Step Five: Clean, Organize, and Celebrate!

Wow, doesn't it feel great to get that stuff out of your garage?

Now that you've cleared it out, it's time to organize and clean. A Shop Vac will be your friend at this stage, particularly if it has lots of attachments to get into the crevices and suck out the dust and dirt. 

As tempting as it is to start organizing before you're done decluttering, it's always best to get rid of the extra, unwanted stuff first. I used to buy totes reflexively every time I went to the hardware store. I ended up storing a lot of clutter. I was amazed at the number of empty totes I gave away after the big decluttering before we moved. 

When it comes to storage, there are a lot of systems out there. You can end up spending a lot of money on fancy matching bins. If that's your thing, cool. Personally, I prefer to own less, store less, and use containers I already own, matching or not. Remember, the purpose of storage is easy retrieval. If you're doubtful you'll ever use an item again, you can probably let it go.

Here's a before picture of the garage hobby room. Yikes. I still had stuff in there from my daughter's graduation open house ... last June. And there's Tim's time-trial bike leaning against the freezer. (How convenient. NOT.)

Here are some after pictures. Much better. 

Here's a shot of the main part of the garage. We installed a Gladiator wall system for hanging tools, and I love it. As you can see above, I keep most of my gardening tools right next to my potting table in a standing rack. I'm lazy about my tools, so I have to make it super-easy to put things away.

The final step is to celebrate a clean garage! How will you commemorate all your effort? 

Thanks for visiting. I hope this has been a helpful series. Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought!

Leanne Senter is the winner of my ebook giveaway! Thanks for your comment, Leanne, and enjoy the new Kindle!

Step Four: Deliver Your Stuff

Step four should be the easy step, right?

That's what I used to think. But often my plans to rid myself of clutter broke down when I procrastinated about actually dropping off the goods. 

Here's the thing: it actually hurts to get rid of clutter, according to brain researchers. Skeptical? Check out this article from Life Hacker. We do get attached to the things in our lives, even if they stress us out, and when we drop them off at a donation site, the brain registers that as pain (minor pain, but still). 

So what do we do about it?

Here's today's tip: as soon as you put that garage clutter into boxes, move the boxes to the trunk of the car, the sidewalk, the curb--whatever. Take the stuff to the donation site that day or as soon as possible. 

The longer it sits around, the more people will want to rifle through it, looking to retrieve their own stuff, and the more you will be tempted to retrieve things as well. The longer it sits around, the more energy and initiative it will require for you to drop it off. 

Don't just declutter! Deliver! Today!

Today is the last day for you to register for a free Kindle (plus some free decluttering books, including mine!). Make a comment on this blog post and you'll be entered to win. I'll be announcing the winner tomorrow!

Step Three: Declutter Your Stuff

Welcome back!

Are you ready for Step Three?

You've moved out the stuff that doesn't belong in your garage, and you've sorted the stuff that's left over into groups. Now let's take a hard look at what's in those piles so that we can move it out permanently! 

What's Worth Keeping

A perfectly useful object becomes clutter when it no longer serves a purpose in your life, whether that's a practical purpose or an aesthetic one. For some people, a little clutter is fine--even comfortable. For others (like me, for example), having things around that I don't need or want can be stressful. I'm a lot happier when I can keep clutter to a minimum. 

Today, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I use this object enough to justify owning it?
• Do I use this object for a special purpose or keep it because it means something special to me?
• Do I have more than one of these objects? Do I really need extras?
• Do I have a convenient way to store this object?
• Do I have the time, energy, and knowledge to maintain this object?

Creepy lifelike plastic rabbit = clutter.

Pack It Up, Move It Out

When you've decided what you no longer want to keep, sort that stuff into containers for delivery (that's our next step). Here are some possible destinations for garage clutter:

Tools and Materials Related to Construction or Landscaping

Habitat for Humanity ReStores
School building and construction trade programs
4-H programs
Community or school gardens


Recreational Equipment, Games, Toys, Hobbies
Scouting programs

Day cares, schools, after-school programs
YMCAs/YWCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other nonprofit community outreach programs

Appliances (Like that old beer fridge, maybe?)

Local utility collection programs

Recycling centers

Charities or nonprofits

For more ideas on resources, visit my resources page. 

How about you? What objects in your garage are going to stay, and what are going to go? Do you have stuff that reflects your aspirations rather than your reality? What charities or organizations will benefit from your donations? Leave your comments below and you'll be automatically registered to win a free Kindle! I look forward to hearing from you!

Step Two: Sort Your Stuff

Turn your attention now to the things that you want to keep in your garage. Give yourself plenty of room for this step--leave the vehicles outside temporarily. Start putting like things in groups. At this stage, don't make it too micro! The important thing is to see what you have. So, for instance, here are some possible categories. Which ones apply to your situation?

• landscaping and gardening
• home maintenance and repair
• sports equipment
• toys 
• hobbies
• hazardous materials
• food storage 
• grilling
• camping and recreation
• crap belonging to _________ (fill in name of family member)

If you can, assign every item in your garage to a group. You might start to notice that you have some duplicates or some items you haven't used in a long time. Maybe there are some things that represent activities you've left behind. One of my personal goals in decluttering is to live by Victorian designer William Morris' adage: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." There may not be much that's beautiful in your garage (unless you love your lawn mower), but there are plenty of things that are useful. Identifying what's truly useful is tomorrow's step ... so stay tuned!

Junk I removed from my garage that needs a new
home. Preferably not my home.

How many trowels does one gardener need? Hmm.
And why is that bicycle pump sitting there?

How have you grouped things in your garage? Any unusual categories? One of my unusual categories is Ironman triathlon (cross-referenced with crap belonging to). And how did you do with Step One? 

Leave a comment and you'll be registered for my Kindle giveaway on Friday!

Step One: Remove the Odds and Ends

Thanks for visiting today on Day One of my ebook launch! I'm excited to share some ideas with you this week. Feel free to share some of your own garage-cleaning ideas as well. 

Before You Begin: Inventory

Look around your space and consider your goals. Take just a few minutes to do this--much longer than that, and you could end up procrastinating. Not this week! 

Ask these questions:

• Can you currently fit your vehicle(s) into your garage?
• If your garage is for storage as well as parking, what exactly do you want or need to store there? Do you want to have room for your hobbies or recreation, as well as other equipment for lawn care and home maintenance? 

We built our garage last year--the original garage (around 80 years old) was leaning southwest on a crumbling foundation. Since my husband is a triathlete and I'm a gardener, we designed a room to accommodate those activities. One of my goals is organizing my Ironman!

Don't judge me. It's a work in progress. I've got a week, right?

Remove the Odds and Ends

Time to get to work. Keeping your goals in mind, scoop up the odds and ends that clearly belong somewhere else. This could include shoes, outerwear, toys, household cleaners or chemicals you've used for projects, or hobby and craft materials. You may not have a place for them and that's why they've ended up in the garage. That's okay -- that could be your next project. Let's focus on the garage first.Use a laundry basket or bin to contain this stuff temporarily for transport elsewhere.

While you're at it, get rid of any trash you see and fill up your recycling bin, too. Be ruthless. If it truly is something broken, dangerous, disgusting, incomplete, or generally useless, it's time for it to go. If you need help figuring out how to dispose of an item, check out Earth 911's helpful resources or my own blog post on the topic. 

How do you declutter your garage? Leave me a comment and you'll be registered for a free Kindle and a bundle of great decluttering books (including mine)!

Good luck! See you tomorrow for Step Two!

You need a new Kindle, right? Register to win one this week!

My new ebook, Declutter for Good: Share Your Stuff and Reclaim Your Life, is now available for $7.99 on Amazon and other digital platforms.

Your Brain on Clutter--Any Questions?

I'm participating in this purge in October, thanks to the bloggers over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. Their blog is a fun resource for people like me who need help getting organized sometimes. I'm a true creative - lots of ideas, not a natural love of order, though I'm learning. The more order I introduce into my life, the more creative freedom I feel, and less stress, too.

I don't know about you, but I am constantly amazed by the amount of things I no longer need. Maybe it's a function of age or wisdom, but every week I seem to find possessions I can willingly part with. And then there are the things I've kept for years that I could never give away--a shabby jean jacket older than my youngest child (who is fourteen), for instance. There's no rhyme or reason to the things that touch our hearts.

In preparation for a class I'm teaching next week on decluttering (in conjunction with my book launch--more on that later), I've been reading about brain research and our relationship to our stuff. Turns out that when we give away something that belongs to us--even if we no longer need it--our brain reacts in a way similar to a paper cut. It hurts. That explains why a trip to Goodwill leaves me feeling so ambivalent--relieved, but sad.

How do you feel about getting or staying organized? How much clutter can you handle in your everyday surroundings? What tools do you use to stay on top of your responsibilities? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What Gets Me On My Feet and Out the Door

Most mornings I head out the back door for a walk around my neighborhood. Some days I walk "unplugged" so I can listen to the birds, ponder an issue (Should I quit caffeine? to which the answer is always NO), or sort out a complication in my work. Other days I listen to podcasts and audiobooks on my iPod -- a great way to stay informed, get educated, and get off my rear end at the same time, because we all know sitting will kill you, and who sits more than writers?

Most podcasts are free, and you can find them on almost any topic. One podcast I listen to frequently is by Todd Henry, author of two great books: The Accidental Creative and Die Empty. He often interviews thought leaders across the spectrum of business and creativity as well as offering his own timely and practical advice. I'll listen to the segment, then shut off my iPod and keep walking, allowing my mind to drift over everything I just heard. This is the important part for me: applying that wisdom in my own life and work. Find out more about Todd's work here.

The eponymous painting.

Sometimes I just need to let my mind relax and escape for a while, so that's when I listen to music or an audiobook. I'm easily bored (not my best quality!), and I get tired of my playlists after a while. Audiobooks, on the other hand, keep me entertained for my daily 2.5 miles. My local library has audiobooks I can check out, and sometimes I splurge and buy them. Lately I've been listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction--well-deserved, I might add. It's awesome, the story of a tiny painting's influence on a man's life. (No, really, it's much more exciting reading than that lame description sounds. I'm serious.) Even better, the prospect of hearing the next chapter motivates me to strap on the old walking shoes.

What podcasts do you listen to? I'd love to hear your suggestions! And if you've got suggestions for a good walking music playlist, share those, too!

The Terrors of Authorship

Writing a book seems like such an audacious thing, and self-publishing it even more audacious, though people have been self-publishing since papyrus was the medium of choice. Or maybe even cuneiform. However, I have always known that I would write a book. It's been in my blood like some sort of chronic condition. Having done it feels surreal and supremely satisfying.

Authorship, though, is terrifying. Hiding behind someone's copy is one thing. Claiming the product of my creativity is like parading naked through the marketplace, as many writers have already shared. (Edna St. Vincent Millay said, “A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book nothing can help him.”)

Making the transition from writer to author happened between the third and fourth draft of my book, after the copy editor had her way with the manuscript. I wasn't scared by her constructive criticism; as an editor myself, I treasured her comments. What really scared me was that she was taking me seriously, that I was really writing this book, that it really was going to be published and PEOPLE WERE GOING TO READ IT, including my relatives (who, by the way, are lovely people who have done nothing but encourage me).

So here it is, on the cusp of its release: a little guidebook about living a less cluttered life. I started writing it over a year ago, and I am more convinced than ever that I would not live any other way. If writing the book helped me realize this, then it was worth all the trouble to write it. And if it proves helpful to its readers, then I'm twice as happy I wrote it. Godspeed, little book.

My ebook, Declutter for Good: Share Your Stuff and Reclaim Your Life will be released September 15, 2014 on digital platforms, including Amazon.

The Nirvana of Turf Grass

Grow! Grow!

Glimpsing the tiny sprouts of new grass in the backyard, I was strangely exhilarated. After years of growing perennials, annuals, trees, and shrubs, I had arrived at the Nirvana of Midwestern gardeners: I had grown Kentucky bluegrass.

Turf grass serves important purposes in a garden. It gives the eye a place to rest, highlighting the other ornamental plants. It serves as an open space for picnics and badminton. It provides a nice place for a hammock, especially if you have the shade of a spreading tree overhead.

I can appreciate grass if it serves those functions. I'm definitely not a fan of grass for grass's sake, however. Too many landscapes are just grass, often heavily fertilized with nitrogen and other chemicals. While they look appealing to some, those landscapes offer nothing of nutritional value to the birds and the insects that make up our ecosystem. A recent article in Farm Futures, a publication for the agriculture industry, noted that "approximately 55% of the nation's rivers and streams are in poor condition for aquatic life, an Environmental Protection Agency survey released Tuesday found, citing pressure from nitrogen or phosphorus runoff, rising bacteria levels or diminishing surrounding vegetation." 

Yikes.

Considering that fact, my husband and I strategized that our back yard would contain a central circle of grass, surrounded by beneficial shrubs and plants for wildlife. Growing grass from seed was a new gardening adventure for me, but I figured it couldn't be that hard, right? 

I knew we couldn't just throw grass seed down on the backyard's compacted soil. With help from a friend with a Kubota, we removed the remaining dead grass and old shrubs from the planting area, tilling to about six inches. Then we raked the surface smooth, pulling out roots, rocks, and grass clumps.

I laid a hose around the area I wanted to seed, defining my space. Then I spread grass seed evenly in the space and raked it in gently. Thanks to last year's straw bale garden, we had plenty of rotted straw to spread lightly over the seed for mulch--good for protection from birds and wind and for retaining moisture. A good soaking with the hose followed: the challenge of growing grass is keeping it constantly moist.

During a cold snap when the seeds seemed unresponsive, I ran into a certain former Purdue Extension educator and told him of my project. "Fall's the best season to grow grass, right?" he said. I vaguely remembered this from my master gardener training--I think I may have dozed off during the turf grass lecture, actually. I felt a moment's doubt. Was I really going to screw up grass? How could I hold my head up as a certified master gardener if I couldn't do grass?


Lots of people swear by clean fresh straw for new grass, but I had wondered if rotted straw would be just as effective, and apparently it was. After several weeks of frequent, light watering, despite cold weather, grass began to sprout. My daily cajoling probably helped, too. "Grow, grow! C'mon, little seeds!" I said, every time I walked from the garage to the patio. My youngest teen would just shake her head and scurry into the house ahead of me before anyone saw her.

Grass and flower beds - a nice combo!

Now from my upstairs office window, I can see a well-defined circle of bright green, patchy and fragile, like the hair on a new baby. I'm hoping it will be filled in enough for the graduation party in June. 

Yeah, I can do grass.

Garden Like a Mother

This Mother's Day, forget about breakfast in bed. 

A big bouquet? Meh. 

Here's what a gardening mother really wants on her special day:

P. Allen Smith, garden guru and Nice Guy.

1. This guy. 

Okay, okay. I know kidnapping garden lifestyle guru P. Allen Smith is frowned upon. What if you asked him nicely to come and live with you? I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

Hori hori. Scary scary.

2. A hori-hori. Find one here. 

I cannot tell you how much I love my hori hori. This baby does it all -- dig hard soil, slice through stems, rip open bagged potting soil, plant bulbs to a precise 6 inches, insert tender seedlings into a window box. Every gardening mother needs at least two of these babies. Just remember not to make Mom angry when she's wielding it.

3. Awesome garden boots. These are perfect!

Forget last year's running shoes or your husband's battered Crocs. Slip into a pair of these boots for watering, mucking out the compost bin (or horse stall or whatever), or spring garden planting. They are so comfy!

4. A handy garden cart, like this one. 

I don't have a big yard, so I got rid of my old wobbly wheelbarrow and bought this little workhorse at Lowe's. Notice that it has two wheels, so no tipping! It also has a handy slot to toss my tools in as I'm pulling it around in the yard. No more squatting with my hori hori in my back pocket (ouchy ouchy!). It's not large, but hey, am I hauling full-sized trees around? Not on your life. That's Dad's job.

5. Garden gloves that rock!

These gloves by Womans Work are the best! "Made by women for women." Need I say more? And they come in bright colors, so they are easily spotted in the grass where I dropped them yesterday ...

6. A jaunty hat. 

Let's face it. Moms are so over this tanning business. It's all about preservation now. But no seed caps for us--why not wear something more flattering, like a wide-brimmed straw hat? Keep off the rays, look fab. 

7. This book. 

One of the best all-purpose reference books on my shelf. This book answers questions you didn't know you had, and most (if not all) of the ones you do have!

So there you have it -- some suggestions for your shopping pleasure. There's still time to order. Get cracking, family--and I don't mean eggs for a Mother's Day omelet, either. 

Rainy Night Curry

The first time I ate curry, I thought it was weird. 

It was at camp, where we were encouraged to scoop stew onto our plate and then heap it with such incongruous ingredients such as bananas, peanuts, and tomatoes. Um, excuse me? I'm from the Midwest here, people ... 

The next time I ate curry, I was a newlywed, temporarily living in the Western Highlands of Kenya with husband Tim, who was serving at Tenwek Mission Hospital as part of his Indiana University Medical School training. The whole community came together regularly for parties (send-offs, welcomes, any excuse), complete with big pots of curry, heaps of rice, and lots of sweet and savory condiments. During our two months in Kenya, I cooked exclusively from the More With Less Cookbook, which has lots of great recipes for curries (which is a spice as well as a dish). Slate has an interesting article about curry, by the way.

Thai chicken curry. Yum! You have to include fresh
cilantro. Seriously.

Curry became a staple in our apartment during residency. Still using More with Less (now tattered, food-stained, and missing its cover), I cooked up curry stews for dinner--perfect fare when your spouse is coming off a 36-hour shift and will be home ... sometime. The stew would simmer away, and I'd keep reading Keats, Milton, and Zora Neale Hurston and writing papers until I saw the red-rimmed whites of his eyes. Once, Tim nodded off to sleep while eating curry.

I don't make it as often, but I still hanker for a big pot of curry now and then, particularly on cold rainy nights when I want something rich and spicy. I made the this recipe on a recent rainy night, a Thai curry that my kids gobbled up with enthusiasm. Curries are handy when you have kids coming and going at all hours, too.

Many of you know that I've been following the DASH diet (learn more about it here) because of high blood pressure and some other chronic issues. This curry does contain some carbs, but to make it DASH-friendly, I used chicken breasts, lots of high-fiber veggies, and low-fat coconut milk (and I skipped the basmati rice, which sucked, because I love basmati rice). And instead of using canned curry sauce, I improvised with three tablespoons of ground curry and half a can of low-sodium chicken broth. 

About carbs: they aren't banned on the diet, except for the first two weeks, but now I only eat them in small quantities, only a few times a week, and I only eat high-quality carbs (handmade whole-grain breads, whole veggies like potatoes with their skin). I'm eating lots of veggies, fruit, and legumes, as well as lean meat. This diet is very doable, and I'm feeling so much better than I have in ages. 

Try curry some rainy night -- it really hits the spot. And don't blame me if you become an addict.

Podcasting and Selling the Car

I'm so excited about this movement in a state known more
for its coal-fired power plants than its environmental activism.

Last month, the shoe was on the other foot for this green journalist. Kathy Sipple of Sustainable Indiana 2016 interviewed me about my family's experience downsizing and decluttering. You can hear the podcast here. (Kudos to all the people I've ever interviewed ... it's much easier to ask the questions!)

I'm talking about decluttering again tonight at Earthworks Market in Plymouth. Every time I share about my family's experience, I'm reminded that we are not the only people searching for a "right-sized" life. Every Monday I get an email from Miss Minimalist with another story of a "Real Life Minimalist." Though my family released 3/4ths of our possessions and moved to a house in town that was half the size of our suburban dream house, our adventure was not as radical as some have undertaken. I'm humbled when I read about people who gave up even more than we did, but who would never go back to a life of unconscious consumerism.

I keep finding ways to downsize, even now that we've downsized. It's fun to find ways to live a simpler, yet richer, life. My husband's been doing it, too. He's contemplating selling his 2008 Mustang GT (a gift from his parents for his 40th birthday) to fund a family trip to London before our oldest goes off to college. I can't make that decision for him, but it's another amazing demonstration of how our values have changed from people who own to people who would rather live.

Incidentally, my ebook Declutter for Good: Share Your Stuff and Reclaim Your Life will be out at the end of the month, God willing.

Starting From Scratch

I thought about titling this post "Total Disaster Gardening," but that sounded a trifle hysterical.

The yard needs work. That's an understatement. After demolishing one garage, building a new one, demolishing an old stone wall and rebuilding it (stone by stone), taking down an old misshapen silver maple and planting a new "Red Jewel" crab apple, our tiny backyard looks like a bomb went off. The iron fence is in pieces. The lawn is compacted in places and non-existent in others. The pavers used for bordering the old flower beds are laying around like shrapnel. And without the canopy of the old tree, everything feel exposed, like a new scab.

Last summer's straw bale garden, plus rubbish.

Ick.

Since the weather was fine yesterday, I decided to go out and sweep. Which led to shoveling the rotted straw bale garden into a pile. Which led to stacking pavers for a new compost area. 

Ironman (husband Tim) came home after a ride around Lake Max with his training buddies. He looked over the renovations and said, "Are you trying to shame me?"

"Yes," I said, rubbing my left hip. (Bursitis. Fantastic.)

The new compost pile. Note the tilting fence section and
sad-looking viburnum. Both will be replaced, someday ...

This morning, looking over my work from yesterday though, I'm pleased. We recently tossed our garbage disposal, which did nothing except fund the plumber's son's college fund, so I'm thrilled to start this new pile after a winter of guiltily tossing my scraps in the trash. I'm also thrilled to find a use for the pavers, which always seemed too big for such a diminutive space anyway.

And I saw two earthworms and a centipede yesterday, very much alive and wiggling despite the frigid winter of 2014. Time to get to work, fellows.

Get On the Bus, Gus

We often take the train to Chicago, when
we need a taste of city life to remind us
why we live in a small town.

I was heartened to hear this good news from the New York Times this morning: 

"More Americans used buses, trains and subways in 2013 than in any year since 1956 as service improved, local economies grew and travelers increasingly sought alternatives to the automobile for trips within metropolitan areas, the American Public Transportation Association said in a report released on Monday."

We have the millennials to thank, perhaps. This is one generation who seems to want a quality of life beyond just accumulating a lot of stuff. It sure takes a load off the atmosphere when people stay out of their cars and trucks. 

Where I live in rural Indiana, we don't have much in the way of public transportation. Or do we? Now that I think about it, we do have a town taxi service (which my husband has used to get from here to there once in a while) and we have a public bus service run by the Life Enrichment Center (which most people think is just for old folks, but anyone can ride). 

One of the reasons my family moved downtown was to be close enough to walk and ride our bikes to most destinations. And we can, mostly, though it's still a bit of a haul by bicycle to pick up a gallon of milk or a couple of nails. I would love to see a five-and-dime downtown, a place to pick up those sundries.

We have a Mexican grocery downtown that I patronize, but the last time I checked, they didn't have milk or eggs--er, leche o huevos.

In a few weeks, my daughters and I are going to take the South Shore Line to Chicago for a day or two over Spring Break. In eighteen years of living in Plymouth, I've only driven to Chicago once. Taking the train is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. We get on in Chesteron, IN. They read, knit, listen to music, take naps, and I watch the landscape go by in between the pages on my Kindle. We manage to find public transportation whenever we've traveled to the city--Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago. Our greatest vacation ever was taking Amtrak's Empire Builder to Glacier National Park. 

Alas, we can't take the train to Indianapolis or New Albany, the town where our parents live--there's no convenient rail system going that way. Ironic, eh? 

How about you? Do you take public transportation when you get the chance?

The Right to Refuse

Can you fit your yearly output of household trash in a quart-sized jar?

Bea Johnson can.

Recently I spoke by phone with Johnson, author of a book entitled Zero Waste Home, which details her family’s life of voluntary simplicity. She told me that after years of living a “big American life,” her family decided to move closer to town (they live in a California coastal community).  While they house-shopped, Johnson, her husband, and two young sons rented an apartment and stored everything but the basics. To Johnson’s surprise, living with less was easier and more enjoyable. They shed 80% of their stuff and now live in a house one-third the size of their previous one. “Living more simply is so rewarding,” she says. “A simple life has allowed our family to travel more, to have more experiences together. Life should be based on experiences, not things.”

 

Bea Johnson lives by this mantra: “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, or rot” (compost). “Refusing” comes first for a reason, because it stops clutter at its source. For instance, imagine the pile of junk mail that arrives in most mailboxes weekly. Johnson prevents junk mail delivery by opting out of mailing lists. Stop it, don’t just recycle it. “If you accept junk mail, then turn around and recycle it,” Johnson says, “you are basically telling that company, ‘Send me more of your stuff!’” Contact the Direct Marketing Association to opt out of unsolicited commercial mail.

Johnson also refuses freebies or giveaways—the t-shirts, pens, and gewgaws she is offered at trade shows, conferences, or events. “Once you pick up a freebie,” she says, “it becomes your problem. Then you have to figure out what to do with it.”

Packaging contributes a huge amount to household waste, so Johnson refuses it by buying her food and household supplies in bulk, bringing her own jars, reusable bags, and baskets for items such as deli meat and produce. By providing her own containers, buying whole foods, and choosing loose or bulk items, she has no plastic bags or containers to dispose of. Occasionally a grocery store clerk will question putting deli turkey in a Mason jar, but Johnson says, “I just tell them I don’t have a trash can.”

What about refusing family heirlooms? “I have told my family that I don’t want more stuff in my life,” says Johnson. “Stuff is not irreplaceable.  I prefer to remember loved ones by the things I did with them versus keeping the stuff they lived with. I’m sure my grandmother would not want me to have something I don’t want or can’t use.” She does own heirlooms, she told me, but she uses them every day instead of storing them like museum pieces.

Johnson told me that her family’s zero waste lifestyle has been a gradual process, and that there are some things she will compromise on. However, she would never return to her life before she downsized. She’s having too much fun.

I'm reading Johnson's book now, and I'm totally inspired. Here's another place to find it:  Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste. Follow Johnson on Twitter (@zerowastehome).

Welcome to the Fresh Words Blog

Hello.

A few years ago, my family relocated to a gem of a house on Main Street, USA. Since then, we've been learning how to live smaller, with less--while finding out what means the most. 

In this blog, you'll find

•  writing about the environment
•  ideas about de-cluttering ... for good
•  inspiration for "curating" a classic older home (mine was built in 1928)
•  the inside scoop on small town life (it's better and worse than you think)
•  newsy updates on gardening, traveling, parenting, and anything else I can think of.

Thanks for stopping by.

Our house is a 1,400 square foot Colonial Revival.