Sally White of  http://www.mindclutter.uk/ has kindly written this blog post for you. I hope you will find it helpful and your minds will be less cluttered after reading it. Enjoy!

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I first started decluttering my home to create a calmer environment that would help my over anxious and jumbled mind relax. I considered writing about decluttering possessions, but Colleen does such a good job of it that I thought I’d share something different instead – tips on decluttering the mind.

Begin by identifying the types of thoughts that are cluttering up your mind with worry, stress or negativity. It might seem as if you have a million different worries, but if you start to put them into categories you are likely to notice themes emerging.

Are most of the worries about trying to remember the numerous tasks that need doing or perhaps how you will find the time to do them all? Are you dwelling on things from the past that cannot be changed or worrying about what the future holds?

Once you are aware of the underlying themes, it becomes a lot easier to figure out how to tackle them. Here are some common problems and solutions:

Too many tasks – write them all down so that remembering them all is one less task. Next, prioritise them so you know which to focus on completing first. If the list looks too daunting then simply take a few of the highest priority tasks and turn them into a mini to do list each day.

Putting off larger tasks – break each big task down into several more manageable tasks. For example, cleaning the house could be split by room or type of cleaning (tidying, dusting, vacuuming etc).

Too little time – it is surprising how much time technology can take up without you even realising. Try unplugging by only checking your emails at certain times, turning off social media notifications etc.

Worrying about decisions – trust your initial judgment because repeatedly going over the same information won’t help you make better decisions. Only allow yourself to revisit it if new information comes up. And remember, sometimes there is no right or wrong decision.

Regretting the past – if you can’t change it then it’s time to let it go. Focus on the present and what is achievable.

I’d love to hear your own suggestions in the comments.

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

This blog post is by Moni Gilbert who is coordinating this series of posts.

As we enter the Silly Season I would like to kick off a series written by Deb J, Andréia and myself entitled “365-ing The Silly Season”.  So often women plan their holiday seasons to the nth degree with the goal of the ‘perfect’ day and while the home might look grand, the menu perfect and all the little details might be delightful, is there a tired, stressed out woman behind it all?   I would like to suggest the gift of going a little easier on yourselves.   Trust me, no one will notice the difference if you omit a few things.

I’d like to encourage you to decide what is actually important to you as far your preparations go, cull some not so important details and reduce your menu by an item or two.  I’d like folks to think about how their expectations and preparations would appear mapped out on the calendar.   If every single day in December has a huge to-do list on top of all the regular workload and commitments, add an escalated social whirl, its a recipe for stress.  Set yourself a limit of how many ‘extra’ chores you can realistically achieve in a day and stick to it.  It is realistic to have time to yourself to relax in the evening in the weeks leading up to the holidays.  Explain this new arrangement in advance to your family, they might have suggestions of what they’d be happy to forego or volunteer to do in your place.

What would you be prepared to forego this year?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that was really useful in the past but hasn’t been used in a long time. Maybe its time in done for you.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Hi folks, well after reading the heading of this post you are probably wondering what on earth I have written about. So lets get started.

My home isn’t clutter free. People probably think it is but it isn’t. After all I have never professed to be a minimalist and doubt I ever will aspire to that. The bulk of the clutter that I planned to get rid of is gone. And, as you all know, we achieved our goal of moving into a small apartment almost two years ago now. My wardrobe doesn’t hold a lot of clothes, my shoe selection is minimal compared to most, we have books but not a lot. We don’t have excess toiletries, linens, stationary supplies, paperwork or food supplies and the kitchen holds very few items  that don’t get used often.

However, there is still some clutter in our home. I have an abundance of craft supplies, despite my feverish crafting habits of late. We still haven’t finished culling photographs, which is one of the tasks I raved on about a lot back at the start of my decluttering. There is a variety of coffee making implements high up in one of the kitchen cupboards that don’t get used. And my wedding dress still wastes space in my wardrobe. Those last two things are ones I haven’t been given permission to dispose of yet or they would be gone. And the keepsake box probably holds some items that we probably don’t care much about but I haven’t taken it down to look through it for a while. Keepsakes are probably all clutter really but if we enjoy that little trip down memory lane every now and again then they aren’t clutter to us. And then there is the stuff that just isn’t mine to part with so I don’t touch it.

There are three reasons why there is still some clutter in our house. Clutter that has been lingering for a long time too. Reason one is that I believe that all parties who have any ownership of the clutter also has a say in whether it stays or goes. Reason two is that, there are some decluttering tasks that I am still happy to put off until I feel inclined to deal with them, such as photographs. And reason three is that, like the less loved keepsakes, I really don’t care if they remain because they don’t take up much space.

All in all I am very happy with the clutter level in our home. And yes I do still declutter items every now and again. And yes the craft clutter in general is lessening despite the fact that I add to it for certain projects. And yes there are still items I would be happy to part with. And the one thing that keeps the level of clutter down is the fact that we don’t buy much in the way of material things these day.

So what clutter do you still have in your home that you don’t mind being there or just don’t care to deal with yet? Or perhaps you need some advice on why and how to get rid of some things that really do irritate you. Share your thoughts with us and we will give you our advice or opinions.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you keep just because most people have one. I decluttered out BBQ soon after I began by declutter journey. It is almost sacrilegious to not own a BBQ in Australia but we just never used ours so out it went. Five years latter and we have never replaced it or missed it for that matter.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Last week I received a response from deanna ar USA to the following archived post. Deanna is relatively new to my blog and is busy reading through the archives. Quite a feat given I have been writing for over five years now.

I was glad she drew my attention to this old post because there would be quite a lot of my current readers who have never had the opportunity to answer the questions involved. There would also still be some readers around who answered it the first time who could give us some interesting updates on their continued progress. Either way it will be fun to read all your responses.

So without further adieu here is the post.

Today’s post is short and straight to the point. I have laid out ten questions, five about you and five about me. I would like you to read, think about then answer them either privately to ponder on or in the form of a comment so we can discuss them between us. Maybe we can learn a thing or two not only from the answers but from the discussion they generate. There are no correct answers to these questions and some may even be irrelevant to you so just  answer them honestly. Here are the questions.

For you

1. What do you think has been the main cause of clutter build up for you in the past? (This could be more than one thing)
2. Have you changed your purchasing habits since you have begun your latest decluttering mission?
3. Do you think you have learned enough about your clutter habits not to end up back at square one sometime in the future?
4. What is something that you have realised recently that had never occurred to you before about your clutter?
5. Is your clutter problem more about having too much or not being organised?

For me

1. Has my blog helped you with your clutter mission and if yes, in what way?
2. My style of decluttering is “Slow & Steady” do you think that is a style that works for you and makes my blog unique?
3. Do you need more advice about organising the stuff you are keeping or getting rid of the stuff you aren’t?
4. Do you think you need practical advice about decluttering or do you feel you benefit more by being awakened to what the problem might be in the first place?
5. Is there something you would like included here at 365 less things that you feel is missing and would make my blog a better help to you?

* * * * * * * * * * *

And to save Deanna the hassle of having to retype all of her responses here the are…

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that you wouldn’t keep if you didn’t feel obliged to.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

It is better to refuse and reduce than to have to recycle. So if you can avoid packaging and bags please do.

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

I received an email from Christie this week asking for some advice. I’ll launch right in with her email, followed by my advice, and then I would love you all to add your thoughts on the subject. Hopefully somewhere among all that advice there will be the spark to help ignite a flame of determination in her to let go of these items standing in the way of a beautiful uncluttered life.

Christie’s email

Hi Colleen. I am a single mother with a long list of things to do…always. Life is a process I know and I can’t tackle everything at one time. I try to heed my own advice I give my daughter….practice your patience. But so many things always need to be done….that I end up shutting down and waste time…does that make sense? I need to declutter and organize many things, which I am highly capable of, but there are a few things I just simply do not know how to deal with.

One of the main things that takes up space is greeting cards. A lot of them. Why do I hang on to these? I think I have 80% of the greeting cards that have been given to me in my 45 years of life. Gasp! And now I am hanging on to the ones my daughter gets. And they are a mess. Boxes of unorganized cards. Why? What to do? I simply cannot wrap my head around it. And google has given me nothing.

and then there are magazines. i am a chef. and i have years upon years of Bon appetit and gourmet magazines. why? ugh. i can’t make myself throw them out. there has to be a better way.

I desperately would love any suggestions you can throw my way. I am drowning in self loathing at this point and need to pull my head up and provide my precious daughter a better example to live by. Much thanks to you in advance and much thanks to you for your blog. 🙂

My response to Christie’s email was this…

My first advice is if you have other clutter that is easier to part with then work on that first. I always advise people to leave the hard stuff until last, at which time you tend to be more ruthless. The joy and feeling of success generated by letting go of other stuff will spur you one to get rid of stuff you never thought you would.

My advice on the cards and magazines, once you get to them, is simple. It is clear to me from reading your email that you have already decided that these are things that you don’t want to keep. Decluttering is all about getting rid of things you don’t want to keep. These things are obviously causing you stress and you don’t care that much about them so not only are they wasting space in your home they are also affecting you negatively. Just another reason to let them go. What you are doing is keeping them out of habit and obligation. Life is a beautiful thing, the way it changes for us in waves. What we must do is ride those waves not try to swim against them. The magazines are a thing of the past, a past you are obviously reluctant to let go of. However any information contained within them can be easily found on the internet. And the beauty of the internet that it is so vast and yet it takes up so little space in your home. Go digital and get rid of that collection of dust collecting, stress inducing  magazines. Just put them right in the recycling bin. I’d like to bet that once they are gone you will wonder why you had such trouble letting them go. It is kind of like pulling off a bandaid. There is way more time and agony involved in the procrastination than there ever will be once the deed is done.

As for the cards it seems to me that they would be a mix of sentimental and obligational clutter. Ones that mean a lot to you and ones the you just keep because you feel you should. Well let me tell you that you don’t need to keep anything you only feel you should. Most people don’t give cards or gifts with the obligation that we should keep them together. They are merely a symbol of their affection for us in the here and now. Sometimes cards and gifts are even given purely out of obligation and their is no sentiment involved at all. So break this task down, it will mean double handling but that will be better for you phycological state. Go through them all, even if that is just a handful at a time when you have nothing better to do. Pick out the ones that mean something to you and put them aside for now and throw away all the ones that are pretty much meaningless at this point in your life. They can also go straight into the recycling bin or donated to a craft group that recycles old cards into new to raise money for charity. Sometimes donating them makes it easier to reconcile getting rid of them but it also makes it a little more difficult to get rid of them quickly. Once again a quick google search can prove very fruitful. You can then deal with the more sentimental cards at a later date or also go digital with them now by scanning them into your computer and getting rid of the hard copies. I personally would put them aside until you feel ready to deal with the further.

Here is a link to the post where I decluttered my greeting cards.

http://www.365lessthings.com/keepsake-clutter/

Now it is up to you, Christie’s fellow readers, to lend your advice to her situation. Thank you all in advance.

Today’s Mini Mission

And how about those book shelves ~ I haven’t picked on them for a while ~ how about you visit the elephant book graveyard and choose five books you are unlikely ever to reread and declutter them.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Just like my decluttering approach you can gradually improve your carbon footprint by implementing a new environmentally friendly routine into your life on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be a chore but a fun challenge to not only help the planet but quite often it turns out will also save you money.

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

Below I am going to share with you some advice, both of my own and quotes I have happened upon. I will then explain how these quote apply to decluttering. Although the first needs little explanation. So bear with me and don’t run away screaming after just reading the quotes.

1. “The clutter didn’t appear overnight so wishing it would just disappear overnight isn’t going to happen either.” ~ Colleen Madsen
2. “Performing the same actions will never result in a different reaction.” ~ Unknown to me. However this version is a twist on a quote from Albert Einstein ~ “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
3. “if you aren’t happy with your life, stop living it the same way.” ~ Colleen Madsen
4. “Only you can create the miracle cure.” ~ Colleen Madsen. This one is my wording of various pieces of advice given to me over the years.
5. “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it.” – From a fortune cookie my husband received.

All of these pieces of advice are fundamentally similar. So how do they relate to decluttering?

Well the first one is obvious. Clutter builds up over time. I say that like as though it just appears like mildew in the shower or dust on your nicknacks but, of course, we play a greater part in it than that. We bring in the clutter, usually over a long period of time. And if we make no effort to keep it under control then naturally it will get out of control. Acquiring stuff is relatively easy if you have the money to pay for it. Removing it responsibly isn’t really any harder than acquiring it but, for most people, it is viewed as a big bother. As a result, once the clutter has started to irritate us, we hope it would just quietly disappear the same way it seemed to have appeared. But, of course, the difference is that acquiring it, for most people, is much more fun than having to deal with the task of getting rid of it. However with the right attitude the decluttering can be far more rewarding than the acquisition of the items in the first place. More about that tomorrow.

As for the other four pieces of advice, the reality is that we create much of our own reality and we can also change that reality. The fortune cookie advice says ~”Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it.” This is no doubt true and good advice to head. However when it comes to clutter most of that is self inflicted and it is totally up to us to fix the problem. Making the most of the decluttering process, therefore, is entirely up to us. As I said in the previous paragraph, the decluttering process can be very rewarding if we allow it. The advice in 2 & 3 is much the same. Translate that to clutter and it clearly says that if you don’t like being surrounded by clutter then you have to change your ways. Wishing the clutter would go away but taking no action to remove it will continue to result in a cluttered home. And naturally, acquiring more while you sit idle wishing it would go away will only make the situation continue to get worse.

And then there is advice no. 4. Reading books and websites about clutter will not result in a miracle cure. The only thing that will fix the situation is to take action. Sure, advice, like I give here, is helpful but only if you put it into action. Much the same as going to a psychologist with depression and hoping that advice, sympathy and medication is all it takes to fix your issues. When actually the cure is mostly up to you, you have to take that advice, apply it to your life and gradually begin to instil new responses to potentially stressful situations. The cure doesn’t come overnight with one ah ha moment but gradual and rewarding.

So take my advice, let go of the clutter and train yourself to feel that relief with every little thing that goes out the door and the effort will not only be worth it but it will be less gruelling than you thought.

Today’s Mini Mission

Find an item that is past being useful to anyone and throw it in the trash.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Share your eco tips with others around you. Let them know that it can save them money and perhaps you will recruit one more person to help save the planet. If you have an eco tip that I haven’t shared here in the past please share it with up through the comments section below.

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

As the saying goes ~ “Believe and the Universe will provide.” Whether you are religious, spiritual or neither there is a good chance that this saying is true for you. It sure has been true for me, and that is why I never worry about letting go of the things that I don’t use. I hold on to very little in the way of things that I only think I might need some day because I have no doubt that…

1. …I probably won’t and never did “need” it in the first place and…
2. …and anything I do need want can be easily replaced at a later date.

One of the reasons I believe these this is that I am very good at improvising so can often do without things by coming up with ingenious ways to make do. And that so often, for me, when I “need” something it has a habit of “miraculously” falling into my hands. I’ll give you some examples.

My daughter has always wanted a Magic Bullet Blender  (Too much exposure to infomercials on television in America). I have often thought of buying her one as a gift but never did for various reasons. Last week my friend Wendy was about to take one to the thrift shop but when she found out Bridget would like one she gave it to me to give to her.

A while back I was in want of some double sided scrapbook paper to make pinwheels for my handmade cards. One day I went to a yearly huge car boot sale (flea market) and, lo and behold, one stall had some offcuts for sale which were reduced to half price. I have since used it all up and made some nice pocket money in the endeavour.

Some months back my son mentioned that he would like a handheld vacuum (dustbuster, whatever you like to call it). The very next time I did a shift at the thrift store one was donated which I bought for him for a mere $5. My daughter also mentioned she wanted one of those plastic kids sandpits to use as a dog pool. The very next day I picked one up for nothing from a bulk rubbish pile on the side of the road. The same thing happened when she mentioned she wanted a clothes airer.

This kind of thing happens to me all the time and sometimes with the strangest things. But even if it didn’t I am confident that I would either, never again need an item I have decluttered or I will be able to afford to replace something should it be necessary. Luckily that has rarely happened. I don’t know if this is because the Universe truly does provide if you believe it will but either way I am content to believe that there is nothing I need be afraid to let go of if I am not using it.

It always intrigues me that among a community of people with an abundance of items, that we are all endeavouring to declutter, that any of us could possibly believe that one day life is going to come to a standstill because we might have to go without items we never really needed in the first place. So please don’t hang on to trivial unnecessary stuff in the fear that you might need it someday. Have faith in yourself that you will always be able to provide, even if you don’t believe that the universe will, and just let go of things you haven’t used in a long time and probably never will.

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter five food items that have been in your pantry for a while by making meals out of them this week.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you see things going to waste, rescue them and find them a new home. I do with from the recycling bins at our apartment all the time. It is amazing when perfectly good items people through in the bins. I take them to the thrift shop where they are sold on.

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

Today’s Decluttered Item
Paperwork no longer necessary to keep.

Sorry about the delay in today’s post. I think I caused to problem by forgetting to give the page a title. Alls fixed now.

Doodle asked yesterday…

“If someone came to you for help, what 3 top tips would you give them to get them started (decluttering) and how would you sell the knock on benefits of a de-cluttered life to others in less than three sentences?”

Here are my answers…

1. Start with the easiest stuff to part with first and don’t be in a hurry. Take your time and make it easy on yourself. Be satisfied in knowing the stuff is heading out the door and it doesn’t need to be immediately obvious.
2. Set your disposal methods in place before you begin. Find a charity nearby you can donate to and brush up on selling methods that work for you.
3. Stop the flow of stuff coming in.

How to sell the knock on benefits…

Freeing up your space, time and effort is enough on its own but being free from the consumer rat race is one of the best knock on effect of decluttering that I can think of. The money saved to go towards things that really matter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something hiding behind something. Behind a door for instance.

Eco Tip for the Day

Share and loan with family and friends things not don’t use often enough to own/store. (Spices, tools, kitchen gadgets…)

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

One of our long time regular readers Doodle has kindly agreed to help out here at 365 by writing a blog post for me every other Wednesday. Today is her first regular post although not the first she has contributed. She has become quite the expert on the subject of decluttering over the years and I am sure you will all be able to learn a lot from her. Welcome Doodle and thank you for your contributions, past, present and future.

Owning your life skill

The biggest reason I owned too much stuff, was I just never realised I didn’t have to. It was as simple as that: getting rid of stuff as a regular proactive life choice had just never occurred to me.

The realisation I could be happier with much less came gradually. Now, the more I get rid of, the more I look to pare back even further and it brings a deep satisfaction that this is the way I’m meant to live. (Fortunately I’m no minimalist longing for bare white walls: my husband is a bit of a hoarder so I am always going to have walls filled with his books.)

Knowing you don’t have to keep everything you’ve ever owned is a life skill in my opinion. Some of us learn this sooner and some of us later and like all life skills, the fact it is ok to let go of stuff can be taught and learned.

We don’t have to be trapped for ever in being overwhelmed by excessive belongs…how good is that!

So those of you who have been de-cluttering for a while now, do you realise you are honing an excellent life skill that you are not only benefitting from yourself, but can pass on to others?

After all I have learned about de-cluttering in the last 3 years I found myself naturally helping a few family and friends who’d got a bit overwhelmed.

It became apparent that I have a knack of helping in just the right way and they all encouraged me to do it professionally. So now I do. I love it so much.

If someone came to you for help, what 3 top tips would you give them to get them started and how would you sell the knock on benefits of a de-cluttered life to others in less than three sentences?

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter something hanging on your wall.

Eco Tip for the Day

Take the stairs instead of the lift. The exercise is good for you and you save electricity. I have to remember this myself instead of walking past the stairs, that are right outside my apartment door all the way across the building to the life. I may actually hardly be using any extra energy by taking the stairs. Silly me.

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

We all are taught that perfection does not exist. What we fail to do is to believe that. I don’t really know about the rest of the world, but I am tired of seeing in all places the evidence of how imperfect I am. It is hard to avoid. You would have to live in an isolated island not to feel how your lack of perfectionism is ruining your life. They say it about the way you keep your house, care for your kids, live your marriage (?) (saw this one in a magazine)…Oh how life would be great…But not.

Let’s talk for example about decorating and de-cluttering:

How can I have a perfectly de-cluttered, decorated house? That is an easy one: by not living in it.

I have been reading de-cluttering blogs for a long while now. And all of them, at one point or another, have talked about perfectionism. Even here it has been mentioned a few times.

So where am I going with this talk? First, there is no such thing as perfection. Believe that, it is real. The reality for me is that, in de-cluttering and in housecleaning I have three categories: nice, great and YAY. I don’t have to clean for a week! Not perfect, not eligible to be photographed for a designing magazine. Just my house clean and uncluttered to my standard. For a while at least my trouble was I wanted perfection, I always aimed for it. Sometimes I felt like Lord Farquaad from Shrek (the first one) who wanted a perfect castle, and a perfect village and a perfect princess wife. His words were “I want order! I want perfection!”. He ended being married to an ogress and being eaten by a dragon. So much for perfection.

I did learn that wanting perfection leads to doing nothing. I was frustrated, wishing for that picture perfect house on so and so internet site, all the while I had a whole cluttered house suffocating me because I wanted to clean them up…perfectly. It accumulated. I did not clean or fix things because I had to do it all at once and perfectly. And there is another catch right there: to do everything perfectly we have to do it all at once. But there is never enough time. I certainly never had that much time available. And when I did I was too lazy to do it all, it was too much. And I always gave myself the excuse that (we rent) but when I moved to MY house, then things would be perfect.  I had other stuff to do instead of de-cluttering. Play with the kids. Go out with the husband. Chat with  friends on Skype. I didn’t want to spend hours and hours cleaning, sorting, de-cluttering, just to have a perfect house. I wanted to live.

As it has been said before and will be said again. Ditch perfection. Do what you can, when you can. Get one thing done or just get something done. And good is great. If you do a good job on time, you are way ahead than if you aimed for a perfect job that never got delivered. Like models, the perfect made up houses that are pictured in magazines and design sites, are really that: made up models. I have recently looked at pictures from a décor magazine and I saw huge, spectacular houses there, beautifully decorated. They were great, but all I could think about was: “Who is going to clean all that?” And lately: “I bet they have a full time maid to have that much stuff and a perfect house…”. So, I realized perfection has a price I am not willing to pay.

To quote a new singer/comedian in a interview about her new CD: “If we keep thinking about what we could do better  we’d never do anything. The things we do are imperfect, it’s part of human nature.” And that is the beauty of it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a few shades of eyeshadow, lipstick or nail polish that you rarely if ever use.

Eco Tip for the Day

When racing off to the grocery store to pick up something you need phone a friend or neighbour to see if they need anything while you are at it. You make save them a trip.

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