Public Enemy Nr. 1: Things bought in bulk

The jibes about warehouse clubs are numerable. The idea of buying a 3-gallon tub of mayonnaise and rushing to use it before it goes bad may not seem like many people's idea of a good bargain. Plus the pounds you add just to "save" money!

But warehouse clubs like Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale Club and Costco offer major discounts to customers on several name-brand and high-quality foods and household goods. They're able to offer savings by keeping costs low, making deals with suppliers and selling products in those ridiculously large packages. For an annual fee ranging between $40 and $50, the clubs sell merchandise at profit margins well below retail competitors [source: Warehouse Club Focus]. But not all bulk shopping deals are created equal. In general, you want to buy things you'll actually use, and won't go to waste. 

One of the most common pieces of advice that you see on frugal living blogs is that you should buy in bulk. As a general rule, it’s true that you’re probably going to save money if you buy items that you use regularly in bulk at a good price. But is that still true if you’re only shopping for one or two people?

The majority of articles that exist out there about buying in bulk assume that you’re buying for a whole family, even giant families. But what about all of us who live alone or who live with roommates? Does buying in bulk work for us? Possibly.

Tips for buying in bulk when you live alone include:

• Buy only non-perishable items in bulk. It doesn’t make sense to buy things that are going to go to waste if you’re the only one using them.
• Make a list of what you use regularly. If you buy something every week or two then it’s probably a safe item to buy in bulk. Otherwise, just have one more of the item in your pantry and add the item to your shopping list when you only have that one left.
• Get a group together to buy in bulk. Just because you don’t live with your family doesn’t mean you can’t buy for a group. Get a group of friends together who would like to buy in bulk. Split the cost and split the items so that you each get only the amount of stuff that you need at a lower bulk price.
• Get smart about money. Make sure that you’re able to calculate the benefit of buying something in bulk. You may get a better deal buying a single size item and using a coupon. Do the math!

 Toilet paper, paper towels and other paper products are among the most competitive product lines sold in the warehouse clubs. Chain grocery and department stores regularly have sales and offer coupons that approach the deals offered at the warehouses. So, to get the best value on big bulk purchases, shop around and wait for a good deal to come along. Depending on the sale and the store, bulk savings can approach 50 percent off regular prices [source: Wallet Pop, Consumer Reports].

Paper products are usually a pretty good bulk purchase, since they obviously never spoil or expire, and running out of them unexpectedly can be a big nuisance. But never having to run to the corner to buy a roll of TP is only convenient if you have room to store your surplus. So, buy only amounts that you can comfortably accommodate.

Perhaps having one extra package of anything would be enough to still your fear of being “caught” without a spare. Hey, the stores are open almost all the time!! We're not squirrels.

I used to buy paper towels, toilet paper,  tissue, underwear, etc. in bulk, which meant I needed room to store what hadn’t yet been used. Sometimes it never got used. It is sometimes cheaper to buy in bulk, but if you buy only what you need, when you need it, then you’ll just be spending the money necessary to get what you need. And in the end, you use less and pay less. And store less.

Portion Size Affects How Much People Consume in an Eating Occasion.

Short-term studies show that people eat more when they are confronted with larger portion sizes. Research studies have yet to assess the impact of portion sizes over long periods of time. However, the phenomenon of unknowingly eating larger amounts when presented with a large portion is an important aspect of weight management.

A study by Rolls et al. tested how adults responded to meals on different days of four different portion sizes of macaroni and cheese. They found that the bigger the portion, the more participants ate. Participants consumed 30% more energy (162 cal) when offered the largest portion (1000g) compared to the smallest portion (500g).

They also reported similar ratings of hunger and fullness after each meal despite the intake differences. After the study, only 45% of the subjects reported noticing that there were differences in the size of the portions served.

There have also been studies with portion sizes in general, not just food. If you buy the giant shampoo bottles at Sam’s, you will use more than if you have a small bottle. In the end, you may use more than you need which, sooner or later, means you’ve spent too much. As well as having to store the stuff!

YouTube can help your motivation to declutter!

I love YouTube! 

If you need ideas and motivation to get your declutter act together, try these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnF2Sj4v8rY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTiJaEt_oMc&index=10&list=PLTy5catM7IWzcZQP8Q33JGGaVs3RN1shu

If you watch this one, pay attention when she puts the bag full of hair bows into the sewing basket "just for now". That's what happens - you buy in bulk, put things somewhere they don't belong - and never see them again. Forgotten forever...

My advice - DON'T BE A COSCO OR SAM'S CLUB VICTIM!!

This might inspire you to get in there and get it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-nMDzccJwc

LET IT GO: 8 SIMPLE Ideas to Declutter & Organize Your Life!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxfifxXeR98

When things run smoothly

I am just getting over a mean bout of tummy flu or food poisoning – who knows. It sounds weird, but today I had a lovely content feeling  that came because I am very happy about the good habits I’ve been developing. One of them is „buy new toilet paper when you have two rolls left“. This doesn’t sound so amazing unless you’ve got the trots, all stores are closed for a religious holiday (it’s GERMANY!) and you still have enough paper to get you through. That’s satisfaction... But I’m not hoarding the stuff.

Meditating, yoga, tidying up twice a day shortly, putting dishes into the dishwasher straight from the table, getting into bed on time and reading a bit, getting up on time, leaving for appointments a bit earlier than necessary, never keeping newspapers longer than a day, giving somebody the magazine you just read, etc. Small things that add up to a smooth life.

My efforts to lose weight were accelerated by the sickness but that isn’t the way I want to go. Today I ate a modest meal of three asparagus tips and two cooked carrots and enjoyed them immensely. My tummy won’t take more than that! But it stayed down, so yay.

I’ve been thinking about more ways to cultivate small yet effective habits without a sense of dread or “have to”.

Try these:

Whenever you’re boiling water for tea or making coffee, tidy up the kitchen. If the kitchen is tidy, tidy up the next room – it’s only 3 minutes but it keeps you on top of everything.

“Don’t Need It – Don’t Want It.” I say this mantra to myself while shopping. It reminds me that I can get my kicks through other healthier means. Keeping to a list helps, too.

Designate a spot for incoming papers. Papers often account for a lot of our clutter. This is because we put them in different spots — on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer, on top of our dresser, in our car. No wonder we can’t find anything! Designate an in-box tray or spot in your home (or at your office, for that matter) and don’t put down papers anywhere but that spot. Got mail? Put it in the inbox. Got school papers? Put it in the inbox. Receipts, warranties, manuals, notices, flyers? In the inbox! This one little change can really transform your paperwork. (Ideally, you’ll file or act on these papers. But if you don’t, at least you’ll find them!)

Start clearing a small zone. What you want to do is clear one area. This is your no-clutter zone. It can be a counter, your kitchen table, or the coffee table. Wherever you start, make a rule: nothing can be placed there that’s not actually in use. Everything must be put away. Once you have that clutter-free zone, keep it that way! Now, each day, slowly expand your no-clutter zone (even by inches) until it envelopes the whole place!

Clear off a counter. You want to get your housing so that all flat spaces are clear of clutter. Maybe they have a toaster on them, maybe a decorative candle or flowers in a vase, but not a lot of clutter. So start with one counter. Clear off everything possible, except maybe one or two essential things. Have a blender you haven’t used? Put it in the cupboard! Clear off all papers and all the other junk you’ve been tossing on the counter too.

Pick up 5 things, and find places for them. These should be things that you actually use, but that you just seem to put anywhere, because they don’t have good places. If you don’t know exactly where things belong, you’ll have to designate a good spot. Take a minute to think it through — where would be a good spot? Then always put those things in those spots when you’re done using them. This is an amazingly effective habit!

Pull everything out of a drawer. Just take the drawer out and empty it on a table. Then sort the drawer into three piles: 1) stuff that really should go in the drawer; 2) stuff that belongs elsewhere; 3) stuff to get rid of. Place the things that belong in the drawer into small containers which prevent the objects from rolling around! Get rid of the junk and put the stuff that belongs elsewhere where it belongs.

Happy Birthday to Me!

June 4th is my birthday and I am still being "bugged" by a stomach glitch. So I cancelled the trip to Holland with my daughter and shall sit here and listen to my tummy glug.

I wanted to lose weight. Hmm, I hadn't really considered this form of weight loss. As a matter of fact, I really don't recommend it!

The Ten Minute Decluttering Game

Ten Minute Decluttering Game

Years ago, I'd set the timer for one hour and everyone who lived with me set to work. We cleaned like crazy, threw dirty clothes into the washer (sorted, of course), dusted, vacuumed and put things back where they belonged. Crazy music was blaring and we often danced a merry jig after finishing a job. Once the timer rang, we walked through the whole living area, enjoying the transformation. Then we settled in for some serious family fun.

If you don’t want to spend an hour playing this De-Clutter-Game, just set the timer for 10 minutes and organize/clean or sort out for that length of time. If you do this in the morning and evening, your place is going to look marvelous and you will be doubly rewarded with a lovely sense of peace.

Here’s why 10 Minute 'Transformations' work: 

It is much easier to contemplate cleaning/organizing/decluttering for 10 minutes rather than to face the seemingly impossible task of completely organizing the kitchen or basement, as an example.

Here are a few tips to make this 10-minute cleaning whirl work for you. Do one, or a few, 10-minute declutters every day in addition to your regular chores, and you'll feel like your home is actually getting cleaner, rather than merely maintaining the status quo. The 10-minute declutter can also help you out when things are getting messier than normal and you want to get back to standard.

Ten Minute Projects Are Do-able

Working for only ten minutes seems achievable and easy. By breaking those daunting projects into smaller parts you avoid feeling snowed under. Avoidance of important tasks may seem like the easiest path but there is always a consequence for that choice.

Ten Minute Projects Bring Focus

Sometimes I fail to work on projects because I am distracted by other things. Taking ten minutes to focus on only one task helps me to get more done. (Writing down the steps calms me.) I usually end up spending more quality time because I am concentrating on that one area rather than trying to accomplish several things at once.

Ten Minute Projects Destroy Procrastination

Most people procrastinate because projects seem too big or too hard or too time-consuming to take on. By just doing something on the project, it helps break procrastination’s hold and get some momentum going. We are much more likely to spend time on it later because the hardest part has been broken through: getting started.

Is there an area in your life in which you have been procrastinating? Is there something that you know has to be done, but you stay busy doing other activities so you don’t have to face it?  That is the project to get started on this week.

10 Minute De-Clutter Guidelines

1. Find 3 large boxes or laundry baskets. (You can also use paper grocery bags or plastic garbage bags) Label them “GIVE AWAY”, “THROW AWAY” and “PUT AWAY”.

2. Commit to 10 minutes a day. Every morning or afternoon for the next  weeks, spend 10 minutes in one room filling those boxes with the clutter that you see. Choose a more public room first like your living room, entry way or kitchen.

3. Immediately disperse the items. At the end of your ten minutes, put the “THROW AWAY” items into the trash immediately; take the “PUT AWAY” items to the rooms where they belong; and store the “GIVE AWAY” box in a closet until the next day. On your next errand day or on Saturday morning take the give away items to Good Will or Salvation Army (no going through the box again before you donate it!).

Got 10 minutes? Go for it!!

Healthy Rituals for Early Morning

1.  Get an early start.

If your mornings are chaotic, the simple solution is to get up a little earlier than the chaos.  This, of course, starts the night before by going to bed a bit earlier too.

Adjust gradually, wake up just 10 minutes earlier each week for the next 6-9 weeks, and you’ll barely notice the change from day to day.  This extra time will help you avoid stress, speeding tickets, tardiness and other unnecessary headaches.

2.  Meditate on the goodness.

Begin each day with love, grace and gratitude.  When you arise in the morning think of what an incredible privilege it is to be alive – to be, to see, to hear, to think, to love, to have something to look forward to.  Happiness is a big part of these little parts of your life; joy is simply the feeling of appreciating it all.

Realize that it’s not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.  Be grateful first thing in the morning, and you will see more goodness everywhere you look throughout the day.

3.  Stretch it out.

Simple, but so often forgotten… stretching your body in the morning has these key benefits:

• Creates an increased range of movement in the body’s joints
• Enhanced muscular flexibility and coordination
• Increased circulation of the blood to various vital organs
• Increased mental and physical energy levels (resulting from increased movement and circulation)

If you’re uncertain about how to stretch properly, you can find hundreds of great tutorials on YouTube.  Choose one that you think will suit you best and practice it for a minute or two every morning.  You will sense a change yourself, guaranteed.

4.  Drink a tall glass of water before consuming anything else.

Another obvious practice that goes by the wayside…

Your body is more than 60% water, and when you’ve been sleeping all night without drinking any water, it gets dehydrated and desperate for hydration.  So quench your thirst with exactly what your body needs.  Avoid drinking coffee, tea or other beverages before you have at least one tall glass of water.  By doing so your body will start to wake up and you’ll naturally feel more energized and alive.  

5.  Keep things simple.

One of my personal mistakes several years ago was trying to fit too much into my mornings.  When I first started waking up early I wanted to workout, meditate, handle household chores, read, write, cook breakfast, reply to work emails, run errands, etc., and it turns out I couldn’t do all those things.  I was waking up early and stressing myself out.  I made my early mornings just as packed as the rest of the day.

What has helped me is having a few key things I do early, but not being over-committed to lots of goals and agendas.  I’d rather have space and flexibility, which makes the time much more peaceful and useful.  So the glass of water, stretching, gratitude meditation, tea, reading and writing are the only agendas I have on most mornings, but I’m flexible with those also.

6.  Do a few things that move you.

Again, DO NOT fill your mornings with things you have to do… but, DO have a few things you can’t wait to get out of bed and get started on.  For me, that goes back to my short list, which includes reading and writing – two of my greatest passions.  For you, perhaps a long meditative walk, yoga, prayer, painting, or simply reading the morning paper.

In other words, don’t just have a long list of things you think you should do but don’t really want to do.  Give your early mornings to yourself as a gift.

7.  Read, review or listen to something that nurtures your mind.

Some of the happiest and most successful people I know read a bit of scripture each morning, some read inspiring books, articles or quotes, while others listen to radio, podcasts or audio programs that move them to get their day started.  The key is having a ritual focused on absorbing small doses of self-improvement content to stretch and nurture your perspective and knowledge base.  It starts the day off on a positive note with positive, productive ideas to guide your day’s journey.  And that’s crucial, because your thoughts guide your reality.

So indulge in something positive every morning when you awake, and let it inspire you to do something positive before you go back to sleep at night.  That’s how memorable, manageable days are made.  

It is fun to watch the TED talks on YouTube. They always inspire me.

8.  Be present, breathe, and appreciate the space between activities too.

Your early morning moments aren’t just about the things you do; they’re also about the open space between the things.  That means the space itself is something to be appreciated as well.

So if you meditate and read, the morning isn’t just valuable because of the meditation and reading… the space around those two activities is also incredible.  The time spent walking over to your meditation mat, or finding your book, or turning the pages, or pouring a cup of tea, or sitting and watching the sunrise… these little open spaces are just as important as anything else.

Pace yourself so you’re not hurrying from one thing to the next, but instead noticing and appreciating the spaces in between, too.

9.  Move on gracefully to what’s most important.

As human beings we are goal oriented.  We like making progress.  When we accomplish one of our goals, we smile about it.  That’s why the happiest people I know are also some of the most successful people I know.

As your early morning winds down, the key is to funnel your attention directly into the right things, not the urgent things.  Because at some point we all wonder, “Why is it so impossible to get everything done?”  And the answer is stunningly simple: We are doing too many of the wrong things.  

Several research studies have shown that people never get more done by blindly working more hours on everything that comes up.  Instead, they get more done when they follow careful plans that measure and track key priorities and milestones.  So if you want to be more successful, less stressed, and a lot happier at the end of each day, don’t ask how to make something more efficient until you’ve first asked, “Do I need to do this at all?”

Simply being able to do something well does not make it the right thing to do.  I think this is one of the most common problems with a lot of time-management advice; too often productivity gurus focus on how to do things quickly, but the vast majority of things people do quickly should not be done at all.

Source: Marc Chernoff

3 Overlooked Secrets to Japanese Decluttering

1. Dump the Past

Most people are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of what they actually own. At this point, I usually say, "Let's start with off-season clothes." I have a good reason for choosing off-season clothing for their first foray into this tidying gala. It's the easiest category for tuning in to one's intuition concerning what feels good.

If they start with clothes they are currently using, clients are more likely to think, "It doesn't spark joy, but I just wore it yesterday," or "If I don't have any clothes left to wear, what am I going to do?" This makes it harder for them to make an objective decision. Because off-season clothes are not imminently necessary, it is much easier to apply the simple criterion of whether they bring you joy. There's one question I recommend asking when you select off-season clothes. "Do I want to see this outfit again next time it's in season?" Or, to rephrase, "Would I want to wear this right away if the temperature suddenly changed?"

2. Go Up...in Energy

Let me introduce a secret to maintaining the neatness of closets that you work hard to organize. Arrange your clothes so that they rise to the right. Take a moment to draw one arrow rising toward the right and then another descending to the right. You can do this on paper or just trace them in the air. Did you notice that when you draw an arrow rising to the right it makes you feel lighter? Lines that slope up to the right make people feel comfortable. By using this principle when you organize your closet, you can make the contents look far more exciting.

To do so, hang heavy items on the left side of the closet and light items on the right. Heavy items include those with length, those made from heavier material and those that are dark in color. As you move toward the right side of the closet, the length of the clothing grows shorter, the material thinner and the color lighter. By category, coats would be on the far left, followed by dresses, jackets, pants, skirts and blouses.

3. Work by Category

In the majority of households, items that fall into the same category are stored in two or more places scattered around the house. Say, for example, you start with the bedroom closet. After you have finished sorting and discarding everything in it, you are bound to come across clothes you kept in a different closet or a coat draped over a living room chair. You will then have to repeat the whole process of choosing and storing, wasting time and effort, and you cannot make an accurate assessment of what you want to keep and discard under such conditions. Repetition and wasted effort can kill motivation, and therefore must be avoided.

 

This excerpt was taken from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Copyright ©2014 by Marie Kondo. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.