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 … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2010
Day 333 What we sacrifice in the pursuit of stuff
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 … [Read more...]
Day 332 Simple Sunday (Saturday for some)
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 … [Read more...]
Day 331 Take 5
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... Stop what you are doing. Close your eyes. Take 5 slow deep breaths. Listen to the sounds around you. Stay in the moment for one minute. 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 … [Read more...]
Day 330 This weeks favourite five
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 … [Read more...]
Day 329 How to Bring Home the Memories without the Clutter
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 … [Read more...]
Day 328 Black Friday
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 … [Read more...]
Day 327 Not too many not too few
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 … [Read more...]
Day 326 Taking shape
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 … [Read more...]
An Invitation to our Travel Blog at Exit Row Seat
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. … [Read more...]