Decluttering for Dementia: Paper Clutter

We wrote today’s ARTIcles story months ago to save for a rainy day or lightning bolt of inspiration that would say now is when the Arti Community needs it most. As we now watch the mayhem of all things trade tariffs unfold, and we wonder about the future cost of our favorite electronics, sneakers, cars, toys, and 1000s of other products, we seem to have arrived at the perfect moment to take a hard look at our buying habits and reconsider how we spend those hard earned dollars. We hope this exploration of the concept of deinfluencing inspires you.

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Last weekend my husband trekked to IKEA of his own volition to buy an abundance of clear plastic bins with lids to use in our garage. As far as “love languages” go, this is one of his love languages in action.

Our garage is a mishmash of random bins of various materials and colors, cardboard boxes—a no-no in Texas because the many evil bugs here like to eat them—and uncontained stuff overflowing onto shelves. Being in our garage for more than a few minutes causes me something akin to physical pain, and it’s not just because it feels like it’s a 120-degree sauna 9 months of the year. The visual chaos overwhelms me.

Why Buy Storage Bins Instead of Getting Rid of Stuff?

Storage bins are a consumer product phenomenon of concern for many who worry that the more bins we buy, the more stuff we give ourselves permission to keep. And maybe with these bins we even lessen our need to routinely declutter if items are “out of sight, out of mind.” Arguably there’s less social pressure to declutter, too, if visitors to your home won’t even notice. Right?

Maybe. Maybe not. 

My husband certainly trimmed down and cleaned out his stuff as he filled the bins. And the clear bins he bought will happily end the visual chaos that bothers me. Plus, in this case, they are extremely practical. My husband spends a lot of time in the garage building his bikes—road, mountain, and cyclocross—as well as tinkering with his golf clubs and more. He even has as t-shirt, "I'll be in the garage." Knowing what he has in his inventory and easily spotting things he needs matters. 

Continue reading as we explore our reliance on bins from a different point of view: “deinfluencing.” Have you heard of it? Deinfluencers are out there in the social media sphere and want you to buy less stuff and put less pressure on the planet when you change your mind, forget you even bought it, or trends fade. While it may be a popular social media hashtag and buzzword we think it has valuable lessons to offer as we all take a fresh look at what we collect, accumulate, and inherit. Before you store it in those bins, before you even buy it, ask yourself: What is it, why does it matter, and what will I do with it next?

Deinfluencing Defined

The general idea of deinfluencing is to consciously choose to buy less and to better educate ourselves on the products we purchase. For many, this might include an eye toward more sustainable and ethical supply chains. For others it could be about product testing and safety above all else. Priorities vary.

The deinfluencing concept has apparently been dictionary-worthy for at least 5 years and may be just what saves you from your own worst buying habits. Or that’s the promise of it, I suppose.

The deinfluencing concept only went viral in early 2023, with an especially large presence in all things beauty and lifestyle.

According to a December 2023 article by Vogue, “TikTok content creator  @sadgrlswag  helped to catapult the term into virality in January 2023, posting a video in which she railed against a long list of trendy accessories, devices, and even books. ‘I’m here to deinfluence you. Do not get the Ugg minis. Do not get the Dyson Airwrap. Do not get the Charlotte Tilbury Wand. Do not get the Stanley cup. Do not get Colleen Hoover’s books. Do not get the AirPods Pro Max.’”

Even mainstream media like Vogue, Time, NPR, The Today Show, and Business Insider picked it up from TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and elsewhere and broadcast to the likes of me, who tends to shun social media.

As I pondered this deinfluencing concept and the dilemma of plastic bins and my own buying habits, I asked my 14-year-old daughter, “Have you heard of deinfluencing?” And I got an immediate, “Yeah. You mean videos like, ‘Deinfluencing a Girl’s Favorite Products?’”

Yup, that’s EXACTLY what I mean.

Deinfluencing is Just a New Word for Well-Known Smart Habits

Deinfluencing is a concept that should transcend generations and sociodemographics, because it fits right in with a lot of smart habits as well as new year “new you” type goals:

• • • Want to avoid overspending and/or stick to your budget? 
    • Find it challenging to control impulse buying?  
    • Feeling guilty about your own consumerism? 
    • Seeking to become a more conscious consumer?  
    • Skeptical of influencers, which added up to be a $16B industry in 2022, and perhaps think everything about influencers is artificial?

These are the underpinnings for the “deinfluencing.”

Ready to “Deinfluence” Yourself? Check Your Vulnerabilities First!

Try to deinfluence yourself by being more aware of what drives you to buy new bins, new stuff, or even hold onto the old stuff. And if any of the following resonates with you, grab a sticky note, and pop a note onto your laptop, tablet, or other obvious spot in your workspace, to help remind you of what traps you’d need to avoid when making your next purchase.

AESTHETICS SWAY YOU

You follow a certain well known interior designer, organizer, or other lifestyle guru, and love the fresh look they achieve with just a few new products. If you are going for a certain look, and this means swapping out old for new or just adding more, you’ve likely fallen into a consumer trap.

Now, as mentioned, sometimes containers are not doing their job well and create risks. In other cases, like the pain you might feel like I do when I’m in my garage, some sprucing up may make the space more usable and is well worth the conscious, well-considered choice you make to update or upgrade. 

COMFORT IN INVENTORY

How much inventory of anything do you actually need? We all got spooked by COVID and its disruption of usual supply chains but move back to thinking more practically. Maybe you only need one at a time and can replace it when it’s gone. Inventory can also be risky if the item has a limited shelf life. This risk factor applies to everything from plastic components of bikes to cosmetics. Even my 3M hooks are now trash because the sticky foam lost its stickiness before I used the whole pack. 

DRAWN TO "COLLECTIBLE" AND "LIMITED EDITION"

Watch out for those special editions and collector sets, brilliant marketing strategies because they work. Just ask Taylor Swift and her many iterations on the releases of her albums, some of which if combined create art for your wall. But if you’re trying to control spending on ‘stuff’ you really don’t need, claims from companies that something is an instant collectible or must-have limited edition may lead you astray. Make both no-gos or at least see a flashing yellow light in your mind to slow down and think again before purchasing.

“NEW!" IS ENTICING

I recently met a woman who told me that in her family, they have made buying secondhand as well as clever upcycling into a game. It’s a challenge. There’s no pride to be had in simply going online and buying it new. They scour locally at estate sales, consignment shops, and vintage stores as well as online in common marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, and Facebook Marketplace.

And here, I feel them. I recently bought salvaged industrial signs from a shop on Etsy and genuinely loved my purchase and felt happy that those signs didn’t just go into a landfill.

When In Doubt, Check Your Clutter

If you’re doubtful you fall into these clutter trappings, common fashion and beauty targets of influencers are not your thing, here’s one final strategy that might work for you: Scan your home to see what’s literally taking up space. And do not skip over the storage bins tucked in a closet or sideboard or out in the open on display on an overflowing shelf.

Let’s pick on candles. Popular enough that some people buy them like candy. And shops know it. You can now find small candles in under $5 sections as well as in the traditional candy section of checkout lanes. Being small, consumable, and available at a relatively low price point, candles are an easy add-on to your tab. Suddenly your collection is 20, 30, 40 strong, you never get to the bottom of any of those soy-based, take you back to Hawaii, feel-the-calm candles, and collectively they take up a lot of space!

Don’t scoff if you think your collections are somehow more valuable, less frivolous than candles. At least they help you get your om on! Last week at the airport, we overheard a man on a call saying, “I have a Redskins jersey. That’s going to be worth some money someday.” How many of you collect random stuff with this idea that one day it might be worth money?

Check your clutter, check your collections. All of it stands to be sneaky and consumes space and money.

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Ready to rethink your space and what's taking up room in it? We think these ARTIcles by Artifcts can help.

108 Objects to Declutter From Your Home

Collections of Dubious Value

So Much 'Stuff:' How They Suck Us In and How We Can Resist!

© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Last week, we received a fabulous compliment: 

“Artifcts is so easy to use. And every time I think, “Oh, I wish it could do {this}, then suddenly I SEE that I can, because now that I’m looking for it, I realize that feature is real. Other products are so cluttered with buttons and widgets, I never know where I’m supposed to look. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

This glowing feedback was about something seemingly so small and inconsequential: the hashtag (#).  

Hashtags are used everywhere online, so us including it at Artifcts as an option to help you stay organized seemed intuitive. And yet when people use the hashtag and see it simplifies their Artifcting, they are grateful. We’re grateful, too. We’re grateful to all members of the Artifcts for their continuous feedback and accolades. 

If you’re wondering what you’ve missed, why hashtags as well as our @ feature are so valuable, keep reading!

Embrace the #Hashtag

Every object, every story, every moment you capture at Artifcts is instantly organized by design. Your #hashtags can be 100% custom to you, or you can select from a drop down of the most popular to-date among Artifcts community members. And by tapping on any #hashtag, you can view all other Artifcts with the same tag.

You can learn a lot about yourself and your life as you start seeing these tags accumulate, too. 

Our co-founder Heather’s top three most used #hashtags are:  

1. 1. 1. #ThatsMyGirl, for all things created by her daughter 
      2. #MomsEstate, for the items she kept from her mom’s estate 
      3. #FavoriteRecipes, because she hates flipping through dozens of cookbooks to find THAT recipe.

Our co-founder Ellen’s top three tags are:  

1. 1. 1. #Violet, her daughter  
      2. #ArtifctsVideo, which is added automatically to any Artifct that includes a video 
      3. #décor, because her 'stuff' has stories! (#MoreThanAnObject would be a great tag, too.)

Artifcts “Categories” Work like #Hashtags

Categories are required for each Artifct because they are important for structure and sorting as well as for providing ideas for what you may want to Artifct next.  

We started building and blending our unique categories list with the types of items you’d see at auction or in collectors groups. We then customized our categories further to include all of the life stuff we tend to collect and/or accumulate around our homes, in our workshops, and with the passing of loved ones, too. No auction house has the need for a category of “Life’s Moments,” with items like cards and letters, awards, memorabilia, and photographs. But you certainly have need for this category at Artifcts. 

Fall in Love With the @ Feature 

Whether you’re writing a text, email, or social media post, typing @ unlocks the ability to link to other people and groups. It’s an efficient way to loop in and alert others. 

At Artifcts, we evolved the @ feature a step further to meet our community's needs. We wanted @ to help us all to weave others into the stories we tell about the objects that pass through our lives. We also wanted to be able to link one Artifct to another. Maybe the Artifcts are part of a collection or one is simply part of a much bigger story. 

“The @ feature is hands down my favorite boost for any Artifct I create. I love being able to lead people down the rabbit hole from one part of a story to another without having to write an essay,” said Artifcts co-founder Ellen Goodwin. “And it saves me time, too. If I use @person then the Artifct is automatically shared with them. Done and done!”

And with these tips in mind, we wish you happy Artifcting!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As ubiquitous as it has become to gift someone a candle, back in the day of trudging a mile uphill in the snow to and from school, it was just as common to gift someone a wall calendar, especially during the winter holidays. Wall calendars were fun to pick out and available practically everywhere you shopped. They could feature stunning art, humorous scenes and quotes, or shots from nature. Some even provided fundraising dollars for causes you valued.  

But how often do you see a physical calendar on a wall in someone’s home anymore? And do wall calendars even have a place in the digital era? What does a wall calendar offer that its desktop or virtual version does not?  

Well, for one thing, the wall calendar never moves on you. It is a reliable source of ground truth as to what is going on and when in your household. Wall calendars also have a number of other advantages you’ll read about in our story today. 

As our focus for Around the House, With Artifcts this month shifts to everything that goes on your walls, we took a look around to gather some perspective on the value of wall calendars in modern times. We found some interesting and relatable perspectives that may just shift your own. Enjoy!

What Do You Want From a Wall Calendar?

As with nearly everything in life, when it comes to a calendar for your home life, you have to understand your own habits and needs first, and from that starting point you can choose that right calendar. What could you want from a wall calendar? Glad you asked: 

• • • Memory boost. The physical task of writing something down has been shown to help us recall the things we’ve written more effectively than when we type them, according to Scientific American. Maybe this is why Post-it notes and now writable tablets are so popular, too. Writing activates a broader field of activity in our brains. 
    • Mood boost, too. If you love the art or subject of the calendar—majestic mountains or cute kittens, anyone? —every time you walk by you get a little boost. 
    • Design infusion. If your space needs a pop of color or additional visual interest, you can surely find a calendar theme and size that will fit your style. 
    • The BIG picture. Your life is hectic, and you want to ensure everyone is marching to the same beat with a visual and accessible master calendar. Monitor multiple schedules, coordinate major events, and keep track of important dates, holidays, and horizon moments—like family trips—with one giant calendar, a.k.a. your lifeline. 
    • Accountability. For some, the wall calendar helps with accountability as you tick off dates and you accomplish certain tasks and work through to-do lists.

What else might you want from your wall calendar?  

Millennials, being nearly tech native from their earliest years, can offer an interesting perspective on this throw back from a simpler, non-digital time when wall calendars hung in every home. We ‘listened’ to some millennials sound off via a few reddit threads and found these additional perspectives on the wall calendar: 

There’s too much going on already on our mobile phones, so a lot of that noise gets ignored. It’s harder to ignore a wall calendar.  

• • • A way to see the passage of time, especially during COVID 
    • Finding enjoyment in the process of updating the new calendar with birthdays and anniversaries 
    • Remembering loved ones, human and pet, through the images chosen for personalized calendars 
    • When you work on a computer all day, it’s nice to step back from your laptop or mobile when possible.  
    • When you have young children, a physical calendar helps them learn about time. 
    • Somehow physical calendars and planners feel cozy.  

We then flipped that on its head and asked a few boomers in our lives about their affinity for wall calendars. Here were a few responses we received: 

• • • Using a wall calendar ensures caregivers going in and out of our home have the same information. 
    • My kids laugh, but I still keep track of big things in their lives and our grandkids’ lives, too, so I need a big wall calendar. 
    • This isn’t about my age, but about my job as a farmer. It’s helpful to see our schedule laid out in a large format so I can visualize cycles for the crops and animals. 
    • We’ve always had one, we always will. And we still have decades worth in the closet if you want to see them. Some years there’s no white space left. Life was busier then. Editor’s note: Artifct those old calendars! They can be treasure-troves of events and memories past. Keep reading for tips on how to Artifct your calendars.

Could You Go Digital With Your Wall Calendar? 

You could go digital for your wall calendar, even pocket sized on your mobile, but is it right for you? 

Digital offers several advantages. The primary benefit is probably obvious: accessibility from anywhere. You’re at the grocery store, you’re at an event, whatever it is, you need information that is tucked inside the squares of that wall calendar. If you don’t get that information, it’s a deferred decision or another to-do added to your life. 

You might also lean on a digital calendar for the benefit of reminders. You can set them by default (one month, week, day, hour). Technology is also evolving to offer smart reminders. For example, it’s likely that before long if you add a trip overseas to your calendar, the calendar will ping you well in advance to make sure your passport gets renewed, if necessary, on time. That’s efficiency and less stress all in one. It can also remind you about prescription refills and more. 

Where can you find a digital wall calendar? We only know of one so far with size and features options that we’re eager to explore, and it’s from a well-known manufacturer of digital photo frames called SkyLight, a very logical product expansion from frame to calendar. If you have experience with the Skylight wall calendar or another digital wall calendar, we’d love to hear from you!

Traditional Wall Calendars: Before You Save that Old Wall Calendar, Consider Your "Why"

In an amusing thread on reddit, a discussion unfolded when a poster shared a website that would tell you when the dates on your calendar would align again in a future year. One commentor passed on that idea, claiming they would end up at the dentist office on the wrong day. Ha! Another felt this was a stretch too far to upcycle and leaned toward hoarding behavior. (But does it? Learn more about hoarding disorder.)  

Historically, many people have treated calendars like journals, the ephemera of life, a record easily shared with others to remember what consumed our days, big and small, “back then.”  

Some calendars these days are designed to be upcycled based on the beautiful, high-quality printed images on each month, which are easy to slice out and frame or even affix to cardstock to create a greeting card. Some large wall calendars like those created by School House (and pictured in the banner at the top of this story), are designed to be flipped over to enjoy the design on the back when the year is over.

Artifct those calendars!

Now that we can simply take digital photos of the calendars and/or digitize them, we suggest going back through that particular collection and considering whether it’s time to ditch the hardcopy. Consider Artifcting the calendar before you recycle to keep the memories and for reference back to potentially important dates. If it’s a monthly calendar, choose a month or two or three for the photos to feature in your Artifct and attach a scanned copy of the complete calendar in the documentation of your Artifct. Done!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.