A guest post by my hubby Steve

In 1998, UK artist Tracey Emin unveiled My Bed, literally her unmade bed and the crap that lay on and around it. By presenting her bed as art she became famous, some may say infamous, as one of Britain’s great contemporary artists.

Well, you do not have to be infamous to use the excess stuff in your home to create an artistic expression that can either become a focal point in your home or sold. Here are two examples:

Steam punk ray gun

I have an old hand wood drill that sat unused in my tool chest for nearly 30 years, sentimental clutter because it belonged to a family friend. It failed to sell on eBay and I earmarked it for the donation bin when I renewed my association with steam punk. Steam punks develop alternate technologies that could have evolved in the Victorian aesthetic, and many create futuristic weapons (ray guns if you like) of a different past. So I dismantled the drill, added pistol grip fashioned from an old wood plane, and some wiring to create the IXLAN Thermal Disrupter. I also created a back story for the weapon, and it will eventually be for sale on Etsy.

IXLON Thermal Disrupter

Steroids in Baseball

Invigorated by my first art project, I took at look at the donate pile and decided I could create a new piece with some 5″ x 7″ gold baseball cards. I chose four cards; Alex Rodriquez, Jason Giambi and Mark McGwire who all admit using steroids during their careers, and Ken Griffey Jr whose stellar career is untainted by juicing.

I printed part of the statements made by the first three players onto vellum and affixed it to their cards to symbolise the cloud or murk that obscures their baseball achievements because of steroid use. Assembled together on a backing board, Griffey’s card reflects his shining example of baseball prowess, a career that will undoubtedly lead to his enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Steroids in Baseball

Be an artist!

Turning clutter into art is immensely satisfying, the act of making something is good for the soul, and remind us that everything does not have to be disposable, even if its originator made it that way.

What could you make?

Something cool like a ray gun or a social statement on an important issue is lurking in the garage or under your bed. Post a photo of your creation on our Facebook page.

Item 334 of 365 less things

Just another item we no longer need which we donated to the thrift store.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. A cup of tea in bed to start the day – My husband has been doing this quite often lately and I hope he plans on making a habit of it.
   
2. Plants that thrive on neglect – They are the only type that survive in my garden and are even better value when they pop up from nowhere and start baring fruit.
3. My mother teaching me to cook while I was growing up.
4. No gift giving at the Christmas party with my old work mates last night.
5. Every day I am grateful that Liam is doing so well.

Financial security is one thing to strive for but when does that cross the line to decadence?

We must be prepared to sacrifice certain things in order to eat well, put a roof over our heads, clothe ourselves and pay our utility bills and medical insurance. The main thing we give up here is usually our time since we need to work in order to pay for the basics. At what point do we then start to sacrifice more of our time and other things in order to pay for the things that aren’t a necessity.

Do we really need –

• Homes larger than our needs dictate.
• Cars bigger, newer and more expensive than required.
• The latest and greatest techno gadgets.
• Cable TV.
• Beauty treatments and expensive hair styling.
• More stuff in our homes than we can possibly fully use.
• Replacing perfectly good items just because we feel like a change.
• Expensive/excessive dietary items that are likely not healthy anyway.
• Dining out on a regular basis.
• So many toys for our children that they couldn’t possibly learn to appreciate any of them.
• Expensive holidays.
• And worst of all credit card interest that accumulates from buying things we really can’t afford.

I will stop here but that list could go on forever. In order to make more money to buy life’s “luxuries” we work longer hours and something has to give…

Family:-Unfortunately and sadly the first thing to be sacrificed is time with family. There are so many double income families out there whose children are in day care on a regular basis.  Some out of necessity just because of the cost of living, but there are many in this situation because they are just trying to keep up a standard of living that goes way beyond necessity.

Friends:- If we have a lack of time to spend with family it stands to reason that there isn’t going to be much time left for friends either.

Dreams:- We will often sacrifice the life we would really prefer for the one that earns us the most income. While we may be offered our dream job we would have to turn it down in preference to the one that pays more. While we might wish to start our own business we can’t afford to take the risk.

Health:- Working long hours and trying to make time for private lives and for ourselves can be very stressful and stress is not good for your  health. Often on top of that our diet can suffer due to doing everything fast including food. Add  lack of exercise and you have a recipe for disaster.

There are many other things we sacrifice but these are a some of the most crucial and important ones. Unfortunately modern society seems to place so much more value on professional position, qualifications and status symbols than it does on family and personal happiness.

I am sure every person reading this has fallen into this trap to some degree. Be it working too hard and sacrificing too much or just working to surround yourself with stuff you just don’t need while there are far more satisfying things you could be doing. Either way it is worth giving some serious thought, and working out what is really important to you.

Item 333 of 365 less things

Computer parts and cables that are no longer needed but have too little value to sell on ebay. I will have to check out local computer recyclers to see if they would like to take them off our hands.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Being left to sleep in – It made up for the fact that I went to bed late
2. My ebay auctions are going well – Yes I finally got around to placing them.
3. I am going out to dinner and a show tonight – It will be nice to spend some time with my old work mates.
4. Having had the wisdom when young to give up the trimmings in order to stay home and raise our kids – That’s not to say we didn’t make other mistakes along the way where our money and time would have been better spent.
5. Liam getting out and about with his friends this weekend – He must have been getting bored sitting around the house and spending all his time with his parents.

Today I simply want to say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who sent thoughts, prayers and well wishes

for my son Liam when he was badly injured

in a bicycling accident in October.

I know that there were people praying for him

and wishing him well all over the world

and it was very comforting and heart warming for me.

Obviously the power of prayer and positive thinking worked as

he is doing very well and we are astounded at his remarkable recovery.

I will never forget how my readers all rallied around me

when the going was tough and the outcome looked bleak

and for that I am eternally grateful.

A special thank you to Cindy for coming to my aid

by filling in for me here at 365lessthings while I sat by his bedside.

Thanks to her we didn’t miss a beat and she got such a taste for it

I decided to offer her a weekly post and she accepted.

So welcome on board Cindy.

I know the readers are enjoying your contribution

as you are generating comments, tweets and links from readers all over.

Thank you again to everyone for your words, your wishes, your prayers

and for simply dropping by to read and comment on a regular basis.

From Colleen

Item 332 of 365 less things

Motorcycle posters that have hung around but not on walls for too long. I won’t miss them.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. You
2. Cows – Where would we be without dairy products. I am glad I am not lactose intolerant.
3. Recycling – It is nice to reuse or re-purpose things.
4. Summer dresses – So cool and free flowing.
5. Google – It is so easy to find out whatever you want to know these days.

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

I want you to take one minute now to do exactly as I say. Read the full set of instructions below and then act them out immediately before you forget…

1. Stop what you are doing.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Take 5 slow deep breaths.
4. Listen to the sounds around you.
5. Stay in the moment for one minute.
6. Open your eyes and read on. Slowly and deliberately.

Lately my mind has been all over the place flitting from one thing to another hardly taking time out to savour the moment. A couple of times I found myself really concentrating on what I was doing and it was a very good feeling. I slowed down, focused and took time to really complete my task to the best of my ability. I found myself actually enjoying these tasks even though they were chores like ironing, cooking and cleaning.

Instead of thinking negative thoughts like ‘I would rather be doing something else’ I honed my mind onto the positive feeling I could get out of the situation.

• Instead of rushing through the ironing like a crazed maniac I slowed my movements and really focused on pressing out each wrinkle. I gave myself  time to think what was the best way to lay the article of clothing across the ironing board to get the best result. I think I actually got finished sooner because often in my haste I iron the odd crease in by mistake which can take some effort to get out.

• When cooking I gave full attention to each step of the process. I prepared the ingredients ahead instead of trying to chop, measure and stir all at once while cleaning as I go. We all know what a disaster that can be.

• With the cleaning I focused my mind on how good it feels to have a clean and tidy home and how good each area looked when completed. I concentrated on one small task at a time and as a result didn’t find myself running up and down the stairs or between rooms extra times because I forgot what I went there for in the first place.

Basically I slowed down and savoured the moment. I know you may be thinking that you are a busy person and you can’t afford such a luxury but you really can. Have you ever heard the expressions “The more haste the less speed.” or “Haste makes waste.” I am sure they were words of wisdom quoted from experience. Not only can it be counter productive when you aren’t focused on what you are doing but there is a good chance you aren’t getting any pleasure out of it either.

I wrote this post late on Wednesday night after I have given up trying and let my husband do a guest post for me that day. It suddenly occurred to me that I couldn’t write because my head wasn’t in it so I took 5 deep slow breaths and listened to the crickets outside in the night. That was enough to bring my mind out of its fog and get me back on track.

So remember to take 5 refocus your mind and be in the moment. It is a good use of your time and you might actually find that is saves you time in the long run.

Item 331 of 365 less things

An old plastic tool box that no longer has a purpose for us so it went off to the thrift shop with a bunch of other stuff today.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Ceiling Fans – The weather is starting to warm up but the longer I can resist the aircon the better.
2. Having the time in my day to practice what I preach – I know I am very fortunate.
3. Hubby doing the thrift store run today – I usually do these myself but I was expecting a visitor so he went in my place.
4. My Daughter wishing us a happy Thanksgiving – via text message on her way to work.
   
5. How easy it is to do cleaning jobs around my home – I cleaned out and reorganised the pantry today and it took about 20 minutes because it was tidy and uncluttered to begin with.
   

Even though I enjoy all the comments I receive here at 365lessthings something about these five spoke to me this week.

Willow on Day 324 – I mop my floors on hands and knees… Read more

Cathryn on Day 327 – Balance is a good way to think about clutter… Read more

Deb J on Day 328 – …Black Friday is such a horror… Read more

Isabella on Day 325 – A friend at work, who’s partner is a psychologist… Read more

Isabella on Day 326– Its surprising the effect your decluttering has on others… Read more

Here are five posts I read this week that I thought had really good messages.

Art of Minimalism – Why we’re bored and how to fix it

Becoming Minimalist – The freedom of less

Zinger – Black Friday is coming hoarders beware

Be More With Less – Love more deeply mini mission

Art of Minimalism – The un-productivity manifesto

Item 230 0f 365 less things

yes we are getting rid of more storage containers. Don’t need them now and don’t want to ever need them again in the future.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Art – Some pieces suit my taste better than others but it’s good to have variety.
2. Affogato – What more could you need dessert and coffee all in one serve.
3. Smiles – There was an ad on TV just now with a smiling chimpanzee, it made me smile too.
4. Loyalty rewards for items you have to buy – Liam needed some art supplies today and due to how much we have spent at the store since Liam started art in high school we received $50 worth of free product. The bonus is that it isn’t clutter because it was all replacing used up supplies and these will get used up in turn soon enough.
5. Accents – The Scottish accent in particular. When I moved to America I thought that being surrounded by another accent I would actually hear that I sounded different and I was disappointed when I couldn’t. All the Americans loved it though and I must confess that I liked all the attention I received because of it. When I came back to Australia I was even more disappointed to be just like everyone else and not “special” any more.
   

A guest post by My Darling Husband, you can read more of his travel tales on his blog.

After a month of souvenir assaults in Italy, Colleen and I managed to return home with just four new items; a t-shirt for Liam, glass bead earrings for Colleen, a book of our Venice tour (included in the tour cost) and a wonderful etching of Florence purchased from a local artisan. They all have special memories attached to them.

Colleen’s earrings match the necklace she bought in Venice during our first visit there in 2005, the etching evokes the splendour of Florence and the book helps us relive our Venetian tour experience. While the t-shirt will always remind Colleen of my beautiful use of the Italian language until I ran out of vocabulary before finishing the transaction.

But we have many more memories from our romantic month immersed in Italian culture and history, and no tolerance left for knick knacks to remind us. So we use the two most valuable tools available to capture our memories; a camera and a pen.

Gelato in Florence

Travel Photography

We took close to a thousand photographs in Italy, and as I sort through them they remind me of great meals, local customs and the small differences that made Italy memorable. The key is to not only photograph the famous sights but to capture the seemingly mundane, your meals, the local shop displays or anything that stirs your interest or imagination. Try to tell a story with your photo, the locals flocked to one gelateria every afternoon and I tried to capture the atmosphere with this photo on the right.

Your best images can be shared online at social media websites like Flickr and Facebook or create a book using a print on demand service, like Blurb.

Keep a Journal

As you travel, record your thoughts and observations in a journal each day. Keep a small notebook and pen in your day bag or pocket to jot down notes then each evening transcribe and expand the detail in your main journal. There is no more powerful tool to remember your vacation, and by combining your words and images you will create a permanent record of your adventure. Then print it in a book like this one I made with Blurb:

European Vacation by Steve Madsen | Make Your Own Book

Find Experiences not Shopping

Many travellers are shuffled from shopping experience to shopping experience by their tour guides or the local tourist industry, and many of their purchases never see the light of day after the trip. Use your hard earned vacation money to have memorable experiences, hire a personal guide, attend a local concert or sporting event and get to know some of the local people. I vividly remember an hour spent mingling with locals on their piazza, and you will find your best vacation memories in similar places and eliminate your souvenir clutter as well.

Item 329 of 365 less things

One of the many souvenirs from our days living in Seattle. Proof that freebies are hard to resist and and soon become sentimental clutter.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Getting the cleaning out of the way quickly – Today was cleaning day and I had it all taken care of in less than three hours.
2. My hubby writing today’s post – It was 8:30pm and I couldn’t come up with anything to write about and he stepped in and saved the day.
3. Movies – We went to see the new Harry Potter movie today.
4. Freedom – Not all people throughout the world live with this luxury and the rest of us often take it for granted. Thank you to those who have lost their lives or have served time fighting to ensure that freedom for us.
5. Fun Memories – That T-shirt buying incident in Italy was hilarious. I nearly wet myself I laughed so much. It makes me chuckle now just thinking about it.
   

Written by:- Cindy Bogard

If you’re in a big hurry, just read this: 

Resist!

If you’re not in such a hurry, feel free to read on.

In the United States, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, which is on Thursday this week. Sadly, the website Answers.com defines Black Friday as “an unofficial American holiday”. Sad, not because the rest of you are missing out; sad because a day of shopping insanity has somehow become “an unofficial American holiday”.

So what is Black Friday? As I said, it’s the day after Thanksgiving and the official start to what’s called the holiday shopping season. (Spring, Summer, Fall, Holiday Shopping, Winter?) It’s called black because of traditional accounting notations: While debt is noted in red, profit is noted in black. Some businesses run “in the red” all year and don’t go “into the black” until the shopping mayhem begins the day after Thanksgiving.

Black Friday is a day of amazing sales and deep discounts. Some stores open as early as 4:00 am, with people staying up all night in the parking lot so they can be the first in the door, as the very best sales (aptly named “doorbusters”) are only available in limited quantities. In 2008, a worker at Wal-Mart was trampled to death in the frenzied crush of Black Friday.

Recently, a friend forwarded to me a website devoted to Black Friday (www.Black-Friday.net). They’re posting the circulars (advertisements) in advance on their site and boast over 100,000 fans on Facebook. They report that Kmart’s Black Friday circular is 44 pages and that  “We can’t stress enough how much we love this ad (Wal-Mart). There are tons of excellent deals and we think you will be very happy with it.”

Oh my. What’s a decluttering gal to think?

Resist!

If you really feel that you need or want a 47″ flat screen TV or a new laptop, don’t let a sale ad make the decision for you. Research your purchase. Think through your decision making. Don’t buy in haste. The same rules apply to shopping on Black Friday as to every other day. If you see what you want at an excellent price, and you can tolerate the bedlam (which I can’t), then fill up your thermos with coffee, stand in line all night long, and get your doorbuster deal, but don’t buy out the place just because there are sale ads plastered on every item in the store. Remember, the stores are desperate for you to buy; that doesn’t mean you need to be desperate to purchase.

Happy Thanksgiving

to all our American readers

May your Friday not be Black

Item 328 o9f 365 less things

A sentimental item for sure. An old cap from my husbands years in Malaysia. I have heard all the old stories so many times I am almost convinced I lived there too because they are so familiar.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. My hay fever seems to be going away at last.
2. Puzzles – they kept both Liam and I amused over the last month.
3. Watching a movie together – These nothing like a little family time.
4. Cindy agreeing to take on a weekly post spot. – Her post will appear on Wednesday in Australia which is Tuesdays in the US and somewhere in between for everyone else. Thanks Cindy!
5. Laughter – It is so much fun sharing the stories with Liam about the antics he got up to in the hospital. Like when he tried to order a cheese pizza from the florist kiosk.

Each person’s goal when it come to minimalism is very individual. I, for one, cannot ever see myself living with only 100 things as some minimalists suggest. In fact at this point in my journey I have no idea how many more items will leave my home before I am satisfied with the end result. It may be that as time goes by my embrace on this lifestyle could strengthen and I may detach myself  from even more of my belongings than I ever considered when I started. Who knows?

Being comfortable in the here and now with what is too many and what is too few is all I concern myself with. I want to keep working on weeding out the things in the too many category while not getting carried away and ending up with too few for my needs.

Find you own balance

Just as we may have ended up with too much stuff while trying to keep up with the “Have all” Joneses. We could now take it to the opposite extreme by trying to outdo the minimalist Joneses. My advice is to gather all the wisdom you can from all the sources you subscribe to on the subject of  minimalism, simplicity and decluttering but keep true to yourself. Don’t look at it as some kind of competition or feel obliged to get rid of your treasured possessions. Just learn as you go and evolve naturally to the level you are comfortable with. No one is keeping score.

Item 327 of 365 less things

“If in doubt read the instructions” is not so smart. Had I noticed the sticker that said wind up every 3 month maybe the batteries would not have died and these would still be usable. Lesson learned.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Artistic ability – Even if I am not using it much lately.
2. I think I have found a good dentist – It only took me three years. The last one we used looked more like a dental museum.
3. Being financially secure – That is even more important in times of crisis.
4. Chicken – How many ways can you cook chicken? Tonight we are having roast chicken and veggies. Mmm mmm? Liam however is having pureed veggies and gravy. Not so mmmmm.
5. A nice message from a precious friend

Our house is slowly taking shape. We eliminated another piece of furniture yesterday, well almost, it is now sitting in the garage waiting to go on ebay instead of our living room.  One less thing to dust Yah hoo! It has actually been a great piece of furniture and has been with us since we first got married 23 years ago. It has been in and out of storage twice and therefore in service for 12 out of those 23 years. All that being said we just don’t need it any more and I am sure someone else will be happy to take it off our hands.

Over the last twelve months we have replaced our lounge suite (it was sagging in the seats) our bed (which squeaked badly, not good with teenagers in the house) and a desk (the new one is more functional than it’s predecessor) all at staff discount of course, the only advantage that my last job afforded me. When I say replaced that is exactly what happened, out with the old and in with the new.

Also since moving in three and a half years ago we have removed other furniture from our house – a single bed, a sofa bed, a wardrobe, a coffee table  and a bookcase. All of these items were excess to our needs and in same cases full of stuff that was also excess to our needs.

As a result of all these changes there is space opening up all around us.

• Physical space – More room to move and breath. None of that claustrophobic feeling of being hemmed in by our possessions.
• Mental space – Knowing that we have less cumbersome possessions tying us down making it harder to pick up and move on when we feel like spreading our wings so to speak.
• Time space – Pockets of time freed up in our household routine where we don’t have to take care of all those items that were excess to our needs or wants for that matter.

It is a very liberating feeling. Liberating not just having off loaded all this stuff but also having no desire to replace it with other stuff that will only weigh us down. Nothing comes into our home any more unless something else goes to make way for it. That doesn’t mean that we buy stuff all the time and get rid of perfectly good stuff to make room for it. It also doesn’t mean that we never buy things just  because we want it. It means that we are still reducing our belongings but whenever we do consider buying something new there is a lot of thought going into the purchase before a decision is made.

We are content, comfortable and free and our home reflects that. And I am not even finished yet.

Item 326 of 365 less things

This is the piece of furniture that as of yesterday is awaiting a new home

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. A sunny day to wash the bed linen.
2. Space – I can feel it round me no matter where I am in my home and it isn’t a big house.
   
3. Tissues with aloe vera – They are way kinder on your nose during hay fever season.
4. Having a grocery store nearby – I have been very forgetful over the last month and am always having to go back for something.
   
5. Life returning to almost normal – There are a lot of appointment to attend and life isn’t quite the same as it was before that horrible month which will never be forever etched our memories but today I only had to deliver Liam’s washing to his bedroom not to the hospital.

Colosseum, Rome Italy

In a guest post on Day 250, my husband discussed our minimalist approach to travel packing and how it helps us enjoy more freedom on vacation. The guest post and our recent trip has inspired him to revive his travel blog at Exit Row Seat, and he is relaunching it this Monday.

Our aim at Exit Row Seat is to create a community of travellers to share travel experiences, and find the very best the world has to offer us.

You can read his launch announcement here where he linked some of his favourite posts from the travel archives. I hope you find some travel inspiration there.