Post Holiday Clean Up, Hoarders

Having always had hoarding tendencies myself, I try hard to keep on top of the clutter level in my home. The biggest and easiest thing for me has always been to 'head it off at the pass' by carefully thinking about what I bring into the home in the first place - do I really need it, or will it just end up being garbage?

I love watching A&E's Hoarders, because I find it very inspiring to get up and do a little cleaning. :) Its' back for another season, premiering last Monday. You can watch the latest episodes online (yay!) - look under "top videos".

Matt Paxton, one of the cleaning specialists they have on the show, has a great set of tips for decluttering BEFORE it becomes an untenable situation, check 'em out!  Now's a great time, post-holidays, to reassess your stuff and get some cleaning in, pre-Spring!

Savings (with a little decluttering thrown in)

I love reading Maki's informative and entertaining blog Just Hungry. This month, she's doing some posts about financial frugality, and she did a nice little review of the Japanese educational manga Savings Techniques for Women Who Can't Save. She mentions something I've heard many times before, that reducing the physical clutter in your life can help reduce the mental clutter, and helps you financially, too. Check it out!