Willow asked me to explore with my readers whether there is anything that you have decluttered that you wish you hadn't. She asked if I had such a story from my own experience. This isn't the first time this subject has come up for me and I have not addressed it before because I could not think of any time that I have thought "I wish I still had such and such". Then it occurred to me that that is my answer. No I have not encountered this problem yet. Not in the last 192 days or for any other time over the years. I fully expect it might happen one day but of all the things I have … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2010
Day 191 One area of doom half sorted
I think I mentioned some time back that one of the areas of doom when it comes to decluttering my house is my daughters bedroom. It is mostly awkward because for now she is living elsewhere while going to university so that adds a degree of difficulty I didn't really want to deal with. It is not for me to decide what she wants to keep and I cannot be bothered sending long convoluted emails or wasting precious phone minutes to have her decide long distance. Luckily for me she came to visit the week before last and I warned her ahead of time that she was going to have to help me do some … [Read more...]
Day 190 A beautiful thing
IÂ had one of those days yesterday where things just weren't going my way. I won't go into the details but needless to say I achieved little and that was interspersed with unwanted interruptions and issues. Last night I spent so much time trying to sensitively answer the comments to yesterday's post that I really didn't have much time to write a post for today. So I am going to share with you all a little story relayed from Cindy (one on my readers) to myself through emails yesterday that warmed my frazzled heart. She went to Chucky Cheese yesterday with her girls. I have added the link in … [Read more...]
Day 189 Communicating feelings
One thing I have observed during the process of writing my posts, answering comments and emails, and reading other decluttering blogs is that lack of communication is a real problem when it comes to clutter. It causes clutter in the first place by people giving well meaning gifts that are not wanted by the receiver. Also because we try to protect others feelings people keep items they no longer want. Although it is commendable to try to be thoughtful about others feelings, sometimes your own personal needs should take precedence when the result effects your new sustainable way of living. … [Read more...]
Day 188 Product promotion cluttering
How many of you have gone to the supermarket with the innocent intention just to buy something like a set of replacement blades for your razor. You get to the section of the store where the razors are stocked and discover that there is a product promotion offer where you can get a set of 4 replacement blades and a SHINY NEW handle for only $4.99 while a set of eight replacement blades are $9.99. It is so tempting to buy 2 packs with 4 blades which gets you 8 blades and 2 SHINY NEW handles for only one cent more than the 8 blade pack. This is a very tempting offer for those of us who like … [Read more...]
Day 187 Tupperware declutter
Last week I decluttered my Tupperware cupboard. I didn't actually get rid of any containers I just found a way to use them all. I had packets of pantry food sitting on shelves sealed up with sticky tap and clips while perfectly good Tupperware was going to waste in another cupboard. I am not sure why I had let my pantry get like that, I am usually a far more organised person. While I was at it I reorganised the cupboards beside my stove and the rest of the pantry as well. I now have one more empty cupboard in my kitchen and I have a mind to empty one ore two more. This is a perfect example … [Read more...]
Day 186 Need your help on this one
Cindy recently sent me a list of subjects she would like me to cover in some posts. One of the subject was decluttering with friends. Although this sounds like a fun approach to decluttering I personally have had no experience of it aside from palming my unwanted stuff off onto them. Unfortunately my friends still love to shop and have not embraced my minimising lifestyle at all. What I would like though, in order to satisfy Cindy's desire for the subject, is to canvas my readers on any experience you have had with this. If you have a story to share with me please send me an email through … [Read more...]
Day 185 Unexpected decluttering
Imagine my surprise today when I went to put some clean laundry away in my son's room and discovered he had decluttered one of his drawers. There was a big wad of shoe laces and other items in his trash can. I retrieved it of course and sorted it into donate and throw away piles but WOW! If that isn't amazing enough you will be surprised to know he had done this once before. I had just mentioned it today in a reply to a comment Loretta left on my Half way there post. At the end of high school last year he decluttered all the old school papers he no longer needed. There was no prompting from … [Read more...]
Day 184 Budget program
For a long time now my husband and I have kept track of our savings and spending using budgeting programs on our computer. We record pretty much every cent we spend so we know where the money is going. Recently we bought a new Apple Mac Mini so our old software is no longer compatible. We downloaded and tried out a couple of free software programs but have not been to happy with the performance of these. I have been persevering with one anyway just so we can keep track of things as usual but after today we have decided that we really don't need to do this any more. There are two reasons for … [Read more...]
Day 183 Half way there
Guess what folks, we are halfway there 183 things down 182 to go Thanks to all of you for joining us on our journey to declutter one thing a day for a whole year. Your support has kept me going with my blog when at times it would have been easier to continue on in silence. We all know that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun though. Your comments have given food for thought on a number of subjects and have been a great help not only to me but your fellow readers as we all learn as we go. I hope you will stay with me as your company is greatly appreciated. There are times when my husband … [Read more...]