It goes against all my principles, but I am considering putting clothes, that no longer fit me, into storage. I know! Shock, horror, gasp!

It is all because of an argument going on in my head. There is one side of my brain which is yelling at me saying “What the heck? Did we not go through this last year? Did you not pull down from the ceiling storage, boxes and boxes of clothes in assorted sizes and assorted eras, and proceeded to get rid of them all? Did you not participate in Project 333 and swore never to go back? Did you not encourage other 365’ers facing a similar situation to let go of the past? What are you thinking, girl?”

And then the other side of my brain speaks up “But, you have only been on a new diet regime since December the 1st, you haven’t yet committed to any sort of fitness programme, most of these clothes were purchased in November, what if you need them again?”

The other voices pipes up “How could you even think that? Did you not write a guest post on “just in case” and did you not quote an author saying that kind of thinking indicates a lack of trust in your future?”

“Yes, but your weight has been a bit of a moving target over the last five years and you don’t actually know if you will get down to your goal weight. After all it is just a number you plucked out of nowhere. And its not like you keep a large wardrobe, you keep the number of items under 30 pieces and they would all fit nicely into one of those empty storage boxes and it would take up barely any room in the ceiling storage now that you’ve had a big clear out up there…..I know, why don’t you eliminate something else from up there, so this could take its place.”

“I already need to go down a size in clothing, but I am just trying to make things last until the end of Summer. I won’t fit my jeans and all my winter jerseys are likely to be too big too. You don’t have a problem with getting rid of those and buying new Autumn/Winter clothes, do you?”

“Of course not, I’m looking forward to that, but next Summer is a long time away. And shouldn’t you be thinking of sustainability? Carbon footprint? What if you end up having to re-purchase a whole Summer wardrobe in the same size?”

“What if I don’t? What if by next Summer I am even smaller? What if I don’t even like that style of clothing next summer? What if I don’t have the security blanket of an easy upsize? Would that in itself keep me on target? And what if I’m not the same person anymore? What if this is the new me?”

“Oh sweetie – if you want to think that, you can think that, I’m just trying to look out for your best interests. I just think you should wait and see what happens.”

So that is the debate going on in my head. It is easy to get rid of out-sized clothes that haven’t been worn in years but clothes that are less than 3 months old…….that I am struggling with. My diet buddy (who is not a minimalist nor a declutterer) says I should be replacing roomy items now and not trying to make them last until April. She is, however, a fashionista, whereas I feel I should be saving my pennies for my Autumn clothes.

So 365’ers – how would you settle this argument?

Today’s Mini Mission

If you have moved sometime in the last ten years but still have clothing or equipment that does not fit with and has therefore not been used in your new location it is more than time you decluttered it. This could be clothing, sporting equipment, gardening implements, snow shovel…

Eco Tip for the Day

Get the spatular and scrape every last trace of food out of your cooking bowls. It may not seem like much waste but waste is waste. There are people in the world who don’t get that much food in a day. (The photos are from when my children made lasagne while I was out.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

After reading the title of today’s post you are probably eagerly awaiting an explanation. I am going to attempt to keep it brief because I have a somewhat related topic I would like your opinion on before I sign off today.

What Redundancy or Destruction relates to is this:-

The less we own ~ be that reducing what we already have or minimising what comes in ~ the more likely it is that we will wear things out (Destruction) rather than them becoming useless to us (Redundant).

This is especially so for items of clothing, both for adults and for children. Recently Lena commented that she has so few clothes these days that things are wearing out faster. That could sound like the clothes aren’t well made but what Lena clearly meant was that the clothes are being worn far more often because there are so few in circulation, that they are naturally wearing out sooner.

The beauty of this method is that you get to replace items with something new and exciting, guilt free, because they simply need replacing. This satisfies the need to buy something new and pretty occasionally, keeping your wardrobe fresh and up to date, so to speak. One of the other advantages is that should you gain or lose a little weight over time your wardrobe will be replaced by natural progression over that period without you ending up with two sets of clothes. Ones that fit and ones that don’t.

The situation is slightly different for children, because they require a bit more in their rotation since they tend to be somewhat messier. However it makes possibly even more sense to apply this logic to their wardrobes being as outgrowing their clothes is inevitable, not simply due to poor food choices.

This same inevitability applies to all sorts of items that we can stand to have a few less of in rotation. Items that might perish rather than wear out or run out such as, pens, food, toiletries… This doesn’t only make economical sense it is also the environmentally friendly approach.

* * * * * * *

The somewhat related topic I mentioned earlier:-

I have had a post sitting idle as a draft which I have been advised not to publish. It is not finished but the theme is sensitive. However this same theme just keeps popping up all over the place for me lately and I am seriously considering taking the chance that I won’t offend too many people and just let the post out there. The topic in question is the connection between clutter and being overweight.

Having never been overweight myself, writing such a post could be construed two ways. One ~ “What do you (meaning me) know about being overweight if you never have been”. Two ~ “You (meaning me) ought to have something helpful to say on this topic because you must be doing something right as you have never been overweight.”

I have been offered a blog post from one of our readers on this subject. I am currently reading Peter Walsh’s book ~ Does this clutter make my but look fat. Also I have very recently stumbled upon two other blogs that have suggested this is an area of our lives that could do with habit changing.

So I put it too you here and now to let me know if you think this is a subject that you would like me to at least touch on once. Or do you think I should just leave this alone and allow my readers to deal with their household clutter first. I have noticed that many people who get their clutter under control also begin to form better habits in this area also.

Please give me your honest opinion as to whether you think this is something I should write about. I am happy either way so please don’t just say what you think I want to hear. 

Today’s Mini Mission

Go through your children’s clothing and assess what is worn out, no longer fits, is not useful to hand down to another of your children or be kept for another child should you be planning of having another one soon. Declutter what you will not need.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t be a princess. Clothes can be worn twice, towels don’t need to be laundered everyday, misshapen fruit tastes the same as the pretty stuff, as does the food in dented tins and crinkled boxes. You might be surprised how much power, water and perfectly good food is wasted by being so picky.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

The 10 year old outfit

The outfit

I never thought I would write a text about an outfit. Especially not the one in this photograph, because the only relevance it has in my life is that it was never worn. I bought this outfit in 2003, it was Autumn. It is a winter outfit. The skirt and blouse are of a hot fabric (sweating is not an option or it would stick and get smelly, even in winter) and it was very stiff, not allowing much movements. But I am making excuses for myself. I knew all of this when I tried the outfit at the store. I remember very clearly the day I bought this outfit, because it was the one time out of two that I put it on. It was not an overly expensive outfit, but I did pay money for it. The first time I tried it, at the store, I felt powerful. I thought I would put high-heeled boots with high tops and look great. Except that the perfect place to use that outfit never came. Never! And the years came and went. I gained weight, got pregnant twice, lost weight, gained again, bought clothes to fit my new weight, donated loads of clothes that were too worn/small/not my style anymore but this outifit, never worn, never made it to the donation pile. I changed my clothes from one wardrobe to another and the outfit was just going from one place to another. And it never met my washing machine either…

I remember the other occasions that I gave clothes away when I looked at this outfit and I thought: “I am going to use it. The perfect time for using it will present itself.” Of course that time never came. But I could not accept that I had done this, that I bought something and had not worn it. Not one single time. I get hand-me-downs from time to time and I don’t wear the clothes because I don’t like them, I just pass them on. But I did not choose those clothes. I did not go to a store, try them on and buy them. They came for free and the same way went.

On January, 11, 2013, I was trying to do a challenge, like Steve did, and was assembling 100 objects to declutter. And I opened the place in my wardrobe where the outfit was. I was with a trusted person, who helps me with housekeeping and babysitting when needed, and she said I should let it go, because in three years she had never seen me wear it. I did not try it on to see if it still fitted, I just let it go.

Why did I hold on to that outfit for so long? Because, as Colleen has put again and again on this blog, I could not accept defeat. I could not accept that I did not like the outfit, that buying it was a mistake and that it was simply not my style and I would never wear it, no matter how long I held on to it.

I learned my lesson. But it took me too long and I agonized too much over it. Don’t let clutter agonize you, if you have something that you never wore, never used and are just hanging on because the day will come when you use it, give it up, that day will never come. Even if you think, as I did briefly, that there could come a Contry Theme party and I would miss that outfit and would want to wear it, I reminded myself that two such occasions did present themselves in 2012 and I did not wear that outfit. I chose something else. And the outfit had been there, at my disposal, in my wardrobe. So I let it go. Trust me, give up whatever you are not using, you will not need it and the occasion will never rise, I waited 10 years and that “perfect occasion” to use it never came.

The Weekend’s Mini Missions

Saturday – If you haven’t taken a look at your collection of books for a while now is as good a time as any. If you are inclined, reduce the number a little more. Question your sentimental attachment to books you have already read and aren’t likely to read again.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

While we have plenty of old pros here at 365 Less Things, we have plenty of drop-by readers and lurkers, some of whom are probably in denial about their need to declutter. So here’s my checklist, roughly arranged from the most obvious to the most subtle clues that you should use if you think that maybe you don’t really need to declutter.

• You rent a storage unit.
• Your garage, basement, or attic looks like a storage unit.
• You have a whole room devoted to storage.
• You have a door in your home that you cannot open.
• You have a door in your home that you cannot open safely or without throwing your body in front of the opening as you pull on the door.
• You wish you had a room that you could devote to storage.
• Or worse, you are considering moving or adding on to your home, just for storage.
• You sometimes wish that your house would just burn down so you wouldn’t have to deal with it any more.
• Your friends offer to come over and help you get organized.
• You are surrounded by possessions that you do not like or enjoy.
• You are surrounded by possessions that were given to you by someone who is dead, and you do not like and enjoy them.
• You believe that more storage is the solution to your problems.
• You do not have friends or family over.
• When friends and family do come over, you need at least a week’s notice, and it’s a stressful week.
• You cannot use the furniture as it is intended to be used because it is used as storage.
• You have make-shift storage (i.e. overflowing baskets, laundry baskets, a bunch of stuff bundled up into a table cloth and hidden in the garage, etc.)
• You got remarried, moved in with parents, etc., and now you have two (at least!) of everything.
• Anyone has ever said the words “fire hazard” while looking around you home.
• Anyone has ever said the words “estate sale” while looking around your home.
• Your closets are so full that you have to use your body as a wedge to get something in or out.
• You shop and hide the evidence.
• You shop for non-consumables more than once a month.
• Shopping is your favorite hobby – or one of them.
• You buy things because they are a bargain.
• You buy things because you “might” need it and aren’t sure if you already own one.
• You buy duplicates because you don’t know what you have or where it is.
• You buy for a current hobby at a rate that outpaces your ability to do that hobby.  (You buy dozens of books at a time, dozens of yarns skeins , dozens of patterns, hundreds of Legos, etc.)
• You don’t overbuy on yourself, but on your children or grandchildren…well that’s another matter.
• Your living room looks like a preschool classroom.
• Your children don’t play with half their toys. They don’t even know what half their toys are!
• You pulled a bunch of stuff out of a closet to organize it, and it’s been sitting outside the closet for more than two weeks, with no progress being made.
• The phrases “I might need it some day” “I’ve never used/opened that” “But I spent so much money on it” and “I intend to do XX project with that some day” have come of out your mouth sometime in the past 6 months.
• You don’t know what’s in the boxes in your attic, basement, garage, storage unit, etc.
• If the IRS (or your country’s taxing agency) called you for an audit, you could not lay your hands on the proper paperwork in less than 5 minutes.
• You pay bills late because you don’t know where they are.
• Your pantry looks like it is the store.
• You regularly throw foods away because they’re expired, you bought too much, or you do not like what you purchased.
• You have supplies for crafts or hobbies that you no longer do/enjoy.
• You cannot find everything in your house in less than 5 minutes.
• You have ever uttered the phrase “It’s in one of five places.”
• You own duplicates of useful items, but you really only need one.
• In the past year, you have not given away, sold, or donated any goods to charity.
• You have to step around anything on your floors, except furniture.
• You love to save little goodies from your travels, but you never look back on them.
• You take dozens of pictures at every conceivable event.
• You never delete an email.
• You save articles on decluttering and organization, but that’s as far as it goes.
• You have a sofa or bed side table that’s actually a stack of reading material.
• You have clothes in more than two sizes.
• You think that if you just had a $1000 gift card to The Container Store, everything would be all right.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter under the bed ~ One young reader (not mentioning any names) was decluttering under her bed last week due to Moni’s blog post. I don’t need to tell you how much easier it is to keep this area dust and lint free when there is nothing to clean around or move.

Today’s Declutter Item

Here is something that was being stored in a drawer under the end of my bed until they were sold on ebay recently.

Bib and Brace Ski Pants

Something to be grateful for today

I have been making progress on our household inventory. It has been a good opportunity to do some declutter fine tuning in the kitchen. It should be plain sailing after the kitchen is out of the way because that is where most of the small individual items are.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

On Saturday Jane requested for me to write a post based on “Clothing. Buying (and only keeping) clothing for the person /lifestyle I aspire to be verses the person/lifestyle I really am/have.

I am intrigued with this suggestion, especially since she used the word aspire in it. I would always advise clothes shopping to stay within the guidelines of a style the person is comfortable with unless they are ready for a change. And even then I think I would ease myself into that change an outfit at a time. I would think it is a risk to step outside of ones comfort zone too hastily or you could end up with a closet full of clothes you are unlikely to wear. AKA aspirational clutter.

As I have been giving a lot of thought to clothes lately this post is going to be a little self-indulgent because I would like your views on the subject. I am just about to embark on a vacation to the USA where I intend to replenish my worn, tired wardrobe. From experience I know that variety and pricing is usually more appealing over there.

I am hopeful that I will not be forced to choose between outfits that would have me looking like mutton dressed up as lamb, a forty seven year old grandma trying to hide those extra pounds or having to pay through the teeth for something in between those two styles. Which is what I feel are my only choices here and now. I am too old for mini skirts and two young and trim to cover myself up with billowy blouses and high wasted elasticised pants and I detest the latest money grabbing fashion that would have me purchasing five layers of thin knit fabric pieces in order to build one outfit. I have a word for that fashion ~ CLUTTER ~ and clutter is bad enough when it is weighing your house down, I certainly don’t want it weight me down physically or financially. Not to mention the muscles I would probably pull with the contortion act required to get it all those layers on on top of each other.

Now with that off my chest I am going to run by you what I think sounds sensible when it comes to fitting out or culling a wardrobe.

Know and shop for what suits your lifestyle ~ I spend a lot of my time at home, blogging, cooking, cleaning, gardening and the like. I go out for casual coffee dates and sometimes dinner with my girlfriends. I grocery shop and sometime need things at the mall. My husband and I eat out on Saturdays and fine dining is also enjoyed on occasion. We go for rides on our motorbike on weekends and we take long walks as exercise. This is about all I need to cater to when it comes to my wardrobe aside from the odd function for hubby’s work or birthday celebration, wedding etc.

Get the ratio of clothing to activity balanced ~ Since I spend most of my time at home it stands to reason I would have a lot of comfortable casual clothes. For me that isn’t track pants and shapeless T’s. I prefer jeans, capris and a variety of tops. These outfits also cover grocery shopping, my volunteer job at the thrift store and even the walks with my hubby (Hence why mine are so worn and tired). My next most common activity is casual dining with hubby and friends. My nicer jeans and capris cross over into this activity with the better of my tops, plus I have a couple of skirts, three summer dresses and some leggings and two tunics dresses. The last thing to cover is fine dining, weddings, parties etc. I have one little black dress, one, maxi dress, one gorgeous evening gown some good long pants and a couple of dressier tops. Your needs would likely be quite different to mine and if you don’t know what they are it is time you figured it out. Take some time to think about what you do and what you feel comfortable in doing these activities and you will soon come up with a good clothing inventory right for you.

Chose styles and colours that suit your figure and complexion ~ Sometimes is pays to have an honest friend with good taste around to help with this. No matter what size you are you can’t change your shape. I am flat chested, I know this so I don’t wear low plunging necklines as there is nowhere to plunge to. That would look ridiculous on me. I also have red hair so no shade of orange will ever adorn this body. I also have spider vanes on my leg and I am 47 so mini skirts are also out. It pays to know that tight leg pants only accentuate a large bottom. Midriff tops don’t look good when you have belly rolls no matter how young you are.  Basically, just because something is the latest fashion or it looks good on someone else or the mannequin in the store  doesn’t mean it suits all figures, sizes or age groups for that matter.

It is best if you can mix and match ~ I usually keep the bottoms to my outfits neutral in colour, black, beige, white, grey, brown or denim as these colours go with just about any shade and colour of tops. My jackets and cardigans are also mostly neutral so they can be worn with most everything I own. The more that things can mix and match the less items you need. And if certain items are in the dirty clothes basket what’s left in the closet can still go together.

You can’t go wrong with classic cuts ~ It might sound boring but pants and jackets in classic cuts will stand the test of time and stay in fashion for just about ever. Put the emphasis on the petty top/blouse or accessory that goes with it. The little black dress is also a winner. You can dress it up with a splash of colour for fun. I have a red wrap and red strappy shoes for just such occasions.

Shoes need not be numerous ~ I just went and counted my shoes knowing full well I would be embarrassed by the total. I have twenty pairs of shoes.

• 1 pair motorbike boots (essential)
• 2 pair black dress boots (one suede one polished leather, both well used favourites)
• 1 pair outdoor winter boots (these could go haven’t been used in 5 years)
• 1 pair runners (Rarely worn probably could go)
• 2 pair of Keens Mary Jane style multi purpose shoes (love, love, love these but they both need replacing as they are pretty shabby and I have almost worn through the bottoms. The will be replace on my US trip)
• 2 pair casual shoes (well worn but not so loved)
• 1 pair rubber flip flop (thongs to the Aussies reading)(only worn to fetch the mail on wet days)
• 1 pair black casual sandals (love, love, love these too. So comfortable would like a brown pair as well)
• 1 pair of slippers (used extensively in winter)
• 4 pair of favourite sensible high heals (black, tan, brown and red)
• 4 assorted pairs of other high heals that I could live without. (Mostly uncomfortable therefore passed over for others. Probably time I let these go)

As you can see from this list I could easily manage with half these shoes and pretty much do because half of them are rarely used. Mostly mistakes of the past when I was willing to sacrifice style of comfort. Of my shoes I use the comfortable, versatile, basic styles the most. Most of which are black, brown or tan. I find these colours go with just about everything. The red pair are my indulgent splash of colour and will stay.

My advice is stick to your comfort zone when it comes to shoes because they are the ones that will get used the most. Take into account the clothes you have to wear them with and stay as neutral in colour as possible. Why not lash out on that one crazy pair just to keep it interesting.

Splurge a little on impractical items ~ 90% practicality with 10% indulgence sound sensible ~ keeping in mind that practicality doesn’t have to be drab and boring.

Having written all that I have confirmed my clothing shopping list. I need…

• A few new tops/blouses that make me feel good. Preferably not of T-shirt fabric.
• 2 new pair of Keen shoes
• 2 basic white T’s (not shapeless ones) to wear when riding the motorbike.
• 2 new pair of jeans as my everyday pairs are 9 years old and seen better days.
• Maybe one or two sweaters as I actually have none.
• And I may indulge in that pair of brown sandals if and only if I find a pair comparable to the black pair I own.
• Maybe one more evening dress as my husband must be getting tired of the one black dress I have worn for the last six years.

I have been watching out for most of the clothing items listed about in both the thrift store and the shops for the last year with no joy so hopefully I will have some success in the US. If not I will settle with what I have for now as I am not settling for second best unless I get really desperate.

What do you think? Am I on the right track? And Jane if I still didn’t manage to answer your question please elaborate more in the comment here and we will see if I or the other readers can help.

Today’s Declutter Item

Here are one of those pairs of uncomfortable shoes mentioned above. In keeping with this post and today’s mini mission they will be the first of many to go I am sure. I hope to be more discerning in the future. I prefer to wear out my shoes rather than waste money on bad choice.

One pair of uncomfortable shoes gone

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Dark chocolate and orange Maggie Bear icecream. I am now going to have a bowl to reward myself for finally finishing this blog post. Then I had better come back and proof read it with a clearer mind.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I received a comment form Amy last week that just begged asking the question ~ Why is that we buy clothes and then decide later that we don’t like them any more.

Here is Amy’s comment:

Your post reminded me of a time when I was clearing out dresses that I no longer wore. Either they didn’t fit quite right anymore or they were, as you say, “second favorites”. I got everything together for hubby to take to the local charity here and he started going through them saying things like “Why are you getting rid of these, they are perfectly good dresses?” (Hubby is a “saver”) So I said, “We’re going out this weekend, which of these would you like me to wear?” He then told me he really didn’t want me to wear any of them, he liked another one that I had saved-said I looked better in it than any of these. So I said, “So why should I keep these?”. He shut up and took my stuff to the charity.

*******

There are several obvious reasons I can see why we fall out of love with our clothes.

1. They don’t fit as well as they used to.
2. It became obvious after wearing them for a while that they just aren’t comfortable or don’t fit correctly.
3. We bought them in a hurry because we needed them for a certain occasion and chose badly.
4. We bought them for a one off special event but never had the occasion to wear them again and now they are unfashionable.
5. Last years fashions are so passé.
6. I thought it looked good on me when I bought it but now I feel awful in it.
7. I bought it because it was the fashion but later reality set in and I realised this fashion does not suit my peculiar kind of beauty. (I think that is an expression that my mother coined).
8. I loved the way the outfit looked and overlooked the practicality. That is I really had no where to wear it.
9. The fabric is too much bother to care for and so I stopped wearing it.
10. Change of lifestyle. Moving to a new climate, quitting work, starting a new job, having children and I am sure many more big life altering choices can change your clothing requirements.
11. They were on sale and I thought that less than perfect was OK at that price. As it turned out they were a lot less perfect than the price.

This list could go on and on but most of the reasons above really narrow down to making poor choices in the first place. These bad choices are not good for our bank account, our self-esteem, our closet space or, worst of all, the environment. Sure we can donate the clothes to charity but it really is better to take your time to make better choices in the first place. So I have put together some tips to help with making responsible choices when it comes to clothes shopping.

Put need ahead of want ~ Don’t clothes shop on a whim. If you need an item of clothing to round out your selection shop with that intention. Don’t be duped into buying that outfit on the mannequin just because it looks good. Too much of one thing and not enough of another makes for a dysfunctional wardrobe.

Know what you look best in ~ Colour, style, fabric pattern,cut etc. Just because an outfit looks good on the rack, mannequin or your friend doesn’t mean it will look good on you. I am 165cm (5′ 5″) and weigh only 57kg (126lb) but that doesn’t mean everything looks good on me. Weight and height isn’t all that matters, your shape plays a bigger role in clothes looking good on you than your size. I am flat chested and there is no way I am leaving the house without a padded bra and since I don’t like bra straps showing I don’t buy clothes with shoe string straps. I also don’t buy clothes with plunging neck lines because I have nothing to plunge to.

Use your favourites as a guide ~ Check out the items in your closet that you wear and like the most. These are the ones to use as a guide to what you will get the best use out of.

Provide for your usual activities not for the odd occasion ~ Try to limit your wardrobe to items that you will get good use out of. For special occasions stick to a classic piece that doesn’t go out of style. The little black dress was and still is a winner in my book. You can dress it up or down depending on the occasion.

Know your comfort level ~ I put comfort very high on the list of importance when choosing clothes. Anything that is tight across the shoulders or on the arms drives me crazy so I steer clear of them. I suggest stretching in all directions with both upper and lower body when trying on clothes. Squat in pants and cross your arms over in front of your body when trying on tops, any extreme movement will give you some idea as to how comfortable the item will be. Also be mindful of how the fabric feels against your skin. I can’t wear wool or even cashmere because it makes me itch.

Fabric choice is important ~ If you don’t have the time, money or inclination to care for delicate fabrics don’t buy them. This might include items that require dry-cleaning, or just items that should be hand washed or ironed. Stick to easy care fabrics if that is what fits with your lifestyle. My husband has a linen shirt that we send to the dry-cleaners on the rare occasion that he wears it. It isn’t that he doesn’t like this shirt or that it is too good for everyday it is just that it is a bother and an expense to have it cleaned. I found it in the dirty clothes basket the other day and asked him why it was there. He said “I don’t wear it because it is a bother to clean so I have decided that it can go in with the rest of the wash load and if it survives well and good if it doesn’t then too bad. I washed it and ironed it and it looks just fine.

Choose items that coordinate ~ Pick pieces that go well together – Colour, style and cut – then you will be able to mix and match to achieve different looks with the same few pieces. Also take into consideration existing shoes, jackets and accessories when planning these ensembles to achieve a truly clever but stylish minimalist wardrobe.

To round of this post I have a mission for you all.

Choose two or three items from your closet that you think you should declutter. Then share with us, through a comment, why these items no longer suit your needs – if they ever did. We may be able to learn a few things from each other and about ourselves in the process. I will add the information you provide to round of the post above and turn it into a page for us to go to when we need good advice on how to choose wisely in the future.

Here are a few web articles I found with helpful tips on clothes shopping & minimising your clothing

The Time Manager ~ 5 tips to better clothes shopping

Street Articles.com ~ Buying new clothes practical fashion advice for women

Becoming Minimalist ~ A practical guide to owning fewer clothes

Today’s Declutter Item

After keeping a close eye on my sock choices over the winter months I have discovered these socks aren’t being used. They are remnants of my old life in the USA. In Seattle I wore socks all year round because even it if wasn’t cold I had a job that required me to wear closed shoes hence I needn’t lots of socks. Now, not so much. So these have gone to the thrift shop today.

Excess Socks

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I think I have finally found the solution to my disfunctional shower door. I won’t bore you with the details but it has been an annoyance since we moved into the house four years ago. For the last few months I have made an effort to find a solution and I think I have finally done it. Wish me luck, it all hinges on the ability of a local shower screen maker to provide the item I need when I can finally get to their workshop next week during factory hours. I am nothing if not persistent (sporadically).

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

According to my mother, a successful and busy real estate agent for 28 years who has looked in thousands of closets, my husband and I are an anomaly: he has far, far more clothes than I do. He’s not a clothes horse; he’s gentle with his clothes (unlike me, I’m sorry to say), so they last and last. He wears a standard American working guy wardrobe: khakis, Dockers, button down shirts, polos, and t-shirts on Friday and the weekends.  He gets a couple new dress shirts a year and a ridiculous number of new t-shirts (his work, conferences, and other people’s vacations [never our own]), so the clothes really build up.

When I began decluttering, he had 100 t-shirts and a generous number of shirts for work. I got him to give up six t-shirts at once. Then my daughter got 10 out of him for a project. I was sure that he could do with even less, started Operation No Brainer. I turned all the hangers in his closet around the wrong way, and then I waited.

Where we live, we pretty much only have two seasons: cool and various degrees of hot.  I waited through the end of the hot season and the whole cool season before I went back into his closet.  Not surprisingly, the clothes that were turned around had been moved to the outside. We looked at them together and turned three around: a red shirt that he wears once a year to church on Pentecost, and two concert t-shirts from his younger days.  There were only ten  things to take out! I have to say, I was surprised by how much of his wardrobe he wore. I was also surprised at how much of his wardrobe had disappeared because of this exercise, not at the end, but along the way. Having the hangers backwards made him more aware of what was in his closet. Some of the things he decided to unload before the end.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! I learned that most of Dan’s clothes are in rotation. Dan liked the ease of not having to make any real decisions, and he didn’t have to defend himself against  me trying to get rid of things he wanted to keep. Almost imperceptibly, his t-shirt wardrobe decreased by about 40 shirts and his dress shirts by about a dozen. We also eliminated a number of pairs of pants that no longer fit. (One was visibly dusty where it folded over the hanger!) Without a doubt, this was the easiest decluttering ever… you might even call it a No-Brainer!

Today’s Declutter Item

This box of tarot cards was another item decluttered from Liam’s room. Maybe he decided that he had a better chance of becoming an artist than a fortune teller.

I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy today.

• My baby (19 year old Liam) went off to his first day of his second year of university today – It kind of felt like driving him to his first day of school when he was little because four months ago we had our doubts he would ever come home never mind be back at university so soon. I think we will celebrate with donuts at the mall after I pick him up.
• Catching a fleeting glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye and having a giggle about what I thought it looked like – Needless to say there was not a kiwi bird on the footpath in Australia.
• Discovering the nectarines taste almost as good as figs do when you heat them up in the microwave with honey and they eat them with a dollop of thickened cream.
• Hot cinnamon donuts
• Finding out that I can do just a spin cycle with my front loading washer- If in doubt read the instructions

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Audra is eight years old and a fashionista. The lucky girl gets hand-me-downs from her sister and her sister’s friend, plus she occasionally gets new clothes of her own, typically from the thrift store. Audra changes clothes many times a day (thank goodness she wears a uniform to school!) and makes some really wonderful outfits.

I have been of several different minds about Audra and her clothes. Initially I would tell everyone, “Don’t buy her clothes. She doesn’t need any clothes,” etc. Then, as I started decluttering and reflecting on our choices, I realized that Audra enjoys a good shirt far more than any other toy, game, or art supply she could receive. If you’re going to buy a gift, it should be one that the person really loves, so then I thought, “Good, clothes it is.” Unfortunately, I quickly regretted my choice. Why? Audra never cleans up after herself. Her clothes were thrown over the bar instead of hung, or they were dropped on the floor barely worn but would quickly become dirty after being stepped on. I got mad, ridiculously mad. I resented the mess; I resented the extra laundry; I started resenting her.

One of Audra’s excuses was that she didn’t know how to hang her clothes properly. I spend several hours teaching her how to hang the clothes and rewarding her a nickel an item. This strategy was only mildly successful, but I used it to justified my anger. Now I knew she was just being careless. Time passed, and I wasted precious time and energy steaming.

Then one day, I had a calm moment when I realized that I was handling the situation backwards. I realized that Audra didn’t have a problem; she didn’t care that her clothes were on the ground or that I was intermittently angry at her. (She’s got a temper too and a very resilient personality.) It was me who had a problem, and it is my job is to solve my problems. I got a big trash bag and picked up everything from her floor and everything that was not hung properly, except stray uniforms, which went into the laundry, and I put the trash bag in the bottom of my closet. To my stunned surprise, Audra didn’t notice. About a week later, I made the same sweep. Audra started to notice that she was having a bit more trouble matching outfits, but she didn’t see the bigger picture.

The third time I made the floor sweep, Audra walked in while I was stuffing my plastic bag, which now bulged like Santa’s sack. She was shocked, but we had a calm discussion. She rightly pointed out that she has more clothes than anyone else in the family but less hanging space. We brought in a rolling rack from the spare room. She helped me figure out how the clothes should be organized, and we started unpacking the bag of confiscated goods. She was surprisingly merciless, weeding out everything that she thought she no longer wanted. After a while, she got tired, we stopped hanging things up, and she has never asked for the remaining items. Her clothes have really not been an issue since, and we finished this project at least six weeks ago.

I realized that I let this problem – my problem – go on and on because I was too chicken to diminish her clothing pile. I really thought it would break her heart and that I would win the Mean Mom of the Year Award. How wrong I was. Audra still loves her clothes, but we both realized that in the land of plenty, it’s easy to have plenty too much.

Item 356 of 365 less things

Yet another thing that I have been passing over during the year. I don’t think this has been used in 3 years. Out it goes.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. A roof over my head and a bed to sleep in – That is more than some people have.
2. The good times together with family.
3. Being organised for Christmas – The gift is bought, the pudding is ready and the house is clean.
4. Stone fruit – Peaches, cherries, plums, apricots etc they are one of the best things about a summer Christmas.
5. My little car – It’s compact, easy to park and cheap on the gas.
   

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

There are three key elements to decluttering

1. Purging your home of items that are unused
2. Being selective with future purchases so you do not end up recluttering you home.
3. Staying ahead of the clutter by removing items as they become redundant.

Today I want to talk about #3 on the list above. The key to staying decluttered is to make sure you remove any redundant item from your home as quickly as possible after it outgrows its usefulness.

Redundancy can include…

Physically growing out of an item

• Children are especially prone to this, some more so than others. I was fortunate to have small children so they tended to wear clothing out rather than growing out of them. So I usually got good value out of my clothing purchases. Children also grow out of their sporting equipment, car safety items, beds etc.
• Unfortunately, we adults can also suffer from this problem due to weight gain and loss. It can be very tempting to keep the clothes in hope or fear that we may fit into them again. Sometimes these items only serve to torment us rather than inspire us.

Mentally growing out of an item

• This may apply to children more than adults but not exclusively. As children age, they mentally outgrow toys, books, hobbies, school supplies and pursue new activities.
• Adult tastes can also mature as they gain experience or see new possibilities for their lives that can include books, hobbies, digital media, information technology or a new business opportunity.

Breakages, wear and tear

• There are very few items that we acquire that last a lifetime, so it stands to reason that items break and wear out over time. Unfortunately in this day and age many things are not made to be repaired. It can be hard to part with items that have served you well. It sits in the cupboard while you hope to find a way to make them useful again. Don’t wait, if you cannot fix or re-purpose it today then time rarely changes that fact, recycle what you can and discard the rest ASAP. Quite often there are handy folks out there that can re-purpose the parts so make every attempt to find the item a new home rather than send it to landfill.
• Single use items such as batteries, ink cartridges and pens can accumulate in office drawers. Most of these items can be recycled and there are often drop of points at your local stationary store for this purpose.
• How often does an item of damaged or shabby clothing, which instead of mending or discarding it, ends up back in your wardrobe. Deal with it immediately, is it repairable? Then place it in your sewing area or take it to a tailor. If it cannot be repaired, re-purpose the fabric (search Instructables for ideas) or use it as a rag.

Limited use

• Newspapers are the main culprit under this heading and accumulate quickly, don’t let this happen. Pass them on to someone else or recycle them as soon as you are done reading them.
• Magazines can be more useful in the long term as reference material but I think it is best to set limits. I have set my limit by not buying them any more but most folks aren’t prepared to go that far. I used to subscribe to several craft magazines that I mainly used as visual inspiration but I find just as much inspiration via the internet for free with no clutter.

Basically there is always going to be clutter maintenance no matter how well purged your house is at this moment. Things become redundant along the road of life. Keep up with these redundant items and you will not have to worry about returning to square one.

Item of 365 less things

Scooba didn’t live up to my expectations, too bad a person can’t work this out before wasting the money in the first place. Never mind, I sold it for $132.50 on eBay.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. My polish apple pancake recipe –I don’t make them all that often but we always enjoy them when I do.
2. A lovely night out – I went out the a friends granddaughter’s end of year dance recital last night and it was amazing. There is some real talent in that school.
3. Modern technology – It give me the ability to help people from the comfort of my sofa.
4. Butterflies – Aren’t they amazing looking creatures.
5. The willingness to learn – Live would be pretty stagnant without it.
   

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Don’t you just hate products that don’t live up to your expectation. Products that you bought for a specific purpose that didn’t perform as suggested on the label, as advertised or live up to first appearance. These items often end up cluttering up your home because you just wasted good money on them and you hope that through some miracle they will actually come in useful at some point and you will finally get value for money.

There are some products that come very quickly to mind for me…

• Cleaning products that just aren’t as effective or simple to use as the advertising suggests. I can just see some of those ads running through my head as I type. You know the ones that show this disgustingly filthy bath tub that has clearly just been sprayed with a substance that even a damp sponge would easily clean off. What they don’t mention is that once you have “easily” wiped the “real set in” grime away you have to rinse this caustic substance off with fresh running water which is sometimes more difficult to achieve than the scrubbing itself.
• Glues that according to the label achieve a bond that even Superman couldn’t break. Often they don’t achieve anything more than a weak bond to even half the substance they profess they can. Leaving you with not only a useless tube of glue but a pile of useless pieces of something that you are reluctant to waste more money on by buying yet another glue that might or might not manage to actually stick them together.
• Food items that look good on the surface but are barely fit for human consumption. I remember years ago a company brought a cheese alternative onto the market and advertised it as tasting just like a mild cheddar. Maybe there is another meaning for cheddar that I was not aware of  because this substance bared no resemblance to any cheddar I had ever tasted.
• Clothing that seemed to fit just fine when you tried it on but after one wash could only hope to fit your ten year old daughter. Why is it that they don’t preshrink the fabric before they make the clothing out of it. At least with clothing items you can return then and get an exchange or your money back.
• Shampoos and conditioners need I say more. My favourite advertisement for this one is the when the Jamaican guy goes into the store with his afro hair to buy a bottle of shampoo and comes back later for a refund because his hair is now silky and straight. If only that add was true it would save me a lot of time with the hair straightener. At least it is blatantly deceptive a lot of other manufactures of similar products use the same trick but in a far more convincing manner.

That is just a small sample of the kinds of products that we are seduced into buying with no hope of being anything but disappointed. Sometime I think this is bordering on false advertising but I am sure there are guidelines to this that have very sketchy boundaries. All I can suggest is return them to the retailer if you can, write and complain to the companies that manufacture them and if all else fails use them up as quickly as possible in as many outside the box ways that you can so they are gone from your home and not taunting you with their shortcomings.

ITEM 259 OF 365 LESS THINGS

I am glad to see the back of these heavy cotton shorts. They are a pain to iron.