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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

New Feature: Tossing It Out Tuesday

          A while back I had mentioned that some changes were going to start happening on this blog.  Some of you who follow regularly may be thinking that you haven't really seen anything changing yet.  They have in small ways.  I have been tweaking.  I've played with this or that and some things go, some come back, and some just get rearranged.  One of the changes will be an upcoming new feature.

          Tuesdays on Tossing It Out have often been a time for reviews or commentaries in which I talked about my opinions of various products, music, books, movies, or whatever else I might have wanted to expound on.  Today I am announcing what will be a new feature--Tossing It Out Tuesday

          Let me explain what that means.  My blog name was originally intended convey the imagery of juggling from the standpoint of tossing about ideas and having an exchange between me and readers.  However, "tossing it out" can also mean getting rid of things that are no longer needed or useful.  On Tossing It Out Tuesdays I will be getting rid of things in my blog or in my life and discussing them in hopes it will be somehow meaningful in your life as well.

         As I said in a previous post, it's time to clean up  so I can get rid of clutter and become better organized.  Perhaps in doing this I can get some helpful tips from you or I can in some way open your eyes to seeing what clutter in your own life needs to be gotten rid of.   Efficiency is the quest.  On each Tossing It Out Tuesday I will be attempting to deal with one thing that needs to be tossed out my life or tossed out into the open for examination.   And if this idea doesn't work, then I'll be tossing out Tossing It Out Tuesday.  We'll give it a try and see what happens.

          What are some things in your life you need to toss out?   Do you find that you have daily clutter that is keeping you from operating in your most optimal way?   Is some clutter advantageous?  Do you struggle most with the physical clutter of stuff or the intangible clutter within in your mind?   Does the clutter of others interfere with your life?  If you had more space to use for organization, would you just end up with more clutter?

            My thanks to all of you who participated with lists or comments in the Soundtrack of My Life blogfest.  The Linky list is open until tomorrow night if you'd still like to add your list.

25 comments:

  1. Oh Lee, that is like asking me what came first the chicken or the egg? Whether physical or intangible one does tend lead to the other. But then I'm a pack rat. I love the concept of "Tossing it out Tuesdays" though.

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  2. Great idea for a weekly thing. I don't know where to start with my clutter. How about old clothes that I hang on to because I think I'm still going to wear them even though I know I won't.

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  3. Another interesting idea. Yep I have clutter-paper/books/clothes/purses or things in general I think I need to hang onto for sometime later. Personally, I don't believe physical clutter exist unless there's some place in the intangible that is clutter is well.

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  4. Great idea. Today I'll start with my work table. t's so cluttered there's no way I could work on it.
    Thanks for the push.
    Giggles and Guns

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  5. I have this giant organ that I have wanted out of here for twenty years! I am still working on my husband to get rid of it. He is having troubles letting it go. No one uses it. Love Di ♥

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  6. Great idea. I get rid of mental clutter by making lists. Despite the fact that my desk was Clutter Central a few weeks ago, it's still clean after my friend told me to tackle the problem only a few minutes each day instead of all at once. I'm not a pack rat, but I'm not a minimalist either.

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  7. As a cleaning freak I always look forward to Tossing things Out ;)

    I must admit I tossed some people out of my life this year, which is something I've never really did before. I used to be over-tolerant to people who are not good to me, but this year I made a kind of a spring cleaning and tossed some people out, people who were just stealing the energy from me, and weren't giving any back.

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  8. You nailed it there: more space to "Organize" seems to attract more clutter. We'll have a big Organizing Bee about twice a year, and boy howdy, we need it!

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  9. I've been working hard to declutter my life. In the past few years we have downsized by at least 65%. I still have more work to do. It fills like I've lost weight every time I get rid of stuff. I do feel that if I have more room I will somehow gather more stuff. I think it is good for the soul to keep reexamining what you keep in your life and what you are ready to let go of.

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  10. Jules -- You make a good point--the clutter of stuff in one's environment and the clutter within one's mind probably are related. I may have to explore that in the future.

    PTM-- I seem to have a similar problem with clothes which is somewhat strange because I don't buy clothes that often and I make regular trips to Goodwill. Then, I have some clothes that are 20 or 30 years old-- Why do I insist on keeping some of these?

    Wanda -- I guess you are referring to the same thing Jules was and I think you are correct.

    Mary -- I've been chiseling away at my desk lately. Almost there--again.

    Karen -- You've hit upon one of the important ways to confront clutter. I need to get a shredder.

    Diana -- Must have some sentimental value. Sometimes the big things that take up the most room are the most difficult to get rid of -- often nobody else wants them so what do you do?

    Carol-- Little by little is probably the best way to tackle it. Less tiring and less traumatic (for those who are traumatized by loss in their lives).

    Dezmond --Oooh! Discarded people. I've done that in my past and agree that sometimes it's necessary. Sadly, sometimes I've inadvertantly done so by just losing contact--it's been easy to do in my mobile life. As I get older I try not to discard many more because I'm starting to lose them through attrition.

    Will -- Unfortunately, I mostly find my organizing efforts to consist of moving things from one place to another or reboxing them. It usually looks a little better, but it doesn't eliminate anything.

    Junebug -- Wow! 65% is a good downsize. You are right about the sense of unburdening one gets from decluttering. I hope to do a lot of reexamination of myself and my possesions in the weeks and months to come.

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  11. >> What are some things in your life you need to toss out?

    Blogging.

    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe

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  12. If that picture represents your clutter, you have some tossing to do!
    There's a few things and some commitments that I'll soon weed out of my life. I don't like a lot of distractions and prefer to keep my life simple.

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  13. Hi better late than never, met up with my son today.
    I like the idea of Tossing It Out Tuesday, sounds good and practical at the same time.
    Hope it catches on.
    Yvonne.

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  14. If I can get off this computer, maybe I can get rid of more of the physical clutter in my house!

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  15. StMc -- If you weren't blogging then what would you be doing?

    Alex -- The picture may be an exagerration. Then again, my garage is pretty piled up.

    Yvonne -- Family takes priority. Maybe we can all declutter our lives some.

    Anita -- The computer takes up a lot of my time as well. And then there is all of the clutter in my computer files.

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  16. If I could toss out one thing in my life, it would be my tendency to worry about stuff.

    If I could toss out two things, my second thing to toss out is some of my bills!!

    Sig

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  17. Sig -- I don't worry about things as much as I used to, but that is a good thing to toss out. If you could get away with it, tossing out the bills would be nice, but if you did then you really would have some things to worry about.

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  18. I tend to be surrounded with clutter - usually because I'm doing so many things. My classroom is always cluttered - same reason. :)

    I tend to let it build till it drives me nuts, then sweep it all out in one fell swoop.

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  19. Great idea; Me I thrive in clutter, but my family doesn't. I do like it tidy to a point. When I am creating I tend to spread it out and need. I need a craft room all my own, this would resolve it, ;-D maybe...

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  20. I love this idea you've done with the soundtrack to your life stuff. Not only does it tell more about people, it really opens people up to different music they might not have known about.

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  21. Jemi-- Sometimes I try that one fell swoop thing, but usually it just swoops me back.

    Ellie -- That's what I like about having my own office, but sometimes if our two guest rooms aren't enough then my office also becomes a guest room and I have to temporarily fix the clutter.

    Mod. Day Drifter-- I like the soundtrack idea for the reason you state. Thank you for giving me the idea in the first place.

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  22. >> StMc -- If you weren't blogging then what would you be doing?

    Cleaning my house.
    Riding my bike.
    Supporting my local pub.

    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe

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  23. I mentioned you on my post today!

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  24. E-mail is what I would like to get rid of - almost 200 letters on an average day. :-P

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  25. Paula -- I am going to looking at some of the email problem next Tuesday 7/27.

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Lee