Have you ever noticed that there is certain clutter in your home that you not only never use but you don't even lay eyes on it for long periods of time. During that time you don't think of it. It is like it doesn't even exist. But the minute you unearth it memories come flooding back and suddenly it seems so precious. I am not just referring to keepsakes here I am including all manner of clutter. That old tupperware way back in the furthermost reaches of your kitchen cabinet. The sporting equipment buried under more useful stuff in the back shed. Photographs in which you can't even identify … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2013
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Resistance Is NOT Futile
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Any fan of Star Trek or American pop culture has heard the phrase "Resistance is futile." It was popularized on the TV show Star Trek when the Borg (human-machine hybrids) were about to assimilate (i.e., suck in, take over, and destroy) a new race of beings. This phrase popped into my mind yesterday when I was perusing the sales flier for the big box discount store Costco. Costco and its competitor Sam's sell items in bulk - big bulk - in a warehouse setting and at discounted prices, often significantly discounted. Not only can you buy food in bulk, more than … [Read more...]
Declutter a fraction at a time
Over the last week there have been two comments that inspired this post. One from Sanna expressing her excitement about decluttering a box of little bits and pieces and another from Moni suggesting that decluttering one book at a time is easier for her than contemplating getting rid of the whole collection. Some people may think that decluttering will go on forever at this pace but I have found quite the opposite. Sometimes decluttering doesn't even begin when a person looks at the big picture and feel there is too much to lose. This is especially so when a person has been avid about … [Read more...]
Mini Mission Monday ~ Things you may still have more of than you need
Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and "fun" for you to achieve some quick decluttering. This week the mini missions are all about reassessing items you own in multiples. Items you have decreased in numbers previously but now feel you can reduce even more. I find, as I get more ruthless with my decluttering, I revisit areas again and again and reduce more and more the quantity of … [Read more...]
Saturday Extra ~ Book Review
Prepare to be inspired. The Tall Poppy Project by Kylie Pratchett encourages you to take a good look at yourself to find what it is that will take your life from ordinary to delicious. This book gives you a holistic approach to bringing out the best in yourself, body, mind and soul. By encouraging you to explore the possibilities of improving your life through simple and incremental changes to diet, exercise, relationships, self image and more. Base on her own experiences of redesigning her life, Kylie Pratchett, who went from forensic scientist to Holistic health coach, shares her tips … [Read more...]
Friday’s Favourites ~ 25Jan2013
On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did. Favourite Comments. Enjoy! This comment from Ideealistin is a great example of how ease of use is better than unnecessary backups. This comment from Moni proves that there is a positive side to every situation. Loretta takes both the environment and her budget into account when it comes to how much stock of anything she keeps on hand.  Fear of running out is not her motivator. Like me she has plans on how … [Read more...]
Fourth Thursdays with Deb J ~ Looking For the Issues
Most of us are so used to seeing our homes that we don’t really LOOK at it. We live our days hurrying through life and there are many things we don’t look at but are just in the background. One of the things that will help get our lives back on track is to begin to look at our lives through a stranger’s eyes. What do I mean by this? Before we go on let me tell you that this will take some time. Depending on your personality and what is going on in your life it could take a lot of time or a little. It all depends on you. The first thing you will need to do is find the time for this … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Count the Mintues
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Last week, I wrote a post praising the wonderful feeling of getting old to-dos done. As I suspected, I was not alone in 1) having pletny of old to-dos that needed to be done and 2) in being overjoyed at how quickly many of them could be accomplished. That made me wonder: How long does (fill in the blank unpleasant chore) really take to do. Here are some of my results: 1 second - Time to put keys in the same place every time I enter the house. 7 seconds - Time to put shoes into shoe cubby and close closet door. 17 seconds - Time to hang sweater on hanger, with … [Read more...]
Non-Emergency Supplies
These two comments, from Sanna and Ideealistin, kicked of the responses to yesterdays Mini Mission post.  They make a great point about how we don't need to be cluttering up our homes with stocks of items that in no way constitute emergency supplies. Especially when one spare is enough or in some cases aren't even crucial. How often do you urgently need an envelope, a scented candle, four cigarette lighters or a can of fly spray. And how far ahead do we really need to restock these items before they run out. Do you really need to have another bottle of shampoo waiting in the wings … [Read more...]
Mini Mission Monday ~ Perishables
Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and "fun" for you to achieve some quick decluttering. This week the mini missions are based around things that perish when not used for a long time. So even if you think you "might need these things someday" it may turn out the someday is too far away and the items will only be good for the garbage can by the time you get around to using them. Best … [Read more...]