Mission Seven:
MULTI-MEDIA - CDs, VHS and DVDs
I love movies almost as much as I love books. I grew up without cable and all we had to do was rent and watch movies. They were too expensive to buy back then, so if we did buy one, it had to be one we all loved and could watch over and over. (I can recite every word to Animal House, Caddy Shack and Blue's Brothers!) These days, movies are easy to find and affordable but I still abide by the rule that if I don't love it, I don't buy it. I can rent the same movie about 5 or 6 times for the cost to buy it AND it's not taking up space in my house. I can Tivo movies or check them out from the library for free - all this in for the sake of keeping my home clutter-free.
I can relate to the benefit ownership too. My youngest daughter, now 6, has more than a few DVDS and, I have to admit, I still have close to 75 Disney/kids VHS movies from when my teenagers were kids. What I cannot relate to is those of you who buy every single movie as soon as it comes out so that you have wall-to-wall DVDs in your living room. You can't possibly watch the old ones as fast as you buy new ones. I suggest you pick a dozen of your favorites and eBay the others. Make a small fortune! You can rent the new ones or sign up for Netflix.
TIP: Send the CDs and DVDs to a Children's Shelter or Women's Shelter. They have very little to entertain themselves with and they would appreciate the movies more than you do viewing them on your shelf! Sell them back to Wal-mart! Wal-mart will buy them back AND pay for the shipping to them. Check out http://walmart.gazelle.com/?_gzl=1
GREEN TIP: Recycle the empty CD and DVD cases. Visit Earth911.org for more info.
EXTRA POINTS and $ TIP: Eliminating Electronics. As with outdated books and movies, you probably have a few walk-mans, pagers and bulky monitors taking up space somewhere. What about cords that you don't know what they power up? Gather them all together, pull the batteries out for separate recycling, and decide what is trash and what still works. Many businesses will give you a rebate for recycled electronics. As for the power cords, try the "single sock" trick from Mission Four. Put them all in one big box. When you need a power cord for something, see if it's there. After a while, you will have pulled the cords you need and can recycle what's left. Don't worry about throwing away a cord you need, most likely it isn't something you use anymore. NEW! Wal-mart has just started a new program that BUYS your used electronics. It's very simple and they pay for the shipping! Check out http://walmart.gazelle.com/?_gzl=1
Next Wednesday - MISSION EIGHT: Deconstructing Your DINNERWARE
Wednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.
No comments:
Post a Comment