On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

I like this little story from Debbie in Alberta about her Freebie decluttering effort. It just goes to prove you don’t know how things will work out until you give it a shot. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

I loved how Jane’s kindness reaped an unexpected reward in this comment that she left on Friday. Seeing how other people live can be food for thought about your own surroundings.

I think Sanna found her own solution to or at least cause of her messy kitchen in this comment she left in response to Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom. If laziness is the cause the solution is obvious.

The readers had a lot of fun in response to Moni’s Tea Chest Challenge on Tuesday. It was Holly’s answer that I liked the most because she is almost living this situation at the moment and yet her answer was so simple and that is what it was all about I thought. Keep it simple. If I were to find myself in this situation I would use it as an opportunity to see what I could do without.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Here is the latest interview from Mohamed Tohami @ Midway Simplicity

People often think that minimalist living means boring spaces but that isn’t the case. Here is an article with 5 tips for stylish minimalist décor.

If you ever need a reminder that you shouldn’t over consume this is it.

20-Quick-Ways-to-Get-Clutter-Free

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a wad of papers ~ out of date bills, tax papers, manuals or warranties…

Today’s Declutter Item

Here is a little more of the craft clutter that left my house last month. This lot went straight into the recycling bin.

More Craft Clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Feeling more normal every day. The side affects of having an operation are beginning to wear off. I hate to think about the cocktail of drugs they pump into a person’s body to keep them oblivious to what is going on during an operation but my goodness it is better than the alternative. Ether or a good swig of whisky really wasn’t all that effective. 😉 Modern medicine, now who isn’t grateful for that!

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

The Freebie Box

A couple of weeks back Sanna left a comment about how she used the Freebie Box method for the first time and was surprised and delighted how quickly the stuff disappeared. I was a little surprised that she hadn’t tried this method before so I decided to write about it today thinking that perhaps I had taken it for granted that everyone knew about this idea and didn’t need any coaching on the subject. Then there is the Freebie Boxes bigger cousin ~ Curb Side Decluttering ~ which is yet another useful weapon in the declutterers arsenal for getting rid of things quickly.

The Freebie Box

I is as simple as having a cardboard box, writing the word FREE on it, filling it with things you want to give away and putting it in a prominent position where people will wander by and hopefully help themselves to its contents. use your imagination as to where to places the box but here are a few suggestions.

• In the foyer or your apartment building
• In a safe position on the side walk in front of your house or flat.
• On the break table at your work.
• Out front of your garage sale.

The amount you put in the box is only limited to how big your box is. You can also top up the box (add more things) as it starts to empty if you have more to offer. Make sure the word FREE is prominent so people know they are welcome to help themselves. Just remember if you are putting it outside only do so on a fine day, be mindful of any change in the weather and bring the box in at night time as weather conditions can change rapidly. Also make sure placing the box out will not risk injury to others or will be breaking any tenant or local government bi-laws if that is of concern to you.

Curbside Decluttering

This method of quick and easy decluttering is more for those larger items that you want to give away. I have used this method many times myself. I managed to declutter my BBQ, a trampoline, furniture and timber this way just to name a few. I make up a sign with FREE written on it that is easy to read from cars passing by, place it on the item, cart the item out to the footpath, place it at the curbside, go back inside and wait for a taker. This works well for me as I live on a reasonably busy street. If you live on a quieter street you might want to make up bigger signs to place on a pole at the nearest crossroad stating “Free Whatever This Way âž”” with the arrow pointing in the direction of your house. Please remember to remove the signs once the item has gone, not only because it would be very frustrating for people who go out of their way to follow it and find nothing at the end but also because it litters up the neighbourhood. One of my pet hates is people who don’t bring in their old garage sale signs.

Just like the Freebie Box decluttering method make sure you take the weather into account when using the Curbside decluttering method. Only put things out on fine days and keep vigilant about changes in the weather and bring the items in at night if they haven’t been claimed.

It is as easy as that.

CAUTION:~ Please don’t use either of these methods to dump useless stuff, nobody would want, out on the street. This is meant to be a quick way to find new homes for your stuff not a way to avoid haulage and tip fees. I see evidence of this all to often around my neighbourhood and it is infuriating. Be mindful about putting sofa’s out on the street also I have witnessed people coming along and taking the cushions for their pets and leaving the now useless shell of the sofa sitting there. Donate to charity or using Freecycle.org are two very effective ways to find new homes for items that are still in reasonable condition. 

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter A worn out or outgrown clothing item.

Today’s Declutter Item

I believe these are the last of the ski gloves hiding around my home. I wish I could say the same of ski jackets but I am working on that. They aren’t worn out or outgrown, just not needed any more.

Ski Gloves

“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

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

Early last year, I wrote a post about The Black Hole. You probably have one in your house. It’s the place where all clutter tends to accumulate . . . and never leave. Like the black hole in astronomy, it has such a strong gravitational force that even light cannot escape it.

I confess, I too have a Black Hole in my house: my gigantic kitchen island.

7′ of kitchen island and not a bit of junk in sight

It doesn’t look like a Black Hole, you may be thinking. You’re right. It doesn’t anymore. Anymore being the key word here. The half in the foreground seemed to always have a stray napkin, maybe a glass or two, and a book or purse (or both) from my eldest daughter. The far half had, well . . . everything that A Black Hole of the Flat Surfaces accumulates: random school papers, lone art projects, hair do-dads, some pens and pencils, the cord to the laptop (and maybe the laptop) – all sorts of random junk.

I tried to enforce the rule that the island had to be completely cleared off twice a week, but I wasn’t a very good enforcer. Besides, half the stuff was probably mine. Then I struck upon a completely different approach: We went cold turkey.

For those of you not familiar with this term, Wikipedia defines cold turkey as  “the actions of a person who abruptly gives up a habit or addiction rather than gradually easing the process through gradual reduction.” It is often used to described abruptly giving up drugs, alcohol or cigarettes.  But in my case, it meant abruptly giving up cluttering a spot that had always been a favorite clutter attractor.

We cleared everything off the island, even the useful and island-appropriate things such as the fruit bowl and the salt and pepper. It was kept completely bare, except when being used, for weeks. Seeing it completely clean, day after day, began to be the right mental picture. After a couple of weeks, we put the fruit, salt and pepper, and butter dish back on the table. I was a little nervous that this might be an invitation for these items, like crazy teenagers, to have a big party and invite all their friends over, but it wasn’t. (Probably because unlike the party in my mind, Mom was supervising.)

The island has stayed clean now for a month. When someone does leave miscellaneous this-and-that on it, it’s obvious who it belongs to, and it doesn’t stay there for long.

Do you have an area in your house that needs to go cold turkey?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a book or two.

Today’s Declutter Item

This magazine is the closest thing to a book that I have to declutter at the moment.

Rolling Stone Magazine

“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

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

I love games that use imagination, so let’s play a game.   A friend of a friend, six times removed had the opportunity to move to an island on a two year volunteer construction project a few years ago, but there was a catch…..apart from their checked baggage and their carry-on luggage, they were only allowed one tea chest of belongings to be shipped in advance.

They were given accommodation which included a table and chairs, a double bed and one set of drawers, a two seater sofa and a 14 inch tv, no DVD player.   The kitchen would have a stove/oven, basic toaster and electric jug, 2 pots and 1 frying pan, a basic dinner set and some glasses and mugs.  No dishwasher, no microwave. The laundry has a washing machine but no dryer, there is an ironing board but no iron.   No linens or duvets included.

I have decided rather than be sent to an island that has primitive or extreme conditions, I am going to send the 365’ers to Norfolk Island as the weather conditions sound quite even, the history very interesting and all rather civilised.  Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, though it has much stronger ties to Australia than New Zealand. Do a quick google of general info and a search on google images and I’m sure you’ll agree that it wouldn’t be too much of a hardship to live there for two years. English is the common language although there is a local patois amongst the islanders. Population 2,302.    Supply ships arrive regularly and technology reasonably up to date. There are plenty of shops on Norfolk including a department store. I will admit that I have never been to Norfolk Island but it is definitely on my to do list.

So here is where the game begins – what would you take? You have your baggage allowance per person of two pieces at max 23 kilos each or 50.6 pounds.    You have your usual carry-on luggage which is roughly 7 kilos plus a handbag or laptop case because I am going to be kind and let you travel with the full allowance of economy rather than the budget-budget option. Plus you have your tea chest that is being shipped over which is 61x51x41cm or 24x20x16 inches.   There was no mention of weight on the tea chest and this is only an imaginary game so we won’t get too hung up over details with that.

I’m not going to put too many rules or perimeters on this game but I will remind you that you will be a volunteer for two years, so you won’t have the income to buy expensive items over there but you will have a small salary that will cover your basic living costs.

The friend of a friend who actually had this experience, struggled with this as she had a large well stocked home– but I think this will be easy for the 365’ers.   If you want to take your partner/husband/wife on this imaginary trip, of course they can come along, they can have their own luggage allowance but sorry the tea chest size doesn’t change.   You don’t have to be an imaginary volunteer construction worker, you can be an imaginary volunteer whatever it is you do worker if that has any bearing on what you would pack.

So what would you pack?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a pair of shoes.

Today’s Declutter Item

Here is my home decor item to be decluttered today. If I am recall correctly my husband bought me this on a trip to London once. It was very pretty and has adorned different houses and different area of those houses for many years now. However I have struggled to find a good place for it in this house so it is time to move it on to someone who might love it for some more years to come.

Framed Decor Item

“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

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

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.

Today there is no gimmick to the mini missions just plain old simple decluttering. Just find one item to match the  description provided in the daily missions below. It you don’t have such a thing just declutter something else that suits you.

Monday – A home decor item.

Tuesday – A pair of shoes.

Wednesday – A book or two.

Thursday – A worn out or outgrown clothing item.

Friday – A wad of papers ~ out of date bills, tax papers, manuals or warranties…

Saturday – Something from the kitchen

Sunday –  Some kind of hobby or craft item.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

This candle was sitting in a bowl on a chest of drawers in my guest room. I felt it was one too many things adorning the surfaces in that room so off it goes to the thrift shop.

A candle from the guest room

Something I Am Grateful For Today

The joys of maintaining a decluttered home. With less stuff on surfaces and less surfaces in general there is less to dust.

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

The following story was sent to me by Madeleine, one of our fellow long time 365ers from Guinea in Africa. I have written of many ways to decide whether to keep or let go of items in your home but this one is unique to say the least. Without further adieu please enjoy…

Madeleine’s Story

A few months ago, I decided to check if I could declutter something from my kitchen, I looked at the ustensils, and asked myself : do I really use this thing ? I answered yes for everything, but a long wooden spoon. I decided not to take a quick decision, but to wait a few weeks, and see if I would use it.

Some days later, I was cooking, when I saw something moving just near my left hand. A snake ! I jumped to the roof, wanted to run away, then thought better : if I had run away, the snake could have hidden anywhere in the house, what I surely did not want. So I grabbed the first thing I could find : the wooden spoon ! I chased the snake, and I could finally stuck it between the windows and the mosquito net. Then I could breathe, take some pictures, and fetch a neighbour who came with a bush knife and killed it. You guessed : the spoon stays. It could be one of the most useful items I have in the whole house. This day, I decluttered a snake. It did not take much room in the house, but it did take a lot of room in my mind !

In defence of the snake ~ it looks more frightened of Madeleine than she was of it.Â

The Weekend Mini Missions

Saturday – Something you keep for another’s benefit. This often happens with grown children. For example Dad has a bunch of useful tools that he no longer uses but his three sons often come over to borrow them ~ In this case divvy them up between the sons and let them borrow from one another. If they don’t want to do that then feel free to sell them or give them to someone who does want them. Once again your home isn’t a storage unit or a free hiring service.

Sunday – An item you keep out of tradition that you never care to use. This might be the usual stuff like the good china and crystal but it could be like my old BBQ ~ It is almost an Aussie tradition to cook lots of BBQ meals but if you don’t you don’t need to have a BBQ just because everyone else in the neighbourhood does. This also goes for a collection of tools when you really aren’t much of an handyman or a sewing machine when you send all your clothes out to be altered or mended. (Personally, judging from the price my friend was recently quoted to have the hem sewn up on an apron, I would suggest you learn to use it and save your money but that is just my opinion.) Some of these items actually seem to double up as aspiration clutter.

On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

In this comment read Kimberley’s story of how here mum saved everything for good and at 83 is still doing it. What a shame.

Rebecca B.A.R. made some good points in this comment in relation to heirloom clutter as did GreyQueen in this comment.

There were many more great comments than this but I have been so busy this week preparing everything for my medical time out that I haven’t had as much time to dedicate to my blog. Sorry folks.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

A couple of our newer 365ers have been blogging about simplifying and/or decluttering lately so this week I am linking to a couple of their posts. First here is one from Donne of www.gagasisterhood.com ~ The incredible lightness of decluttering . And here is one from Larry of www.cagefreeology.com ~Happiness simplicity

Here is a cute organisational project from Martha Stewart that Cindy thought we might enjoy. It looks so gorgeous anyone would be inspired to file on a regular basis.

This link is a little bit of fun. It is a clutter symptom checker ~ a check list to decide which areas of your home have a clutter problem.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that was given to you by someone else. If you no longer want or need it offer it back to the person who gave it to you, sell or donate it. You don’t have to keep things just because they came from someone else. I might seem a little repetitive on this advice but that is because people get very stuck on keeping this kind of stuff.

Today’s Declutter Item

This collection of beads and buttons that I donated to the craft shop fit with today’s mini mission. Some of them were given to me by my mother and my mother-in-law. I have had them for a few years but not used them yet so time to move them on.

Craft Clutter

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

Since we are on the subject of obligation clutter this week I thought I would do a quick post on gift giving, receiving and decluttering.  Not everyone will agree with what I have to say here but that is OK we are all entitled to set our own boundaries when it comes to this tradition.  What I prefer ~ which is what this post is about ~ is to avoid the likelihood of unwanted  and obligatory items entering my home not to mention the unnecessary addition to the supply and demand of products I don’t need that have a detrimental effect on the environment.

I have written plenty of post on this subject in the past but it bares mentioning over and over again because the more we here something that more we can come to accept it as a reality we can live with. I can assure you I have lost no friends or been alienated from any family member for my attitude towards gift giving, receiving and decluttering. I hope you will consider that proof that it is possible to set your boundaries without paying a price. So don’t feel obliged to give things you would rather not, live by other peoples rules on accepting things you don’t want or keep things you didn’t wish to receive in the first place or have long since tired of.

Gift Giving

“Any time you give with the intent of getting in return, then it’s not really a gift , it’s a trade.” ~ Jane Velez-Mitchell

I believe a gift is meant to bring pleasure to the person you are giving it to. Yes we feel excited and expectant when giving that the person receiving will love what we have to offer but this isn’t always going to be the case. No matter how much thought is put into a gift or how great you think the item is yourself isn’t a guarantee of reciprocal pleasure. As the quote from Jane Velez-Mitchell states above, giving a gift isn’t about the adulation you will receive in return from the eternally grateful receiver so don’t expect it. We should also not expect that the item will be kept if it is not to the receivers taste or necessity.

It is very rare that I will give a material gift these days unless it is something that the person has mentioned that they really want. I give gifts of company, experience or something consumable. In the case of my family, who all live far away, they were easily convince that mailing things back and forth was pointless and were happy with the no gifts at all idea. I do always send a card ~ usually home made ~ and phone them for a chat. As for my friends, I usually take them out for a combination of two of the following, lunch, dinner, a movie, some sort of local excursion. There is no potential clutter involved and we get to spend some quality time together. My two Uncluttered Gift Idea guides give some great suggestions as to what you can give as gifts that cause no clutter.

Gift Receiving

I have informed just about everyone I know that I don’t wish to receive material gifts. I am happy if my friends or family want to buy me gifts but would prefer they limit them to gifts of company, experience or something consumable. By company I mean spending time with me or calling me on my birthday. By experience I mean, for example, paying for a massage, a manicure or a movie. And by consumable I mean things like flowers, a box of chocolates or a meal out together… Whenever someone does give me a material gift, which isn’t often because most have conformed to my wishes, I don’t refuse it I accept politely but usually declutter it soon after and then sometime prior to the next celebratory occasion I remind them again that I prefer not to receive gifts.

Gift Decluttering

Clearly, from what I have written above, I feel that no gift should be given with strings attached. Therefore I have no issue with decluttering gifts that I have no use for. Especially in light of the fact that everyone I know is aware that I do not wish to receive them. I really only have one friend that still insists on giving me material gifts and she now always says to me “Please return it if it isn’t what you want. I have left the receipt in the bag.” I accept graciously and then if I do decide to return the item I don’t bother to tell her and she is polite enough not to ask. She is happy to have been able to give me something and I don’t feel obliged to keep it.

* I may not be able to respond to comments on this post as I will be out of action for at least four days due to having an operation. I have left the comment section open so you can enjoy chatting about it to your fellow 365ers. I hope to be back participating early next week.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an unwanted gift ~ No explanation necessary, sell, donate or regift it.

Today’s Declutter Item

This item was not an unwanted gift at the time it was given, in fact it was requested but years later with our change of attitude to possessions it is now unwanted. It was a gift from me to my husband and I have no issue with him wanting to let it go in fact it couldn’t happen soon enough because I am the one who had to dust it. I have a habit of accidentally break his stuff so this is one potential victim that managed to escape before the inevitable happened. It was sold on ebay.

Cast Iron Aircraft Model

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

“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

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

As I’ve told you (probably countless times), we remodeled our house, and the last of the workmen pulled away two years ago in July. There were a lot of smaller jobs and some very large painting jobs that needed to be completed, but the house itself was done. Two years have passed, and I still have a half dozen paintings, including a couple of pieces of expensively framed limited edition pieces, that have not been hung. About every three months, I get into the closet where they’re stored and vow that today is the day that I’ll finish figuring it out. And every time I end up feeling anxious, itchy, uncertain, overwhelmed, unsure, and I shove it all back in the closet and gratefully slam the door behind me.

What’s behind this great difficulty? It’s hard to say exactly, but I attribute it to several causes:

• Sentimentality, part 1 – I’ve always hung this piece, so I should hang it again.
• Sentimentality, part 2 - Some of it is the children’s art that’s framed and won’t their feelings be hurt if I don’t hang it again (or worse, get rid of it)?
• Gift – A couple of pieces were gifts. (Do not give gifts of art, unless you’re the artist. Even then, it’s questionable.) Will the gift-givers, my in-laws, or my husband be offended or hurt if one of them disappears?
• Expense – Once the cost of framing is included, I probably have a thousand dollars worth of art that’s unhung. I must get my money’s worth by hanging it again.
• Uncertainty about what else to do with it – There some good stuff here and some expensive stuff. How should I sell it / give it away / donate it? I paid good money for it and want someone else to appreciate it.
• Maybe I can make it work – A different frame? A different mat? Maybe I can make it work.
• Certainty that I still like the piece – Self-explanatory, I guess.

But here are my counter-arguments:

• Sentimentality, part 1 – Just because I’ve done it before doesn’t mean I have to do it again.
• Sentimentality, part 2 – One child is sentimental; the other one is not at all. Offer it to her for her room, or take it out of the frame, recycle the frame, and keep the art with her other pieces.
• Gift – Often a tricky area. I no longer think my in-laws would notice. Frankly, my husband probably wouldn’t either because he probably doesn’t really notice what’s on the walls. I could ask him. Or not. Something to ponder further.
• Expense – We’ve all had this hang up. We paid a lot of money, and even though we no longer value the item, we hate to waste our money and perversely feel that someone else should value something as much as we no longer do. (That thought is so twisted that it’s hard to write it in a sentence that makes sense.) Personalized art is a lot like a 10 year old computer. It may still be very nice, but it doesn’t have the same value on the open market.
• Uncertainty about what else to do with it – I know all the local resources, but if I feel stuck, I can seek help from others.
• Maybe I can make it work – This is like valuing a broken vacuum cleaner that you just know will be fantastic – and such a bargain – once you fix it up, but you never have. But it’s also like that saying, “Throwing good money after bad.” If I’ve lost my attachment to the art, a costly new frame probably isn’t going to solve the problem.
• Certainty that I still like the piece – Clearly this is self-deception. If I really liked the piece, it would be up on the wall. After all, I have a lot of hanging art. My walls are not bare, and these pieces repeatedly have not made the cut.

So what did I do? I contacted a woman I know who works for a charity that has an annual garage sale – by far the biggest and best garage sale held in the city. There was a tickle in the back of my mind, which she confirmed, that they have a “designer” section, and they’re grateful to know the original purchase price of more unique items. The three most expensive pieces went with her, my mother was interested in two (she just remodeled her house so they may or may not work, but she put them in her mix to try), and three of the more generic (also known as “having wide appeal”) pieces were listed on Craigslist, which come to think about it, is where they came from to begin with. Anything that doesn’t sell on Craigslist will also go to the garage sale charity. Eight pieces finally dealt with. I cannot tell you how good that feels!

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a guilt item ~ Don’t feel obliged to keep something just because you shouldn’t have wasted the money on it in the first place. Try to sell it to recoup some money or just find a way to pass it on. Forgive yourself and move on.

Today’s Declutter Item

I don’t have a guilt item to declutter today in fact I don’t think I have any guilt items left. I hope so anyway. I have however finally decluttered all the cookbooks I am willing to let go of. The only ones left are my self made one with all my mum’s old recipes and the favourites I have discovered over the years and a Jamie Oliver one that has several favourites in it. My daughter bought it for my birthday one year so if I decide to decluttering it I will offer it back to her.

More Cookbooks

Something to be grateful for today

 The third fine day in a row, just when I really needed to get the washing done. Yay!

“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

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

I received the following email from Jeff a week or so ago which is really what inspired me to focus on obligation clutter again this week. It is amazing the desperation we sometimes feel when faced with the dilemma of “I don’t want this thing but it’s family history so I really can’t declutter it. What am I to do?” Anyway read Jeff’s comment, where you will hear that desperation, and we will go from there.

I really appreciate your wonderful posts. They, as well as other sites and books, have spurred me on to GET RID OF STUFF! I (we) have been successful in a lot of areas, but the one that gives me the most problems is inherited stuff. I’m an only child, and both my parents are gone now. I have in my garage a trunkful (and other containers) of sentimental and historical stuff that I seem paralyzed to dispose of. Diaries, WWI, WWII memorabilia*, PICTURES!!!! (even one of Lindbergh standing on the wing of his plane), and family stuff for over one hundred years. Nobody in my family ever threw anything away! I have no other extended family remotely interested in the items, and my own children are thoroughly modern and don’t care (yet.) I find myself almost wishing for a tornado (I’m in Oklahoma) to come and take away the stuff so I don’t have to worry about it anymore! To top it off, my wife will have the same situation when her parents pass on.
Jeff

Being an only child makes this situation both easier and more difficult for Jeff at the same time. At least he knows the items are his alone and it is his decision as to what to do with them. But if he had a sibling who cared to have the items it would be so much easier to pass them on. Then there is the complication of whether Jeff’s children will change their minds in the future and want the stuff themselves. As I see it there are many things Jeff should consider…

1. If his children are old enough to make rational decisions about the items ~ that is not to young to realise the significance of what they are being offered ~ then he is free to let them go. I would suggest that anyone over the age of 25 has enough of their own individual personality to make this decision. It doesn’t guarantee that they still won’t change their mind but they will however be old enough to remember they were given the choice.
2. If the items are from beyond Jeffs parents generation ~ that is his grandparnents, great grandparents… ~ then it is fair, and maybe even a legal requirement, to offer them to any existing family members ~ uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews… ~ before making the decision to hand them on any other way. If someone else in the family wants to carry on the tradition of handing these items down then that is a good thing. Should Jeff choose this option perhaps he could give them with the proviso that they come back to his children should they wish it in the future.
3. Should there be no other family members to take the items then another method of keeping possession of them while having them enjoyed by others is to loan them to a local preservation society or museum. By loaning items they remain your property to be retrieved when desired. In Jeffs case military museums would be a good choice to loan his WW1 and WW2 items to.
4. If Jeff is happy to hand them on permanently he could outright donate them to the local preservation society or museum of his choice.
5. Should all these other options be exhausted then Jeff might just choose to sell the items.

*I will say that I personally think that military medals  should remain within the family if possible. For personal reasons I do have a rather bias opinion on this though.

Multi generational family heirlooms deserve special consideration when decluttering. I am not talking about a few fancy tea cups your mother once owned that have no real story attached except that they are pretty, made by Royal Dalton and might be worth a few bucks but real family history~ items of great personal value and possible even great monetary value. While thinking about this post I began doing a little research and found a web post that I though covered the subject of handing on heirlooms quite well and I implore you to read if as just a start to researching this subject. Here is the link

TLC .howstuffworks.com ~ 5 Things to do before passing down heirlooms 

From a financial point of view I would always investigate the monetary value of any heirloom item before making the decision to sell or donate. The more information you are armed with the better decision you stand to make. How many stories have your heard where someone has picked up a half million dollar item for $50 at a garage sales. I know I have.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some grown children clutter ~ This is something long ago left behind by your grown child.  Your home is not a storage unit, ask them to collect it and let them know you are going to get rid of it otherwise. With a little diplomacy this is possible without alienating them.

Today’s Declutter Item

It would be a lie to say I have no grown children clutter to get rid of because I have three boxes of it in the garage and that is only the start. One of the children is still at home while the other isn’t settled enough to expect her to collect her stuff yet. So I have no examples to declutter today but I do however have these two little bits to clutter from my own teen years. One is an elastic ankle support from my days of several sprains playing softball while the other is a leather bat grip. I am at a loss to explain how these things have stayed in my possession for so long especially since they were in our first aid kit that has been decluttered several times already. I don’t know what I was thinking.

Sport Clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Aborting my continually interrupted attempts to get the house work done and going instead to a friends place for coffee and cake. Gotta love resorting to plan B.

“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

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