A big part of staying organized is limiting what is brought into your home. This starts at the store. Have you ever been surprised by how much your bill amounted to? Did you think, “There is no way what’s on my list amounts to that much”? When you really analyzed what you purchased, you may recall all the extra things that were not on the list. What happens to these things once they get home? If they are food, hopefully it will get eaten before it goes bad. What about all the other stuff? Did you really need it?

The next time you are at the store, play this game BEFORE you checkout. Without looking, see if you can name all the things in your cart. After you have named everything you can, look at your list. Did you name everything off the list? Were there “non list” items you forgot about? It’s these things that you should put more thought into. Is it really needed? Do you have something similar to it that could be used? Will you miss it if you don’t buy it?

The first time I tried this with my daughter, I was amazed at how well it worked. Do you know about the phenomenon about how much more money is spent when your children go shopping with you? Maybe it’s not a phenomenon, but, to me, it’s an art form. Store owners should really cater to kids—they have ways to convince mom and dad to buy things without us really noticing. When my daughter does it, I call it campaigning. She will talk out loud, “Oh, mom, doesn’t this look good?” or “I didn’t know that Oreo came out with a new flavor”. She’s a walking advertisement. It’s rare that she flat out asks for stuff—she just campaigns.

While shopping with my daughter, who was nine at the time, she saw a gorgeous sleeping mask. She wanted it so bad. Her argument was that it was only five dollars. I was thinking about all the stuff she collects in her room—she did not need a sleeping mask and it would probably be forgotten after a few days. I decided to allow her to put it in the cart and I would think about for awhile. Before we checked out, I asked her, “So what do you think about that thing you wanted? Is it needed now?” Without me cueing her on the name of the product, she could not think of what it was. We had brief discussion about the power of something looking pretty and making us desire it. We put the mask back.

Remember, to cut back on clutter and make it easy to stay organized, be careful about what is brought into the house. Play the “What’s in my cart” game and see what you come up with. You have nothing to lose, a less cluttered home is gained, you may save a few bucks, and it’s a great way to work your brain!

Unless you live under a rock, you know that you should be shredding personal documents before they get recycled.  Tearing a piece of paper into quarters or eighths isn’t going to deter someone who wants to steal your information.  So if you don’t have a shredder, to quote the toy story character, Woody, “Get one!” (Okay, he was talking about a moving buddy so no one got left behind…but it’s still about personal safety.)

I have a nice shredder that can chew up 10 sheets at a time.  I bought it at an estate sale so I don’t know how well it had been cared for.  I brought it home, plugged it in and used it for over two years without doing anything to it.

Upon clearing out some files, I had a good stack of paper I needed to shred (yes, I dread it, too!).  Some of the paper was longer, and I found the shredder was getting jammed before the long sheets could get through it.  This job took way too long.  After I got done, I decided to look at the underside of the shredder.  There was a ton of paper caught in the teeth.  Hmmm…then I noticed the little oil can symbol on the top of the shredder.

Okay, I guess I should oil it.  With what?  I referenced the manual and it talked about a specific lubricant for the shredder OR you could a vegetable based oil in a non-aerosol container with an extension nozzle.   Alright—this was a solution that allowed me to do this now (how long does it take to get back to a job when it’s put off for one reason or another??).

I actually used my “Mr. Mister” that replaces “Pam”.  It pumps air into a cylindrical container that creates a fine mist with no aerosol chemicals.  I bet a medicine dropper would work also (and would be cleaner).  The manual also said to NEVER use flammable synthetic oil, petroleum based or aerosol lubricants because it could combust.

Here is what my manual says:

1. From the top of the shredder, squeeze the recommended lubricant across the full width of the blades.
2. Move the power switch to AUTO position and allow the blades to run at least 3 seconds.
3. Move the power switch to REVERSE position and allow it to run for at least 3 seconds.
4. Repeat steps 2-4 above at least times.

Basically, the blades need to move back and forth to get the oil on it. Wow—what a difference that made. Papers aren’t jamming up as easily. The job goes quicker. It’s easier. If it’s easier to do it’s more likely that the job will get done in the future (in a timely manner).

Before you decide to oil your shredder, double check the manual or online to see what should be done. I remember one client’s shredder having the oil can crossed out (do not oil?).

Here is more on shredder maintenance:

www.papershreddersinfo.com/maintenance.htm

One other tip—put a bag in the container to collect the shredded paper. The above link mentions shredder bags (which I did not know about!). I use a paper bag and then the whole thing can be recycled. You may need to cut the bag to fit but it will save you time when you have to empty the messy paper out of the shredder container.

I hope these tips keep your shredder happy and chomping up those never ending papers like there’s no tomorrow.