Considering voluntary simplicity? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Clear out clutter
Be an Avenging Clutter Clearer! Start with three boxes; one for things to throw out (those items that are worn out or broken), one for things to give away, sell or recycle, and one for the things to keep (if you simply MUST). Be systematic. Go room by room, and work your way completely through the room before you begin the next.

Our pets give so much to us. Unconditional love, endless excitement when we come home, a warm purring presence in our lap...hair on the floor, on our clothes, and in our food, occasional liquid outpourings, scratched furniture.

I walked into this house and knew it was right. After an apartment, to have a 1400 square foot house to my husband and myself seemed like heaven! It appeared huge, and although we didn't have decent furniture or the finances to afford any, the lovely cedar walls, the quaint porch, and the adorable tiny kitchen made it feel like mine right from the beginning.

That was 16 years ago. Since then:

Confession time here. I'm a bad recycler. Sometimes I do okay; other times I close my eyes, assuage my guilt by telling myself I recycle more then the average person and toss things that could just as easily be recycled. Actually, not just as easily and that is the problem isn't it? Recycling isn't as easy as throwing away. It takes a bit more effort and some of us have a hard time getting started and keeping going.

Wherever you live, you should be prepared for a disaster. For most people, a plan for a one to two month supply of everything to make your family's life livable should be sufficient. The way I started was to list what our family did and ate for a week. Don't change anything. The last thing you'll want to do during an emergency is learn what to do with the 50 lbs of soy beans "someone on the web" told you to stock up on. I certainly don't want to be experimenting with new foods and supplies in the dark, so to speak.

One of the biggest organizing challenges is craft items. If you're like me, you have way too many projects going at once: Projects your purchased years ago for "some day," and projects you continue to purchase on top of all your UFOs (UnFinished Objects). Many of you have more than one type of hobby and that doubles or triples your UFO load. Hopefully the following tips will help you cope with too much to do, too little time to do it.

I have a love/hate relationship with New Years. I love the idea of a fresh beginning, but loathe the feeling of failure that often comes in February (or sooner, depending on the resolution). Since I turned over my organizational leaf last fall, I see no reason to set myself up for another big change. Instead, I will evaluate my progress and think about goals.

For some time now I've been experimenting with making my own dishwasher powder. I've tinkered with the basic formula, even at one point adding Kool-Aid to it (for the citric acid--it turned out to be a crucial step in figuring the formula out). In further experimentation I've discovered it makes a decent no-scratch scouring powder as well, more like Bon Ami than Comet.

Is your refrigerator running? Well then you better...dust it! Ha! You thought I was gonna say--never mind.

Yeah, your fridge needs dusted, and not just the top (though if yours is anything like mine...ick). The fridge needs regular maintenance, including dusting, and I have some tips to help keep your fridge running efficiently. And "efficient" means using less energy, hence cheaper to run and better for the planet. And what do we say at TNH? Yes! Saving energy is patriotic! Who knew cleaning the fridge was an act of patriotism!

Dirty dishes are an inescapable fact of life (in fact, I'm ignoring the pile in my sink right now). But sooner or later, they've got to be done. While scrubbing dried-on enchilada sauce off a baking dish isn't my idea of great fun, having the right tools can make this job more enjoyable.

Handmade dishcloths are environmentally sound, attractive, and relaxing to make. The very first thing I knitted was a square cotton dishcloth. I still use it.