Change Jar Savings » Home/Family – Clutter

Bye Bye – Less ads coming soon

Jim — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:14:12 +0000

Every few months I wonder about Change Jar Savings and the direction it is going. Am I doing things right? Is the content good? Am I providing the right information? Are the ads right for Change Jar Savings?

Well I have decided that the page is too cluttered. Too many ads! Yes they may provide some good offers that are relevant to my content but are they doing this site justice?

I am taking a huge step and cutting the number of ads down. Yes I may be giving up revenue but I think that currently Change Jar Savings is about saving money, not spending it. By having more ads I was encouraging my readers to spend money. I want them to save their money. At a minimum I want you to spend your money wisely. So with that in mind I am saying Bye – bye to most of the ads. As I place new ads on the site I will try to have them be even more relevant and not distract from the purpose of Change Jar Savings goal. So in the next couple days you will see some changes. Don’t be alarmed. I am trying to make it better for you my readers. If you would like to support ChangeJarSaving.com, you can always click on the “Buy Jim a Beer” text at the top right.

Thanks for visiting ChangeJarSavings.com

Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com

Organizing Pictures

Jim — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:14:00 +0000

My wife is a photo nut. Before the digital cameras, she would go through a roll a film in a week. On vacation we could have 20-30 rolls of film to develop. Thank god for the digital camera we bought. We are already on our second one she wore the last one out. It stopped working after 4 years. So we bought a new one last fall. With digital my wife takes even more pictures.

With 100s (more like 1000’s) of pictures being taken and stored on the computer, in envelopes and albums, how should we keep them organized? I am still figuring this one out as this is a work in progress. But here is what we are doing.

Digital pictures have brought their own set of problems. I don’t remember where I read this but digi-dumping is common. This is where you take the pictures off your camera and they are all over your hard drive. No organization. Creating computer clutter.

The software that came with our Cannon saved pictures by their shoot date. It gives a great chronological look at the past. We tried to start to group pictures but it became too time consuming. So we stuck with the chronological order. It just works.

We have 2 external hard drives with copies of all the digital pictures. One is at our house and one is at my work (offsite backup). So if we have a hard drive failure we will still have our pictures.

Actual clutter

The pictures that are loose we are collecting from around the house to put in one are to go through. I am thinking of setting up a plastic shoe box and starting to try to date them to put in chronological order as well. Then we will have a record of time of the kids growing up. The birthdays in order. The Christmas’ in order.

The albums are in storage in the basement. Not the worst place but not the best place for them. I would love to have all on them converted to digital pics but the cost involved is way too much. So they will sit there for now. They are off the floor so they won’t get wet and they are protected from the sun.

The slides are the ones that may be soon lost. They are yellowing and fading. But they are also from my childhood when slide projectors were the in thing. These will be the first I will have converted to digital.

Problems yet to solve

I would however like to rename the digital pictures from IMG00015.jpg to something more meaningful. Also I remember my grandparents writing on the back of the prints, who the people were so they could tell us well that was Aunt Betty’s friend, Josephine. If I could figure out how to do this in the digital age, it would be great.

I am not quite at a point to upload our photos to the web. Like I said my wife is a photo nut and I do not want to pay for storing them online.

It is a start. If you have ideas to the above problems I would like to hear them, please leave them in the comments section.

Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com

Time to Clean

Jim — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:56:00 +0000

Being overwhelmed with clutter can be frustrating. There are two things that help me to declutter or clean:

First – deciding to start – This is the hardest part when you are overwhelmed. But the second thing really helps with the first.

What is the secret tool? Yes, it is a gadget so guys like me start to get interested. Don’t believe me? Ask a guy whether he would wash dishes or vacuum or laundry. More than likely he will pick one of the later two. Why? Because it involves a power tool!

So what is the secret tool? A kitchen timer. I have 4 in my house. Yes 4! One on the stove. One that looks like an egg that my wife bought. One that is your standard kitchen timer. But wait the kids broke that one. I wonder if it still up in the cupboard??? But my favorite on is a little rectangle that has a clock and two timers. It is so used the belt clip broke off of it. Yes a belt clip.

Why two timers? Reread the third paragraph please! Need I explain again that guys like gadgets. (Note the humorous sarcasm.)

The trick is to set one timer for 15 minutes and just start picking up, washing dishes, vacuuming or whatever the dreaded task is. Then after the fifteen minutes you get to take a break. Don’t let the break get to long though.

Why does it work? Because it becomes a game to see how much you can get done in 15 minutes.

OK so why two timers? Did you not read paragraph three???? Two timers is a gadget but you can set one time to the pizza in the oven and one to clean.

By the way Amazon.com now lists a Triple Timer! MMM! A triple timer. I mean doughnuts!

GADGETS got to luv them!

Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com

Overwhelmed. Clutter everywhere. Where do I begin???

Jim — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:55:00 +0000

Overwhelmed. Clutter everywhere. Where do I begin???

No this is not another article about hording. Where the piles are so big only pathways to get to and from one room to another are left. What this is a feeling of being overwhelmed. Where you know there is a mess but you continue to walk by it because you are too busy.

Busy with kids, work, classes whatever it is life has just passed by and there has been no time to pick up or go through the papers that are now building. Kids moving out and leaving stuff behind for you to take care of. Kids moving back bringing more stuff with them. The teenager that thinks you are a maid. That someone else should be picking up the dirty dish, the mail that they grabbed from the mailbox.

If this is you, you are not alone! This is the life in a busy household.

In the last few months I have been putting in 50+ hours a week. My oldest daughter and her 2 and 5 year old boys moved back in the house because of a failed relationship. She had no furniture but clothes and the toys! Both boys had three bikes. There were the 2 pools and other yard toys.

My son lost his job and moved back in too. This was in May. He found a job and quit it because he is moving out of state (Alaska). He sold most of his other stuff. But left a pan of old oil from a car change and stuff that he did not sell or did not want to part with so it is stored at my house.

Then our baby. She is entering her last year and a half of college and does not want to give up her room to her sister. Even though she is not planning on coming home next summer she wants her room to remain the same so she can be in her room the 5 times she will probably visit over the next year.

We cannot get rid of their stuff. We are not allowed. But yet the stuff from the last time they moved is still here, filling the garage and basement.

Over the last two weekends we had a rummage / tag sale to get rid of stuff but not everything sold. This fills what is left of the garage yet.

Toys fill the yard. Papers are left all over. I have no idea where the mail is for the last week. It is not in our mailbox.

And yet with all the clutter our 21, 22 and 24 year old adults (kids) walk past everything. Dishes pile up but they will not wash them or even put them away without being told. There are clothes to be folded and toys to be picked up but no help. AAAHHHHH!

So I am home and looking at everything. I am overwhelmed. I do not know where to start. Do I start in the kitchen so we can eat at the table? Do I start in the garage so I can park the car in it again? Or do I just hide in my bedroom with my wife and hope things get better? I have to start but where?

The laundry that never ends! I have been washing clothes all day! My wife folding.

Our son left yesterday with his one suitcase of belongings he was taking with him. The garage sale ended just before we took him to the airport.

Our eldest took the kids and left for the weekend. I just found a dirty cup in the boys’ bedroom. She has her blankets piled on the floor with their dirty/clean laundry. I could put some in the empty dresser but I don’t know what is clean or dirty.

Our youngest came home to work this weekend. Her new job where she lives at school does not start until October. She comes home from work and does laundry and sits on her *&&!

So I am stuck in a mess. It will take time to get it all put away. But where to start? Then it dawns on me that avoiding it does not make it go away. Just start. Where? Anywhere! So here I go.

Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com

Refrigerator Clutter

Jim — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:14:00 +0000

A funny little article on Unclutterer about
refrigerator clutter.

Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com

Friday Roundup

Jim — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Everyday I read Leo’s blog Zen Habits. Today he has a post “The Minimalist’s Guide to Fighting (and Beating) Clutter Entropy” It is a great article for reducing clutter.
Yahoo Green has ways to reduce your utility bill without spending a dime. Nine no-cost ways to reduce your home energy use This is right up my alley. No Cost!

Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com