I received an email some time ago from an online magazine, called Get Organized, asking if they could publish an article that they had seen on my blog. The article was written by Moni, one of our regular readers and commenters. She has been a big part of our discussions here at 365 Less Things for quite a while now and has written an article for us every now and again. She was happy for them to publish the article in their magazine and I received a follow up email last week saying that it had gone to print.

Below is a copy of the article in the magazine and I have also included the original article for you to reread. I figured if the magazine thought it was worth printing then it sure was worth republishing here. Perhaps you would also like to take a look at Get Organized for yourself. Enjoy.

KEEPING THE STANGEST OF THEINGS by Moni Gilbert

I shudder at the idea of going back to my old ways of having stuff, more stuff, stored stuff, collected stuff and yet more stuff…..and then being very surprised that the house is full of stuff!

But in spite of all that, I still keep the strangest of things. I don’t know why, there is no logic to it, but I have difficulties getting rid of empty cardboard boxes and shopping bags, especially if they are from particularly nice clothes store or from a surf wear shop.

There is a wee corner of my brain that insists cardboard boxes are useful. Maybe they are, maybe they’re not, but I can get as many as I want any time that I want from my local Pak’n’Save. I have no plans to store anything and no need to carry anything in the foreseeable future but I faithfully stack a small pile of them in the garage until finally the rational part of my brain turns up a few days later and breaks them down for recycling.

Shopping bags. I’m not talking about supermarket bags or ones from the mainstream stores, but the rather nice looking ones. I carefully fold them and place them inside a bag in my craft cupboard. There is only ever 5-10 sitting there and every so often I decide that today is the day I will declutter them, but it just doesn’t happen. The only reason I can think of is that when I was a girl my mum used to do the same thing.

At the time the economy was suffering under high inflation, extreme interest rates and a government introduced compulsary car-less day once a week to combat fuel costs. Our town was small and this was before the era of cheap ‘Made In China’ clothing, so mum sewed what she could of our clothing and we accepted and donated hand-me-down clothes, it didn’t bother us and was widely acceptable in our community.

So a pretty shopping bag represented luxury and they were probably still a new thing as I recall a drawer full of folded up paper bags used for everything from lining baking tins to art projects to lighting the fire to holding rubbish. Wherever possible, we passed on our hand-me-down clothes in a nice plastic carrier bag with a shop logo on it. Why I don’t know, as it was only being carried from house to car and car to house and wouldn’t actually be seen by the greater public, but it seemed to be the tradition.

I mentioned this story to a friend over the weekend and she got a smile on her face and told me that she keeps the paper flour sacks, to line baking tins for making fruit cake. The thing is that she has never made a fruit cake. Her mother and grandmother were fruit cake legends but the baking gene completely skipped her, but she still feels a need to keep these paper flour sacks.

Another friend religiously saves seeds from pumpkins and dries them on the kitchen window sill as her mother used to dry hers for planting, but my friend lives in an apartment block and has never had a garden.

So why do we carry on these little traditions from yester year? Who knows? Strangely I feel more of an attachment to these pretty plastic carrier bags than I do towards many other items that I haven’t thought twice about getting rid of.

So what is my strategy to deal with this? Well, the first step is to make sure that no more come into the house, although this is fairly easy as I am not the shopping fiend that I used to be but also to politely decline a plastic carrier bag or if on a shopping trip to utilise one bag for all purchases. Colleen will also advocate that this is good for the environment. I actually had to decline one yesterday – shopping for a school bag – yes, a bag for the bag!

And as for the existing bags? Well, I have a number of items on trademe (like ebay) at the moment, and I will honour my mum’s tradition of passing on clothes and use these for packaging rather than buying postal bags. Ironically this isn’t a cheaper option but it will save me from buying another plastic bag, while these hide in the cupboard.

So does anyone else out there find themselves keeping the strangest of things and if so do you know why?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a couple of trinkets, knick knacks or whatever you like to call them.

Eco Tip for the Day

Choose to live in a walkable neighbourhood with conveniences close by so you don’t have to resort to taking your car out when you need something. I can attest to the fact that this is a fuel and money saver.

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 jar of beads ~ destination thrift shop

Last night I was browsing through Pinterest.com, as I often do, and I stumbled across a cute piece of jewellery made from seed beads. It inspired me to dig my seed beads from among my craft supplies and have a go at duplicating the design. I took me about ten minutes to realise that I have never had the patients to work with such tiny elements. I much prefer the speed at which one can create a beautiful jewellery piece from larger beads and findings.

As a result, ten minutes of faffing turned into an hour of going through my beading supplies and separating out all the beads that I didn’t care much for. Including those seed beads of course and several other less attractive or cheap beads that had survived previous culls. I now have a hug jar of beads to donate to the thrift shop and almost two empty containers in my craft drawer which I can used to better organise the paper crafting supplies that I do use.

So if you have something that you think you might use one day, get it out and have a play with it. You may not want to make a snap decision but continue to use the item for a week or so to be sure. However it you are left feeling frustrated or uninspired then perhaps it is time to let the item/s go.

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter excess plush toys and then wash and air out the ones you keep. This is probably more than a mini mission but it is a job that needs doing occasionally.

Eco Tip for the Day

Check to see if something can be repaired before writing it off. My old sewing machine recently had an issue which I thought would be its death null. As I scoured a local selling site for a replacement secondhand machine I came across a seller who repairs old machines as a hobby/pocket money earner in his retirement. Although I was so tempted to buy a new modern machine I took mine to him to get the verdict. As it turned out the problem had, in a fashion, fixed itself. A part that wasn’t necessary had caused another problem but in my attempt to solve it via another means actually blew up the faulty part bypassing it and solving the issue that had rendered the machine useless. The sewing machine guy charged me ten dollars to do a quick service on it and I promised to alert him to any cheap machines that come into the thrift shop where I work. Therefore saving my machine and potentially more machines from the scrap heap in the future. All round a very satisfying experience. He also assured me that no better machine had ever been made than the one I already owned. An opinion that had been verified in the past by other sewing machine service people.

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.

For this week’s mini missions I have focused on items that collect dust. I am sure I don’t need to tell you yet again about the allergy issues surrounding dust collectors.  I could come up with enough missions for a month on this topic alone but here are six for you to be getting on with.

Monday – I have given the bookworms a bit of a reprieve for a while because I felt I was forever picking on them but the break is over. Books are big dust collectors and also can become quite musty when kept in damp places without good ventilation. So this week how about decluttering ten books from your collection that you are least likely to read again.

Tuesday – Declutter excess plush toys and then wash and air out the ones you keep. This is probably more than a mini mission but it is a job that needs doing occasionally.

Wednesday – Declutter a couple of trinkets, knick knacks or whatever you like to call them.

Thursday – Declutter at least one fabric item that just sits on or drapes over furniture or hangs on a wall. Cushions, throw rugs, curtains, embroideries etc fall into this category. If they aren’t being used chances are they are collecting dust and slowly perishing.

Friday – Declutter a dusty old box of stuff that hasn’t been opened for years. If it has had so little attention then you don’t need or love the contents enough to keep it.

Saturday – Declutter a piece of exercise equipment that you probably ought to be using but aren’t. If you can’t do that then start using it.

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

One for the warmer months. Wet yourself in the shower then turn it off to soap yourself then on again to rinse.  Word is that an average of 60 litres of water are use to take a shower. Imagine how much less it could be using this method. I have been doing this during the summer and lo and behold, without my knowing it, my husband had been doing the same. Any wonder out water bill was so low.

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

We all have one of those relatives right? You know the one, they are always inviting us to come and stay but we always find an excuse not to go. It isn’t that we don’t love this person or that we wouldn’t love to see them, we just don’t want to stay in their house.

It is nothing short of a health hazard. There is stuff piled up here there and everywhere that you are fearful you may trip over. And that is in the daylight, heaven forbid you should need to negotiate your way through that minefield in the middle of the night should you need to use the toilet. Then there is the allergies to the cat hair that has been accumulating in, under and on the furniture for months. And goodness only knows how long some of those food stuffs have been in the refrigerator or pantry. And where are the kids supposed to sleep, you can’t get past the door to the third bedroom and the second sofa is piled up with laundry, magazines, unfinished craft projects and who knows what. And don’t even get me started on the dust allergies from those hundreds of nicknacks cluttering every shelf…

It is much easier for dear old Aunt Betty to come stay with you than for her to try to prepare her home for visitors. And this arrangement is much better for your allergies and nerves too

What I am saying is ~ Don’t be Aunt Betty. Let go of what lies between you and the ability to welcome people into your home at a moments notice. And have loved ones want to spend time with you in your home. This doesn’t have to mean letting go of all the things you love, just enough of the excess to make your home comfortable for, and inviting to, others.

This is a good enough goal. You don’t need to be a minimalist just be that family member whose family happily say yes to your invitations to stay. Wouldn’t that be nice?

 Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from under a bed, if you store things there. If not choose a place you store seldom used items in.

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

This is what I decluttered on the day of the original post. Can’t say we’ve missed it.

I was wondering what I should write about today when it occurred to me that I have just past the four year anniversary of blogging about decluttering here at 365 Less Things. That got me thinking about how things have changed and in some cases how things haven’t. My living circumstances have certainly changed, having reached the goal I originally started out trying to achieve. I am a little amazed that the goal never really changed over that time.

However, my principles of decluttering haven’t changed at all. So today I thought, just for fun I would dig up a blog post from about this time four years ago. I chose one on retail therapy, something I have not reverted to since writing this post. I only go to the shops if there is something I need to buy. In fact sometimes I need to buy things, like the new bra I really ought to get, but keep putting it of for several weeks because I just can’t be bothered.

So without further adieu here it is.

I have discovered that decluttering is the cure for resorting to retail therapy.

How often do we use retail therapy to make up for times when we feel down, disappointed, bored and other conditions of the mind. What does this kind of therapy do to improve the situation? Usually it just adds more problems like credit card debt, guilt, regret and potential clutter.

It has amazed me how quickly I formed a dislike to shopping once I committed myself to my 365 day resolution to de-clutter my home.

Now when I get spare time I don’t get bored, I use that time to find the next thing I am going to get rid of, rearrange an area that has been somewhat decluttered, or try to come up with a subject for my next blog post. This leads to the satisfaction that I am using my time constructively and am less likely to feel down. I generally feel better about myself and my bank account is looking healthier too. Not to mention the satisfaction that I am helping others by donating items to charity.

Has decluttering changed your attitude to recreational shopping. If so, tell us about it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from the basement or attic  if you have one.

Eco Tip for the Day

If doing the right thing by the environment isn’t inspiration enough to be eco friendly, consider how much money it could save you.

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.

So what are we going to get rid of this week. I think it is time for a little decluttering in those out of the way places that are easy to ignore. So lets get started.

Monday – Declutter something from the garage, back yard shed or car park storage space.

Tuesday – Declutter something from the basement or attic  if you have one.

Wednesday – Declutter something from the guest room.

Thursday – Declutter something from under a bed, if you store things there. If not choose a place you store seldom used items in.

Friday – Declutter something from a high self in a cupboard or closet.

Saturday – Declutter something from the depths of a kitchen cupboard that is hard to reach the back of.

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 leave your car idling for unnecessary periods of time such as when you pull over to use your cell phone. 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your car.

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

As anyone who has been reading here for a while knows, I have decluttered a lot of craft stuff over the last four years. My goodness, it actually has been more than four years now that I have been blogging about decluttering. Anyway, I had a tonne of paper crafting supplies which I reduced down to an amount I was happy with. I had designated a space I wanted them to fit into and achieved that goal. You can go to my Before and After page for a look if you haven’t already seen the results.

I did not declutter them all my supplies I spent very little time using them for the last few years. This is because I have always been a crafter and always will be. I love making stuff, creating with my own two hands. Both my parents are good with their hands, making and mending and it seem to run in the family. So I knew that one day my attention would return more fully to my creating, so there was no way I was going to let the best of my craft stuff go.

Well that time has come. I got creative again after christmas when I made my yearly supply of birthday cards. Then one day while taking a walk I saw a notice in an art space window. We have a project happening here in Newcastle called “The Renew Newcastle Project” the concept is that the owners of empty retail spaces loan their space to this project. Artist apply for the spaces and if lucky get to set up a gallery/shop there at next to no cost. So one of these spaces occupied by the NANA gallery had a notice in their window looking for people to volunteer to do four hour shifts manning their gallery. In return the volunteer is able to display and sell their own works. I jumped at the change and have been creating and selling my handmade cards there for about six weeks now. Each week my cards have become more and more popular.

Now don’t get too excited, I sell them really cheaply so I am not making a fortune. But I now have an outlet to sell what I make. This means that I am ploughing through my overstocked craft supplies at a faster rate every week. Decluttering, making money and loving every minute of being creative. I am also really enjoying the four hour shift, interacting with the other makers and the public. I make do with what I have on hand, actually designing around that, so that I am not adding to stocks of paper, ribbon, embellishments, etc. I do buy white & black cardstock as this is the base for many of the cards and also small tools but there is way more going out the door than is coming in. And what has come in is only stuff I have an immediate use for. No more buying stuff just because I like the look of it and “might use it some day”. That is what gets most crafter in a cluttered mess. That and having a limited outlet for the finished product.

So if you are a crafter, take it from me, only buy what you are going to use immediately. Only buy tools that are versatile and are guaranteed to be used over and over and over again. Know your own style and don’t buy random supplies and tools because they seem interesting. Consider the purchase for a good while to be sure it meets that criteria. And let go of all those things that you haven’t used for years and aren’t likely to. There are old folks homes, craft groups, schools, daycare centres etc etc etc, that will be more than happy to take your unwanted stuff off your hands.

Joyful creating and happy decluttering to all those crafters out there.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item that is only an alternative to another similar item that you now realise you don’t need multiples of.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t leave tasks linger for so long that you have to redo them such as drying the washing or folding it. This can cause you to have to waste more electricity rewashing and ironing. Need I also mention your wasted time and wear and tear on your appliances.

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 I just want to share with you a couple of post from other bloggers that I enjoyed, and a comment from one of your fellow 365ers.

1. A great article ~ For many people, gathering possessions is just the stuff of life.  I found the link to this article in the Becoming Minimalist Newsletter . In Joshua’s newsletter I also enjoyed his lead article ~ Answer softly, answer clearly. He and I follow the same approach when it comes to this article. However the real point to it is to follow the same principle when dealing with similar realtime situations. I must say though that the same online delivery system used by the offending person becomes a Godsend for the time it affords one to formulate and deliver a response. I suppose in realtime the strategy of think before you open your mouth is all one has to fall back on. It is too easy to jump angrily to ones own defence in this situation. I know I am guilty of that at times but am working towards taking a few deep breaths and being a bigger person.

2.  Michelle sent me this post to share with you. I found it a little amusing but others might find it a little blunt. Either way it is good common sense.

3.  And a shared declutter story ~

I just had my partner give me 5 weeks home alone the dog went to his boarding place – a happy home with more dogs of his breed and I decluttered and destuffed. On my computer screen I have the Mantra: A place for everything and everything in its place There was once a time when I had that because we had very little income, yet lived comfortably What I began to realize a year or more ago, that the place to put things was filled with stuff which was no longer necessary Now I am getting back to that situation, where there is room for the things I do want AND I also made decisions that I would no longer think about doing all the myriad crafts, arts, fun things, etc for which I’d been saving equipment but never used, My life is some simpler. When I go to a store and “things begin singing to me: ‘buy me’ “ I remind myself that I do not need it and have no place for it I have a friend who will not bring a new thing into her home without taking something else out of her home This includes a book, a piece of pottery, what-have-you. She is a good role model Years ago, at a spiritual retreat, the leader warned us: If you take up this discipline, you will have to remove something from your life. There is still only 24 hrs each day. This also applies to “stuff” I enjoy reading your blog, I read others and they all help me to stay focused. I am not entirely there yet, but getting closer. Maybe 85% of the way Thank you for your words ~ Mary Farley

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that the kids have grown out of or that belongs to a child that has left home. Get their permission first of course.

Eco Tip for the Day

Watch less television. Find something to do for amusement that doesn’t require electricity in place of at least one session of your weekly television viewing. This of course will only work if the television gets turned off and not watched by someone else in the family. Perhaps you could instigate an old fashioned games night.

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 Willow yesterday…

“I like to do the mini missions when I am cleaning different rooms in my house. For example, as I was cleaning the bathroom, I decided to declutter the baskets we use to keep things organized (like my makeup, nail files). I pulled out all the old expired little medicine bottles and we were able to get rid of several which I will put in a plastic bag and recycle at the local police station tomorrow. It’s amazing what I find as I’m cleaning.”

I was amused by the comment and inspired to write this post at the same time. The reason for my amusement was that I had decided to answer some comments while at the same time hoping that one might inspire a blog post. Willow’s was the very first comment I read which gave me exactly what I needed.

I was also amused because she and I do the exact same thing – Start cleaning and end up finding areas of our homes to declutter. Today while I was cleaning I opened the under sink cupboard in the kitchen to get out some cleaner and ended up decluttering two hand soap bottles, to the recycling bin, that I had put aside in case I found a use for them, which I hadn’t. I also relocated my cleaning rags and sponges to an empty drawer. This effort left me with two empty baskets which I relocated to under the bench on the balcony. These baskets get repurposed over and over again. I think I have owned them for most of my married life.

The drawer that I relocated the rags and sponges to had become vacant when I relocated the spices that were in it to my wonderful new pantry drawers. Remember me saying how dysfunctional my pantry was, well it isn’t anymore. Three annoying deep shelves have been replaced by Five very functional soft close drawers of various depths. That won’t be the last reorganising in the kitchen either as the master cabinet maker will be back soon to complete the work he has started of changing my pots and pan/small appliance cupboard into a set of three drawers including a utensil drawer. I will post some photos when it is all complete.

But I digress. So often when I am cleaning do I get sidetracked into a little unscheduled decluttering. I am usually keen to get to the end of my cleaning but when a decluttering opportunity presents itself I just can’t help myself. It gives me a very satisfying feeling that spurs me on with my cleaning once I am done.

I suppose the moral of this story is ~ Always keep your eye out for a decluttering opportunity and don’t let the chance go by when it presents itself. And if it inspires some chain reaction decluttering, all the better. It is a great thing when a little decluttering ends with a whole bag of stuff in the trunk of your car ready to take to the thrift shop.

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter an item you realise you no longer love enough to keep now that you would rather space and simplicity over stuff.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t forget your reusable bags when going shopping. I keep a folded one in my handbag at all times so I am never get caught short. I think it has substituted for about 100 plastic bags by now. Worth its weight in gold I’d say.

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.

As we travel further down the road to minimalism certain things that were, or at least we thought were, useful become clutter as we realise that we really don’t need them. It is all part of the process or should I say progress. Here are some missions that will help you identify some of those items as well as others that build up while you aren’t noticing.

Monday – Declutter a storage container or organising system that you no longer need due to your decluttering. This week I am decluttering a drawer organiser that I no longer need.

Tuesday – Declutter an item you realise you no longer love enough to keep now that you would rather space and simplicity over stuff.

Wednesday – Declutter something that the kids have grown out of or that belongs to a child that has left home. Get their permission first of course.

Thursday – Declutter an item that is only an alternative to another similar item that you now realise you don’t need multiples of.

Friday – Check to make sure useful recyclable items aren’t building up in your home, glass jars, takeout containers, shopping bags, plant pots, biscuit tins, cardboard boxes etc.

Saturday – Start a use it up challenge on something. Even I still find these items at time. Jam or a condiment that wasn’t so popular, shampoo that wasn’t great, other toiletries you just have too many of…

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

Drink tap water in preference to carbonated beverages. It doesn’t take a genius to work out how much better that is for the environment. Your waistline and your teeth will thank you for it as well.

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