In October, Courtney Carver at Be More with Less created the Reverse 100 Things Challenge; the aim is to reduce your personal objects by 100 items by December 15. An interesting challenge that I immediately forgot about until it reappeared in my Flipboard feed yesterday.

Do we have 100 things left to declutter?

Colleen started her one thing a day quest in January 2010, and almost a thousand things have left our lives over the last three years. Could I even find 100 more items to move on to a new home?

I grabbed a few items that had been earmarked for removal, rummaged through the cupboards and drawers, and found about forty things that had so far escaped Colleen’s decluttering zeal.

OK, that’s a start but were can I find another sixty things that we no longer love or need? Now I found myself on a mission to complete the challenge but I only had 24 hours to finish it.

An indecisive minimalist

Although I am 100 percent behind Colleen’s quest, I have procrastinated over every one of my personal items that left our home over the years. Some of that clutter had followed me all over the world for 33 years, and I felt comfortable with them sitting on shelves or more often in boxes. Sending them to new homes, or to my horror the trash, never came easy to me and I looked at each item a dozen times before it made the cut.

Why the indecision?

Some reminded me of past glories on the Rugby field. The shelves of books displayed in our living area showed the world I am well read and educated, and my collections reflected the diversity of my interests. To give up many or any of these items meant giving up a part of own psyche, my being and my raison d’être.

Turning indecision into action

Colleen has enjoyed the slow journey but I am more at home in the deadline crunch. My professional training enables me to analyse complex situations and continually adjust the variables to achieve our objectives; the response time to a problem is measured in minutes and often seconds. Give me a week to make a decision and I research, ponder and just plain old procrastinate until you demand the answer. With less than a day to complete the challenge I did not have time to worry and my process became ruthlessly efficient.

Every item passed through my hands once, and I quickly assessed it against three keys questions:

1. Have I used it this year?
2. Will I use it in the next three months?
3. Do I love it?

If I answered any answer with ‘no’ that item went into the donation pile. A couple of hours latter I had a small mountain of stuff sitting in the donation pile, over 100 items ready for a new home.

Two questions I did not ask myself:

1. Was this a present?
2. What did I pay for it?

Challenge met

A lot of these items should have gone a long time ago; Windows software (we are an all Apple house now), broken watch (a present) and numerous excess tools and knick knacks that have haunted my spaces for years. Most of them will go to the Thrift Store, a very few went into the bin and the easel will be offered to a young artist but none of them will be missed by me.

It felt good to met the Reverse 100 Things Challenge, and it has helped me to focus on the important parts of my life; my family, travel, motorcycles and work. Now if I can just convince Colleen to reduce everything to fit into one carry-on bag each then we can start vagabonding across the world.

The 100 Decluttered Items For Today

Eco Tip for the Day 

When the time comes to replace any of the appliances in your home choose energyefficient  and or water efficient models.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you got for free. In the photo above you can see a baseball park giveaway, a coffee mug from an aeroplane manufacturer, various toiletry items from a recent international flight and a souvenir from a foreign military establishment. Some of these have been around for quite a some time while others have infiltrated my clutter defences just recently. Hmmmmmm!!!

My husband found this Ted video and of course I had to share it with you all. I also suggest you take a look at the website LifeEdited.org

A guest post by my hubby Steve

In 1998, UK artist Tracey Emin unveiled My Bed, literally her unmade bed and the crap that lay on and around it. By presenting her bed as art she became famous, some may say infamous, as one of Britain’s great contemporary artists.

Well, you do not have to be infamous to use the excess stuff in your home to create an artistic expression that can either become a focal point in your home or sold. Here are two examples:

Steam punk ray gun

I have an old hand wood drill that sat unused in my tool chest for nearly 30 years, sentimental clutter because it belonged to a family friend. It failed to sell on eBay and I earmarked it for the donation bin when I renewed my association with steam punk. Steam punks develop alternate technologies that could have evolved in the Victorian aesthetic, and many create futuristic weapons (ray guns if you like) of a different past. So I dismantled the drill, added pistol grip fashioned from an old wood plane, and some wiring to create the IXLAN Thermal Disrupter. I also created a back story for the weapon, and it will eventually be for sale on Etsy.

IXLON Thermal Disrupter

Steroids in Baseball

Invigorated by my first art project, I took at look at the donate pile and decided I could create a new piece with some 5″ x 7″ gold baseball cards. I chose four cards; Alex Rodriquez, Jason Giambi and Mark McGwire who all admit using steroids during their careers, and Ken Griffey Jr whose stellar career is untainted by juicing.

I printed part of the statements made by the first three players onto vellum and affixed it to their cards to symbolise the cloud or murk that obscures their baseball achievements because of steroid use. Assembled together on a backing board, Griffey’s card reflects his shining example of baseball prowess, a career that will undoubtedly lead to his enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Steroids in Baseball

Be an artist!

Turning clutter into art is immensely satisfying, the act of making something is good for the soul, and remind us that everything does not have to be disposable, even if its originator made it that way.

What could you make?

Something cool like a ray gun or a social statement on an important issue is lurking in the garage or under your bed. Post a photo of your creation on our Facebook page.

Item 334 of 365 less things

Just another item we no longer need which we donated to the thrift store.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. A cup of tea in bed to start the day – My husband has been doing this quite often lately and I hope he plans on making a habit of it.
   
2. Plants that thrive on neglect – They are the only type that survive in my garden and are even better value when they pop up from nowhere and start baring fruit.
3. My mother teaching me to cook while I was growing up.
4. No gift giving at the Christmas party with my old work mates last night.
5. Every day I am grateful that Liam is doing so well.

A guest post by My Darling Husband, you can read more of his travel tales on his blog.

After a month of souvenir assaults in Italy, Colleen and I managed to return home with just four new items; a t-shirt for Liam, glass bead earrings for Colleen, a book of our Venice tour (included in the tour cost) and a wonderful etching of Florence purchased from a local artisan. They all have special memories attached to them.

Colleen’s earrings match the necklace she bought in Venice during our first visit there in 2005, the etching evokes the splendour of Florence and the book helps us relive our Venetian tour experience. While the t-shirt will always remind Colleen of my beautiful use of the Italian language until I ran out of vocabulary before finishing the transaction.

But we have many more memories from our romantic month immersed in Italian culture and history, and no tolerance left for knick knacks to remind us. So we use the two most valuable tools available to capture our memories; a camera and a pen.

Gelato in Florence

Travel Photography

We took close to a thousand photographs in Italy, and as I sort through them they remind me of great meals, local customs and the small differences that made Italy memorable. The key is to not only photograph the famous sights but to capture the seemingly mundane, your meals, the local shop displays or anything that stirs your interest or imagination. Try to tell a story with your photo, the locals flocked to one gelateria every afternoon and I tried to capture the atmosphere with this photo on the right.

Your best images can be shared online at social media websites like Flickr and Facebook or create a book using a print on demand service, like Blurb.

Keep a Journal

As you travel, record your thoughts and observations in a journal each day. Keep a small notebook and pen in your day bag or pocket to jot down notes then each evening transcribe and expand the detail in your main journal. There is no more powerful tool to remember your vacation, and by combining your words and images you will create a permanent record of your adventure. Then print it in a book like this one I made with Blurb:

European Vacation by Steve Madsen | Make Your Own Book

Find Experiences not Shopping

Many travellers are shuffled from shopping experience to shopping experience by their tour guides or the local tourist industry, and many of their purchases never see the light of day after the trip. Use your hard earned vacation money to have memorable experiences, hire a personal guide, attend a local concert or sporting event and get to know some of the local people. I vividly remember an hour spent mingling with locals on their piazza, and you will find your best vacation memories in similar places and eliminate your souvenir clutter as well.

Item 329 of 365 less things

One of the many souvenirs from our days living in Seattle. Proof that freebies are hard to resist and and soon become sentimental clutter.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Getting the cleaning out of the way quickly – Today was cleaning day and I had it all taken care of in less than three hours.
2. My hubby writing today’s post – It was 8:30pm and I couldn’t come up with anything to write about and he stepped in and saved the day.
3. Movies – We went to see the new Harry Potter movie today.
4. Freedom – Not all people throughout the world live with this luxury and the rest of us often take it for granted. Thank you to those who have lost their lives or have served time fighting to ensure that freedom for us.
5. Fun Memories – That T-shirt buying incident in Italy was hilarious. I nearly wet myself I laughed so much. It makes me chuckle now just thinking about it.
   

Another guest post by my husband.

You’ll never meet a traveller who, after five trips, brags: “Every year I pack heavier.”

Rick Steves – Travel Writer

These words echo in my head every time I pack for trip, whether business or pleasure, reducing the amount of stuff I carry always makes for a more enjoyable time. Whenever I travel with colleagues, they are amazed by my small bag and unable to imagine how they could do it. Packing light is easier than they think and anyone can reduce their luggage to a manageable size with some planning and preparation.

Colleen and I are committed to only take as much stuff as can be carried onto the flight; a 9″ x 22″ x 14″ bag weighing no more than 7 Kilos (15 lbs) plus a smaller bag for personal items like a camera. We use a convertible backpack/suitcase with zip-away shoulder straps that is lighter than your average roller bag, and easy to tote across town to our hotel. How do we do it? Well, my bag contains the following items:

• 2 collared shirts
• 2 t-shirts
• 1 pair of pants
• 1 pair of shorts/swimmers
• 4 sets of underwear
• 4 pair of socks
• 1 jacket
• Vibram Five Fingers
• small toiletries kit
• first aid kit
• 1 small towel
• journal/pens
• sewing kit
• guide book/maps
• phrase book (if needed)

In my camera bag:

• DSLR plus 28-135mm zoom
• 50mm lens
• iPod Touch
• battery charger
• spare battery/compact flash drives
• Archos 604WIFI (used for photo storage and charging the iPod)

I used to carry a laptop but an iPod touch provides me all the computing power I need except for an ability to upload photos from my camera so I carry the Archos 604. Despite carrying two devices, I still save more than half the weight of your average 12-13 inch laptop or netbook.

The main advantage of this small uncluttered travel bag is mobility. While most people are waiting for their bags, we are heading to the hotel. We can easily change planes, trains or buses when a delay occurs because everything is with us. Sure we have to do some washing along the way but it is often no more expensive to use a fluff and fold service than to do the laundry yourself. We also use lightweight wash and wear clothes that can be washed in a sink if necessary, and air dried over night.

Virtually nothing in our bag is there because we might need it, we will use every item continuously throughout our travels and when those one-off occasions arise we just buy what we need at that time. Plan for the best and be prepared to spend a little money if needed, why ruin a vacation lugging a huge bag of stuff you never use to save a few dollars. Travelling light is an awakening that can open your eyes to how little you need in your life, try it on your next vacation.

For those who cannot imagine travelling with one small bag, check out Rolf Potts’ No Baggage trip.

ITEM 250 0F 365 LESS THINGS

I am sure someone will find these fabric scraps useful but I am sure I am not going to use them