In Manhattan, where I live, the first question on everyone’s lips is: “So, what do you do?” I always tell people that I’m a professional writer. But sometimes I think... Read more >>

It drove me mad that my mother was a pack rat. Her excuse was that she was a child of the Great Depression, the baby in a farming family where everything was used until it couldn’t possibly be... Read more >>

It has been hot and humid in Minnesota. Ironically, sometimes the weather we look forward to in the winter actually traps us indoors in the summer! You can be ready for fall rather than overwhelmed!... Read more >>

In one sense, by clearing clutter and by being organized, you can save money. If you have things organized and in certain places, you know what you have. How many times have you had to go out and... Read more >>

Stuff: we all have it. But sometimes, all the miscellany of life can add up until it feels like a physical weight. After eight moves in eight years, I managed to accumulate a basement full of storage... Read more >>

My journey towards voluntary simplicity has been a path with many twists and turns. Like many, I have collected various different nick-knacks over the years. Some have sentimental value, others just... Read more >>

In the first five years after leaving my parents’ home, I moved eight times. I moved from one floor to another, one neighborhood to another, and from one city to another. Then, last autumn, I... Read more >>

As a housewarming gift, our friends rented us a moving van. This was not so much an act of kindness but self-preservation. They knew me. They knew my stuff. The moving van couldn’t fit it all... Read more >>

Just as plants grow best when winter detritus is cleared, we grow and thrive best when our environments are set up to support and nourish us. One major way to do that is by clearing our own... Read more >>

The other day I was watching Oprah and she had the adorable Nate Berkus and the clutter cutter Peter Walsh on. They were showing neighbors swapping furniture in order to recreate new looks in their... Read more >>