I have been deep into the process and actions of decluttering and “simplifying” my home and office for most of 2023. This was necessitated by a flooded bathroom and 28 boxes of my Mom’s stuff landing everywhere in my home! Everywhere, I have been creating space for what’s important and getting unneeded and unused “stuff” out of my home. I have been putting what I want to keep in the places where I will look for it first.
Recently, I was setting up a client’s new laptop and installing her printer. She asked me “What do I do with this stuff? Do I need it?” opening up a couple of drawers and a cabinet door in her desk. They were filled with cords, cables and various technology things. I found myself, with my newly learned decluttering skills, helping her.
This was my advice (and what we actually found and did). The process used is thanks to Dana K. White’s book “Decluttering at the Speed of Life”:
Trash: Look for and toss or recycle …
- Installation disks for Windows 7, XP, Vista, computer drivers, printers you no longer own
- Broken devices
- Old batteries (before they leak acid)
- Old receipts and business cards
Put Away: put items you would use and want to keep where you would look for them first …
- Flash drives and external backup disks
- Plug in cords – try to pair with a device (if you don’t know what it goes to, put in your cords and cables container until the device needing a power cord shows up)
- Digital camera you will use
- SD cards from digital cameras
- Printed photos
Donate: Usable items that you will no longer use ,,,
- Boxes of blank CDs / DVDs (unless you have a device to record music or videos)
- Jewel cases for CDs and DVDs
- Blood pressure devices that you’ll never use
- Alarm clocks you’ll never use
- Extra keyboards and mice
- Extra Ethernet cords and coax cables
- Photo paper you don’t intend to use
- Digital cameras you’ll never use (take out the SD card first)
What’s Left: Ask two questions …
- If I wanted this, where would I look for it first? Go put it there!
- Would it even occur to me that I have this? If not, donate it.
Container Concept: put like things together, but not more than fit in the container (drawer, shelf, box, etc.)
- If the container fills up, select and donate something less “container- worthy”
- Containers are “to contain, not storage”
The entire process took less than one hour, resulting in …
- Empty, organized space in 2 drawers and one cabinet shelf in a desk
- One box of “technology stuff” in a box to donate to the community trash and treasure sale.
- One waste basket full of trash
- A feeling of satisfaction for space reclaimed
I am committed to protecting your computers at an affordable price. Thank you for trusting me to keep your computers healthy. Contact us at 239-567-0104 when it is time to renew your protection software, to arrange for our Learn Computer training and workshops, or if you need computer and internet help. Be well.
By Linda Lindquist, January 22, 2024
