I have two telescopic tension rods, the kind you wedge between two hard surfaces to hang curtains from. The reason I still have them, even though I haven’t used them since returning to Australia from the USA, is that they might come in handy one day. The excuse for falling into this old trap is that I don’t think they are sold here in Australia which would make them nigh on impossible if not too expensive to replace should I find a use for them.

Now how is that for a lot of rubbish. Oh, I admit to both that I do have these things for such a ridiculous reason.  I don’t even like curtains, they harbour dust and look so old fashioned. So you know what I did today? I took them down and put them in the trunk of my car to donate to a white elephant fundraising sale for a worthy charity.

So what was behind my sudden grip on reality? Living in our smaller home bring everything in it into question ~ Are they clutter or are they loved or useful to me. Yes I love their clever design and yes they are useful, but to me no. Since moving in to our new home old interests, never gone, have come back to the fore and I need space to arrange the ingredients for them. Therefore any excess is getting in the way of that. Even some of the less used tools on my craft are heading out the door to make the space more functional.

I guess what I am saying here is that one of the keys to decluttering is deciding what is more important ~ Making the space for the life you want to live or dwelling on past useful and/or loved objects. I have no room for such objects and even if I did I find my space more functional when all the excess is out of the way.

Are you clinging on to things because you are somehow attached to them even though you don’t love them or use them. If so, they are clutter and it is about time you let them go. No reasons no excuses.

Today’s Mini Mission

If you have more towels than necessary declutter a few. They take years to wear out so you won’t be leaving yourself short. Donate good ones to a thrift shop and shabby ones to an animal shelter or the like.

Eco Tip for the Day

Use the dishwasher and washing machine during off-peak hours in order to cut down the strain on power infrastructure. This will delay the necessity for expensive polluting upgrades and will save you money to boot. 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

I received the following comment from Kimberley to one of last week’s posts ~ Who Are You Now.

Kinberley wrote: “Your post should be titled, “Isn’t this how clutter begins?” 
We move from one phase of our life to another. We don’t or won’t let go of what used to serve us while at the same time adding things that now do. It’s as simple as doing the math.”

This is so true. The reason much of our clutter builds up is because life moves on for us. The problem with that is that life moves on but we don’t move on the resulting items that become clutter. We understandably hold on to things for a while just in case we revert to our previous life and then after a while we neglect to let go. Sometimes we pass through several stages of life not cleaning up after the last, and in the end we have a house full of unused stuff.

The key to avoiding this is maintenance decluttering. That is, letting go of our stuff from past lives within a reasonable time frame from when we stopped needing the items. I make that sound easy because physically it is. All it takes is identifying this stuff and using whatever means necessary and appropriate for us to pass it on.

The problem for many these days is that, in this fast paced world, we don’t have or don’t take the time to look back and clean up after ourselves. In essence, we complicate our lives so much trying to keep pace with a world gone mad, with earning, consuming, temptation and keeping up with ridiculous ideals, that something has to give. That something is often our time, our families, our friends and of course the state of our homes.

And yet we always seem to find the time to go out and acquire the new potential clutter. So why is it that we can find that time, which, due to comparison shopping, generally takes more time yet we can’t find the time to move the old stuff on. I would like to give you some sort of easy fix solution to this issue but, as you can probably guess, there isn’t one. The reality is that if you can find the time to shop for stuff but don’t find the time to declutter stuff then you are going to end up with a cluttered home. Once you come to terms with this and begin to practice maintenance decluttering then your problem of clutter build up will be gone.

The tips I can give to manage this are…

• …to stay informed about methods of disposal ~ Thrift shops, Sharing sites like Freecycle etc, other charity donation opportunities, garage sales, auction/selling sites like ebay, recycling collection days… ~ and take advantage of them when necessary.
• …sell donate of giveaway your children’s items as they grow out of them.
• …pay attention of your stuff and notice when items are no longer being used. These are the items you shuffle to the back of cupboards, garages, attics and basements.
• …when you find yourself out shopping for something new ask yourself, what is it replacing and let the other similar item go.

Personally I prefer to only replace things when they wear out not just because I feel like something new. This tip will not only helps avoid clutter but also help accumulate savings. And financial security gives as much piece of mind as un uncluttered home.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter any toiletry products you aren’t likely to use because you tried them but didn’t like them. Shampoos, conditioners, bady wash, moisturisers etc. Perhaps donate them to a women’s or men’s shelter.

Eco Tip

Don’t waste that lovely picking liquid that comes in jars of peppers etc. Use it to add a little extra zing to your next DIY salad dressing.

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 missions are inspired by what I store in my bathroom. If you have more than one bathroom focus on the one with the most clutter or spread them over both. No offence ladies but it is usually the females in the house with the most bathroom clutter. Be they the mother figure or the daughters from teenage up. However all but maybe Monday’s apply to the guys as well. So lets have at it.

Monday – Go through your makeup items. Declutter any you don’t use anymore.

Tuesday – Declutter any toiletry products you aren’t likely to use because you tried them but didn’t like them. Shampoos, conditioners, bady wash, moisturisers etc. Perhaps donate them to a women’s or men’s shelter.

Wednesday – If you have more towels than necessary declutter a few. They take years to wear out so you won’t be leaving yourself short. Donate good ones to a thrift shop and shabby ones to an animal shelter or the like.

Thursday – Declutter as many items as possible cluttering up your shower recess. Only keep in there what you use very regularly, as excess items get mouldy and soap scummed which can cause odours and harbour germs.

Friday – Declutter any decor items in your bathroom that only serve to collect dust and mildew. Particularly those waxy candles attracting dust on the side of the bathtub. Artificial flower arrangements are also big dust and mildew attractors.

Saturday – Declutter any drugs or first-aid items whether stored in your bathroom or elsewhere.

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

Don’t accept free promotional products that you have no use for. Accepting these just encourages the continuation of this practice while the environment would be healthier without the manufacture of cheap throwaway or needless items like these usually are.

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

Does your clutter say more about the person you aren’t than the person you are. Or perhaps the person you were, rather than the person you are now.

Lets take “the person you aren’t v. the person you are first.

Do you have outfits in your wardrobe that are the latest fashion but don’t really suit your taste or your body for that matter? Are there also pretty but uncomfortable shoes in there that you avoid using and when you do it is torture. Do you have ingredients in your pantry, shelves of dusty cookbooks or files of unused recipe clippings, and a kitchen full of rarely used utensils, pans and gadgets? Do you have craft supplies for a hobby that you loved the outcome of but have no aptitude to participate in? Do you have pretty, cups, plates and dishes in a china cabinet for fancy dinner parties that you never host?

I could go on and on with other examples but I think you get the idea. Can you see yourself in one of these examples or, after reading them, can come up with other forms of aspiration clutter around your house. If so, ask yourself, “Am I that person or do I only wish I was because it represents someone else’s ideal?” Make a better fist of trying this persona on for size by participating for a while. Long enough to come to a conclusion. Or give it up and be the unique person you really are with your own assets and lovable characteristics.

Question two ~ Does your clutter say more about the person you were rather than the person you are now.

Are there sporting items idle in your home from back in the day when you participated in that sport? Perhaps equipment that you keep telling yourself you might use again someday. Do you have half a closet of clothes that used to fit you and hope will again someday? Do you have old ingredients in your pantry for dishes you can no longer eat because of digestive sensitivities. Do you have a room or closet dedicated to toys and children’s clothes from back in the day when your children weren’t grown and left home. Do you have shelves of books you used to have the time to read once upon a time but now you don’t.

Once again there are more and more examples that I could come up with. I am sure each of us have at least one example of this kind of clutter that we just haven’t got around to disposing of. Then there is the case of not admitting to ourself that we have moved past that phase and are unlikely to ever return.

Take a look around your home and see if you can find examples of these kinds of clutter. I have two drawers full of beading supplies that I doubt I am ever likely to return to. I use the findings to repair broken jewellery for the thrift shop I volunteer at, but aside from that I haven’t actually used any of it for ages. At the very least I need to reduce these supplies, at the most I should let go of nearly all of it except what I really do use. I’ve decided to use some of it for a craft project I have in mind but after that I think I will find an outlet to dispose of what’s left. In fact I have an idea in mind.

Can you be honest with yourself about your aspiration, or past life, clutter? Let us know if you identified any and what you are going to do about it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a tool of some sort. Be it craft, kitchen or garage.

Eco Tip for the Day

Challenge yourself to put every piece of recyclable material in the recycling bin no matter how small.. It is easy to be blasé about small pieces of paper or plastic but so long as they can be recycled they are best kept out of landfill.

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.

Monday – Declutter a piece of memorabilia. Something that doesn’t mean as much to you now as it once did.

Tuesday – Declutter a tool of some sort. Be it craft, kitchen or garage.

Wednesday – Declutter anything with words on. Book, magazine, T-shirt, old bill…

Thursday – Declutter a use-it-up item that you just aren’t using up regardless of good intentions to do so.

Friday – Trim back something, either by quantity or size, that is taking up more room than you’d like. Yesterday I tripped down some wallpaper samples that I intend to use for card making. They were large and awkward but now they fit in with the rest of my papers.

Saturday – Do a task that will result in something leaving your house. Last week I finished edging some material for a friend which I will give back when I see her next. I also sold one of the items I listed on ebay. And I finally delivered an old broken sewing machine to a man who refurbishes them.

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

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

Here is a great comment from Kimberley that I didn’t want anyone to miss…

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some paper clutter ~ magazines, paperwork, old tax papers, expired warranties…

Eco Tip for the Day

Organise your weekly menu prior to grocery shopping. This will help avoid extra trips in the car to the store.

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 the ebay items I am procrastination about.

Do you ever find yourself juggling with the decision whether to donate or sell certain items you have decided to declutter. For me the items I most want to sell are items I feel the need to recoup some monetary loss on. Items that were relatively costly but I never did get much use from. These are items I most definitely want to get out of my house but my thrifty side says ~ “Sell, sell, sell!”  ~ while my I can’t be bothered with all the selling nonsense side says ~ Donate it and just get it the heck out of here, quickly and painlessly.

I have several craft items that I am juggling with this decision about right now. And I have had many such experiences in the past. What do I usually end up doing? I think it is about 50/50 sell v donate. And then there are the times when I have listed an item on ebay and it didn’t sell so I donated it anyway.

You would be forgiven for wondering why it is that, after all this time, I still find myself struggling with this decision from time to time. The answer with that is that question is that my desire to make some money back is equal to the amount I dislike going to the trouble of listing items on ebay.

I have done the pros and cons list and they come out about even…

• Making some cash v feeling good about making a donation
• Not having to pack up the item v Using up some of those pre-used packaging materials lingering in the garage cage.
• Getting it out of here quickly v the tantalising anticipation of receiving bids and the joy of a successful sale.
• Having to go to the post office v The extra exercise and nice harbour side walk to the post office.
• All that bother v the cash in hand.

You know what I am going to do. Finish off this post and just list the darn things instead of wasting the next hour browsing Pinterest for more craft ideas when I have so many going on in my head already. Why waste my brain space procrastinating while I waste my precious time faffing about doing nothing important.

See you, I have work to do.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter plastic items, excess shopping bags, kitchen containers, broken toys…

Eco Tip for the Day

Try to replace at least a couple of meat meals a week with plant based offerings.

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

The story of Adam and Eve, I believe, is about more than just defying Gods wishes and giving into temptation. Even many religious people believe this to be a made up story, a parable if you will, to make a point. Or even several points, if you read between the lines.  One clear lesson of this parable, that I see, is to be satisfied with what you have and not be forever wanting for more or other things.

Given the age of this story, even if made up, it is obvious that people have been inherently greedy for a millennia or more. So why is it that no matter how much we have we are always wanting something else. This gets me to thinking about another things that the nuns taught us about in Catholic School, and that is purgatory. This is a place, we were told, where sinners go when they die to suffer for their sins before being allowed into heaven.

Here is the definition as per my Apple Macbook dictionary…

purgatory |ˈpərgəˌtôrē|
noun (pl. purgatories)
(in Roman Catholic doctrine) a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven.
• mental anguish or suffering: this was purgatory, worse than anything she’d faced in her life.

It has occurred to me more than once since my school days that it seems that we are already inhabiting such a purgatory. This state of never being satisfied with what we have is certainly a form of suffering in my opinion. It is a state that I am sure many of us would happily live without. It is a constant state of ~ This one next thing, or being just a little more financially comfortable, will make us happy. Then when we reach that state we once again find a new “one next thing or state of financial security” that will make us happy sometime in the future. Preferably sooner rather than later. If that isn’t a form of suffering then I don’t know what is.

My declutter journey has certainly eased this suffering for me, but the demons still come to visit now and again. Financial security is my Achilles heel but the desire to acquire can also creep up on me at times. I must say that I get far more long term satisfaction from letting go of things than I ever do from acquiring them. Maybe there is a lesson not to be missed from that experience.

And I don’t need to tell you that the more we resist these temptations the less we need to declutter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter shabby fabric items other than clothes. Worn out napkins, rags, table cloths, cushion covers…

Eco Tip for the Day

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The more we refuse to acquire, therefore reducing our consumption and reusing what we already have, the better caretakers of the environment we become. And the less recycling we need to do.

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 didn’t have a theme for this weeks missions until I realised as I wrote Friday’s mission that most of the items I had mentioned in my list were items that tend to accumulate. Although I suppose clutter in general accumulates but many if the things I mentioned here tend to accumulate over and over again. Sometimes slowly and unnoticed until you eventually realise how numerous they have become. So lets get to reducing their number this week.

Monday - Declutter some digital clutter. Perhaps photos, emails or documents that are no longer needed.

Tuesday – Declutter shabby fabric items other than clothes. Worn out napkins, rags, table cloths, cushion covers…

Wednesday – Declutter plastic items, excess shopping bags, kitchen containers, broken toys…

Thursday – Declutter some paper clutter ~ magazines, paperwork, old tax papers, expired warranties…

Friday – Declutter out of date items ~ drugs, first aid items, pantry foods (spices for example), makeup…

Saturday – Declutter other items that have begun accumulating around your home recently. Perhaps, stationary items, books, hotel toiletries, freebies, unfinished projects, more of any of the items above…

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

Where possible, have family members take showers one after the other so as not to require wasting water getting it hot.

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

Recently my parents put a deposit on a property in a gated retirement community. I have to say I am very proud of them for taking this step. Mind you, it isn’t a fait accompli until the home is built and they have moved in, but being open to the idea and making the first move is a wonderful thing.

The home my parents are currently living in has become far more than people at their stage in life to should have to maintain ~ inside and out. In my opinion, the home itself has become their biggest item of clutter. Too many rooms to keep dusted, vacuumed and fresh, to much yard to mow and gardens to weed. Now they have decided to trade that in for a smaller premises, with added security and with lots of extra amenities thrown it ~ that they don’t have to maintain.

 For many people taking this step can be very difficult, sometimes only taken when fate steps in and deals them a painful blow, so to speak, which forces their hand. Often, once taken, these folks wonder why they were so reluctant because the outcome was far better than they had envisioned. Sadly I have also heard of many cases where the previous dwelling was the actual cause of that painful blow, due to its unsuitability for the persons mobility or reduced capacity to deal with the responsibilities involved.

My husband and I have already made such a move in our middle age. Better sooner than later I say, than wearing oneself out on unnecessary household duties.

I am glad that my parents have, through choice,  moved from house to  house throughout their married life making it less difficult to make this next move. but this isn’t the case for many people. Some having lived in, raised their children in and intend to die in the same home for just about their entire adult lives. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them. And for some it is never necessary to make the move.

Like my parents, my husband and I have also been temporary dwellers in several homes. To us a home is where the heart is and the heart can be very transplantable in our case. Like Marco’s blue polo shirt in the post I linked to yesterday, the difference ii a polo shirt v the polo shirt. We are happy with a home to live in not needing it to be one particular house.

Has your home become your largest item of clutter. And if not, this question sure puts into perspective how trivial all those other smaller items of clutter are. Even if your current home is really quite suitable for you now is a good time to practise not being attached to material things by letting go of those little unimportant items.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a something you have kept out of obligation but really wanted out of your house for some time. Perhaps an unwanted gift or a family heirloom you wish to hand on the responsibility to someone else in the family.

Eco Tip for the Day

Give consumable gifts. Preferably one from sustainable sources.

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