I read this quote last week when it arrived with my latest update to Gretchen Ruben’s ~ The Happiness Project ~ newsletter.

   “Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful.” ~ Gertrude Stein

The part that struck me mostly about the quote was this “Anything one does every day is important …” which said to me ~ Whatever you do today make it something good because it is important either way. Important because no matter what you do it will have either a positive or negative effect on either you, those around you, the planet you live on and all that inhabit it or possibly all three. I am sure you have all heard of the butterfly effect.

So, today,  with that thought in mind would you rather…

• Buy something new today that you really don’t need ~ or ~ donate something today that you already have and barely use to someone who might have a use for it. (This choice will affect you, others and the planet)
• Today would you rather continue holding on to stuff, that you don’t need, that your family will have to deal with someday when you are gone ~ or ~ start getting rid of the excess stuff today so you family don’t have to in their time of grief. (This choice will affect you and your loved ones, those benefitting from your purging and untimately the planet)
• Add to your debt today by buying something new that you want but don’t need ~ or ~ sell something of your excesses and pay a little off your debt. (This choice will affect you, your loved ones, others and the planet)
• Continue to live in a cluttered, oppressive and possibly unhealthy environment ~ or ~ start purging items that are violating your space, depressing you, collecting dust and possibly hindering your cleaning process. (This choice will affect you, your loved ones and anyone living with you.)

This list could go on and on but I think you get the idea.

So what are you going to do today?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a shirt, pair of trousers or jacket that you no longer fit or like to wear.

Remember the November keep it tidy challenge

Today’s Declutter Item

With two people eating mostly a low-carb diet one set of measuring cups for baking is enough these days as there is very little baking done.

Measuring Cups

Eco Tip for the Day

Remember that every little thing you can do today to lessen your carbon footprint will have a positive effect on the environment.

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

Following on from Betty Jo’s guest post from yesterday I simply googled “alternative cleaning products” and below I have included some of the interesting sites I found. I have also included a site seemingly from an opponent of the home formulated cleaning products movement just to balance things out.

Sites with recipes & tips for alternative household cleaners

• http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm
• http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
• http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4672/Cleaning-Products–A-healthy-alternative-for-self-and-planet/
• http://environmentallysafecleaningproducts.net/

The alternative view to alternative household cleaners

• http://www.aboutcleaningproducts.com/alternatives.php

That will be quite enough reading for you for one day so I will sign off right here and leave you to it.

ITEM 254 OF 365 LESS THINGS

An example of how things perish when left unused for a long time. Elastic is particularly susceptible to this.

You are probably wondering where on earth I am going with this post today and what decluttering has to do with public toilets. Well I am fairly sure you are going to think I have lost the plot when you are done reading this post but I just don’t care. I have a pet peeve which has inspired me to start my own mini revolution here and you can either join me or not but it is something I hope catches on.

I hate hand driers they take too long to dry your hands. Couple that with the fact that half the time they either aren’t working properly or don’t work at all it can be very annoying. Not to mention a little late to find out when your hands are dripping wet. So I would much rather that there are paper towels provided in all restrooms. Unfortunately, this also causes another problem due to laziness and lack of common sense.

How many times have you been in a public restroom and have just finished drying your hands but there is no where to dispose of your paper towel because the trash receptacle is full to overflowing. You might immediately jump to the conclusion that the maintenance company ought to be more diligent at keeping the restrooms clean and tidy but in fact unthinking people are the problem here.

There is a very simple solution to this problem. Just follow the three steps below whenever you dry your hands…

1. Limit your towel usage by only choosing one piece of paper towel.
2. Dry your hand in the usual way.
3. And this last step is the key to the solution and yet so little effort is involved…

Roll the piece of paper towel into a tight ball in your hands before throwing it into the bin

Now how hard was that. If you think one piece of paper towel isn’t enough you will be pleasantly surprised to find the ball rolling step will actually prove to dry your hands that little bit more while being executed.

Just think of how many less environmentally unfriendly plastic bin liners will be required using this simple method. I would guarantee that the bins will need emptying at least five times less just by this one small effort. If the towel is made of recycled paper that is all the better.

So how many of you are with me on this. I don’t care if you think I am crazy or not just give it a go.

ITEM 193 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These magazine have been saved from recycling for now because someone was happy to pay $8.50 for them on ebay