How decluttering can improve your finances ~ by deanna ar USA With contributions from her husband Randy The last few years hubby and I have noticed an improvement in our finances because we were purchasing less, in order not to add items to our home, when we were in fact working to declutter it. It was easy to see that I had not shopped Coldwater Creek (my favorite) in a couple of years. In fact I had not been compelled to shop anywhere because so many items were decluttered that we hadn't needed anyway, i.e. household items, hubby's hobby items, tools, etc. About the only place I was Continue reading
How decluttering can improve your finances ~ by deanna ar USA
posted by Colleen Madsen
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: accumulate, don't use, reduce, resist, Sensible buying, unclutter
Silly Season Series ~ Christmas Shopping and the power of planning
posted by Colleen Madsen
A guest post by Andréia So, there is Christmas just around the corner and the dreaded shopping season is on its way again. Some will start shopping now and not stop until Christmas day. Some will not shop at all. Some will spend way more than they can and have a January and other months filled with angst at unpaid debts and regrets at impulse shopping. One way to celebrate Christmas, for those of us who celebrate it, is to not buy gifts at all. But we want to celebrate the season and gifting one another seems a very warm way to do it. But the gifting has to have meaning and be useful. Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: clutter, seasonal nonsense, Sensible buying, simplify, Strategies
Silly Season Series ~ Christmas shopping for kids by Andréia
posted by Colleen Madsen
It is that time of the year again. Christmas is approaching and with it comes the shopping season. But I am not getting too deep into that in this post. I want to talk about children and their gifts. I have three young children and a host of well-intentioned extended family. That being said, it means that my children get tons of toys, every single year. I can´t seem to put a hold on my relatives, but I have developed strategies not to be sunk deep in new toys. Mind you, I might seem ungrateful, but one child can have enough toys. And sometimes a interesting and or fun experience, or something Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: Christmas, clutter, dematerialise, seasonal nonsense, Sensible buying, Strategies
Silly Season Series Part 2 ~ Christmas/Hanukkah Gift Wrapping
posted by Colleen Madsen
This post was contributed to 365 Less Things by Deb J Gift wrapping is one of the big “chores” of the Christmas/Hanukkah season. A later post in this series will talk about alternative gifts for adults but for those who take part in gift giving among family and friends decluttering wrapping supplies can make a big difference. Every year as you walk through the stores you see a big assortment of wrapping papers, bows, bags, gift tags and gift boxes. I remember a time when we had a huge storage tub of wrapping supplies we would buy in the after Christmas sales and hold over for the following Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: clutter, seasonal nonsense, Sensible buying, simplify, unclutter
The problem is acquiring
posted by Colleen Madsen
Clutter is very much about being keener to acquire than to let go. We acquire things we need or want but once their usefulness to us has expired we hang on to them. I feel that there are three main reasons for that and they are laziness, fear and indifference. Laziness of course refers to having the stuff there, being aware that it is a problem but refusing to deal with it because you just don't want to make the effort. Fear is all about thinking you might need it some day and keeping it just in case. And indifference is being aware that you have clutter but don't mind, don't care or even Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: accumulate, clutter, need want, Sensible buying, unclutter
Avoiding internet shopping
posted by Colleen Madsen
So, it is 10:09am and I have just sat down to have my midmorning coffee. And as per usual I'm comfy on the sofa with my laptop in front of me about to open Facebook and have a game of Cookie Jam. Yes I know, "What a waste of time!". However downtime is downtime and we are all entitled to that. A little mindless activity to while away your relaxation time is totally acceptable in my book. The other thing I do during my downtime is browse Pinterest for craft ideas. Oh, how I can waste hours on that. But it more often than not inspires me to jump up and get creating soon enough. All that being Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: clutter, resist, retail assault, Sensible buying, unclutter
Someday
posted by Colleen Madsen
You know how the saying goes ~ "Tomorrow never comes." Well someday is usually even further away than tomorrow. So keeping stuff simply because you might need it someday is a fools game if you are attempting to declutter. Especially if they are items that, in reality, you could easily manage without. For example, silly little single use kitchen gadgets that do the same thing as a knife. That mass of household stationery supplies that could supply a large office for a year. That thing-a-ma-jig to fix that thing that you don't even own anymore. Just to name a few. Then there are items you once Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: accumulate, clutter, don't use, donate, downsize, Sensible buying, simplify, unclutter
Transient Stuff
posted by Colleen Madsen
Much of what comes into my home these days is transient. Aside from groceries much of what does come in is free, secondhand, or both. And I have to say it makes it a whole lot easier to pass things on when large sums of money aren't exchanged to acquire it. This week I have decluttered... 2 books - one free, one 10c, both secondhand and both not used in a reasonable length of time so both were taken to the thrift shop. 3 strips of fabric samples - all free from a friend, but after careful consideration I decided I didn't have a use for them. One went to the thrift shop to sell as a Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: accumulate, clutter, dematerialise, don't use, personal attachment, Sensible buying, unclutter
Declutter your food choices
posted by Colleen Madsen
Níriel jokingly suggested that to complete last Friday's mission she should eat all the ice cream in her house. It sounded like a good idea to me but then it got me thinking. Along with stuff decluttering one thing most people, in today's Western culture, could stand to do is declutter their food choices. I know I have written about this before, and annoyed at least one person in the process, but it is worth repeating. It isn't aimed towards the idea that everyone ought to be thin, it is about having a healthy diet and an uncluttered pantry and fridge. And the best way I know of to avoid Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: accumulate, clutter, don't use, reduce, Sensible buying, simplify, unclutter
Consider the cost ~ By Deb J
posted by Colleen Madsen
I have a friend who wants to be a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband have been working to figure out how they can make it possible. My mother has always said she wishes we had another bedroom for the guests that never visit. These are just two examples of how you need to consider the cost. What do I mean by “consider the cost?” It means considering the cost of having what you have and how to afford what you want. In the case of Mom’s wish for another bedroom you have to consider the cost of heating/cooling that room, the cost of additional time to clean it, the cost of a larger Continue reading
Filed Under: 365 Less Things Tagged With: clutter, dematerialise, don't use, priorities, reduce, Sensible buying, simplify, unclutter
