Breaking Up is Hard to Do

If I want my entry to look closer to this....

Source: mackenziehoran.com via Carol on Pinterest

I need to declutter a lot of this!

Source: chrysti.squarespace.com via Amilia on Pinterest

I've had a warm and close relationship with magazines since I started reading "Highlights for Children" in third grade. We've spent a lot of time to together and had a lot of laughs, but I think we may need to break up. A portion of my clutter comes from too many magazines coming into my apartment, not being read and not leaving. Magazines, you need to leave! I'd save copies to clip articles, but with the internet I rarely go back to articles I've clipped. If I don't do something I've read about immediately the odds are that I won't in the future. I've cancelled my subscription to "New York" and "New Yorker," but I need to reexamine everything I subscribe to, including "The New York Times," which has been a really good friend for decades. I don't think I'm ready to break up with the Times, but this is the moment to think about our relationship. Does anyone else have trouble throwing out magazines and newspapers? 

No Spending January is going well. Not one ounce of new clutter came into my apartment today and my goal for tonight is a bag of paper will go out. My goal for water has been less successful, but there's still almost six hours in the day. I can chug water for several hours and still sleep.

It was a glorious day in New York City today, sunny and in the sixties. Started the day with services, had lunch with friends, and finished the afternoon with a trip to the hairdresser. Walked everywhere and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Hope your Saturday was sweet, too!

No Spending January

Source: andthenshesaved.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I looked around my sweet little apartment on December 31 and all I could see was stuff. Not just my usual too many papers and magazines, but things. There were extra tote bags that I wasn't using, Christmas wrapping supplies and gifts that I wasn't sure where to put. Throughout the fall I've sold books, given away bags of clothes and thought what I had done had made some real headway in clearing clutter. But everywhere I looked I saw stuff. I realized that I couldn't make headway if I was bringing more things in. Out of this heap of stuff "No Spending January" was born.

The premise is simple. No matter how much I want something, no matter what a good buy it is and no matter that I've wanted said item forever I am not going to buy it. No more clutter can come in my apartment for the month of January. I can buy things to eat and drink. I can buy tickets for experiences. I can get my hair cut or pay for yoga classes, but I won't buy shampoo that the hairdresser recommends or new yoga clothes. I have shampoo and I have yoga clothes. As the sign says, "Just because you can buy it doesn't mean you should."

Three days have passed and I am doing fine. I've found I can just delete lots of email unread. I am not going to buy sweaters from Land's End or new sheets from Sear's. What I have will do for the month of January. I may even save my gift cards until February or March. It's not spending money, but I want to assess what I need and not shop because it's fun. I've added a corollary and I am avoiding buying any sweets to bring home. I can have a cookie or muffin when I'm out, but this avoids ice cream that's on sale and Christmas candy fifty per cent off. I'd love to be a slimmer me in my less cluttered apartment on February 1.

I am optimistic that on February 1, 2012 my apartment will be more organized. I will have arranged a pickup for the several bags of clothes that I have been keeping though they haven't been worn in years.  I will have discarded a large pile of magazines and at least six bags of paper. I will have cleaned out the refrigerator and the freezer and I may even have begun No Spending February. I will let you know.