I received a lot of comments on Tuesday regarding the Use It UP challenge it seems there are lot of readers out there who can relate to this topic. We have already discovered alternative uses for two products.. Mouthwash can be used for several different things according to The Frugal Duchess. Shampoo can be put in your liquid soap container and used as a hand cleaner according to Patricia in her comment. I suppose you could also use it as a body wash like my son does when he washes his hair. I also have a post from back on day 77 with my take on multipurpose uses for cleaning … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2010
Day 160 My thrifty packaging
As you know we have been selling a bit of stuff on ebay since the start of this 365lessthings challenge. I have mentioned before how I hate wasting our ebay earnings on costly packaging so I do my best to recycle otherwise unwanted resources to make my own thrifty packaging. After telling a friend of mine how well I had been doing recently selling snow gear on ebay she asked if I would sell some snow gear for her. During this exercise I took some photos to show you the process of creating my thrifty packaging. I used a box from a piece of furniture from the store I work at. I cut out … [Read more...]
Day 159 Use it up
I want to lay down a challenge this week to all you readers out there. THE CHALLENGE Find at least 5 consumable items in your home that have been lingering on a shelf somewhere. My definition of consumable is something that can be depleted or worn out by use. Concentrate on choosing these items over similar items you prefer to use until they are all used up and no longer cluttering up your home. Possible reasons for lingering didn't live up to expectation for some reason you just stopped using it just have so many of a similar item to choose from bought a similar item you … [Read more...]
Day 158 Deb’s photo archive
I received an email recently from Deb telling me about how she is doing a similar thing to me but documenting it from very different angle. Here is what Deb wrote... I am doing a reverse gestalt on your project as I continue my Rathole a Day Project (reviewing Stuff on one shelf, drawer, box, closet a day): I am identifying those objects that are Beautiful and/or Useful and that I want to keep. So everyday I photograph one object that makes me happy to own. Leo of zenhabits.com suggests owning 200 objects. Along that line, I'm identifying my 365 favorite objects (some of them very … [Read more...]
Day 157 Alternatives to shopping
While blog hopping I ran across a list which I have put a link to below which gives a list of 100 things that are free to enjoy and make life happier. It got me thinking that there were a lot of items on that list that were great alternative to shopping. Things that cost nothing or next to nothing but are a lot more social, healthy, educational, uplifting. rewarding... need I go on. Here are some of the things I could and do take advantage of on a regular basis Go for a walk Go to the beach Spending time with friends Sitting back and enjoying the view. (Anywhere even people … [Read more...]
Day 156 Freecycle
This week I used Freecycle for the first time and was delighted with the results. First of all I was amazed that the place I live even had Freecycle and secondly I was pleased that it gives me an outlet for items that would otherwise be difficult to find homes for. Let me explain... I listed three items, two if which were a box of baseball cards and a guitar amplifier that doesn't work. As you can see neither of these items is suitable to send to a charity because they only want stuff in working condition and baseball cards would be a bit obscure to say the least for an Australian thrift … [Read more...]
Day 155 A selling milestone
With today's item which sold on eBay for $36.00 we have hit a milestone. We have broken the $1000 mark for selling unwanted items. I am pleased we have managed to redeem some of the money that in some cases was wasted in the first place. In other cases though we had got more than our money's worth out of the items and the cash was just a bonus while other items we made a killing on. A quick story regarding an eBay auction not relating to this decluttering quest but something my husband nearly threw away last year but put on eBay as a last minute decision. It was a kick start for a Ducati … [Read more...]
Day 154 Another readers helpful hint
Following yesterday's Blog in regards to weeding out the clothing in your closets that really don't suit your needs, Willow had this little gem she remembers reading somewhere... Somewhere, I’m not sure where, I pulled the idea of putting all my hanging clothes in the closet with their hangers backward. At the end of the season, I will KNOW which clothes I didn’t wear. They will be the ones still hanging on backwards hangers. This is a very good example of Natural Progression Decluttering, not much effort involved but easy to identify at the end of the season which clothing is … [Read more...]
Day 153 The winter woolies are starting to make an appearance
Well the seasons are a changin' now and the days are getting cooler here in the land down under. The winter woolies (clothing) have started to make an appearance and some of them are just not living up to expectation. I pulled a sweater out of the drawer today and within ten minutes I had had enough of the scratchiness of it so I took it off and put it in the donation box. Winter can be uncomfortable enough especially when it is wet as well as cool like it has been here for the last two weeks so the last thing I need is to be made more irritated by clothes that don't feel nice or are just … [Read more...]
Day 152 Reclutter the garden with consumables
Reclutter the garden with consumables A friend of mine lets call her Liz was so excited about her recent efforts to "reclutter" her garden that she insisted that I blog about it. She didn't actually remove anything but replaced some of her "pretty plants" with things more of the edible variety. Her garden consists entirely of pots which tend to require more watering than garden beds. She had a line of pots planted with tall ornamental grass but they were real water guzzlers so she replaced the grass with herbs and salad greens. She said although she enjoyed watching the grass when it … [Read more...]