Everyone seems to have at least one clutter weakness. Mine was paper crafting supplies and magazines. Even when I was at the height of my paper crafting days I think I was more addicted to shopping for supplies than I was to using them. I did do quite a bit of the craft but I bought a whole lot more than I was ever going to need even if I had continued at the crafting pace I was at.

I am not sure what really turned me off my addiction but I think it may have been photo clutter. The beauty of digital photography is also its downfall. You can take as many photos as you can fit on you DS card, Compact Flash or your computer hard drive for that matter. Add in an external hard drive and all of a sudden you are drowning in photos. I think I just got tired of sorting through them to find the “best ones” for the a album I wanted to make. Photo burnout was inevitable.

For some people their addiction is books. I always used to think this was where they would read a book and not want to part with it but I have read recently on more than one blog that people buy books and don’t even get around to reading them. Much the same as my craft supply clutter I suppose.

I would like to challenge my readers to admit to what their clutter addiction is today, google for some advice as to how to overcome it and do something to start working on the problem this week. Meanwhile I will make the effort to get some of my craft supplies up for sale in eBay.

I feel like I should be saying…”my name is Colleen and I am a paper craft supplies addict” but I am not any more. I am just Colleen who needs to do something about ridding myself of the substance of my old addiction. There is no better time like the present so I am going jump over to eBay now and start listing.

ITEM 223 OF 365 LESS THINGS

This batch of scrapbook magazines are today’s offering and I have listed 3 other paper crafting items on eBay. Wish me luck!

…that is the question. Well actually it isn’t a question any more because I made a decision. I am talking about my sock drawer, not earth shattering, high drama stuff I know but just one more area to consider.

So I emptied it out, matched up the odd socks that had escaped from their partners, stretched a few pair of nylons (stockings or whatever you like to call them) to make sure they weren’t perished beyond usefulness and pondered over the many pairs of socks that I have to admit haven’t been worn for some time. I took into account that this was my sock drawer so half empty or full it would still be my sock drawer because I had no other use for it. At that point I came to my decision.

I will let natural progression decluttering take place on this occasion. Socks tend to wear out at a fairly rapid pace with regular use so I will use my favourites until they go in the trash and then use the bottom dwellers thus getting full use out of every pair.  Were I to throw away or donate the bottom dwellers I would have to buy replacements sooner thus increasing supply and demand for new pairs.

I know this hasn’t been the most informative or fascinating post I have ever written but it just goes to prove not everything needs decluttering.

ITEM 222 OF 365 LESS THINGS

My son didn’t want these any more so I gave them to the son of a friend of mine. He is a Star Wars fan.

Last Monday, Day 214, my post was about supply and demand. I promised to keep track of my efforts to avoid being wasteful all week and let you know how I went. The idea is to lower the demand for items therefore lessen the necessity to supply them.

Well here is the result…

• I avoided using throw away utensils and containers when eating out. Luckily at most cafes here in Australia coffee comes in china cups unless you order it to go and they have metal utensils so this wasn’t difficult to achieve.
• As usual I didn’t bag up my fruit and vegetable when at the supermarket so no plastic bags wasted here.
• I also took my own carry bags to the supermarket so once again no plastic bags wasted.
• I walked to work on Thursday and car pooled on Monday saving some gas.
• I mended two items of clothing so they could be worn again instead of being replaced.
• I returned some wire coat hangers to the drycleaners so they could be reused.
• I used Tupperware containers to store some individual chicken breast fillets  in the freezer rather than putting them in plastic freezer bags like I normally would. I will be doing this all the time in future.
• I ate porridge for breakfast all week to use up some oats that were getting a little old in the cupboard. I would have bought a new packet of cereal otherwise.
• We have been eating “end of day” bread all week that was given to my son by a friend who works at a bread shop. This bread would have ended up in a dumpster otherwise and I would have bought fresh bread.
• I oiled and seasoned the vegetables before roasting in a bowl rather than in a plastic bag like I usually would. Once again I will be doing this all the time in future.
• I have been buying my meat at the butcher where even though they still put the cuts in a plastic bag they don’t use Styrofoam trays. Another new habit I will stick with. Actually I might take my own container in future eliminating the plastic bags altogether.
• Aside from groceries and a new lid for my skillet I bought nothing else all week. This has become the norm for me though.

My husband spent the last three weeks in Hawaii and as instructed bought me back no gifts. He does want to buy me a new iPad to replace this laptop that I write my blogs on but this old faithful is going to have to falter more than it already is before I will let him replace it. I am getting used to its little quirks anyway and maybe some times I have to wait a while for it to load things but that is not to bad.

I know all this may not seem like much in the big scheme of things but if everyone made a little more effort to cut back the world would be better for it. I am quite happy with my efforts and I pledge to continue to find more ways to improve.

ITEM 221 OF 365 LESS THINGS

I don’t know how many year it is since my husband used this dart set.

I wanted to do follow up on yesterday’s post with some practical advice on children’s wardrobes. I would like you to keep in mind that my children are 21 & 19 now and it has been a while since I had control over what they wear.

When my children were small, well actually they are still small but we will come to that soon, I was very lucky that I really didn’t need to buy much for them in the way of clothing. Both my mother and mother-in-law are very good at sewing and made most of the clothes they needed. My MIL would buy good second-hand clothing and shoes for them on occasion as well. I don’t recall them being inundated with more clothes than they needed so there was no out of control spending that’s for sure. Also because they were small the fabric required was minimal and were often off-cuts so no waste there much either.

As I mentioned, both my kids aren’t big. When they were little I could never predict what size clothes they would need for the next season because their growth rate was not the average. So I never took advantage of end of season sales. One of the advantages of having small kids is that they tend to wear their clothing out rather than grow out of them so that was my savings advantage. We also lived in the tropics for four years of their young lives so there was no seasons to buy for really.

When my daughter turned twelve I copped the usual teenage girl desire for name brand clothes and going shopping with her became a nightmare. I did what all smart mothers would do and gave her a clothing allowance. It didn’t take long for her to realize that the money I gave her would not buy much unless she settled for sensible brands with reasonable prices. She soon learned how to find a bargain and that she was cute enough without doing free advertising for companies whose clothes were not that well made anyway.

My son however has always been hard to fit because he has always been a skinny little thing so he tends to find something that he likes that fits and wears it to death. He still wears his little league t-shirts from when he was twelve he is now nineteen. Says a lot for how well they catered for sizes at his little league club but that is another story. He mostly lives in skinny jeans, t-shirts and button up flannel shirts these days because that is the skateboarder fashion. His one weakness is skate shoes but now that he is responsible for paying for them himself I am sure he will be more careful with them. Oh and he will not part with any band t-shirts or hoodies that he has ever owned and they are stored in a box in the garage. I am not happy about that.

Sure there were times where they had more than they needed. Sometime an item was bought that they didn’t like so much and didn’t wear to its full potential. Every now and again there had to be the “only for good” outfit that they grew out of before they wore out but for the most part we didn’t do too badly.

The moral of this story is we all know our kids well enough to know the style of clothing that best suits their everyday needs. We pretty much have a handle on their growth rate and their personalities. We know if they are the rough and tumble type or the gentle variety. We know how often we have time to do the laundry and the type of climate we live in. We know the kind of social lives we lead separately and together as a family.

All our kids need is enough clothing of the variety that best suits the needs of the categories above and no more. If something wears out it is easy enough to replace it so there is no need for multiple back ups. If you are lucky like I was and someone else is catering well to their needs in this area just be grateful of one less financial pressure. If that leaves you with extra funds maybe you could funnel the savings into a college fund or something else that suits their immediate needs. It is best to teach them now that excess is not necessary for a happy life, they will thank you for it in the end.

I am not going to be a hypocrite and pretend that I taught my kids all the right lessons when it comes to being frugal. Hindsight is a great thing but often too late. Suddenly having an independent income can go to their heads when it happens no matter how well you think you taught them. I just hope the fundamentals are locked in their somewhere and they will settle into it.

ITEM 22OF 365 LESS THINGS

This Thomas the Tank Engine train set was a Christmas gift to my son many years ago. He kindly allowed me to give it to his young cousins who are Thomas fans.

Earlier this week I received a comment from Angelina requesting that I write a post about minimizing kids’ wardrobes. Below is what she wrote…

I love your blog, I read it everyday. I am a stay at home Mom with two kids. I was wondering if you can write about Minimalist Wardrobe for Kids. My kids have so much clothes, I don’t know how to keep up with them. My mother in law buys them clothes all the time, non-stop. The clothes are driving me crazy.

Keep up the great job, I can’t get enough of your blog, I’ve recommend your sites to my family and friends too.

Now first up I would like to say the I would not consider myself a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination although I agree in principle with the minimalist movement. I prefer to think that at best I am only at the start of that journey but like the feel of the trip so far.

That being said I will be happy to give my take on Angelina’s problem. Now I am going to be quite blunt here because I think there is no other way around this and I think in the long run Angelina will agree with what I am about to say. Her own comment/request hinted at the real problem here and I think she just needs a little advice on how to handle it tactfully. I am not always the most tactful person though I must admit but I will give it my best shot.

Angelina’s problem isn’t her children and it isn’t their wardrobe the problem is that her Mother-in-law doesn’t know when enough is enough. She means well I am sure but excess is not only bad for the environment but it is also not a good lesson to teach children. Unfortunately, the only solution to this problem is to make a request of the MIL to cut back on this unnecessary supply of clothing.

Now I don’t know how close their relationship is but, no matter what, she cannot idly stand by and let this continue. We often make the mistake of sacrificing our own needs for the needs of others but when the other person’s actions are having a negative effect on more than just ourselves (although that really is enough in some cases) then it  is time to stand up for what you believe in.

There clearly needs to be a conversation between Angelina and her MIL and perhaps it should go like this.

1. Lead in with a compliment…“‘MIL you provide such lovely clothes for the children, they are always so neatly dressed and I can see you love them dearly”….
2. Continue with a little gratitude…“and I am grateful to you for your generosity”…
3. Then comes the BUT… “but the quantity of clothes you provide for the kids is just too much. There is no way they will ever get the full value out of each item when there are so many to choose from and it is such a waste. This excess is not a good lesson to teach the children and not good for the environment either”. You may want to add something here about your goal to cut down on clutter in your home.
4. Now is when the request comes in with a little lacing of more gratitude for sweetener…“It is not my intention to upset you but I really would prefer that you cut back on the quantity of clothing you have been buying for them. I do appreciate your generosity but it is just too much. Do you think you could do that for me?”

At no point in this conversation have any demands been made. There is a good balance of gratitude and a clear explanation of the concerns both for Angelina’s thoughts on the waste involved and the feelings of the MIL. I think this formula can be adapted to fit with a number of situations to request people to cut back on the excess they provide you against your personal requirements.

I have made a page of this called Request Formula in case you would like to reference it for future issues. I am always open to suggestion on improvement so if you think I need to add something to it please feel free to let me know.

Well Angelina, I hope this was helpful to you and I look forward to hearing how things went for you with your mother-in-law.

ITEM 219 OF 365 LESS THINGS

We bought this set of snorkel gear when on vacation once. We should have left them at the beach for someone else to take as they have never been used since. I gave them to the son of a friend because they go to the beach all the time.

I have decided to dedicate Fridays to my favourite five reader comments and links I enjoyed throughout the week. Today is the first edition I hope you enjoy it.

My Favourite Five Comments

1. Cindy on Day 216:- I have a trash can with a lid that raises automatically. We put rechargeable batteries in it and only change them once or twice a year. I love it that it opens when my hands are full and gunky; I love it because it keeps all odors in; I love it because I reused dog food bags… Read More
2. Willow on Day 215:-  I agree Stephanie that the declutering/minimizing/simplifying process is a pulling off of layers. Usually it starts with the physical items and then moves in to the mental and emotional areas that are ‘cluttered’. And it’s an ongoing process and the two often overlap… Read More
3. From Donna on Day 215:- Great post and comments. I totally agree with Willow and the layers analogy. In June I had a fairly successful yard sale and sold a lot of stuff. Once it was all gone I felt pretty giddy about it for a while. Then after I had adjusted to the removal of that layer, I started looking… Read More
4. Annie on Day 214:- I agree with voting with our wallets by not purchasing or using certain items. I still use plastic bags at the store but they are brought home and used again to carry things, insulate things and make things, or just as trash bags. I no longer purchase paper towels or bathroom tissue… Read More
5. Angelina on Day 210:-I’ve been reading your blog daily and wanted to thank you for sharing your blog with all of us. I love a clean, simple house. Growing up we didn’t have much. When we came to the States everything changed. My parents gave us everything they thought we might… Read More

My Five Favourite Links

1. Becoming Minimalist – 12 Reasons Why You’ll Be Happier in a Smaller Home
2. Om Freely (Live your life out loud) – On Changing Your Therostat
3. Zen Habits – 7 Simple Ways To Say “No”
4. Minimalist Woman – Gratitude for a Simplified Life
5. People, Not Stuff –3 true reasons I find minimalism challenging

ITEM 218 OF 365 LESS THINGS

We got good use out of these at one point but they haven’t seen the light of day for three years. It is time for them to go.

Back on day 192 I wrote a post on decluttering regrets and today I would like to follow that up with a story about a woman I work with.

As you can imagine I hold nothing back when it comes to spreading the word about decluttering whether through my blog, with my friend or anyone who cares to listen really. My work mates are no exception and they often hear my stories and sometimes have a look at my blog.

The  woman who is the subject of this story recently came to work laughingly complaining to me about how my “worthless advice” had caused her grief. She then informed me of the source of this grief. Her daughter has to dress up as a children’s book character for school and chose Little Miss Muffet. She immediately remembered a cute little bonnet that had been in there dress-up box for about six years. The unfortunate part to this story is she had taken my advice and decluttered it recently and was now unable to use it “this once”. Yes once in six years the only problem I can see with this situation is that this item should have been decluttered five years ago at least.

Lo and behold a few days later we had another similar session about a curling wand that had also been lurking about her home for a similar length of time. She had also gottten rid of it and now wanted to use it to curl her daughters hair for the same event that the hat was needed for. Needless to say I wasn’t that sympathetic. I just told her there was no shortage of curling wands going begging at the thrift shop or get her daughter to borrow one from a friend. I implored her to not waste money buying a new one that would most likely also sit unused for the next six years.

If we all used six years as our yard stick  to how long it takes for something to be eligible for decluttering wouldn’t our homes be a mess. I do not regret giving decluttering advice I only regret that more people don’t experience the joy and/or freedom achieved from…

1. having less unused items cluttering up their homes.
2. the financial benefits of not wasting money on items you could easily live without.
3. knowing you are having a minimal negative impact on the environment.
4. setting a good example for the next generation
5. not trying to keep up with the Jones

ITEM 217 OF 365 LESS THINGS

These speakers had an 120v power cord that is really no use to us here in Australia at 240v.

I just thought I might lighten things up today with a short post about an object in my house that has been used again and again. You might be mistaken for thinking this object is an expensive item that is slowly realising its worth, but no. You might think this is an something that most people use everyday and has realised it’s worth many times over, that’s partly accurate. You might think this object is aesthetically pleasing in some way that makes it wearable on a regular basis, but no.

The item I speak of is the trigger pump from a bottle of all purpose cleaner spray that I bought at least six years ago. It is so well designed that it drains every last drop of liquid out of every bottle of cleaner I transfer it to. I only ever buy refill bottles and have been using this same trigger for every bottle for those six years. I love items that are well designed not matter how trivial they are. Good design just makes life more pleasant. This item will never be on the declutter list until it finally dies but by then it will have realised its worth a hundred times over.

Do any of you have an object that you love for it’s great design even though it would seem trivial in other peoples eyes that you would like to share with us. We would love to hear about it, so please leave a comment in it’s honor.

ITEM 216 OF 365 LESS THING

This jacket came free when we bought our son a motorbike but it doesn’t fit. We finally got around to selling it on ebay for $20.

Yesterday I received an email from Denise which raised some interesting decluttering questions. I have edited and reworded the email as I did not have time to contact Denise to get her approval to quote it verbatim but I am sure she will know it was her and this is what she asked… (more or less)

What happens when you have gone through the house once and think you have decluttered significantly. I am sure I could do better but I wish I could see items around the house with “new eyes”. If you reach an impasse, do you try again or try another project and come back to decluttering in a few days? Does leaving the house help?

I have never really “gone through the house”. I am very much in tune to what is in my home probably due to the fact that I have moved so many times over the years. Since the last move I have added very little  but removed a lot therefore I know what is where and what I really don’t need/want/use.

Most days either my husband or I think of something that needs to go. Some days we do put aside more than one thing while on others we may be dealing with the removal of one item or another either selling, dismantling for recycling, putting in the garage for the next donation drop off not to mention photographing for the blog. We have even been trying to get ahead a little because we have a vacation planned soon. (Stay tuned for more info on that)

In the end there is an average on one item a day to be decluttered and added to the blog.

As for seeing things with new eyes, that happens all the time. The more I write and read on the subject of decluttering and minimalism the more ruthless I become about the “useless to me” items around my home. I would never call these items totally useless as they have potential to be useful to someone else. That is why so many things have either been donated or sold. I may pass over an area time and time again and find something else I realise doesn’t mean that much to me after all. That is the beauty of 365lessthings I learn and change as I go. There are so many things that at the start of this journey I would have had difficulty parting with but my attitude and belief systems have matured as time has passed.

That is not to say that I never have burn out days. They are usually days where other things are getting me down which can cause my enthusiasm to become a bit stagnant. Life goes on outside of my decluttering and blogging world that can stress me out and make me want to curl up in a ball just like anyone else. I wouldn’t want to let my readers down so a drag my sorry butt to my computer and troll though other sites to give me inspiration. Sometimes a comment from my wonderful readers will get me inspired. I know there are so many things still in my home that need to go so I just shake off my doldrums and get to it and I usually feel better for the effort.

Denise asked if getting out of the house helps. I like to take a long walk each day which isn’t always possible but a walk sure does raise the spirits and gives me time to think about what I am willing to tackle that day. Unfortunately lately the lousy weather we have been having and the extra hours I have been putting in at work have certainly put a damper on my mood and restrictions on my time. Denise works from home so I can imagine getting out would be essential to put her in a better frame of mind to see things with a fresh eye.

Who knows maybe Denise has done all that needs doing for now. Everyone’s journey is different. We all have different needs and are at varying stages in our lives. One persons idea of being decluttered may be vastly different to another. I suggest take a second look at your feelings and not so much at the items themselves. I find it is a natural progression and I really just make it up as I go along. If I felt like I was done now I would stop.

So good luck Denise, I hope this was helpful to you and to my other readers as well.

ITEM 215 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Another item just like yesterday’s only this one made more money, $36.00 in fact.

There is an election going on at the moment here in Australia. The politicians often jump on the environmental bandwagon to win votes. The issues they promise they are going to address when they win are just a drop in the bucket to what really needs doing.

In fact they aren’t prepared to do much at all when it comes to the manufacturing of pointless garbage like…

• the free toys in kids meals and other promotional products
• wasteful single use gadgets
• shoddy appliances that don’t last and can’t be repaired
• Disposable cutlery & plates
• Cheap souvenirs
• The sheer quantity of seasonal decorations
• Gas guzzling cars
• And the over-packaging of most of the above

just to name a few.

Generating manufacturing creates economic wealth and employment regardless of how unnecessary the end resulting items are.  So no politician is going to put a stop to any of that. So we will just keep on causing massive pollution until the supply and demand of these products are eliminated. The only thing that is going to have an effect on this is you the consumer.

Supply and demand is just that. If we stop demanding (buying) it they will stop supplying it. It is really that simple. No manufacturer is going to make something that no one is buying. Supply will always be limited to demand and even if that just reduces the quantities supplied it would be a great improvement for the environment.

Think twice about what you are doing with your money and your actions.

• Don’t accept free useless stuff just because it is free
• Avoid using plastic utensils when you are eating out.
• Take a carry bag with you when you go shopping so you don’t have to accept plastic bags
• When buying a new car buy what you need not some gas guzzling monstrosity just because it looks cool
• Use the same decorations year in year out. It is possible to celebrate an occasion without polluting the planet.
• You can julienne vegetables, crush garlic, chop an onion, dice an apple, slice potatoes… with just one gadget, a knife. Sure it might take longer but unless you are running a restaurant kitchen will the time saved really make that much difference.

See what you can do this week to reduce supply and demand. I will keep a track of my efforts and let you know next Sunday how I went.

ITEM 214 OF 365 LESS THINGS

You can sell just about anything on ebay. This item made a nice $14.00.