There was a lot of chatter generated yesterday about an overabundance of plastic containers. It seems most of us still have an excess of these.

In a bid to reduce food items in both the fridge and pantry due to my long vacation and impending move late last year, I have become very efficient at catering, shopping and using up leftovers to the point where my need for plastic containers has become greatly reduce. I mostly shop for fresh produce, meat and dairy these days from which there is very little waste. Any leftovers are soon devoured.

I have also eliminated several baking items in my pantry. Because I only make dessert once a week, if that, there is no need for a plethora of ingredients to be stored in the panty. For starters, I managed for seven and a half years, living in America, using a combo of baking powder and plain flour rather than stocking self-raising flour so I decided that was good enough for here too. That eliminated one large canister in my pantry. We use rice much less these days too due to our lower carb eating choices so I reduced the amount I stored. Similarly ingredients such as desiccated coconut were so infrequently used I decided it could also go, along with several pasta varieties, chick peas, noodles and white sugar. Should I ever wish to make something with any of these ingredients I buy the smallest possible quantity so there is little or no leftovers, any of which I include in another recipe ASAP.

I also have a variety of glass mixing bowls that nest inside each other which can also be used of storing food. If I can make and store the item in the same bowl it also saves on washing up adding a little more efficiency and an element of eco friendliness. These bowls have lids, but if they didn’t I would opt for a plate to seal the food in rather than waste cling film.

Admittedly not having any children left at home has added greatly to this streamlining.

Is there an area in your life where efficiency would allow you to declutter?

Today’s Mini Mission

Start a trial separation of fashion accessories.

Eco Tip for the Day

Yesterday I cleaned all the glass doors on my balcony. What did I use to do that? Microfibre cloths and water. No chemicals and they are as clean as a whistle. A few good microfibre cloths and good old H2O is better for the environment and can save you cash as well.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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.

Some items that clutter up our home are items that aren’t unused individuals but similar items that we use but just have too many of. This weeks overall mission is to start a trial separation from some of these items to see if we really need so many or can happily live without some. So find yourself a box to store these items in, gather them up and put this away somewhere for a while. If you find you don’t retrieve them in a month or two then it is probably safe to declutter them permanently.

Monday – Start a trial separation of plastic kitchen storage containers.

Tuesday – Start a trial separation of fashion accessories.

Wednesday - Start a trial separation of costume jewellery items.

Thursday - Start a trial separation of stationery items.

Friday - Start a trial separation of kitchen gadgets.

Saturday - Start a trial separation of your lease favourite clothing items.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Save the water in the kitchen sink while rinsing items. Then bail it out and use it on your potted plants or garden.

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

Today’s Decluttered Item
Paperwork no longer necessary to keep.

Sorry about the delay in today’s post. I think I caused to problem by forgetting to give the page a title. Alls fixed now.

Doodle asked yesterday…

“If someone came to you for help, what 3 top tips would you give them to get them started (decluttering) and how would you sell the knock on benefits of a de-cluttered life to others in less than three sentences?”

Here are my answers…

1. Start with the easiest stuff to part with first and don’t be in a hurry. Take your time and make it easy on yourself. Be satisfied in knowing the stuff is heading out the door and it doesn’t need to be immediately obvious.
2. Set your disposal methods in place before you begin. Find a charity nearby you can donate to and brush up on selling methods that work for you.
3. Stop the flow of stuff coming in.

How to sell the knock on benefits…

Freeing up your space, time and effort is enough on its own but being free from the consumer rat race is one of the best knock on effect of decluttering that I can think of. The money saved to go towards things that really matter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something hiding behind something. Behind a door for instance.

Eco Tip for the Day

Share and loan with family and friends things not don’t use often enough to own/store. (Spices, tools, kitchen gadgets…)

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

One of our long time regular readers Doodle has kindly agreed to help out here at 365 by writing a blog post for me every other Wednesday. Today is her first regular post although not the first she has contributed. She has become quite the expert on the subject of decluttering over the years and I am sure you will all be able to learn a lot from her. Welcome Doodle and thank you for your contributions, past, present and future.

Owning your life skill

The biggest reason I owned too much stuff, was I just never realised I didn’t have to. It was as simple as that: getting rid of stuff as a regular proactive life choice had just never occurred to me.

The realisation I could be happier with much less came gradually. Now, the more I get rid of, the more I look to pare back even further and it brings a deep satisfaction that this is the way I’m meant to live. (Fortunately I’m no minimalist longing for bare white walls: my husband is a bit of a hoarder so I am always going to have walls filled with his books.)

Knowing you don’t have to keep everything you’ve ever owned is a life skill in my opinion. Some of us learn this sooner and some of us later and like all life skills, the fact it is ok to let go of stuff can be taught and learned.

We don’t have to be trapped for ever in being overwhelmed by excessive belongs…how good is that!

So those of you who have been de-cluttering for a while now, do you realise you are honing an excellent life skill that you are not only benefitting from yourself, but can pass on to others?

After all I have learned about de-cluttering in the last 3 years I found myself naturally helping a few family and friends who’d got a bit overwhelmed.

It became apparent that I have a knack of helping in just the right way and they all encouraged me to do it professionally. So now I do. I love it so much.

If someone came to you for help, what 3 top tips would you give them to get them started and how would you sell the knock on benefits of a de-cluttered life to others in less than three sentences?

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter something hanging on your wall.

Eco Tip for the Day

Take the stairs instead of the lift. The exercise is good for you and you save electricity. I have to remember this myself instead of walking past the stairs, that are right outside my apartment door all the way across the building to the life. I may actually hardly be using any extra energy by taking the stairs. Silly me.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Today’s Decluttered Item
This is just a small sample of the dozen or so that I have given to my children in the last week.

The beginning of the year is always a good time for a post about the benefits of owning and wanting less stuff. By wanting less stuff I mean not wanting for stuff, being free from the desire to acquire. That combined with the benefits of having less stuff to care for and accommodate is reason enough for learning to let go.

Also at the beginning of the year is when new readers arrive at a blog like mine looking for help with the process of decluttering. So a post pointing out the advantages of letting go is always a good way to encourage a person to jump in feet first and get on with the task.

Since I have written several post like this in the past I figured I would just share one with you that I have posted previously. Those who haven’t read it will benefit from it and those who read it along time ago can also benefit from a reminder of why they are making the effort of going through this process. So here is a post I wrote back in August of 2011. Enjoy!

When we talk about decluttering our goal is to end up with less stuff cluttering up our homes and lives. But after living for so long having and always wanting, more the word less sounds like something negative, not a good thing. It exudes a vibe of going without or lacking in some way. And that doesn’t sound at all pleasurable. But in reality the opposite is true. So instead of dwelling on the idea that less is a negative thing why not focus on the positive. How does less equal more?

• Less stuff to take care of = More time to spend doing the things you enjoy. More time to spend with the people you love.
• Less stuff cluttering up your home = More space for comfort and it makes your home seem bigger.
• Less money spent acquiring stuff = More financial security for the things you really need like food, shelter, health care etc.
• Less Money worries = More piece of mind.
• Less happiness tied to material “wealth” = More focus on what really matters in life ~ Friends, family, activities that help others not just yourself etc.
• Less desire for material items = More freedom from the strain of having to work so hard to earn the money to pay for the things to quench that desire.
• The Less products you consume = The better it is for the environment and the supply of natural resources.
• Less things you own that tie you down = More freedom to escape to do the things you enjoy like travel.

This list could go on and on. Think about the material things you desire then think about how much you need them verses the impact they have on your life, your family and the environment. Think also of the way your money could be better spent.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something whose purpose is to wrap around something. Perhaps a belt, a set of sheets, and old scarf, excessive rubber bands…

Eco Tip for the Day

Only run your dishwasher when it is absolutely full.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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.

I left it to the last minute yesterday to write todays missions. In fact I almost forgot because we were busy celebrating a family member’s birthday. So for my own sake and for a little fun I decided to keep it simple. Placement is the theme of today’s mission – in, under, on and behind. See if you can find something in each of the places I mention. It shouldn’t be hard because they are broad with choice.

Monday – Declutter something under a piece of furniture. The bed is often a good place to look.

Tuesday – Declutter something whose purpose is to wrap around something. Perhaps a belt, a set of sheets, and old scarf, excessive rubber bands…

Wednesday – Declutter something hanging on your wall.

Thursday – Declutter something hiding behind something. Behind a door for instance.

Friday – Declutter something from inside a cupboard.

Saturday – Declutter something in a drawer.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

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

I have spoken about this subject before on 365 Less Things, however, having just moved, I am finding it necessary to do a little more of it. Things have become a little scattered during my move. Mainly due to the fact that rooms have been eliminated from my options of where and how to store things. The office space/craft area/parents retreat has turned into the office space/craft closet/guest bedroom. The laundry/third toilet/storage closet has become the laundry closet. The kitchen/family room/dining/living room/entry with cupboard has become the living room/kitchen/dining room. And needless to say there are a lot less walls to hang our art and photos on.

Call me strange but I am having a fun time bringing like things together and eliminated bits and pieces of stuff that just aren’t fitting well into our new smaller home.

Functionality within a home very much depends on the ease of use. Eliminating things that just get in the way and the bringing together of similar items makes it simpler to find what you need and to get your hands on them quickly. How often have you given up on the idea of an activity because it is all to hard to find what you need and/or to dig it out from among all the other stuff.

Today I was reshuffling my craft supplies in the guest room cupboard. My objective was to make them easier to access when my creative juices were flowing. I have a number of craft cubes that can be arranged in several ways. I has a plan to insert some of the spare shelves so that containers were separated rather than awkwardly stacked on top of one another. Aside from the physical action of reshuffling the items and inserting the shelves a little decluttering was required. It was only a little but it made a huge difference. I decluttered two bobbins (which didn’t even work in my machine) making it possible to declutter the bobbin holder. This small effort made it possible to minimise the space required for my sewing kit which in turn made it possible to reshuffle everything.

The lesson is that even a small declutter, in the way of consolidating and refining, can make a big difference to the functionality in your home. So never underestimate the effect of a small amount of effort or change.

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

Hi there. Just a quick post today to say welcome to any new readers scouring the internet for suggestions of New Years resolutions.

I have one for you ~ Resolve to declutter one thing a day for a whole year. It isn’t hard but it sure is effective if your house is currently cluttered.

For those of you who have been decluttering for a while set a decluttering resolution that suits where you are at with your mission to unclutter.

My resolution this year is to get rid of anything that doesn’t fit comfortably into my lovely new little two bedroom apartment. I am loving it here and the only thing that will make it better is to trim down my stuff a little further. Join me on my journey and be inspired to let go what you don’t use or love.

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