I Heart iGoogle: simplify your online experience with iGoogle

No, I'm not getting paid to post this.

Like with everything else it's easy to have e-clutter. You know, tons of bookmarks, RSS feeds, e-mail, social networking sites. I've been guilty of this for years. I was spending too much time online when all I really wanted to accomplish was a few targeted tasks.

So I started looking around for landing pages - I've tried a couple that I liked for a bit but it just had too many features and options. It just ended up being cluttered. It was defeating the purpose.

First thing I did was delete my social networking accounts including MySpace and Facebook. Then I got rid of old unused bookmarks.
I whittled down my RSS feeds to the ones I read regularly.
I started the process of cleaning my e-mail account (this one's a real doozie).

Then I gave iGoogle a shot.The modules I currently have on it are:

• Gmail (I can check and send mail directly from here.
• My feed reader: All my RSS feeds can be viewed here as well
• Google notebook: for jotting down ideas
• Google Bookmarks
• A couple of newsfeeds from NPR and CNN
• Youtube (I can search and watch videos without leaving iGoogle)
• a clock (I like to keep track of how much time I'm spending online)
• and a Sticky Note (I put my daily online to do list on here and delete it as I go)

So using the tools I've mentioned above, I've been able to streamline my online activities. The good thing about this is that you can fully customize it to your own needs. So you don't necessarily have to have the same tools I have, just figure out what's best for your setup.

Related article from NPR that may be of interest to you if you like this post: E-Fatigue

Control your paper clutter, Filter your inbox

Paper clutter comes in different forms: receipts, financial and personal info records, junk mail, magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books. So how do you go about the herculean task of sorting this mess out?

I know I've pulled my hair many times and have had mini panic attacks when faced with this task. I live with a pack rat which makes the act of paring things down even more challenging.

For the meantime what I've done is put away the necessary papers (personal records, car titles, mortgage papers - that sort) in a centralized location, in my case a briefcase. That in itself will be filed and sorted out later on.

As for the rest of it I have these two tips to make the chore a little easier.

1. Conquer one room or one area at a time. Always have a time limit, be aware of how much time you'll spend working on this task. It's easy to micro-manage everything all at once. The point is to optimize your available time. So if you only have 15-20 minutes, don't try to finish an entire home office area. Instead, focus on your computer hutch for example. In my case, I knew I wanted to declutter the living room but did not have ample time to finish it all. I decided to clean up a side table where we have stacks of newspapers, magazines, catalogs, road maps.

2. Have a box where the "to-go" pile will end up in. As soon as this box is full, load it up in your truck/car or put it where you won't be tempted to look through the pile again. You can then donate, freecycle, or just flat out recycle these.


I'll be the first to say that I'm still in the process of cleaning out paper goods in my home. The trick is to consistently control the traffic of what stays. Filter your inbox.

• We don't subscribe to magazines/newspapers anymore. We can pretty much get caught up with news online. RSS feeds are a great substitute.

• Junk mail goes straight into the trash as it comes in. Sign up for the National Do Not Mail List for free.

• Receipts are placed in a shoebox or a freezer size Ziploc bag (I know, I know, quit snickering - hey it works) to be entered in expense tracker.

• Books are borrowed from the library but our local branch has a very limited selection, our preferred branch is in the next town. Use bookmooch.com or paperbackswap.com to trade. We do still purchase books since we are avid readers but we're more conscious about impulsive purchases.

So this is what woks for me. It's no always easy but it's about building better habits. I figured if I do it often enough it wouldn't be such a chore anymore.

Cut The Crap

I never realized how much stuff I actually had until my interstate relocation awhile back. I've always regretted not paring down before paying a hefty amount for the movers to transport my truckload of possessions. I'm still working on paring down stuff. It's not as easy as it seems. You really have to be brutal about it.


In deciding what goes and what stays you may want to ask yourself what that item means to you or if it serves a function or purpose.

Of course, don't overthink - the longer you spend thinking about it the more chances you'll end up keeping it.

Also, avoid becoming overwhelmed by doing one room at a time. Or one section at a time.

Assign yourself a specific time frame. Let's say one hour to declutter the master bedroom. And so on and so forth.

Make it fun - take a before and after photo for example, that way you can see the transformation of the room.

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Things we've gotten rid of so far:
Clothing - ones that don't fit anymore and ones that we just flat out don't even wear. We've recently donated about 4 boxes worth of clothing to a local thrift shop.

Miscellaneous - We've gotten rid of knick-knacks that don't mean a thing. That word even sounds cluttery - "knick - knacks".

Big screen TV that came with the house - still usable but needed a minor repair - would've cost about $100 to fix it but why? We already have a space-saving flat-screen as our main TV. We freecycled it and freed up a large area in our living room.

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Next in our list of to be sorted out:
Books (which we have lots of)
Office supplies (electronics / small items / furniture)
Bathroom stuff
Jewelry
Kitchen items
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I call this my phase 1 of decluttering, because I have a feeling that once I'm done with everything I'll end up paring down some more.

Some of the benefits (IMHO) from simplifying:
Easier to clean and tidy up.
I have greater appreciation for the items I've kept. I'm able to display the ones that really mean something to me.
Donating and freecycling means that someone else out there is making good use of the stuff I used to have.
My head is less cluttered - slowly getting my peace of mind back. I'm one of those people that can't focus if my space is in disorder.

So far so good, and I'll post updates on how the rest of my decluttering goes.