Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter: Simplify Your Life One Minute at a Time by Erin Rooney Doland

Author:Erin Rooney Doland [Doland, Erin Rooney]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-01-25T16:00:00+00:00

WEEKEND PROJECT #8

Stash Busting

One of my husband’s hobbies is restoring vintage guitars and mandolins that are in rough shape. He gets the instruments at auctions, repairs them, and then resells them to people who will play them. Although he can make a little money in the process, it’s mostly a labor of love. He hates seeing classic instruments wasting away, especially when a little attention is all they need to be great again. I think it’s a fantastic hobby because it keeps instruments out of landfills, but on the downside, it also clutters up our home if he ends up with more instruments than he has the time to repair. Case in point: As I’m typing this, our daughter’s room has two guitars in it, our bedroom has two, and the guitar rack in our living room (where he usually stores his projects) is packed full. It’s time he sell off the ones that are already repaired, and cease acquiring more inventory even if it’s a good deal until he can fit everything in the guitar rack. It’s time for his stash to be busted.

Stash busting is the process of getting rid of excess supplies you no longer need, want, or can envision ever being able to use. Whether it’s guitars, yarn, or pieces of lumber, a well-meant pile can quickly turn into a stash of clutter. With a little bit of time, some creative solutions, and a massive amount of willpower, you can get your stash under control.

WHAT YOU NEED: Time, creativity, and willpower

BUST THE STASH!

Give yourself a set amount of space to store your hobby’s equipment and materials (for my husband, it’s now the guitar rack in our living room and a shelf in the garage that holds shipping supplies).

Once that space is established, whittle your collection down to what you can store in that limited area. Deciding what to keep and what to purge is difficult, so you’ll want to establish guidelines to help you make these decisions. These guidelines will vary by hobby, but you may choose to decide what to keep based on:

•value (only keep items worth more than X dollars)

•rarity (only items of which X number were ever made)

•likelihood of being used (I have a pattern for this yarn)

•most sentimental (treasured items given to me by loved ones)

•simply your favorites (love it)

Get rid of your excess stash. Sell it, donate it, or give it away—just get your materials down to a manageable amount of goods in a reasonable amount of time. If your hobby has an online enthusiasts’ community, like Ravelry.com for knitters, start by listing your stash to see if there is someone who can put it to good use.

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