"A man or [woman] is rich in proportion to the things he [or she] can afford to let alone." - Henry David Thoreau
 

To avoid burnout, limit de-cluttering to one to two hours each week.

Think "80/20." If the items in your home were sorted in order of value, it's likely that 80% of the value would come from about 20% of the possessions you own. Think "80/20" as you sort through your "stuff" to determine what to let go of. 

Ask, "What will my life be like without this?" Think about your life, not the specific item. Will it be more serene?. . . more difficult?. . .maybe no different at all? Asking this question may help you decide whether to keep, share or discard specific possessions. 

Sort your stuff! If you don't use it, give it away. Give-aways include items that:

• are more of a hassle to use than they are worth
• you won't miss if you never see them again
• you get little use or enjoyment from 
• are the wrong color, size or style

Stop the junk mail and cancel magazine and newspaper subscriptions if they don't get read, or if they are a burden. To stop existing junk mail, start by writing: Direct Marketing Assoc., Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. To prevent new junk mail: every time you give a business your name and address, request that they not sell or distribute it. 

Curb junk e-mail. If you participate in newsgroups or post messages on on-line bulletin boards-even if you e-mail a question or comment to a web site-you could be setting yourself up for a deluge of unwanted e-mail. To avoid this, be very careful about sharing any personal information on-line. You might also try "fooling" computer systems. For example, if your e-mail address is monami@aol.com, use monami@REMOVE.THIS.TO.REPLY.aol.com. Live human beings know to remove the "Remove to reply" message. 

Be aware and skeptical of commercial messages. Buy only what you need and what you really want. Otherwise, you are selling your time and energy for more clutter. 

When you buy, also give. Before you buy something new, think about what you own that you can give away. Vow to give away something every time you buy. This will save you money in avoided purchases, reduce clutter, and protect natural resources. 

Pay as you buy. This will give you time to consider whether the purchase is really important to you. And, it will save you bunches of money in credit card interest fees. If you make a $1,000 purchase on a credit card charging 18% interest and make only minimum payments each month, that purchase will cost approximately $1,400. That's 40% more than the purchase price! 

Use possessions longer instead of buying new ones. Durable, high quality goods are not only good for your pocketbook, but are also the smart environmental choice. 

Follow the 10% rule. Reduce purchases by 10% this month. 

Determine the cost to store things. If you live in a 1,500 square foot home and pay a $1,000/mo. payment, that's 66 cents per square foot per month. If your 100-square-foot guest room slowly becomes a "junk" room, it's costing you $67/mo. for storage of things you might not even want. Storage space is important, but do consider its cost when determining how much you need. 

Review your life regularly to minimize clutter. Mark dates on your calendar to reassess your ability to stay on course. 

Check out de-cluttering books (at the library, of course), such as Don Aslett's Clutter's Last Stand and Clutter Control: Putting Your Home on a Diet, by Jeff Campbell of The Clean Team. 

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