365 Less Things

Reducing our stuff one day at a time.

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Day 247 Decluttering due to illness

September 4th, 2010 · 365 Less Things

What Illness Taught Me About Decluttering

Guest Post by – Donna Tressler The Sound Of My Own Wheels

Recently I watched the 2010 Messiest Home in the Country episode of Clean House, which featured a family of four living in a home filled with an incomprehensible amount of clutter. There was a lot of finger pointing in the episode – particularly at the father who “guilt shopped” while he traveled for work, but the thing that struck me as interesting was how illness (the mom was a thyroid cancer survivor) had played a roll in the accumulation of the family’s clutter. Serious illness has a profound affect on people and we all react differently. For this family buying more stuff was the answer to their pain. For me, it was just the opposite.

In 2001 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. Initially I was euphoric to have an answer to all the health issues that had plagued me for months, then the reality of living with an incurable (but manageable) illness set in, and I went into denial. I didn’t take care of myself as well as I should, and eventually I went into a flair up of the disease that lasted 16 months.

It was a horrible time in my life and by the time I came out of the flair up, I was physically and mentally exhausted from trying to maintain my job, my house, my marriage, and my relationships with family and friends. It took nearly two years to completely regain my former self, and during that time I began looking for way to improve the quality of my life. In addition to taking better care of myself and managing stress (which is a huge factor in my illness), I looked for ways to simplify my life in the event that I suffered another flair up.

Eventually I realized that the less stuff I have, the less I would have to maintain if I did get that sick again. I’d like to say I had an epiphany and instantly went on a decluttering mission that got rid of every unnecessary item in one fell swoop, but life is rarely that way. Instead it has been a continuous journey of looking at each area of my life with fresh eyes. I began by getting rid of things I didn’t use, clothes I didn’t wear, books I would never read again, and have continued on from there. I’m constantly revisiting a cabinet, a closet, a shelf, and asking what can go from this area?

As I have pared down, I have found that there are several methods that have been most effective for me in getting on, and more importantly staying on, the declutter path. My methods work for existing items in my house and items that I contemplate buying.

  • I ask myself if I got “that sick” again, would I want to deal with this item
  • I ask myself the questions on the Declutter Decision Making Guide here on 365lessthings
  • I ask myself how many hours of working/commuting it would take to pay for the item

Someone once said “life is what happens while you are making other plans.” For me that’s a whole other blog post, but by sticking with my trifecta of clutter busting methods, I have managed to mostly stick to the trail and continue on the decluttering path, which in turn simplifies my life, helps manage my stress and thereby my overall health. It’s a win-win situation.

ITEM 246 OF 365 LESS THINGS

More things I won’t need to iron yay!

Long Sleeve Shirts

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Day 246 Favourite Five for Friday 3 Sep

September 3rd, 2010 · 365 Less Things

My favourite five comments  fo the week

  • Di on Day 234 – Before I started getting into minimalism, I was regularly decluttering and having garage sales. When I knew a certain person was coming to check out my sale items, I would hide…Read More
  • Cindy on Day 245 – Colleen is right when she has pointed out that while recycling is better than trash, it nonetheless uses energy and creates pollution…. Read more
  • Jessiejack on Day 243 -I think it’s important to remember the past and cherish  Read More
  • Donna on Day 242 – Great post Colleen’s husband! It really is true that we wear 20% of wardrobe 80% of the time. Read More
  • Paola on Day 241- This is my first comment even though I’ve been reading your blog for the last three months or so…Read More

Thanks everyone for keeping those comments coming. I am not getting alot of internet time but when I do I try to read as many as I can.

Five great links/posts I dug up from blog archives for your entertainment while I am on vacation

ITEM 246 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Yes even more clothes, don’t worry we will have something different for you soon

Polo Shirts

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Day 245 Garbage & recycling

September 2nd, 2010 · 365 Less Things

Even though my blog is primarily about decluttering there is a very strong element of doing the right thing by the environment. I have a lot to learn in this area but I would like to think I am making a pretty good effort.

I do try to be conservative with the amount of heating and cooling we use in our home. This is made easier because we live in a relatively small home by choice. I try to be conservative with the amount of driving I do but there is plenty of room for improvement in this area also. I am not getting much assistance with the miserable weather we have been having here lately though.

I recycle every little thing I can and even surprise myself at how little actual garbage our family generates. I do have a few issues in this area that I would like to start a discussion about. I am very concerned about the amount of recycling that is generated in my home due to day to day living. I feel inundated sometimes with plastic Juice and milk bottles, cardboard packaging and tin cans. Even though I know these items are going to be recycled I would rather be able to cut down on the quantity. It would be lovely if you could take these containers back and have them refilled like you do with fuel in your car but that just isn’t likely to become a reality.

Not in a million years would I consider dropping even one item of litter but I am concerned about how many of the items I do put in the recycling and garbage bins may end up as litter anyway. I was watching a show on TV involving waste management just this week and was appalled at the amount of trash that was blowing away in the wind from the landfill. Does this also happen at the recycling plants and public trash cans?

I went for a walk with a friend the other day along a boardwalk in a mangrove area near her home. I could not believe the amount of trash washed up among the mangrove trees. My friend said a lot of this garbage washing down the storm drains from the city streets. It truly shocked me. Are people really this careless I would like to think not.

ITEM 245 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Just more clothes. I thought it was females who had the overcrowded closets!

Short Sleeve Shirts

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Day 244 Cindy’s take on avoiding decluttering

September 1st, 2010 · 365 Less Things

Recluttering

A Guest Post by Cindy Bogard

It’s bound to happen sometime; you’re going to have to break down and buy something. Before you do, consider these factors:

  1. Do I need it?
  2. Do I want it?
  3. Did I come into the store looking for this item, or did it just catch my eye?
  4. Would I be criticized if my spouse or family members knew that I had purchased this?
  5. Can I afford it? If I cannot pay for it now, should I buy it?
  6. Can I wait a week and see if I still believe I need to buy this?
  7. I am buying it “just to try it”? If I am, is there some other way that I could try it first?
  8. Can I borrow it or rent it instead?
  9. Can I buy it used?
  10. Can I share the purchase of this item with someone else? (Lawn tools, exercise equipment, a bicycle, or magazine subscriptions all fall into this category.)
  11. Have I researched this purchase? Is this item durable and does it do the things I want?
  12. Will this item be easy use, maintain, and keep organized? Does this item perform more than one function?
  13. Do I have something at home that will perform the same function? Will it replace one or more other things that I already have? Am I willing to move those other things along? Do I truly need to replace those things?
  14. Do I have a place to store this item? Do I know that it fits?
  15. Is it in a color or style that I will continue to enjoy? Does it fit with my décor or the other things in my wardrobe?
  16. What is it made of? Where was it made? Are the components healthy for me and the environment? Is it labeled for recycling? Is it made of recycled parts?
  17. Can I sell it when I no longer want it?

ITEM 244 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These are almost too cute to part with
2 x Daffy

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Day 243 Memory clutter

August 31st, 2010 · 365 Less Things

There is one thing or actually a big group of things in my home that are looking down the barrel of being decluttered before the 365 days are up. The group in question are my old sports trophies. I have mentioned these before and still haven’t done anything about them but the day of reckoning is coming.

Trophies come under the same banner as souvenirs and little trinkets that serve no other purpose but to remind you of days gone by. They scream “look what I did”, “look where I’ve been” and maybe even the sad cry of  “I’m living in the past”. Personally unless your future appears dull and you aren’t likely to create any new achievements or live any new adventures do you really need to live in the past.

No matter what your age or circumstance you always have the ability to make new memories, achieve something new and possibly visit new places. My bad shoulder may have put an end to my softball and indoor cricket days but there are plenty of interesting things to do with my time like reaching out to a world of people with my blog to name just one.

Sure these old adventures and  achievements are worth remembering but they weren’t so dull that you need clutter to constantly remind you of those days. I know I don’t need my trophies to remind me of the good times I had with old friends and the individual set of talents I had that contributed to our sporting achievements. I will always remember those days and the great lessons learned from some wonderful coaches and mentors. I just don’t need to dust those memories every week.

I will however get my husband to photograph the trophies and I may even save the little plaques from the front of each of them but even then I expect I will rarely look back at those photos but they will be there just in case.

ITEM 243 OF 365 LESS THINGS

More of my husbands clothes that have gone to charity

Jeans

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Day 242 Cleaning Out the Closet

August 30th, 2010 · 365 Less Things

A guest post by – My Husband

During a recent overseas business trip I read about an experiment to choose six clothing items and only use those items for a month. You could have multiple copies of each item, even a different colour counted as a separate item but underwear, sleepwear, shoes and jackets etc did not count. I looked at my standard travel wardrobe, and found two pairs of Columbia pants, four sweat-wicking golf shirts (three colours) and two pairs of shorts. Five items to which I could add a more formal shirt for those dressier occasions, and still meet the Six Items or Less challenge. I lived with these five items for three weeks, and as you read this I am using them again for a month in Italy. No one ever comments on my limited wardrobe, and my daily choices are limited to picking the colour of my shirt for the day. Could I live like this for longer periods, or is six items too few to cover every contingency?

I decided that with some minor modifications, the experiment could be applied to my every day life and significantly reduce the size of my wardrobe. The first adaptation was to allow different colours of the same items so my four golf shirts would become one item. I also allowed myself some latitude items that get regular use in rotation with other similar items. For example, I had many long-sleeve shirts of different brands from which I selected the ones I use regularly and counted them as one item. As these items wear out I will look at following my plan to find an item I like that will replace all the differing brands. Using these adaptations, I have reduced my wardrobe to seven items plus work uniforms that are supplied and required by my employer.

I feel liberated from the fashion cycle, and yet have retained the best of my clothes while ridding myself of clothes that are functional but never made it into my rotation. For most of us, we keep returning to the same old favourites until they fall apart, so why clutter our closets with clothes that are never going to be worn? With a smaller clothing footprint, the clothes are not jammed into the hanging space, come off the hanger ready to wear and I can see my entire wardrobe in one place.

The Six Items or Less challenge looks daunting at first but a worthwhile experiment for anyone seeking to simplify their life. The original experimenters had a variety of experiences, and you can read their stories here. Now it is your turn.

ITEM 242 OF 365 LESS THINGS

The first of the clothes that were decluttered from my hubbies closet
T-shirts

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Day 241 Admission

August 29th, 2010 · 365 Less Things

On July 21st Kelly was kind enough to point out to me that I had the same item decluttered on Day 152 and Day 183 and I thought today was a good day to explain how this  happened. I chose to explain this now because my husband I are flying out to Italy today for a month long vacation of exploring and soaking up the culture.

“So what does my vacation have to do with this duplication” you say, well I will tell you. From day 64 of my 365 less things challenge I have been trying to get ahead of myself by a month so that when this time came I would still have something to blog each day. I knew when I started blogging about my challenge on Day 64 that I would be going on vacation and wanted to continue during that month without a hitch. So I have to admit that for the last 177 days I have sometimes decluttered more than one thing a day to be able to achieve my goal.

As you know I take a photo of every item I declutter but that doesn’t mean that I use that photo on the day the item is decluttered. Usually I will put things aside for several days before I get the camera out and take several photos at once. Then I upload them to my husbands Flickr Page and use them sometimes to match with the post I am writing other times just randomly. As I use the photos I then add a description on Flickr noting the day the photo was used.

That is how I managed to use the same photo twice.  I obviously forgot to add the description when I used the photo the first time. I have since added a different photo to Day 183.

All that being said. I have tried to put in place enough posts to keep you reading until I get home. Three lovely ladies have been kind enough to write guest posts for me so I hope you enjoy their contribution. Two of these ladies have blogs of their own and all three often leave thought provoking comments that inspire subject matter  for subsequent posts and I felt they had something to offer you. I have had to do a lot of shuffling to get everything in place so please forgive me if sometimes things don’t flow the way they should. It has been a hard slog trying to get this all organised before I leave.

I will be checking in at internet cafés and on my husband’s iPod Touch as often as possible so please keep sending in your comments I will answer them as often as I can. I will miss not talking to you all everyday but I know I am going to have a wonderful time “alone” with my husband for the next four weeks. It is our first long vacation without the kids so we are going to live it up. So arrivederci i miei amici I will talk to you soon.

ITEM 241 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These curtain rod end aren’t much use to us anymore because we don’t hang curtains

Curtain Rod Ends

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Day 240 The holding area

August 28th, 2010 · 365 Less Things

I took a quick look around in the garage today and there is still a lot to go before I am finished with my decluttering mission. The garage has become a bit of a holding area for stuff that I haven’t dealt with yet. There are things out there that will go and things out there I would like to go but are not mine to decide on.

  • A box of snoopy toys – these are going but I’m not sure how. They belong to my son and I would love to be able to sell them on ebay and make a few dollars for him but I am not sure that this is a likelihood.
  • A box of wooden coat hangers – we don’t have enough hanging space for them now but I am saving them for when my daughter moves into her own place.
  • 2 boxes of household items – also for my daughter.
  • The box of my son’s t-shirts I’ve mentioned before – I hope one day he will get over those and let me get rid of them.
  • 2 boxes of baseball souvenirs – I’m not even going to go there.
  • A box of photo frames – bargains I just couldn’t resist when I was working in the craft store back in America.
  • A box of sentimental stuff of my husbands – Clearly I have no say on this but I think he mentioned going through that just recently so there is hope.
  • 3 boxes of Christmas decorations – that is about half as much as what we used to have but I still need to pare that down to about half again.

As you can see 365 days was never a stretch when it came to how much time I would need to complete my decluttering mission. It is now day 240 and I still have a long way to go. The beauty of it is I still have 125 days left to continue to slowly and deliberately work towards my goal. The lessons I have learned over the last eight months have been so valuable that I am not concerned whether I will be fully decluttered at the end of the year or not. I am just looking forward to whatever wisdom there still is to gain from the experience.

So far I have learned not to re-clutter by becoming very aware of only buying things I need and not being tempted by retail pressure. That alone is worth the effort. I have had plenty of time to become accustomed to knowing what is important to me and what isn’t when it comes to my possessions.  I have no regrets about the things I have let go because I have afforded myself the time to make educated choice on what to let go. And to top it off I believe I have been a help to others on the same journey as me. A win win situation I’d say.

So if you are getting impatient with your efforts, stop and think about how far you have come and the benefits of what you have achieved and be happy.

ITEM 240 OF 365 LESS THINGS

A little more electronic gear that is no longer used

Old Electronics

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Day 239 Favourite Five for Friday 27 Aug

August 27th, 2010 · 365 Less Things

This weeks favourite five comments

  • My daughter on Day 232 – It would be quite difficult for her to declutter our things secretly. Both my brother and I have way too much stuff in our possession but you can bet your bottom dollar that we’d notice… Read More
  • All the responses from Day 234 – Link to these comments here
  • Cindy in response to Donna’s comment on Day 237 – Donna, As you allude to, those people aren’t living without wordly goods; they’re just living without… Read More
  • Deb J on Day 237 – I think we can all get carried away at times so that it helps to have someone to hold us accountable. But I also think that there are those who go way over the edge… Read More
  • Anna on Day 238 – Hi Coleen – will be interested in hearing others responses to this as this is something I struggle with… Read More

My favourite five post links this week

ITEM 239 OF 365 LESS THINGS

This seive was another one of those extra things due to my husband living away for 11 months due to his job so it can go in the donation box.

Broken Sieve

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Day 238 Children’s art projects

August 26th, 2010 · 365 Less Things

Today I received an email from Barb who had a question about children’s’ art projects. Here is what she wrote…

How have you handled children’s art projects, etc. I have a whole box of them and just not sure what to do!!!!

My response was this…

I have made of point of revisiting my stash several times and been more ruthless with each visit. I am now considering digitising what is left and making a disc for each child. My son was quite prolific with writing “wild” stories when he first started school and they are a classic to read over and over again so I would never part with them but I don’t feel it is really necessary to have the original hard copy. I will ask their opinion on that before I destroy anything though.

This was a simple answer to the question and there is probably a lot more thought that could go into the subject. For instance, with all of the great on-line printing services we have access to these days wouldn’t it be nice to put together a book with their art work and school work samples. Even 3D objects could be photographed and added to the content. You could put it all in chronological order including their school photos from the corresponding years. Maybe even include sports photos and pictures of trophies or awards that they won along the way. You could choose to compile your own scrapbook rather than having it printed on-line if that is a craft you enjoy.

This is starting to sound like fun. If anyone has some more suggestions please send them in through the comments section and we will compile it all in a more comprehensive post for another day.

ITEM 238 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Braiding purchased for a special project that never happened.

Braiding

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