Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: minimalism

How to Get RID of Personal Clutter

Friday, August 11, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

It's not easy getting rid of personal items.

Many people find it hard getting rid of personal items because they're afraid they'll lose the memories that are attached to them. That's why so many people have closets, garages, and attics full of personal items.

I have to admit, I'm one of those people, but I'm starting to make progress. In the past couple of years, I've thrown out hundreds of plastic tote boxes full of objects that I've been saving since my childhood, simply because they remind me of my past. The root of the problem is the fact that so many of those objects remind me of places I've been, people I've known, and thing's I've done. When you throw objects like that away, you get this feeling inside that you no longer care about the memories they represent, so yo... [More]

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Got Clutter? Eliminate Duplicates

Friday, April 7, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

One of the easiest first steps towards eliminating clutter is getting rid of duplicates.

A lot of people who struggle with clutter have one thing in common, they have a lot of duplicate items, which means their first step is to simply eliminate the duplicates.

While it may be hard getting rid of one-of-a-kind items, it's far easier for you to justify getting rid of something you have two... or even more of. For example, I realized I had well over 50 USB charging cables in my home... and perhaps more than that. When you get right down to it, how many do you really need? Even if you want to keep two in each room of your house, you still wouldn't need 50, so I gave away or threw out at least 40 so far, and counting.

My next step was checking out my toolbox, where I have dupl... [More]

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Eliminating Clutter - Stop Creating Spaces

Friday, October 14, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

One of the leading causes of clutter is taking the phrase "A place for every thing and every thing in it's place" way too literally.

As I've said in a few other posts, the first step towards a clutter free life is to stop acquiring new stuff, and one of the best ways to do that is to stop creating spaces to hold and organize your stuff.

Try to think back in time to before your clutter started to become a problem. Chances are, you had fewer places for stuff. You had fewer shelving systems, storage boxes and containers, and you probably felt a bit less stress over where to find your stuff.

There's a pretty common pattern among people who struggle with clutter. As time goes by, they acquire more stuff than they get rid of, then instead of eliminating stuff... they look for b... [More]

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How Did I Get So Much STUFF?

Friday, August 12, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Before you can get rid of clutter, you need to understand how you got so much stuff in the first place.

This is a followup to some of my earlier posts on the subject of eliminating clutter. Today I'm going to talk about one of the root causes of clutter buildup, the inability to get rid of things, even though they're never used.

The reason people have a hard time getting rid of things is that they would rather HAVE something that they NEVER USE, than NEED something, that they DON'T HAVE.

The idea that you will store something for years, "Just in case you ever need it" is what makes it nearly impossible for them to get rid of stuff. Meanwhile, more often than not, these items not only sit around unused for years, they eventually break or become outdated, so that if th... [More]

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Eliminate Clutter By Asking... Would I Buy It Again?

Thursday, August 11, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Can't decide whether to get rid of something? Ask yourself "Would I buy it again?"

The key to eliminating clutter is deciding what to do with your stuff. For many people, that's easier said than done. What do you keep? What do you get rid of?

What makes deciding even more difficult is knowing that you paid good money for a lot of your items, and they're still in great shape. This is known as the "Sunk Cost" condition. Why would you throw away something you already own, especially if it's still in perfectly good condition?

Let's say you have a $50 flashlight. It's a great flashlight, but it's the size of a lunchbox, so you rarely use it. You know you should throw it away, but it cost you $50. To you, that would not only be a waste of a perfectly good flashlight, it... [More]

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Buy Something? Get Rid of Something!

Thursday, July 28, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

The key to eliminating clutter is never letting it get out of hand in the first place.

Cat Video Network

Ketchonnaise - Pre-Mixed Ketchup and Mayonnaise

A Guaranteed Spam-Free, Pre-Encrypted Email Service

iPhone and iPad Keyboards Should Show Numbers Too

Sleeveless Snuggies!

Don't Bother With SEO. Use Real People Optimization Instead.

3 Ways Smoke Alarms Can Be More Pet Friendly

Emergency Contact Info Needs to Bypass Locked Phone

Autocorrect Should Translate Text Slang into English... Because Kids Actually Think It's Correct Grammar

Lookalike Finder Site

Out of Ideas? Fusion of Two or More Ideas Could Change Everything.

How Camera Makers Can Simplify On-Camera White Balance

Darth Vader is Retuning to Star Wars?

A Bedside Book Projector - Read Books on the Ceiling!

Reinvent The Wheel? YES. There's Always Room For Improvement.

Amazon Echo as an Intercom. Room to Room Communication, Even Across the World.

TV Needs More Shows Like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood... The Seinfeld of Children's TV

Stop using default Security Questions... here's why.

A Car Periscope? Why Not?

Digital String on Your Finger... To Remind You You Left Something Behind...

Use Social Media to Listen To Your Customers, or They'll find Somebody Who Does.

Why Doesn't Apple Offer a FULL SIZED Wireless Keyboard?

How Banks Can Make Checking Accounts More Secure

4 Cell Phone Parental Control Ideas Your Kids are Guaranteed to Hate.

.Podcast Domain TLDs. A Direct Domain For Podcasters.

* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.