Clutter and Collections

Most people define clutter as too much stuff, which is certainly accurate, as long as you can define what's "too much." Quantity is flexible; function is the more important issue. Is it physically in your way? Is it a constant annoyance in the back of your mind? I'd say that you have too much when your stuff gets in the way of living your life the way you want to live it.

Some people can amass a ton of stuff and be quite content: collectors. They enjoy what they own, they care for it, display it (as much of it as they can), and are eager to share it and their experiences collecting it with others. Here are two completely different examples of collectors: one is quite traditional, while the other collected cast-offs to create art.

Archaeologist Andrea Ludden’s collection of over 40,000 pairs of salt and pepper shakers is housed in two museums, one of them created by her and her family. Click here to read more and be sure to view the excellent slide show of examples from the collection.

High school teacher, writer and artist Victor Moore constructed his Junk Castle from salvaged items such as sheet metal, tin, washing machine parts, dryer doors, miscellaneous housings, bedsteads, and the door from a '52 Oldsmobile. Another interesting slide show is at this link.

Is your stuff as well cared for, as beautiful, or as useful as the items in these collections -- or is it just clutter?

Buying Locally in 2012

"Americans are craving food grown locally: There are now more than 6,000 farmers markets across the country. Here Ron Samascott organizes apples from his orchard in Kinderhook, N.Y., at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York."
 Mark Lennihan/AP

Perhaps the most interesting idea for thoughtful consumers to ponder for the new year is buying locally. Not only farmers markets, but small local businesses benefit from this. Consumers benefit by having access to special items that aren't available in every mall or supermarket across the country. The community benefits not only economically but also by forging links that bond neighbors together. Linton Weeks, who wrote an NPR post about the "new American localism," suggests that it may provide a new (revised from the 1960s) slogan for a bumper sticker: "Think Locally, Act Locally." Seems very thoughtful to me.

Happy New Year and thank you, readers, for your continued interest in and support of this blog!

Secret Santas

Four little girls decorate their austerity Christmas tree at a suburban Melbourne school. The tree branches are constructed of sticks hung with fringed paper and foil stars are used as decorations. (Undated.) From the Cool Chicks from History blog.

In the middle of all the usual holiday season advertising that encourages us to spend with wild abandon, and the attendant nervous speculation about whether or not we will, it was refreshing to read the following post from one of my favorite blogs, Cool Chicks from History. It's about Secret Santas:

If you haven’t heard yet, there is a nice little trend going on where people are going to Kmart and other retailers to pay off other people’s Christmas layaway. (Layaway is a program where people put aside items and pay for them a little bit at a time through the store).

In Grand Rapids, MI 20 Kmart layaways have been paid off in the last three days.

More than a dozen people have visited Bismark, ND Walmarts to anonymously pay off someone’s layaway.

An anonymous donor in Davenport, IA paid off four Kmart layaways.

Secret Santas have paid off layaways in Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, and Montana.

The phenomena seems to have started in Michigan and most of the incidents so far have happened in the Midwest. Donors have mostly asked to see lists that include Christmas toys and left a small balance, asking that the person who put the items on layaway be told that the bulk of their balance has been paid off.

Kmart, Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, and Babies R Us all have layaway programs if you are inspired to play Secret Santa yourself.

If you have a little extra cash, this is a great idea for how to spend it wisely. It also reminded me of another Secret Santa opportunity which I've enjoyed in the past. The Post Office collects letters to Santa Claus from needy kids for Operation Santa Claus. Here's the scoop from their website:

We hope that you will participate in Operation Santa Claus and become a Santa's helper this year by answering one letter or multiple letters from needy children. These are children who are not asking for toys, but for articles of clothing, for school supplies, for a toothbrush or other personal care items. While toys are a lot of fun, the items on these children's "Dear Santa" list are much more basic. Please help!

Here's a link to the list of participating Post Office locations, but you might also check with your own local Post Office. After you sign up, you'll be given a letter (or a bunch of letters to chose from), then all you have to do is purchase the items on the child's list, wrap them up and drop the box in the mail (I gave the return address of Santa Claus, North Pole, of course). There's still time to give a child -- and the child's family -- a great surprise Christmas! 

The Thoughtful Consumer Holiday Sales!

While mindless holiday shopping is something I don't advocate, mindful shopping for meaningful gifts is part of our holiday traditions. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for gifts from The Thoughtful Consumer for friends and family -- or yourself:

If you'd like a boost to get you going on that seemingly inevitable New Year's resolution to unclutter and organize, try reading my book! You can find it on Amazon.com in both print and Kindle formats, but there's a special sale going on at Lulu.com that will let you save 30% on CyberMonday. To take advantage of the offer, click here for the print version; click here for the e-Pub version (you can read ePub books on the iPad, Nook, your computer and many other devices, but not the Kindle). At check-out, enter the code: CYBERMONDAY.

If you need to focus on getting your closet under control, check out my 20-page article, "How to Get Dressed Without Driving Yourself Crazy." It's available exclusively for the Kindle (and Kindle Reader) here, always for only 99 cents!

Art is beautiful, interesting, challenging, uplifting, stimulating, meditative, thought-provoking, soul-embracing, and sometimes just plain ol' fun. I think of it as an important part of life; I don't think of it as unnecessary "stuff." Granted, if you have too much art in your home, it can become as problematic as anything else that clutters your space, but usually people collect art rather than pile it up like too many toys or t-shirts or plastic food storage containers.

So, because I hope to contribute to the life-enhancing qualities of daily life -- and because it's just plain ol' fun -- I make art. You can see it on my blog, Art by Cynthia, which features examples of art I make and art I like. [Above: Japanese Garden Bridge, 3"x4", image transfer painted with watercolors, matted, sale price $25] Search the categories to see the paintings, drawings and hand-colored photographs I've posted. If you find something you like, you can take 50% off the listed price of any original art if you order by December 25, 2011. There are additional charges for shipping. If you live in Los Angeles and would like to see some of my other work, let me know and we can arrange it.

Happy Holidays!

Buy Nothing Day 2011

I'm appalled by the decision of some large retailers to open their stores on Thanksgiving to extend the time for what is usually the traditional Black Friday sales. Black Friday is bad enough, having gone from frantic buying frenzy to the kind of insanity that results in injuries and even death. Why diminish the value of Thanksgiving, which doesn't have any shopping other than food associated with it, by turning it into part of an annual high-pressure spending event?

Although the concept of simple living seems to be more popular each year and the necessity to cut back on spending is definitely increasing for most families, we still can't shake the idea that buying stuff is the primary focus of the holiday season. So, I'll mention once again the sanity-saving holiday, Buy Nothing Day, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. One day, November 25th, in which we make the decision not to spend our money. At all. Period. It's like a one-day fast: enough to make you aware of what you're doing, not enough to cause you any harm. It also keeps you out of the Black Friday madness.

But, realizing that we can't go forever without buying anything, after our one-day fast let's also consider being more conscious of how and where we do spend our money. Small Business Saturday, on November 26th, advocates shopping in locally-owned, non-chain stores. The two-year-old initiative is sponsored by the big business American Express in support of its small merchant customers. A company spokesman explains that by next year it will become "a part of the holiday tradition nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday."

Yes, Cyber Monday is now an "official day," too. The term was invented in 2005 by Shop.org, part of the U.S. trade association National Retail Federation when it was noted that "millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked."

I doubt that we'll return anytime soon to the days when a joyful holiday season wasn't associated with spending massive amounts of hard-earned cash on everything from gifts to decorations to a new holiday wardrobe, followed by months of deprivation while trying to pay off the bills. But as some of us continue to spread the idea of restraint, maybe more of us will start to be mindful of our spending choices. Spending is a choice, once you've taken care of survival necessities, and while everyone is entitled to make their own choices, I know that camping out for a full week to snag a few Black Friday deals isn't one I'd make. Would you?