Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something for grooming.

I’ve been racking my brain today, trying to come up with an idea for a blog post, without success. I thought of a few experiences I have encountered during the week in reference to clutter. However these thoughts didn’t amount to enough content for writing a whole blog post. So I decided I would just put these thoughts to you and see what comments ensue. The conversation in the comments section is often as stimulating and inspiring as a post anyway due to my clever and engaged readers. So here goes.

1. I was thinking of how I hold on to some things longer than I ought to, because I just hate waste. Last week I finally put an old t-shirt in a bag to become rag at the thrift shop. The problem was that, from a distance, the t-shirt looked perfectly good, but get up close and tiny holes were visible in the lower front. I hate this about t-shirts, the way those wholes wear through. The general theory is that it is from being sandwiched between your pants button and hard bench tops. Which for me is very possible because I craft so much at my kitchen bench. But I digress, I felt inclined to continue to wear the t-shirt because it was mostly good, but I had to admit that, up close, I probably looked like a bit of a slob. Who else has trouble parting with things that are mostly good but in reality “mostly” isn’t good enough in public?
2. Another area in which I hate to see waste is when crafting. I like to use up materials until what is left is of no use to anyone. At the same time I find it hard to turn down the offer of free or near to free materials that I know I could use. As a result I have snippets of ribbon, card stock, patterned papers etc just waiting for that little element of a project that will see them used up. Meanwhile more stuff comes in the door. As a result I sometimes feel like I am taking two steps forward one step back. So lately I have been tailoring my projects with the goal to use up lots of little bits and pieces. For example I might make a batch of six cards. While the design is the same, each card will be slightly different than the other due to the fact that I am making the elements for the card from scraps. I have also been expanding my product range, at my retail art space, by creating small items that are perfect for using up scraps. At the same time I refuse to purchase any new materials, it is make do or go without. Now I finally feel I am making inroads into reducing my craft supplies. Do my crafty readers also have issues with lots of little bits and pieces of scrap materials and what do you do to declutter them from your stash.
3. Do what you can to find ways to responsibly declutter items that you think are of no use to anyone. There is always a charity or company out there who has a use for your stuff, by either rejuvenating it or recycling it. Let Google find such places for you or use good old word of mouth. You might be surprised what you can learn from conversations with others. Sometimes it is possible to just stumble on to such information when you least expect it. Today I arrived home to my apartment building to find a folder sitting on the ground near the entrance. It belonged to a bedding recycling/reconditioning company. I looked around and, sure enough, saw two guys loading a mattress into a truck. I thought “Good for you!” and also “Kudos to the people who had the decency and initiative to find a way not to let that mattress go to waste.” Has any of my wonderful readers found great ways to send their unwanted stuff to be repurposed or recycled? If so tell us about it.

So that is what I have been pondering when it comes to decluttering this week. So now I am interested to hear your ideas on the subjects.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you wear.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

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.

Now what can we declutter this week. I have mostly been decluttering craft materials but not everyone would be into that. So I’ll have to come up with something else. I know, we’ll have a verb loaded decluttering week. Each mission will be about what you do with stuff. Confused? Well you’ll soon figure it out.

Monday – Declutter something you eat from.

Tuesday – Declutter something that is played with.

Wednesday – Declutter something you wear.

Thursday – Declutter something the decorates your home.

Friday – Declutter something used for entertaining. Books, CDs, DVDs…

Saturday – Declutter something for grooming.

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

Be economical with your grooming products. Using more than necessary doesn’t give a better result. Any wastefulness is not good for the environment.

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

I thought I would give you links to some interesting websites. Most of these sites help digitally organise your life without need for clutter. In fact in some cases they can eliminate some paper clutter at the very least.

The first one is actually to an article on a funding site by a 19-year old woman who learned early from her mom about decluttering and living minimally.  This link is to one of her first posts as she tells about her philosophy and reasons for living this way.  Click on www.gofundme.com/dkzs18 then scroll down to Update #1.

www.Mint.com  This is an app for those who want an accounting/checkbook type program on their phone or tablet.  It is by Intuit the company that produces the Quicken program for computers.  Moni told me about this one and I am planning to put it on my tablet once I find the time.

www.dropbox.com  A cloud based storage site for documents, spreadsheets, photos, etc.  I use this and have had no problems with it.  I wanted more storage than they offer free so I pay a small monthly fee for more space. 

www.flickr.com   A place to create albums of photos that you can keep private, share with a few or open to the public.  One of many such websites.

www.Snapfish.com  and   www.shutterfly.com    Two of many websites where you can create a digital scrapbook of memories that can then be printed. 

www.igrocerypal.com   lets you digitally create your grocery list and it will automatically organize your selections by the type of food and aisle. The app also syncs up with local stores to help you find the best deals while making your list and shopping. 

www.mealboard.com   MealBoard combines recipe management, meal planning, groceries and pantry management into a single app. It is fully customizable. You can manage your recipes, ingredients, food categories, meal types, stores, store aisles, grocery items and many more with its clean, uncluttered interface.

www.shoeboxed.com  Lets you scan & organize receipts and business cards, create expense reports, track mileage and more.

www.clothapp.com   an app for iPhone that makes it easy to save, categorize, and share your favorite outfits. The app also uses real-time weather data to help you pick your best outfits for current conditions. If you have iOS 8, you can even wake up to an alert with the weather, and your best looks for the day.

Some of these I have used.  Some I have just read about and scanned their website.  I’m sure some of you may have other apps you like that you find enhance your productivity and provide you with more time to do things you prefer rather than keeping track of various aspects of your life.   Please share those.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that is located on the floor.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Sometimes, when it comes to the stuff around our homes, we continue to own things just because we always have. To have them has literally become a habit. Fortunately any habit that has been created can also be broken.

There are two ways that you can experiment with breaking the ownership habit. The first, which we have spoken of in the past, is to have a trial separation from a selection of your stuff. Choose things that you are on the fence about decluttering, then put them away somewhere out of sight for a selected period of time. If you haven’t had the need for these objects during the trial period, or perhaps learned to improvise in order not to need them, then you are safe to send them permanently on their way, if you so choose.

The other way is more suited to less permanent objects, items that come, are used up and then usually replaced. Products like toiletries, cleaners, paper products, cooking ingredients, wrapping materials etc. You’d be surprised how many of these items inhabit your home, and how much you really don’t need many of them.

The experiment to declutter such items is to use up your current supply and choose a trial period of time during which you do not replace it. If, at the end of that period, you have happily survived without said product you just don’t ever replace it. If living without it was unpleasant then you have lost nothing and can go back to purchasing it again.

There are many of the second example above that I have decluttered over my years of slowing purging my home of unneeded stuff. Plastic wrap, cleaners, makeup items, stationery items, craft supplies, cooking ingredients, toiletries… Some I have gone without altogether while others I just keep less variety of. Either way I am wasting a lot less space storing them. And I dare say I am also having less impact on the environment.

I am still slowly eliminating more and more of these products as time goes on, and I feel better for it. I am continually discovering that there are so many things, that are of little value to me, that I can happily live without.

What items in your home have you experimented with doing without? Please share your stories with us. They are all successes whether you decided you could or couldn’t live without them, because at least you were brave enough to give it a go.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from outside.

Eco Tip for the Day

Eliminate as many chemicals as you can from your home. There are many natural products that can perform the same tasks with a lot less impact on the environment.

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.

This week’s mini missions focus on areas of your home, top to bottom, inside and out. Here’s hoping you can find something for each day to declutter.

Monday – Declutter something hanging on a wall or from the ceiling.

Tuesday – Declutter something in a closet.

Wednesday – Declutter something from outside.

Thursday – Declutter something from inside a drawer.

Friday – Declutter something that is located on the floor.

Saturday – Declutter something from on top of a piece of furniture.

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

Minimise the paper products you use in your home, such as paper towel, printer paper, wrapping paper, note books…

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

For more information on Mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos go to…

www.mesothelioma.com

I came across a hyperlink to an article last year about hiding clutter in the home in “secret” spots. Intrigued and curious (why would the writer ask readers to hide their clutter, instead of getting rid of it, I wondered?), I went on to read the article. It turned out to be about hidden storage for items at home (think: platform beds with storage drawers and hidden cabinetry), rather than squirrelling away or stashing your clutter out of sight, which was my first impression upon reading the title.

This led me to wonder whether anyone would have followed the tips given if the write-up had actually been about ways to hide your clutter, which in turn led me to question whether people follow decluttering advice to the letter or if they tweak it to suit their needs or even ignore certain aspects of it, depending on which stage of the decluttering journey they are at.

When I first came across Colleen’s blog, I was taken by the simplicity and ease of her one-item-a-day decluttering method. It was something that I could do immediately – there was no complicated manual to decipher, nothing to purchase and no preparation was required in order to get started. I decluttered my first item that same day and told my husband about it and he was soon on board. I have read a plethora of decluttering and organizing tips in online articles, as well as in magazines and books and have found many helpful and interesting bits of advice. Some of the information was irrelevant to me – not because it was bad, per se – it was just unsuitable for me and the circumstances at that time.

An example that comes to mind is some sporting equipment that had not been used for ages (for far longer than the usual one-year period that is often cited, for allowing something to take up precious space in your home and in your life), and that remained where it was, in good condition, but with absolutely no indication whether it would ever be used again. And one evening, a spontaneous decision was made, to take up that particular sport again; and a couple of days later, the items were being used. It has been about nine months now and they are still being used on a weekly basis.

You know how you always read that you should declutter first before buying storage solutions? Well, we were still in the throes of decluttering when I felt that the existing limited storage was not only not working for us, but was making our home look gloomy. Although we had gotten rid of a great deal of stuff, we were by no means done. I felt disheartened as I couldn’t give the belongings that were “keepers” a proper home and I felt that having a place for them would also enable me to see the actual progress that had been made. So, we took measurements and went out and purchased the absolute minimum amount of storage that we were willing to have. It was a tremendous boost for me as I could actually see everything being neatly put away for easy retrieval and I could see space opening up across our home. It was thus worthwhile to cherry-pick and create a “customized decluttering package” for ourselves.

So, I’m interested to know whether there were any decluttering principles that you tried, which did not work for you. Was there any advice that you read which you ignored or deliberately went against? Or did you adapt or modify anything? What did you do and why?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some paperwork that you keep because you think you should, when in fact a digital copy would suffice. Scan the items and save them to your hard drive or a cloud. Papers such as manuals, old school papers, bills more then two payments old…

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t leave lights on when you aren’t in a room. It takes no longer than the blink of an eye to switch lights on and off, so make the effort to save every precious second of electricity.

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

So today I was out and about with Wendy F and we had a wonderful time shopping and checking out the stuff on the sidewalks ready for bulk waste pickup. And yes I know what you are thinking ~ “What is someone, who writes about decluttering and being environmentally friendly, doing shopping and picking up junk off the sidewalks?”

First of all let me tell you that I bought nothing new and of course the stuff on the sidewalk wasn’t new either. So that is the environmentally friendly side taken care of. The items I purchased at the thrift shop were two reels of thread for a friend, some wooden clothes pegs for me to make some product for the art space, some small elastic bands I will use for merchandising at the thrift shop I volunteer at and a photo album to experiment with for a possible storage solution for my cutting dies. I also bought a shop display stand and some baskets for the art space I work at (secondhand from a shop that is closing down). And the items I picked up from the sidewalk were also intended as merchandise displays for the art space.

So as you can see I salvaged lots of stuff for all sorts of reasons other than bringing them home to clutter up my space. If it turns out they aren’t useful for my art space I will donate them to the other art spaces or the thrift shop so someone else can find a use for them. Better that than they get trashed. If there is one thing I enjoy as much as being creative it is repurposing other’s unwanted stuff.

I suppose it could be said that I put myself in a position to make use of things that otherwise might end up unused. And I can tell you that it is uncanny how “the universe provides”, which leads me to another point of this blog post and that is this…

Don’t ever worry about getting rid of things that you think you might need some day. Because, if you are like me, these things will just appear when you need them and for free or for very little cost. Maybe I am just lucky, or maybe I fortunate to have time to seek these things out, but one thing is for sure, they just seem to appear when I have a need for them. Or perhaps I should say a want. So when I feel that something is cluttering up my space, because I have no immediate use for it, it isn’t a hard decision to let it go.

So, as you can tell from my enthusiasm in this post, I had a fun filled day with Wendy F, finding all sorts of treasures that aren’t going to clutter up my home, that will help rather than cause harm to the environment and fill a need I might otherwise have had to spent a lot of money on, or go without. So never fear the old “I might need it some day monster” and let go of all that stuff that is no use to you now or in the near future.

Today’s Mini Mission

See if you can think of an item to declutter that you rarely if ever use, that you keep only because it is a society norm to have one in your home. I don’t have a coffee table, a barbecue, a handbag to match every outfit, eyeshadow or plastic wrap.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Seek out secondhand items before resorting to buying new. If you have a little patience the thing you need will appear soon enough and much less expensive than buying new.

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.

This week our mini missions are all about the items we keep, not because we want to, but because we feel we should. As I have written about many a time, obligation is not a good reason to keep something. In fact it is bad enough that we have things cluttering up our homes, but feeling we can’t let them go adds yet another element of irritation. So let’s see if we can get some of that obligation clutter out of our homes this week.

Monday – Declutter something that you feel should be kept for sentimental reasons even though it doesn’t spark joy in you to see it.

Tuesday – Declutter something someone else gave you but you no longer want.

Wednesday – See if you can think of an item to declutter that you rarely if ever use, that you keep only because it is a society norm to have one in your home. I don’t have a coffee table, a barbecue, a handbag to match every outfit, eyeshadow or plastic wrap.

Thursday – Declutter a family heirloom that you don’t want to keep. See if there is another family member, no matter how far removed, that would appreciate this item more than you.

Friday – Declutter some paperwork that you keep because you think you should, when in fact a digital copy would suffice. Scan the items and save them to your hard drive or a cloud. Papers such as manuals, old school papers, bills more then two payments old…

Saturday – Declutter things your children made for you. You don’t have to keep everything just your favourites will do. It doesn’t pay to teach kids to be over sentimental about such 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

If you are like me and love to craft, consider the possibility of searching for materials from thrift stores to make your projects. You might be surprised what you can pick up secondhand in such places.

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