Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

I’ve been decluttering at work recently. We transformed a short hallway that went nowhere into a storage closet, and I started working my magic on it. I told Colleen, and she said, “They must be really grateful.”

I’m not so sure.

I work for two attorneys, whom I am going to call HE and SHE. They are very different. HE doesn’t seem to think much about his surroundings, and SHE could become a decorator. SHE loves moving the furniture and paintings, putting out pretty boxes for functional items like paper clips, and SHE like a somewhat crowded decorating style. SHE also saves things, like furniture and bedding, in a storage unit so that SHE can rotate items when the whim strikes her.

When I ask HIM about getting rid of something, HE generally either tells me to get rid of it, or HE tells me that he’ll think about it later. HE has about a 3 minute tolerance for decluttering tasks.

SHE gives great consideration to all the questions: Can we use it somewhere else? Will we need it some day? Could I use it at home instead, etc. As I said, SHE likes to keep things.

Then there’s ME. I like to organize things and get rid of what’s not needed, and I take a pretty hard line on what those unneeded items are.  The woman who ordered supplies before me believed that nothing exceeded like excess. I estimate that I won’t buy another paperclip – ever. We have 13 boxes, and I don’t think a single one of them has been opened in the past 17 months. We use lots of them, but we get lots in the mail too. There’s a sea of ever-circulating paperclips among lawyers. None of us ever need buy them again! We have several dozen markers for dry erase boards. I worry that by the time we get around to using the last box, dry is what they’ll be. Same with highlighters. I could go on, but you’ve got the idea. All of these things are difficult for HE and SHE to part with because they do have an intrinsic worth, just not one that we are going to capitalize on. (Ok, the paperclips I’m keeping. They’ll probably still be good in 100 years.)

I’ve gotten rid of about 150 hanging file folders (I think we’re safe with the 150 empty ones we have left plus the 400 or so that we have in current use), a box of boxes (arrived at our office June 2010 and never even opened), a bulletin board (last used???), old legal exhibits (once the case is over, they’re junk unless it goes to appeal), and a dozen three ring binders. Yes, there’s more I’d like to get rid of but in getting rid of what I did – decluttering and organizing the new closet – we have been able to eliminate the need for 2 tall storage units and a 36″ lateral filing cabinet.

Yes, HE and SHE may be uncomfortable with my approach to consolidating office supplies sometimes, but they sure like the results.

Today’s Mini Mission

Do you have too many stationery items ~ Folders, papers, pens, clips, staplers…? If so now is the time to weed out a few. I don’t know if this mission gave Cindy ideas for today’s post or whether it was a sheer coincidence but it sure has worked to promote a consistent theme throughout the entire post today.

Today’s Declutter Item

These items were relinquished during some recent decluttering in my craft room. Stay tuned for tomorrows post of the big craft room reveal.

Folders, notebooks and loose leaf paper.

Something to be grateful for today

I sent my car in for a six month extended warranty check today. It turned out I needed new brake pads and discs on the front and I have been having a stalling problem that they fixed as well. About $700 later I will get my care back. What is there to be grateful in that you might ask. Being able to afford mechanical repairs on my car when they are needed even if they are unexpected. Thank you my darling husband for being such a good provider, we are a great team.

“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

It’s almost “second winter” here in Texas, where the weather is so hot, and typically so dry, that nothing grows any more. It just tries to hold on through the hot months.

Before that happens, it’s time to declutter the garden. Now I know that not all of you have a garden. Do you have potted plants (inside or out)? A front stoop or entry way? Any bit of lawn that you’re responsible for?

The first thing we’re going to do is assess. This is best done from the vantage point of the street or sidewalk looking back at your garden or entry way. Are there toys, tools, boxes, political signs from by-gone elections or other junk that either 1) doesn’t belong or 2) needs to be straightened? Take care of it! Your neighbors will thank you – silently, if not out loud. Sweep the sidewalk and the porch or stoop. That looks better already!

It’s amazing to me how much junk – real junk – people sometimes store in their yards and especially on the side of their houses. Take an honest assessment of your situation. At a very minimum, make sure than anything that’s stored in the side yard isn’t trapping water and giving mosquitoes a place to breed.

However, you’re not going to stop at the very minimum, are you? Next, take a good hard look at what’s stored in your yard. Are these things you need, want, and will use? Should you sell, donate, or trash some (all) of these items? Often yard stuff is bulky, so you might not be able to dispose of it easily. Make a plan on how you will eliminate unnecessary items. Perhaps you’ll need to make a list of what you have to dispose of so if your community has a bulky trash pick up, you’ll know what you need to pull out to the curb.

And let’s not neglect our plants, while we’re in the garden. They will all look fresher if you deadhead them and remove the brown leaves or stalks. In many places, this is not a good time to prune: you don’t want to encourage your plants to grow (by pruning) if you’re going into a dormant season but removing what’s spent won’t hurt. Mulch makes even potted plants looks fresher, and it help to keep precious moisture in.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that comes to mind when you ask this question ~  At what point in my life did this fit/suit me?

Today’s Declutter Item

I can assure you this item never suited me but it kept me warm on the ski fields and that was all that mattered. I think one of my children bought me it as a gift so I suppose it fits two categories for this week’s mini missions. There is a young women I work with at the thrift store who is crazy about baseball who will simply love this. So off it goes to its new home where it will be greatly appreciated.

Red Sox Beanie

Something to be grateful for today

A little bit of sunshine and a little bit of rain. Both come in handy for survival.

“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

My mother is more tidy and more decluttered than I am, by far. Yet one day when she saw me tidying my pantry, she kind of laughed at me and said, “Are you straightening up in there again?”

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I am. And you should too.

Why does your pantry need decluttering? Two main reasons

1. Unless you live alone, it gets rummaged through more than any other cupboard or drawer in your entire house and
2. There’s surely something (probably more than one something) lurking in there that needs to be eaten, thrown away, or shared. The pantry is the perfect place for Use It Up decluttering.

Besides, if it’s messy, things are hard to find. Who needs that?

I personally recommend, as I so often do, that like be stored with like. I am blessed with a wide but not ridiculously deep, pantry, so it’s easier for me not to lose cans or bottles in the deep, dark back of the cabinet. Very few items are doubled up where something has to be removed before something else can be seen or reached.

My pantry is arranged like this:

1. Top shelf: grains, legumes, pasta and the occasional truly oversized item. (Right now, a long package of smoked salmon.)
2. Next is a narrow shelf that’s the most miscellaneous: drink mixes, a few packet mixes, and a box of ramen (which technically should go on the shelf above, but the child who likes ramen can’t reach that high).
3. Next are all canned and bottled items, crackers, peanut butter, and a few items waiting to replace condiments that are almost empty in the refrigerator. I maximize space here by using an expandable can riser.
4. Next shelf is nuts (many kinds, since they’re Clara’s #1 snack) and granola bars. All of these are in storage containers, rather than their original packages, so they fit better and stay neater.
5. Next down is breakfast cereal, oatmeal, and grits.
6. The next shelf is devoted to my little cook Audra’s kitchen wear, some of which is play stuff and some of which is real, including her stock pot, which is bigger than mine.
7. And at the bottom are baking items: sugar, flours, cornmeal, and a lazy Susan (spinning circular tray) with vanilla, cocoa powder, baking powder, etc. on it.

The other reason you need to declutter your pantry is that there is food in there that you are ignoring and need to eat. Find that food and make a plan to eat it or use it in a recipe. Or there’s food in there that you shouldn’t eat (hello chips and packaged cookies!) and should get rid of by taking them to the office, giving them to a friend, or just throwing them away. It’s much easier to eat a healthy diet if the food that you have at home is healthy. If you don’t have chips, it’s a lot less likely that you’re going to give in to the chip monster when he comes calling (“eat me! eat me!”) while you’re watching TV or reading a book.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something your children no longer want saved for them.

Today’s Declutter Item

This belonged to my son but he is past caring about it. He allowed me to donate it to the thrift store. That’s one less thing that requires dusting in this house. Yay!!!

Basketball Souvenir

Something to be grateful for today

 A good cup of tea. Especially when someone else makes it for me.

“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

Offices seem to be the center of the vortex of flotsam in a house, particularly paperwork. If you work outside the home, your office probably still has files that were set up by the previous holder of your job – files you haven’t looked at the entire time you’ve had the job. My desk and filing cabinet had “current” files that were five years old and notes that said “to file” on documents dating back to when the law firm was started.

Why do we do this? Do the phrases “paper trail” or “for our records” ring any bells with you?

Try to think how far back you really need to keep things. Ask the company auditor or attorney, if you have one and need guidance. In my office, the habit had been to scan everything and keep a hard copy. Why? One or the other, please. In addition, there are scans of documents without the attorney’s signature and a scan of the same document after the attorney has signed it. Just because it’s electronic, doesn’t mean it’s not clutter. If that document is needed again, sorting through two copies of everything (signed and unsigned) is not going to make finding it faster. When the final copy is scanned, the previous copies should be deleted.

I know some people want to keep all the scans to “show their work.” Again – think this through. Is it really necessary? Is it necessary for the first month and then no longer necessary? Necessary until you have your annual review and then no longer necessary? Make a note about when certain items can be eliminated. Cleaning up your work after yourself is a legitimate use of time. After all, if everyone saved everything, eventually your office would need a bigger server or additional file cabinet just to managed all that clutter.

In addition, sometimes keeping records can work against you instead of with you. I was once hired to purge a large business of all of its employment records that were more than 10 years old. Their legal department had decided that 10 years was how much was needed; however, some of the records were 20 years old. An former employee had sued, and because the records were there, in the cabinet, they were admissible in court. If the records had been destroyed in a timely fashion, the lawsuit could not have gone forward. It took me a month to pick through all those records!

There is the same temptation to keep everything in the home office. I shredded 13 pounds of documents that Dan had kept, including many years of pay stubs, utility bills for a house he hasn’t owned in 15 years, and credit card statements. Why did he keep these? “In case he needed them some day.” “For what?” I ask.

What’s needed is a regular system of purging. Maybe you do need to keep some records for a time. But, eventually, that time will pass. By then, it’s “out of sight, out of mind,” also known as clutter. How can you keep your paper trail from trailing back to the 1970s? Start at the front of the files and start purging, one folder at a time. It might be slow work, but one folder at a time, it will get done. I’m sure you’ll find entire files devoted to things unnecessary: a vehicle you no longer own, a project you decided not to start, a pet who has died. Next you’re going to need to revisit the files on an annual or semi-annual basis. Or, every time you put in a new piece of paper, you can take the last one out and discard it.

The second part of the process, of course, is to resist the temptation to file all these extra papers in the first place. Your credit card and utility statements are on-line, as are many of your investments and other business transactions. Maybe you don’t need a hard copy of these at all. Don’t keep records that you simple don’t need. There can be such a temptation to hold on “just in case.”

Think before you file, and you’ll only have to declutter once.

Today’s Mini Mission

Spy and declutter something electric.

Today’s Declutter Item

I didn’t have anything electric to declutter (surprisingly enough) so I instead I thought I would throw something in that is quite different. Years back (in our USA days) we accumulated a collection of naked back art pieces and since our bedroom is now less the half the size it used to be some have to go. These didn’t make the cut so they went off to the thrift store.

Original Art Works

Something to be grateful for today

A day without a long to-do list. Just tidying up a few loose ends and making some yummy onion soup.

“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 – A Review of the Basics

Cindy

Why 365 Less Things?

Let’s get the grammatical question out of the way first and promptly. Yes, we know it’s supposed to be 365 Fewer Things, but it’s not. That’s all there is to it. (Can you believe that Colleen regularly gets comments from readers telling her she’s named the blog wrong? Do they think they’re the first to notice? Declutter this worry from your mind: You’re not the first.)

Now on to the meat of the matter: Why does 365 Less Things exist, and how can it help you?

I truly don’t know the origins of the 365 Thing A Day challenge. I saw it the first time on Unclutterer in a comment that Colleen had written. (Thanks to my friend Janet K. who referred me to Unclutterer, without which my life certainly would have been different over the past two years.)

The idea was simple: Declutter by getting rid of one thing each day.

I thought, “I can do that,” and I’m still doing it almost two years later. My house was a disaster of surface clutter (clean cabinets and drawers, messy counters and floors). Once I started, I couldn’t stop! On average I’ve decluttered three things a day, and it seems like I could go on for another two years.

Decluttering just one thing a day is such a small challenge. It’s so easy to find just one thing. You can take a random approach, open a cabinet or cupboard, and grab one thing, or you can be much more methodical and start in one location, systematically working your way through the house, garage, attic or basement, shed, yard, your neighbor’s side yard (oh wait – you better stop!)

Decluttering one thing a day allows you time to decide the best way to dispose of an item: sell, give away, recycle, trash.

Decluttering one thing a day allows you time to think hard about sentimental clutter and items that you think you “should” keep but don’t want to.

Decluttering one thing a day allows you time to realize the error of your ways in acquiring goods –  whether you shop too much, garage sale too frequently, or never pass up a treasure when it’s bulky trash day in your neighborhood – and slowly amend those ways so you don’t re-clutter at the same rate (or faster!) than you de-clutter.

Decluttering a thing a day is like the saying, “A  journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.”

What one item will you be decluttering today?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter those shoes that you rarely wear that are too uncomfortable, you just don’t like or don’t fit your current lifestyle.

Today’s Declutter Item

So here are my declutter items for today. The shoes that I rarely of don’t use. One pair are too uncomfortable, one pair don’t suit my current lifestyle and the other pair I haven’t worn in so long I don’t even remember what they went with. Either way they are out of here.

Shoes I don't use

Something to be grateful for today

The beautiful sunny day that we have experienced here today. I took the opportunity to take a walk in the sunshine. I saved some gas too by walking to the post office and the dry cleaners. Win win!

“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

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

We’ve discussed minimalism in decorating, but not everyone here is a minimalist. Here are two decorators’ take on the style.

This post about a family of four camping out of a Prius really spoke to me. We camp several times a year, and I’ve insisted that our van is a necessary component to success. Maybe not.

Zen Habits has 15 tips for decluttering that are great.

On the front page of her blog, Gretchen Rubin has written 5 Tips for Resisting Impulse Shopping. Sounds good to me!

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an area where your items may have spilled over into someones else’s space. For example ~ Your clothes in your husbands side of the closet.

Today’s Declutter Item

Before sending this crossword dictionary off to the thrift store I had asked my dad if he would like it because his copy of the same book was getting very tatty. He said no as he didn’t mind his tatty and beside he had a lot of extra info written in the margins of his. So guess what? He called me the other day asking if I still had it because his had fallen apart. Too late dad that window of opportunity was already closed. I had already decluttered this book ahead of my scheduled vacation and he was about a week or two late.

Crossword Dictionary

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Recently I was so pleased with myself. I had done a great job tidying my desk, and I had sorted through all of Clara’s clothes, culling those that were to be saved for her younger sister and those that could go to the thrift shop. I did a great job and was pleased with myself, that is, until I looked at what I had left behind. 

Oh a big slap on the forehead! Yes, I had processed bills, permission slips, etc. And yes, I had sorted and folded a big ol’ stack of clothes, but that’s where I stopped. The clothes were still sitting in Clara’s room, and the overflow from my desk project was still sitting in a pile. How embarrassing!

Back in the bad old days of too much clutter, I never finished a project to completion: 90% done was 100% good enough for me, and once again, I had fallen back on my lazy ways. I had broken the rules of happy household living as defined by American advice columnist Ann Landers.

If you open it, close it.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you unlock it, lock it up.
If you break it, admit it.
If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.
If you borrow it, return it.
If you value it, take care of it.
If you make a mess, clean it up.
If you move it, put it back.
If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
If it’s none of your business, don’t ask questions.
If it will brighten someone’s day, say it.
If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, keep it to yourself. 

And my addition: If you leave it half done, you’re not finished.

Today’s Mini Mission

Ask a family member if they have anything you have given them that they really don’t want but keep because it was a gift from you. Give them permission to declutter it.

Today’s Declutter Item

I don’t need these two watches because I haven’t worn a watch in years so out they go. They have been donated to the thrift store.

Two watches I no longer use

“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

It’s Friday at 365 Less Things, and since Colleen is still in the U.S. (Seattle, Washington now) I’m sharing with you my favourite comments from our wonderful and chatty readers and my best web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did. -Cindy

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

Dizzy made short work of the process of decluttering here.

Wendy gives hope to those to those who live with reluctant declutterers.

Faith made us all laugh with her bold retort to givers of unwanted gifts.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

I’ve always enjoyed the Minimalist Packrat, although this is a guest post, which combines Feng Shui and decluttering. 

Another post from the Minimalist Packrat, this one on collections and use-it-up decluttering.

In case you needed more motivation to buy less and think more about your choices, check out this montage of pictures  from someone who refers to his garage sale hobby as “junk in my trunk.” You got that right buddy! (Originally, this link did not work. Scroll down one entry, and you’ll see the photo collage.)

On the other hand, I liked Mr. Junk’s take on selling goods. Yeah, he says it harshly, but he tells it true.

Frequently Colleen and I are asked how to sell on Ebay. Here’s how they say it should be done.

Today’s Mini Mission

Take a quick look in the garage and find something to declutter. It’s that simple. Don’t fuss don’t hesitate just find that one thing and get it our of there.

Today’s Declutter Item

Yes there is still craft clutter to declutter but I am on track to get it all under control by June like I promised Lena. Here is my latest offering.

More Craft Items (Brads & Eyelets)

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

Cindy and Colleen: Friendship, the best gift without strings.

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

 First of all, and most importantly, Colleen and I had a fantastic time. Steve was super, and we all had a good time getting to know each other.

Now to our regularly scheduled blog…

Have you ever been told, “If you don’t want this, be sure to give it back?”

How about, “(Deceased relative) wanted you to have this. Be sure to take really good care of it.”

Or, “You so admired mine, that I bought you one too.” A variation of this one is, “I really admired this item, so I bought it for you.”

Or, the most dreaded of all, “Where’s that (fill in the item of your choosing) that I gave you for (holiday)?”

Oh, gifts with strings, what a trouble they can be. The strings are demands that you care for, cherish, account for, value and possible return gifted items in the way that the giver expects.

Let’s be kind: gifts are meant to show someone we care, that we were thinking of them, that they’re important to us, or that we remember a special day in their lives. So why are they so fraught with anxiety at times?

Because…

• We get things we don’t need.
• We get things we don’t want.
• We get things we don’t like…at all.
• We get things that giver can’t afford (or, truth be told, things that are a lot less than what we believe that gift giver can afford)
• We get things that feel like they were purchased without thought (really a trouble when it’s a spouse or dear friend)
• And, we get gifts with strings.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about our inability to control things that no longer belong to us. This same lack of control applies to gifts, or it should. Once you give a gift, or someone gives a gift to you, that item is no longer under the giver’s control. It’s not yours anymore. Don’t give gifts with strings, and don’t accept a gift with strings. We all have so many things we try to control, why try to control an object that lives with someone else? If you feel that you repeatedly give a certain person gifts that he/she doesn’t appreciate properly, take a hint. Give something different, give nothing, make a donation to charity, but don’t keep trying to control what isn’t yours.

Today’s Mini Mission

Take a quick look in the master bedroom and find something to declutter. It’s that simple. Don’t fuss, don’t hesitate, just find that one thing and get it out of there.

Today’s Declutter Item

Here is a little more stationery clutter. This one is a little obscure though so I am keeping an eye on it at the thrift shop. If it doesn’t sell soon I will bring it home and try to find another option to find it a new home. I don’t want to clutter up the thrift shop with my clutter. (Drat! I don’t know what the obscure object was. Somehow I deleted it when I insert the post. Sorry Colleen! You’ll just have to tell us what the photo would have been.)

“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.

Colleen hasn’t said anything about her vacation, but she is in the United States.  In fact, she’s in Austin, and we had dinner last night and are out doing “girl things” today. So exciting! This is the first time we’ve met. Anyway, I am vetting the choices for the next few Friday Favorites. Let’s see how I do! -Cindy

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

GreyQueen’s comments about making sure one is prepared for death may have been better than the post that inspired them. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=2464#comment-20734

Spendwise Mom definitely knows how a well-organized kitchen should be managed. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=2420#comment-20726

Spendwise Mom (again!) sums up the need to declutter beautifully and simply. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=2327#comment-20724

Brenda really toots Colleen’s horn in this comment, which is why I liked it. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=2329&cpage=1#comment-20806

Lynn asked about how many “dainties” a gal really needs. I think my answer is worth a read. I wonder what your take on underclothes is. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=2329&cpage=1#comment-20806

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

This is a fascinating article by a woman who is obsessed with decluttering. Way beyond what is healthy and normal, in my opinion. See what happens when the opposite extreme rears its ugly head and tell me what you think.

A virtual store in Korea – no goods, no clerks. You just tell your smart phone what you want, and it will be delivered to your home or office. Interesting but a bit eerie.

Decluttering the refrigerator was the theme of this week. Ugly House Photos is always good for a laugh, and it won’t take you but a minute to see why you really should clear the front of your refrigerator. . . and everything else in your house.

Today’s Mini Mission

Today is the day to declutter the inside of the freezer. Maybe it would be a good idea to plan tonight’s meal around using up bits and pieces in there.

Today’s Declutter Item

The shirts these ties match are long gone but the ties themselves remain. Well no longer.

Ties that match shirts no longer owned

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