If you’ve watched my One Thing In, One Thing Out video and are committed to letting go of as much as you bring in, boy have I got a link for you.  Give Back Box is an organization that allows you to pack your empty cardboard boxes with donations to send in to your nearest participating Goodwill store - for FREE.

Here in Montgomery County, Maryland we’ve enjoyed unlimited free shredding for years with an organization that recently shut its doors.  We’re left to hold our shredding until a random community shred even pops up, shred it ourselves, or pay a fee. 

You know you’re in Washington when practically all of your clients have a stash of newspapers with headlines from presidential elections.  I saw a surge in these after President Obama was elected, though the collections weren’t at all limited to him.

Leo Babauta recently shared a quote in his post A Simple Declutter Habit: Leave No Trace from Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki:

“When you do something you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, 
eaving no trace of yourself.”

This makes me think of the no trace camping signs I see when hiking in the backcountry...  

The title of this New York Times article says it all: New Rule: All Purchases Subject to a 7-Day Mental Quarantine. Writer and financial planer Carl Richards says:

"I recommend a stuff quarantine of seven days, particularly if we’re talking about anything that costs more than $50. Anything that you’re considering ought to sit in your head for at least a week…"

Virginia-based Matt Paxton, host of Hoarders is my celebrity organizer crush (tied with Peter Walsh).  So when Matt posts something, I read it.  Matt recently shared on Facebook an article on excuses to which he contributed.  Of the 5 most popular excuses for keeping things we don’t need, #1 was “In case I need them in the future.”  Sound familiar?