Cindy

Unless I’ve lost track, which is possible, this article from Wired magazine on the need to fix things, rather than just tossing them out, has not been included in a Friday post. I’ll wait while you read it.

One of the things that I love and appreciate about my husband is that he can fix almost anything. Sometimes his care in fixing an item makes it better than when it started out. Recently, he fixed a bag dryer that we’ve used for a decade. (See a photo of a bag dryer here.) Years of use had finally caused the glue to completely give up and the base to fall off, so I was using it balanced in a short drinking glass. Dan took the entire thing apart, sanded it, waxed it, and reassembled it. Quite frankly, it was better than new and will surely last another decade. I think some people would have been tempted to either use it in its broken down state or maybe fixed it but without all the extra fuss. Most people, I fear, would have tossed it and purchased new. After all, they’re only about $20, and that one lasted a decade – good enough, right?

After reading the article in Wired, my Aunt Eileen commented that she had heard that you can judge a society by how it treats its broken. “Broken” here referred to people, but it made her wonder if we could also judge a society by how it treats its broken things.

That really got me thinking about all the things that Dan has fixed in the many years we’ve been together: shoes, a play baby buggy, computers and electronic items, jewelry, and (my favorite) a stick from the yard that one of the girls broke when she just had to have it. Yes, my husband fixed a stick.

Your money will go further, and so will your pride, when you fix up something and keep using it.

But for clutterers, the challenge and thrill of potentially fixing something can be a real trap. Do you have items in your house that have been broken for more than a year? Items that you do not know how to fix? Items that you could fix – maybe – but still wouldn’t use? Do you pick up broken items during bulky trash because you’re sure you can fix them up and use or resell them, even though you don’t have the time, money, tools or know-how? Stop! This is a trap for clutterers, and you don’t need to get sucked into it.

Like an never (or partially) started craft or a gadget that you used for just one project, it’s time to let those broken things go. Offer it free to someone who can fix them, or break it down for recycling, or just put it out on the curb with a “free but broken” sign on it and see what happens. If you can fix it, do. And soon. If you can’t, it’s time to say good-bye.

Today’s Mini Mission

Identify and declutter an item that has remained in your home out of habit. Something that has so far escaped your notice just because it has been around for so long and has literally just become a piece of the furniture.

Eco Tip For The Day

Return hangers back to the dry cleaners to be reused. Every little thing recycling effort helps!

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

Do you ever think about how your clutter affects the other members of your household? Do you think they don’t mind because they don’t complain about it? Have you ever considered that they don’t complain because they have simply weighed up the risk of upsetting you over it and decided you are more important? How unfair and ultimately heartbreaking is that.

Would you do the same for them? Would you grant them the same loyalty if they said, it’s your clutter or me, make a choice? Would you let them go easier than your clutter?

Or do the other members of your household complain about the clutter and yet you still don’t do anything about it? Do you care about them enough to make the effort to change your habits? In small increments these changes are not so hard to accomplish for those that you care about.

Is your clutter problem affecting those around you in other ways aside from the inconvenience or discomfort of it? Are your habits rubbing off on your children? Are you teaching them that possessions are more important than they ought to be? Are you teaching them that being happy depends on continuously acquiring stuff?

Is your habit of acquiring stuff affecting your family financially? Are you going into debt to support this habit or could your family enjoy more wonderful life experiences together, if the money wasn’t being wasted on stuff? Do your and/or your partner work harder and longer hours then need be to pay for the things you don’t really need, while the children hardly get to spend any waking moments with you? Could your children’s college funds be healthier if less money was wasted on unnecessary stuff?

Even if you think these questions are a bit melodramatic for your situation, consider taking a look at the areas of your home that you think are the most cluttered. Now think of the other members of the family that use these areas. Ask them if the clutter in these areas are inconveniencing or disturbing them in any way and see what response you get. Make sure you give them a free pass to give an honest answer.

Today’s Mini Mission

Empty and dust the most cluttered shelf in your home. This might be in a bookcase, a display cabinet, a shelf in your kitchen or even in your linen closet. Either way, doing this job will bring your attention to just how many items are on there, and may just inspire you to get rid of a few.

Eco Tip for the Day

Consider doing some things by hand rather than using an electrical appliance. Mix that cake by hand, tighten that screw with an old fashioned screw driver rather than and electric drill, sweep the floor rather than vacuum, rake up the leaves rather than using a leaf blower, let your hair dry naturally, wash the dishes by hand…

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

In Cindy’s post yesterday she talked a little about staging a home for selling purposes. This got me thinking two things ~ 1.) Why wait until you are about to sell before making your home look good. 2.) A home can look good without being impersonal such as they suggest in this staging process.

How nice would it be were your home in a state where it looks good enough to show people through at the drop of a hat while still having those personal touches that make it feel like home? Keeping in mind that people viewing a home, with the intent to buy, will look in your storage areas to see how they are configured.

Why wait to make your home look good for complete strangers while you live day to day in the inferior version of what your home could be? Don’t you deserve that much from yourself?

I have viewed a lot of homes in the last year with the intension that if we found one that was just right we would consider taking the plunge into actually buying a home to live in. Some of these homes have had occupants  whether owners or renters, who clearly weren’t too house proud, and I can tell you that among these I have seen some pretty scary examples of how not to present a home to the public eye.* There have also been some examples of homes that don’t appear to have been professionally staged but are uncluttered with enough personal possessions on display to give the property a peaceful homely feel. And we have also viewed homes that have been newly renovated and not lived in but have clearly been professionally staged for the viewing public.

What I have notice about these three examples is that one has to look past the mess to see the potential in the unkempt homes, while with the professionally staged homes it is very easy to see any shoddy workmanship in such a sterile environment. The homely, uncluttered, lived in, homes give you such an feeling of warmth that it is easy to miss the little imperfections because you could so see yourself living there. Which says to me that a uncluttered home with a reasonable amount of personal items is the ideal atmosphere for any family.

Does this kind of home sound like something you can aspire to? If so why not make that your ultimate declutter goal.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter small hardware items that have accumulated. Excess screws, nails, drywall plugs, used sandpaper, multiple allen keys, washers… .

Eco Tip for the Day

Get familiar with your local bus timetable because it is cheaper and better for the environment to take a bus rather than a taxi when necessary.

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 was travelling on a train last week when two middle aged men boarded and sat down quite near to me. They began chatting to each other in a familiar way and as the conversation progressed one man asked the other about the status of his fishing boat. In reply the other man said that his boat had barely been used since his children had come along. Its lack of use and position in his front yard had caused it to be the target of break-and-enter more than once and was being ravaged by the elements of sun and weather. For all these reasons he had come to a sensible decision and sold the boat before it became worthless to anyone. He continued on with the conversation by telling his acquaintance that whenever he felt the urge to go fishing he simply hired a boat. He followed on with the fact that hiring a boat cost about $80 for a few hours but in the long run that made much more economical sense than owning one of his own.

I very much wanted to lean over and tell the man that I thought he was very sensible, however my daughter, who was sitting between myself and this logical chap, would have ben mortified had I done so. I decided instead to share his story with you.

Do you own anything that you would be better off hiring or borrowing occasionally rather than owning one yourself? Particularly big expensive items that cost money to run, maintain and even register to use.

Today’s Mini Mission

Round up and declutter shoes ~ Do you have shoes in the car, shoes in your bedroom, shoes at both the front and back doors? Why not find a simple solution to keep the bulk of them in one area.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you use a dozen eggs in a week, $2 is about the difference between…

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

Deb J

How do you live your life? Are you a person like me who used to have an active, busy life with work and other outside interests but now you spend the majority of your time at home? Do you have children at home or did you recently become an “empty nester”? What is your life like today?

It took my mother and me awhile to realize that our home no longer matched our lifestyle. I think it took longer for Mom than it did me but it was true. We had changed. Our lives had changed. Mom was always a very active person who entertained people in her home, was very involved in activities at our church, had numerous social activities and loved to cook and bake to give away. I was also involved in my church, had a very stressful job, and was also socially active. The first major change was when I was diagnosed with three incurable but not life threatening diseases, chronic illnesses. My active lifestyle and stressful job had exacerbated my conditions and I eventually had to go on disability. It took a couple of years for me to realize that not only had my health changed but so had my lifestyle and my finances. Then Mom started to have some new health issues and started to slow down. When you are very active people and you have always been socially inclined toward entertaining and doing, the need to change to a more at home lifestyle not only means having to accept this emotionally and mentally but learning to let go of things related to that old life.

To put this in perspective means taking a new and unbiased look at your life and how you live it. I found that everything from what we had in our kitchen to the furniture we had to the crafts we did were affected. I have always been one who was very organized and kept little above what I needed so for me this change only meant taking the time to declutter what I no longer needed. For my mother this was a major issue. Not only has she struggled with the changes in her energy and abilities but she has struggled with the decluttering of no longer needed items. Coming from a generation that learned to store things “they might need” and have more than one of an item, Mom really did struggle and is still struggling.

Here are some things that I have come to realize during this time.

1. If your lifestyle changes your need for “stuff” changes. My mother no longer does any craft making. She had drawers and boxes of craft supplies to declutter. She also has been decluttering many kitchen items as we no longer entertain much and when we do it is very casual.
2. Your lifestyle changes affect more than stuff they also affect how you use rooms and even how big a home you may need. As Mom has gotten older we have moved more things up to counter level or above so she doesn’t have to bend over as much.
3. Each person will struggle with these changes and for different lengths of time. Like my mother is doing.
4. If more than one person is affected by the changes then the person who first instigates any decluttering needs to express why and how they have come to their decisions with any others affected. Mom was very agitated by my decluttering until I realized that talking about why I was doing something took that problem away. It also helped her to make similar decisions.
5. Don’t push anyone else involved but keep communicating about the changes YOU are making. This is what I did with Mom.
6. It doesn’t have to be done today or even tomorrow. One item a day or less is fine.
7. Don’t declutter something on a whim or because you haven’t done any decluttering lately. Think things through. We have an immersion blender and a regular blender. We kept both because of how we use them for different things.
8. Don’t get depressed if it takes a while to get others on board. Do what you can with what you can.
9. Remember that when organizing what is left to fit the storage placement to how it is used by the one who uses it most.
10. Remember to take a Strangers View every once in a while.

Today’s Mini Mission

In the inimitable words from Peter Walsh ~ “If you bought it over the phone after 8:00pm , chances are you don’t need it.” Declutter it.

Eco Tip For The Day

Got flies ~ Break out the old fashioned fly swatter rather than the spray. Propellent, insecticide, the can, manufacturing… ~  none good for 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

As you all know I dole out a lot of suggestions about what to declutter. I even put forward formulas on how many is enough of anything to keep. It is no secret that I’m not a lover of gadgets that are only useful if you perform a task in large quantities and/or frequently. Dusting is certainly not my favourite pastime so nicknacks are no longer my thing. For one thing they require somewhere to be displayed which means excess furniture which takes up space and requires more dusting. Practicality is important to me while status symbols aren’t, so I don’t need fancy things on show to prove anything to anyone. That is not to say that I don’t like beautiful object of which I certainly have a few that I enjoy. And I like to have enough craft supplies on hand to be creative when I feel the urge. Not too many of course…. Therefore my decluttering goal is simply this ~ to reduce my belongings to a point that I am happy with the result.

You, on the other hand, may love your nicknacks and get joy out of dusting them for the chance to admire them up close. You might also entertain a lot so prefer to be sure you have enough of everything on hand to cater to a crowd. You could find that the finicky cleaning of kitchen gadgets is worth the time they save you during the cooking process. And when out in public you perhaps feel more comfortable smartly dressed in designer clothes and don’t wish to be seen in the same outfit on a too regular basis. You might find your home to be more homely with lots of furniture to adorn it. But crafting supplies are of no importance to you what so ever and waste no space in your home… Nonetheless your decluttering goal is the same as mine. You wish to declutter to a point where you are happy with the volume of your belongings.

Decluttering isn’t a one size fits all situation. What I require or desire could be completely different to you. However we all want to feel happy and comfortable in our own homes and that should be the only goal each of us sets.

Today’s Mini Mission

Do the same for your crockery as you did yesterday for your cutlery. If you have too much let some go. I ran out of cups one evening when friends came back for coffee and cake after being out for dinner together. The problem wasn’t that I didn’t have enough I just should have put the dishwasher on before we left.

Eco Tip for the Day

Save electricity by not turning on electrical appliances, like irons, hair straighteners etc, too long before you use them and by not leaving them on while you decide to take a break during the task.

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 know there are only so many hours in the day. How many of them do you want to spend…

1. …looking for things you need but can’t find among your excess stuff.
2. …looking for things you didn’t put away where they belong.
3. …choosing what to use or wear among an overabundance of stuff.
4. …moving things in order to clean your home.
5. …running around like a mad thing cleaning up every time someone is coming to your home for a brief or long visit.
6. …dusting trinkets that aren’t even really that special to you.
7. …struggling to make things fit into, what ought to be, your more than adequate size home.
8. …shopping for more stuff that you will have to cram in somewhere just for the thrill of having something new.
9. …feeling ashamed of how your home looks.
10. …procrastinating about doing something about it.

What could you spend your precious time doing instead?

1. Relaxing
2. Feeling less stressed.
3. Spending time with friends and loved ones.
4. Creating beautiful things.
5. Exercising
6. Living in the knowledge that anyone could drop in anytime and your home will be tidy and inviting.
7. Enjoy some time in nature, a walk by the beach, hiking or watching your garden grow.
8. Volunteering in your community, This can be very satisfying.
9. Having extra time to focus intently on one task at a time so you get the best result
10. Getting your home in order so you can feel content there.

It may take a little time to get from list A to List B but it will be totally worth it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item of clothing that you don’t feel good in. Be that because of  fit, visual or comfort reasons.

Today’s Declutter Item

South Park Character Costume

Eco Tip for the Day

Organise your weekly menu prior to grocery shopping. This will help avoid extra trips in the car to the grocery store.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

Backsliding. What a dreadful word! Are you a decluttering backslider? Recently I have been.

I discovered that if I’m not activitely moving forward in my decluttering, I can go into a holding pattern – for a while – but then I start sliding backwards. Dreadful! I came too far to go back now!

I’ve been decluttering for three years now. It’s a habit and a lifstyle, but just like with any other long-term habit or hobby, sometimes my interested wanes. I don’t go and buy out the store and start recluttering, thank goodness. My backsliding starts a bit more sneakily: the house slowly gets messier and less picked up, until it starts to look…well not all the way cluttered but a lot less lovely than it should.

Here are some examples (my own personal walk of shame)

• A gift bag from Audra’s birthday in August stayed on the coffee table until the end of September.
• I bought a shelving unit in August. I loaded it with books, then took some away to make it look a bit more decorative. The books that I removed from the shelves are still sitting on the coffee table.
• Also in August, we used a big decal from Home Depot to cover a clear window to make it look etched, thereby creating privacy. Half the roll wasn’t use and is still sitting right where I put it when we finished the job.
• I forgot to write my blog two weeks ago – decluttering isn’t on my mind.

What did I do to get myself out of my slide? I started by putting away the gift bag and picking up the tissue paper that the cats had spread around the living room. Then I decluttered the pantry. I know that wasn’t on my list above, but it was messy in there, and it had been bothering me. I only got rid of four things: one trashed, two given to a friend, and one intentionally used up that night. A couple days later I straightened the linen closet, which mostly involved refolding and tidying, but also involved taking four flat pillows, cutting them open, and making them into two. Wow! That felt good! By tackling some large but very easy projets, I was successful, felt energized, and it helped me to get back on track. No more backsliding for me!

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a domestic tool ~ Perhaps an item for working in the kitchen or the garage.

Today’s Declutter Item

Playing Cards

Eco Tip for the Day

Own less things. This way when something breaks you will be more inclined to fix it immediately because you need it rather than just utilising an alternative. Repairing things rather than just throwing them away is obviously better for the environment. (Thank you Sanna for the inspiration for this Eco Tip)

“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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

I’ve started stocking up for Christmas. I’m not entirely sure this is a good idea. In the past, when my children were younger, I’d sometimes see something six months before Christmas that I thought would make a good gift. By the time Christmas came ’round, I’d realized that my child was too old / too young / no longer interested in X, so now my gift needed to be re-gifted. (Do you call it re-gifting when it’s never even been gifted once?)

My caution about stocking up is compounded by my once good idea that went bad on me: Having a gift box full of a choice of generic gifts, purchased on sale, for my children to select from when they were invited to parties. The reason this idea went bad wasn’t because I made poor choices. It’s because I had about 10 gifts to choose from, and around 3rd or 4th grade, my children were no longer invited to every party for every child in their classes. Instead, they were only invited to a few select parties a year, meaning two things – 1.) that they’d prefer to pick out a special gift for the special friend and 2.) that they aged out of the gifts I’d stored up because they weren’t using the box so frequently.  (If you have children in preschool and early elementary and a couple of children of mixed ages, I still recommend the gift box; just cut off your buying in 2nd grade or so.)

Buying gifts too far in advance can lead to clutter, incovenience, and an excess of spending, all things we’d like to avoid. So why have I bravely started stocking up this year? Well, for one thing, my children are older and their interests and abilities aren’t changing on a monthly basis. For another, it’s October: Christmas isn’t really that far away. (If you shop at Wal-Mart or Costco, you might think it was next week!) In addition, I’ve decided that the positive aspects of buying in advance outweigh my fear of going wrong.

• Buying in advance allows for slow and careful purchasing. I can shop for the best price or possibly find my items used (for example, a book).
• I can purchase when there’s a sale.
• I will avoid panic shopping at the last minute, which is good for my mental health and prevents rash “grab anything for Aunt Myrtle” gifts: Gifts that are doomed from the beginning to become clutter at Aunt Myrtle’s house.
• I have time to weigh the value of a gift against the cost or other factors without having to make quick decisions.
• When we buy all our gifts at once or in a short time, it’s easy to toss one more or two or ten more last minute items or stocking stuffers into our cart without thinking, wasting money and creating clutter.

The most important task you have to make this successful is to keep a list of what you’ve purchased and ideas for things you might want to purchase (or make).  A list will keep you from getting carried away, will make you aware of how many gifts you’ve already purchased  and prevent you from skewing your gifts too heavily in one direction (like the year Clara got about 10 pair of earrings. By the end, she was less than completely thrilled). Remember that gift cards, tickets to events, or promises to special outings make wonderful clutter-free gifts. (Also, Colleen has a list of un-clutter gifts under “Guides” at the top of the page. These list are definitely worth exploring and considering.)

I’ve started stocking up for Christmas, have you?

Today’s Mini Mission

Take action on something that you want to declutter but aren’t sure how best to move it on. Maybe it’s time you investigated the possibilities.

Today’s Declutter Item

This book was just one small thing my daughter had left behind.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t use throw away cleaning wipes. They have them for cleaning wood, kitchen spills, television screens, make-up removal etc etc. You can do all these jobs with a little water and a microfibre cloth that can be washed and used over and over again.

“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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

I live in a neighborhood where the houses are all about 50 years old and are between 1500 and 2000 square feet. Most have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a 2 car garage or carport. Almost all are one-story houses. The house just around the corner was a bit smaller than most and had been poorly maintained. When the original owner decided to move last year, it wasn’t long before the new owners knocked the house down to the ground and scraped away the foundation.  A few months passed and contruction began on the new home. The architect left the house plans in the permit box, and being a curious person, of course I checked them out: 3700 square feet of heated/cooled space, plus 2000 more square feet of un-heated/cooled space including a three car garage plus a pool. Three stories; 5700 square feet of house.

As you can imagine, there was immediate chatter in amongst the neighbors. Those who thought is was a bad idea were concerned about its looming massiveness and its lack of appropriate style and balance with the rest of the neighborhood. Others thought it was a waste of resources – to build, to maintain, to fill. Other people though said, “If they can afford it, good for them.”

That last response gave me pause.

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

Do four people (two adults, two children) need a 5,700 square foot home? What about the costs to build, maintain, heat, cool, and fill this home? The resources that will be used for all the lumber, furniture, appliance, etc. Can you imagine the dusting and vacuuming? The clutter?

When it comes to clutter, we all know how easy it is to do and how difficult it can be to un-do. While my future neighbors are providing a rather extreme example, we’ve all done things we should not: purchased more than is necessary, purchased a new thing when the old thing was perfectly functional still, bought new things to make ourselves feel good / be fashionable / because they were such a great bargain / because we felt we needed to keep up.  And, on the other hand, we’ve all failed to get rid of things when we should: things that were broken that we could not or would not repair, tools or craft supplies that might be useful someday, items that we received as gifts and stuck in a drawer, forgotten, clothing that will never again fit no matter how much we exercise, pieces of paper that became obsolete as time passed.

Before you buy or when you don’t feel like decluttering, remind yourself: Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something made from paper.

Today’s Declutter Item

I didn’t have any paper items to declutter today but here are some mechanical pencils and a fountain pen that Liam doesn’t want. They are all off to the thrift store.

3 Mechanical Pencils and a Fountain Pen

Eco Tip for the Day

When buying bars of soap, by ones without wrappers or multipacks that come in a simple cardboard box. Every little bit of plastic saved from landfill counts.

“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