly collecting dust in some corner of your home
2. Sign up for a free Throwplace account and list that delightful trinket using Throwplace's simple form
3. Wait for that lucky someone to espy your item in the browse list and to quickly request it before someone else does!
4. Accept their request lickety split and email the lucky recipient to make whatever final arrangements
5. Then, and only then Gather this precious knickknack and prepare it for shipping
6. Remove said item from your home and send it off to its new one

FINITO!

Something for the Bibliophile: Bookins

With this entry I begin to discuss specific solutions that I found and have used for divesting myself of clutter.

Step 1: Identify

I'm sure many of you may feel like you have too many books. What?!?! Impossible! You can never have too many books you retort. Alright, so maybe you have more books than you have room for. This is my problem. My wall unit shelves are stuffed to the brim with them. Books are jammed in there every which way: upright, sideways, on top of the uprights, etc. They were also stacked in a couple of piles on the floor. As you can imagine this accumulation was an obvious decluttering target and one that I attacked first.

Having identified the general project to be undertaken, I then zeroed in a little deeper. I reviewed my shelves and piles for books that I thought I could possibly bear to part with, especially as some of my interests had changed over time. Another friend of mine, who's also got scads of books, shared the following technique. She asked herself:

"Could I readily get this book at the public library?" If the answer was yes, she would then place it in a mental Possible Discard pile. She then asked "Could I readily get this book at the [insert your choice of small or remote location here] public library?" Again, if the answer was still yes, she then moved it to her mental Definitely Discard pile, but with a clear conscience!

The point is, find the trick that helps your Inner Packrat to relinquish an item. This way it becomes more of a fun game than a traumatic chore.

In Getting Started, Pt.2 I talked about making sure you have an Exit Strategy for an item (or items), to avoid setting off a Klutter Krisis. So, before actually touching or moving one solitary book, I made sure to figure out where stuff was going first. I threw the terms "book" and "exchange" or "swap" into my favorite search engine and came across a number of such sites. However, the one that I liked the most and decided to try was Bookins. It was the site's appearance and simple interface which ultimately persuaded me to give Bookins a whirl.

Step 2: Gather

I''ve said this before, but it can't be repeated often enough: SOLUTIONS FOR THE PACKRAT NEED TO BE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE. And, I found Bookins to definitely be that. It's free to set up an account, although there are also premium options available, with a few more bells and whistles. Once I took the plunge, I was up and running with it in a matter of moments.

Only then did I begin to gather my chosen titles so I could list them, also very easy to do. Once you've set up your account and are logged in, you simply type in a book's ISBN number, which now-a-days usually appears on a book's back cover over the barcode. For older books this information can be found on the verso or copyright page. In most cases, entering this information will retrieve an image of the book's cover. You then add additional information describing the book and certify that it is in good condition according to the following criteria:

books must be in like-new condition, or if used, have only minor signs of wear

all pages must be attached to the binding

have only a limited number of dog-eared pages, and

few if any small stains or minor tears

Finally, hit submit and POOF! It's listed.

The Bookins site searches its database for someone who has put that title on their wish list, sends email alerts to both parties to facilitate the exchange and also provides either parties the ability to track the status of the shipment. Once the material is delivered to the recipient, points are credited to your account, which you can then use towards available books that you might like to request from the Bookins database.

Step 3: Remove

For my first go-round I was very fortunate. Almost immediately (within about 24 hours), I received requests for several of the titles that I listed.

One of the Bookins features that I especially like is the ability to print a pre-paid US Postal Service Media Rate shipping label when you send a book. Note: Once you print the shipping label, you must send the book within 48 hours or you will be charged for it (at the moment $3.99) Otherwise, you are only charged when you request and receive a book (also $3.99).

Anyway, as I received requests, I printed out the label, put my book in a mailer, attached the shipping label and dropped it in the mailbox. I didn't even have to set foot in the post office!

Really, what could be easier!?!

To date I have listed 11 books, but actually traded (or removed in twigg hugger parlance) 7 through this site. However, according to Bookins, certain categories of books, such as novels or best sellers, are particularly popular. So your particular success will likely depend on the titles you have to trade.

<<-->>

Now some may ask, "How is using Bookins or a similar swap site different from borrowing a book from the Library?" Well for one thing, yes, you can borrow books from the library, however, the library may not be willing to take any of your unwanted books, which for our purposes, is a key point. Additionally, if they do take used books, they may only be willing to take very specific titles or types of materials. This is one of the problems I ran into when I first began to search for decluttering solutions-- lot's of generic lists with theoretical suggestions rather than ones that were practical or concrete.

Another advantage of using an exchange site such as Bookins, is that as a book lover you probably don't want to stop acquiring books altogether. You may just want to divest yourself of those books you no longer want and replace them with others. By using a swap site, like Bookins, you can keep traded books for as long as you like and then re-list them for trade when your done with them, whenever that is, rather than whatever the library's borrowing term happens to be. In this way you control the ebb and flow of books in and out of your space.

And that's the name of the declutter game. Exercising control over your clutter, rather than the other way around!