I found an enjoyable way to declutter some more of my craft supplies. I put together a card making kit for my niece and nephew after receiving a handmade card from my niece for my birthday this year. How cute are they?!!!!!!!!!!
My Gorgeous Niece and Nephew
Today is a good day for decluttering excess useless knick knacks. Go for it!
Last Saturday I asked my readers to suggest blog posts they would like us to tackle here on 365 Less Things  and this one from SHIRLEY DO was the most unique yet sensitive of them all. For the full benefit of this comment please also read the responses from Shirley’s fellow 365’ers. Sadly it may be you one day who is faced with this decision and it pays to be prepared. If there is anyone out there who has had experience with this situation and is keen to share there experience and advice please let me know as I would be more than happy for you to write a guest post about it.
Lynn had a great bag purge read about it here.
Lena gets it and she is so young. Check out the revelation she recently had here.
This is the attitude I want from anyone who insists on buying me gifts. Thank any Spendwisemom.
This comment from Katharine is a good example of how hard it is to let go of certain things and how important it is that you do.
And this comment also from Katharine outlines a very good point to all you crafters out there. I know we have had this discussion before and many of you are also this wise but that isn’t always the case the topic is worth revisiting.
A new give away site for my Australian readers. Hopefully it will catch on a become popular as sometimes I find Freecycle to be a little difficult to access at times. www.freetreasure.com.au
Here is a link to Project 333 for anyone interested in giving it a try.
Here is a blog I don’t think I have linked to before ~Â www.extraorganized.com. Check it out.
Here is a documentary about planned obsolescence that you might ~ I was going to say enjoy but I really think be appalled would be more to the point. The link was sent to me by Chrissie in Germany. There are a lot of subtitles but you (my English only speaking readers) will get the full picture even if there are sections where English of any kind is missing. I will also warn you it is long. www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5DCwN28y8o
If you have excess tools that are unnecessary double ups or just never used why not declutter those today.
This was the closest thing to a tool I had to declutter today. It is a stationery tool I suppose so it counts, right? I discovered on closer inspection that not only did we not need this but it also does not work properly so it was a complete waste of space in our home.
Two Hole Punch
Autumn / Fall ~ I love the mild months when the days are cooler and sunny at the same time. I would like to live in a place where they have two seasons Autumn and Spring. But I am grateful for the fairly good weather we get nearly all year round right here where I live now.
Last Saturday Bronwyn made this request in regard to what to do with product packaging. Since I have some experience with this issue I figured I would jump in immediately and  write a post about it.
As anyone who has been reading 365 Less Things for some time will know, my husband’s job requires us to move every now and again, sometimes interstate, sometimes overseas. So as you can imagine I have had some experience with moving. What I do know is that there are some items that are best moved in the packaging they arrived in. Items such as televisions, computers, collectables, printers, basically anything expensive and fragile or precious you wouldn’t want broken. I am fortunate that my husband’s work also pays for a professional removal and anything broken is repaired or compensated for at its current value. Getting paid out for a used ten year old television isn’t going to buy you a replacement in todays market though and the inconvenience of placing a claim and finding a replacement is frankly a pain in the behind. So needless to say we keep the boxes for television, desktop computer and screen, collectables, our art pieces (if they came with one), DVD player, Playstation and the like. We don’t keep boxes for things like the kettle, the iron, glasses, blenders and the like.
But most people don’t move often so I can’t see that there is any need to keep boxes except for warranty purposes. For instance I wouldn’t throw out the box my son’s playstation came in while it is still under warranty. But under normal circumstance (which I don’t live in) I would throw away any warranty forms and boxes once the warranty period has expired. Even the manuals aren’t necessary these days because you can usually access that information on-line.
I would also check with the manufacturers warranty requirement before bothering to keep the boxes. Some items are repaired on site, some have local repair agents that you can drop the item off too while others will have to be mailed away. Some companies arrange the pickup and send packaging to put the item in when warranty work is required. Just check you warranty forms and call the phone number supplied if in doubt. One thing I love about Apple products is if you live in a big enough city there is a Apple Store nearby that can take care of all your warranty needs. I wish it were this simple with all electronic products.
I have included below a photo of the under stair cupboard in our garage so you can see how much space is taken up with the boxes we feel necessary to keep for our circumstances. Aside from the few non-box items in the cupboard everything you can’t see filling up the back spaces is also boxes.
We have put the foam and packing for several boxes into one large box which has allowed us to flatten a couple of big boxes which are hidden behind the garage shelving. Luckily the foam is moulded with the product ID and instruction such as left top, right bottom so it is easy to identify which item they belong to and how they fit that item. I know this because recently we decluttered boxes that belonged to some items we have now passed on to new homes.
Would I love to be rid of these boxes? You bet I would and if I were Bronwyn most of them would be out of here. In fact I asked my husband this question ~ “If we were to find the right smaller house to buy and there was no storage space for the boxes in the garage, what would we do?” His response was they would just have to go once we have made the move. Sometimes you just have to take your chances. I suppose in a way these boxes are “I might need it some day” items. But “some day” can turn out to be just around the corner for us.
Declutter those handbags that you don’t use or love anymore.
This is the closest thing to a handbag I have to declutter at the moment. It is a little leather money pouch. I lost it once when it had about $140 in, the proceeds of a boot sale I participated in prior to moving way back in about 1993. Fortunately a honest person handed it in to the police. I haven’t used it in a long time so it can go.
Leather Money Pouch
Friendly strangers.
“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
Cindy
Last week, I talked about shopping at the Goodwill, and we all felt a bit of dread: what happens to our stuff when we let it go? I know the definitive answer to this question: It’s not yours any more.
I came to this perhaps obvious realization last week. For years, I have had a queen size air mattress with a leak that I have never found. I’ve tried to find it while using it (and slowly, slowly getting closer to the ground), and I tried to find it earlier this year when I blew it up just for the purpose of locating the leak. I was not successful. So last week I decided enough was enough, and I offered it away for free. A friendly fellow named Michael claimed it. He said he was going camping in two weekends, and he would find the leak if he could, and toss it away if he couldn’t. Toss it away!?! Yes, dear readers, I almost snatched the thing back.
Pretty idiotic, huh? I hadn’t found the leak, I hadn’t fixed it, and yet I’m holding him to a standard that I, myself, did not achieve. Perhaps I think it’s better if it just sits around my house for a few more years, not being fixed. How ridiculous, yet how true. Part of the reason I hadn’t thrown it out is that it’s a giant piece of plastic (plastic = bad!), and he seemed so relaxed about tossing it, if need be. But, again, how ridiculous of me to judge.
That’s when it occurred to me: Once you let something go, it’s not yours any more.
I’m sure at times when Colleen is working at the thrift store, she see people whom she recognizes as regular shoppers and bargain hunters, and she may be secretly tempted to empty their carts when their backs are turned. But she, and others, have donated those goods. They don’t belong to their original owner any more. Yes, I think it’s important to try and find the best home for your cast off goods: a friend, neighbor, willing Ebay purchaser, etc., but once those things leave your possession, they’re gone. You can’t force the person who accepts your goods to use them to their highest and best use, especially since you, yourself, were not doing this.
Sometimes we even tell ourselves that we really value something that we’re getting rid of, so we want the next person to demonstrate to us that they’re going to value it just like we did. Or maybe we regret a purchase and know that we wasted our money, so we hope that the next person will use it so much or get so much pleasure out of the item that it will somehow make up for our bad purchase. Well, let’s face the facts, we gave it away or sold it because we no longer valued it or it wasn’t right for us, so don’t expect someone else to fix that mistake for you.
You bought it; you shouldn’t have. You’ve outgrown it; that happens. Your interests have changed; that’s natural. You inherited it; you don’t love it. Do your best to find an appropriate home and then let it go. Because you can’t control something that doesn’t belong to you any more.
This basketball souvenir makes a nice change from baseball souvenir clutter but clutter it is none-the-less. I donated it to the thrift store and it sold before my shift was done that day.
Basketball Souvenir Clutter
Declutter dishes that you have too many of.Â
Making the decision to get rid of something I have been considering for a while.
“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
On Saturday Jane requested for me to write a post based on “Clothing. Buying (and only keeping) clothing for the person /lifestyle I aspire to be verses the person/lifestyle I really am/have.
I am intrigued with this suggestion, especially since she used the word aspire in it. I would always advise clothes shopping to stay within the guidelines of a style the person is comfortable with unless they are ready for a change. And even then I think I would ease myself into that change an outfit at a time. I would think it is a risk to step outside of ones comfort zone too hastily or you could end up with a closet full of clothes you are unlikely to wear. AKA aspirational clutter.
As I have been giving a lot of thought to clothes lately this post is going to be a little self-indulgent because I would like your views on the subject. I am just about to embark on a vacation to the USA where I intend to replenish my worn, tired wardrobe. From experience I know that variety and pricing is usually more appealing over there.
I am hopeful that I will not be forced to choose between outfits that would have me looking like mutton dressed up as lamb, a forty seven year old grandma trying to hide those extra pounds or having to pay through the teeth for something in between those two styles. Which is what I feel are my only choices here and now. I am too old for mini skirts and two young and trim to cover myself up with billowy blouses and high wasted elasticised pants and I detest the latest money grabbing fashion that would have me purchasing five layers of thin knit fabric pieces in order to build one outfit. I have a word for that fashion ~ CLUTTER ~ and clutter is bad enough when it is weighing your house down, I certainly don’t want it weight me down physically or financially. Not to mention the muscles I would probably pull with the contortion act required to get it all those layers on on top of each other.
Now with that off my chest I am going to run by you what I think sounds sensible when it comes to fitting out or culling a wardrobe.
Know and shop for what suits your lifestyle ~ I spend a lot of my time at home, blogging, cooking, cleaning, gardening and the like. I go out for casual coffee dates and sometimes dinner with my girlfriends. I grocery shop and sometime need things at the mall. My husband and I eat out on Saturdays and fine dining is also enjoyed on occasion. We go for rides on our motorbike on weekends and we take long walks as exercise. This is about all I need to cater to when it comes to my wardrobe aside from the odd function for hubby’s work or birthday celebration, wedding etc.
Get the ratio of clothing to activity balanced ~ Since I spend most of my time at home it stands to reason I would have a lot of comfortable casual clothes. For me that isn’t track pants and shapeless T’s. I prefer jeans, capris and a variety of tops. These outfits also cover grocery shopping, my volunteer job at the thrift store and even the walks with my hubby (Hence why mine are so worn and tired). My next most common activity is casual dining with hubby and friends. My nicer jeans and capris cross over into this activity with the better of my tops, plus I have a couple of skirts, three summer dresses and some leggings and two tunics dresses. The last thing to cover is fine dining, weddings, parties etc. I have one little black dress, one, maxi dress, one gorgeous evening gown some good long pants and a couple of dressier tops. Your needs would likely be quite different to mine and if you don’t know what they are it is time you figured it out. Take some time to think about what you do and what you feel comfortable in doing these activities and you will soon come up with a good clothing inventory right for you.
Chose styles and colours that suit your figure and complexion ~ Sometimes is pays to have an honest friend with good taste around to help with this. No matter what size you are you can’t change your shape. I am flat chested, I know this so I don’t wear low plunging necklines as there is nowhere to plunge to. That would look ridiculous on me. I also have red hair so no shade of orange will ever adorn this body. I also have spider vanes on my leg and I am 47 so mini skirts are also out. It pays to know that tight leg pants only accentuate a large bottom. Midriff tops don’t look good when you have belly rolls no matter how young you are.  Basically, just because something is the latest fashion or it looks good on someone else or the mannequin in the store  doesn’t mean it suits all figures, sizes or age groups for that matter.
It is best if you can mix and match ~ I usually keep the bottoms to my outfits neutral in colour, black, beige, white, grey, brown or denim as these colours go with just about any shade and colour of tops. My jackets and cardigans are also mostly neutral so they can be worn with most everything I own. The more that things can mix and match the less items you need. And if certain items are in the dirty clothes basket what’s left in the closet can still go together.
You can’t go wrong with classic cuts ~ It might sound boring but pants and jackets in classic cuts will stand the test of time and stay in fashion for just about ever. Put the emphasis on the petty top/blouse or accessory that goes with it. The little black dress is also a winner. You can dress it up with a splash of colour for fun. I have a red wrap and red strappy shoes for just such occasions.
Shoes need not be numerous ~ I just went and counted my shoes knowing full well I would be embarrassed by the total. I have twenty pairs of shoes.
As you can see from this list I could easily manage with half these shoes and pretty much do because half of them are rarely used. Mostly mistakes of the past when I was willing to sacrifice style of comfort. Of my shoes I use the comfortable, versatile, basic styles the most. Most of which are black, brown or tan. I find these colours go with just about everything. The red pair are my indulgent splash of colour and will stay.
My advice is stick to your comfort zone when it comes to shoes because they are the ones that will get used the most. Take into account the clothes you have to wear them with and stay as neutral in colour as possible. Why not lash out on that one crazy pair just to keep it interesting.
Splurge a little on impractical items ~ 90% practicality with 10% indulgence sound sensible ~ keeping in mind that practicality doesn’t have to be drab and boring.
Having written all that I have confirmed my clothing shopping list. I need…
I have been watching out for most of the clothing items listed about in both the thrift store and the shops for the last year with no joy so hopefully I will have some success in the US. If not I will settle with what I have for now as I am not settling for second best unless I get really desperate.
What do you think? Am I on the right track? And Jane if I still didn’t manage to answer your question please elaborate more in the comment here and we will see if I or the other readers can help.
Here are one of those pairs of uncomfortable shoes mentioned above. In keeping with this post and today’s mini mission they will be the first of many to go I am sure. I hope to be more discerning in the future. I prefer to wear out my shoes rather than waste money on bad choice.
One pair of uncomfortable shoes gone
Dark chocolate and orange Maggie Bear icecream. I am now going to have a bowl to reward myself for finally finishing this blog post. Then I had better come back and proof read it with a clearer mind.
“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
Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.
Some clutter items are just odd things we have no need for anymore while others we just have far too many of a similar thing. This week we will attempt to reduce clutter that we have too many of. See if you can declutter more than one of each of the following categories.
Monday – Books
Tuesday – Shoes
Wednesday – Dishes
Thursday – Handbags
Friday – Tools
Saturday – Knick-knacks
Sunday – Toys
This guitar tab book was sold on ebay for my son. That is one more thing gone and a little extra cash in his pocket.
AC/DC Guitar Tabs Book
Great service at a local Thai restaurant, I have never had the waitress spoon the rice in my plate before and not only that she returned to do it again when she noticed my plate was empty. Now that is service.
Hi everyone, it’s Saturday again, they come around so fast. This week I just want to ask a simple question. Â Actually I want some post ideas but also ones that are of interest to my readers. So the question is…
What would like me to write about in an upcoming post on 365 Less Things?
Please confine your answers to 100 words or less. Thank you.
Being as I have been away for the last couple of days so I haven’t had much time to get through all the wonderful comment received. So my list is a little short this week. I do appreciate each and every one of them though and look forward to reading and responding tomorrow.
How frustrating this situation must have been for Becky. But she found the perfect solution in the end.
I loved this story from Moni. I am not really a lover of gift registries but they do have their good points. Avoiding clutter gifts would be the main advantage.
Here is a response I wrote to a comment from the post Awkward Clutter which is very relevant to the Baby Clutter post. Read Lena’s response as well, it proves the idea as valid.
Lynn has been sharing her declutterin skills with her son in the link ~Â themamageek.net-noahs-plushie-purge
I was directed to this TED talk by 365 Grateful, both links are worth a look. Being grateful each day can change your mind to automatically look to the positive.
This is an older TED talk but the message is worth listening to over and over again.
Barry Schwartz lets us know by no uncertain means that multiple choices aren’t always a good thing. I can so relate to this.
I have included this link that Amy added in comments on the Baby Clutter post in case you missed it.
I know I know, they just keep on coming. Another baseball collectable, this one was sold on eBay and has returned home to the great state of Washington.
Yes, another baseball collectable
For the wonderful couple of days spend in Sydney with my darling for our 25th wedding Anniversary. He is the best vacation planner.
My post on Tuesday regarding clutter foisted on you from other well intentioned people inspired one readers to send me an email. I am so excited for this reader, even though she sees a potential problem looming I am thrilled for her. Not only because of her happy situation but because she has already discovered the joys of living with less before starting a family. What a great opportunity to for getting it right. My children were 18 & 20 went I embarked on my more minimalist lifestyle and although I am sure they will tell you I was a miser there were a lot of things I could have done differently and better.
Here is what our reader had to say…
“…I’m pregnant with our first and although I’m really happy about that I’m already getting anxious about the huge amount of stuff I see other new parents drowning in. I know you need some stuff for the baby, but since when did baby’s start to need stuff in stead of love, care and attention? (and food and clean diapers of course) I’m really interested if and how other readers have resisted the flow of stuff into the house as it seems that I allready get overwhelmed by the stuff offered or just plain dumped on me…”
When I had my first bub almost 23 years ago now I couldn’t afford to lavish her with stuff. We had gone from double income no kids to one income, a baby one month later and threw a home mortgage in on top of that seven months later. Luckily I found having baby to be relatively inexpensive because I really didn’t have to provide much except breast milk. Honestly the grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends provided just about all I needed. I let them know what I required and they gave it to us as gifts. Of course there was also lots of stuff given that we didn’t really need but in those days I was happy to receive anything and everything. I am much wiser now and so is my reader.
The beauty of pregnancy is that it takes, all going well, nine months to arrive at the wonderful day of delivery. That is nine months to prepare for the happy day. In this case that is nine months to let people know that it is important to you to maintain a more minimalist lifestyle even with a baby in the household. Now is the time to make it clear to people that you do not want to raise your child surrounded by unnecessary stuff.
I would suggest that mothers-to-be investigate what products they will need as the bare minimum to take care of baby from day one. Narrow it down to the specifics of what brands you prefer. Then let it be known to those around you who will not be able to resist (namely grandmothers-to-be) that these are the items you would really appreciate receiving. It takes the guess work out of gift giving for your loved ones and hopefully will appease their need to adorn baby with gifts without unnecessary clutter build up.
My reader is so right, there are only so many things that she will really need to begin with. The only things essential to a babies survival is food, clothing, shelter to be kept clean, have somewhere to sleep and last but certainly not least love.
Here is a list of things I would think to be essential for when baby arrives…
Correct me if I am wrong but outside of that short list everything else is either optional or a requirement brought on by special circumstances. And this list gives lots of options for gift giving ideas.
Without wanting to sound melodramatic or pessimistic I personally don’t think it is advisable to acquire anything but the absolute essentials for bringing baby home prior to the birth. And even restraint should be shown to acquire those items until the last couple of months. It is unthinkable but unfortunately there is no guarantee that everything will go well. If all else fails this is a good point to make to those people who will try to insist on purchasing items for you in advance or who bombard you with all their consumerist ideas on what you  “absolutely will need” for you baby.
Now is the time to set the guidelines as to how you want to raise your child, without excess or unnecessary gadgets, thing-a-ma-gigs, fluff and nonsense. In a non-consumerist environment that respects nature and you and your child’s sense of identity. Stick to your ideals regardless of what others might think ~ because there is a good chance they are wrong ~ and if people do insist of endowing you with stuff you don’t need feel free to find it a new home. There are no shortage of people out there who would go without otherwise who would appreciate your kind donation.
Our reader would love to hear her fellow 365’ers views on this subject.
Shopping for craft supplies is like shopping for baby supplies ~ you only need what you can use at the time. There is no need to stock up for the future. And once the items are not longer necessary pass them on to someone who might need them.
The reader who was the inspiration behind this post. I congratulate you and wish you all the very best for the future.
“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
Cindy
My thrift-store shopping girlfriends, Holly, Natalie, and I hit The Goodwill Outlet last month. Goodwill, I believe, is the most common thrift store in the United States. In Austin, the Outlet is where everything not sold at the neighborhood stores goes to die (at least that’s how I think of it). It’s a massive, one room warehouse with another massive room for processing goods, and a separate area for the local offices of Goodwill – in total, a 124,200-square-foot (11,538 square meters) building.
There’s definitely a “last chance” quality to the store. Everything is put in waist-high, shallow big blue bins that are probably 4 foot by 5 foot. The merchandise is divided into clothes (probably half of the merchandise), books, and housewares. Everything is sold for $1.39 a pound. You literally push your cart onto a floor scale, and it gets weighed.
The blue bins are exchanged on a regular basis. I’m guessing that each bin is out for only about 3Â hours before it is rolled away, and that’s it. Get it now, or it’s gone.
While some of the items are still in great condition, much of the merchandise has a slightly pick over quality to it; after all, it’s already been at a regular Goodwill store for a month or so, and it made me sad to watch the bins of housewares literally being dumped, sometimes accompanied with the sounds of glass breaking. There are clearly people there who are shopping professionally – one carts was filled with just VHS tapes, another filled with just books, plus plenty of folks who are either stocking up on clothing for selling at flea markets or in the used clothing markets in Mexico.
One disadvantage of the pricing system is that some of the housewares, which can be quite heavy, might now be more expensive than they were originally priced at the Goodwill. I considered buying a large set of Thomas the Train items, but because they’re wooden, they’re heavy, and the price was $40. That’s too much to risk on reselling.
Besides just being boggled by the amount of stuff, the strongest impression I left with was a desire to do more to place my no-longer-needed items into loving home, rather than sending them to the thrift store. I’m sure the person who donated the Thomas the Train set or the never used set of napkins never imagined they’d end up in the “last call” bin, and after 3 hours, they’re gone for good.
Not long into my first year of decluttering I sold all of my kids ski gear on ebay, or at least I thought I did. I somehow managed to miss this jacket it must have been hiding in a different closet. Well it is sold now. Hopefully I also have a buyer for my husband’s and my ski gear too. Fingers crossed.
My Daughter's Ski Jacket
“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
Subscribe by RSS