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

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

In this comment Melissa tells us about how just the right gift from her mother helped her declutter lots of related clutter.

And this comment also from Melissa proves that happy decluttering requires good communication.

I loved this declutter story from Megan S. Sometimes leaving things lying around can actually reduced clutter rather than add to it. Read about it here.

In this comment from Christine, she tells us about how a couple of homes away from home confirmed for her what she wants for the place she actually does call home.

CJ tells us about one small clutter vice he has and has committed to find a better way for the sake of his partner. Good luck CJ.

Ideealistin’s wise thoughts on declutter regrets.

I especially like the last sentence in this comment from Andréia.

Mel has recently discovered 365 Less Things and in this comment tells us about two methods she uses to help her reduce her belongings and why.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

YouTube Video sent by Wendy F ~  www.youtube.com ~ The Good Consumer

I always love a good blog post about cleaning without chemicals, so here is one from onegoodthingbyjillee.com ~ The-countless-uses-for-baking-soda-besides-baking.

I think we have featured this article before but given Thursday’s blog topic it is worth a second look. Thank you Wendy F for reminding me of it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Empty, sort and clean out your cutlery drawer. In the last two houses I have lived in, the cutlery drawer has been right below the bread board. As a result crumbs get into the drawer. My children also had a tendency to go to this drawer for a pair of scissors to snip off the end of food packaging and then, as kids do, leave the snipped off piece in the drawer. Also twist ties and rubber bands tend to accumulate here. Being as we no longer eat much bread and the kids have left home I no longer have most of these problems. However this drawer still needs a good clean out every now and again.

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

Do you ever think about how your clutter affects the other members of your household? Do you think they don’t mind because they don’t complain about it? Have you ever considered that they don’t complain because they have simply weighed up the risk of upsetting you over it and decided you are more important? How unfair and ultimately heartbreaking is that.

Would you do the same for them? Would you grant them the same loyalty if they said, it’s your clutter or me, make a choice? Would you let them go easier than your clutter?

Or do the other members of your household complain about the clutter and yet you still don’t do anything about it? Do you care about them enough to make the effort to change your habits? In small increments these changes are not so hard to accomplish for those that you care about.

Is your clutter problem affecting those around you in other ways aside from the inconvenience or discomfort of it? Are your habits rubbing off on your children? Are you teaching them that possessions are more important than they ought to be? Are you teaching them that being happy depends on continuously acquiring stuff?

Is your habit of acquiring stuff affecting your family financially? Are you going into debt to support this habit or could your family enjoy more wonderful life experiences together, if the money wasn’t being wasted on stuff? Do your and/or your partner work harder and longer hours then need be to pay for the things you don’t really need, while the children hardly get to spend any waking moments with you? Could your children’s college funds be healthier if less money was wasted on unnecessary stuff?

Even if you think these questions are a bit melodramatic for your situation, consider taking a look at the areas of your home that you think are the most cluttered. Now think of the other members of the family that use these areas. Ask them if the clutter in these areas are inconveniencing or disturbing them in any way and see what response you get. Make sure you give them a free pass to give an honest answer.

Today’s Mini Mission

Empty and dust the most cluttered shelf in your home. This might be in a bookcase, a display cabinet, a shelf in your kitchen or even in your linen closet. Either way, doing this job will bring your attention to just how many items are on there, and may just inspire you to get rid of a few.

Eco Tip for the Day

Consider doing some things by hand rather than using an electrical appliance. Mix that cake by hand, tighten that screw with an old fashioned screw driver rather than and electric drill, sweep the floor rather than vacuum, rake up the leaves rather than using a leaf blower, let your hair dry naturally, wash the dishes by hand…

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 have only read 27 pages of Karen Kingston’s book ~ Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui and so far it is obvious to me that what I said last week is true.   Although I have only ever read the occasional article here and there on Feng Shui, and even less on the relationship of Feng Shui to clutter, there are a lot of parallels between these teachings and what I have been conveying here at 365 Less Things since I began blogging about decluttering. The words “negative energy” or “stagnant energy” really have much the same meaning as the “unhealthy relationship”, that I have talked about, between people and their clutter. That tug of war, if you will, that exists between the sentimental or other attachment to our stuff while at the same time, whether knowingly or unknowingly, we feel oppressed by it. We want it to be gone but we can’t bring ourselves to break the ties it has on us.

In chapter 4 ~ What is Clutter Exactly, Karen names her four categories of clutter. Below in bold I have stated those categories and beside each I have given the version I have described over and over again here at 365 Less Things.

• Things you do not use or love = Things you keep only out of obligation, habit or fear.

• Things that are untidy or disorganised = Where you have so much stuff that you just can’t find the energy or how-to to get or stay organised.
• Too many things in too small a space = The parallel is obvious here.
• Anything unfinished = Aspiration clutter .

I do have to draw the line at believing that the history in the walls of a home can affect the new occupants, even without them being aware of that history. That is a little too hocus pocus for me. However I can already see, after reading so few pages, that this ancient practice and believe system does make it simple to describe the negatives feelings and connections to clutter, that I have at times struggled to convey in my writings. This paragraph from the book is a perfect example of that…

Having Clutter Can Keep You in the Past

When all your available space is filled with clutter, there is no room for anything new to come into your life. Your thoughts tend to dwell in the past, and you feel bogged down with problems which have dogged you for some time. You tend to look back rather than forward in your life, blaming the past for your current situation rather than taking responsibility for creating a better tomorrow. Clearing your clutter allows  you to begin to deal with your problems and move forward. You have to release the past to create a better tomorrow.

Although I tend to agree with this statement, I personally couldn’t so confidently confirm that decluttering your home will solve all your issues from your past, but it sure is a good place to start.

No doubt this book will continue to influence my blogging while I am reading through it and at the end I will do a full review of my thoughts on the book. For now though, I can plainly see the parallels of these ancient teachings and what I believe about clutter and I am eager to read more.

Today’s Mini Mission

Clean behind a piece of furniture that is against a wall. This job will, at the least, include making enough space in the room to be able to pull the item away from the wall so you can clean behind it. At worse, if the item contains breakable items or it has items resting on it you may have to remove them first. For the sake of this exercise, as clutter is the special subject here at 365, choose an item that does require emptying. It will make you think twice about whether you need or want to have to go to this much trouble every time you clean behind it. Keep in mind that in order to keep your home properly clean this task should happen at least quarter yearly.

Eco Tip for the Day

Making a nice big one pot meal takes no more time or energy than a smaller one, but it does save on effort and energy by creating leftovers meals.

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 have begun reading Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui – by Karen Kingston. I borrowed it from the library, of course. One thing she suggests you do to clear the stale energy from your home is clear away physical grime. It is only too easy to be oblivious to this grime even being there because, for the most part, our home look clean but it does lurk unnoticed nevertheless. Or worse still, we know it is there but ignore it. Therefore this weeks mini missions will revolve around cleaning some of those hidden, sometimes in plain view, places while noticing how clutter can contribute to that grime.

Monday – Dust your skirting boards either throughout the whole house or just in the most cluttered room. One thing I have noticed, while cleaning skirting boards, is the number of obstructions that get in the way of the task. Furniture would be the biggest culprit, but many other little bits and pieces can also get in the way. For example, in my walk-in wardrobe there are some things stored on the floor which obstruct my efforts in this area of cleaning. If you encounter a lot of these obstructions during this mission, consider whether you have way too many of them and if you can or are willing to do something about it.

Tuesday – Clean behind a piece of furniture that is against a wall. This job will, at the least, include making enough space in the room to be able to pull the item away from the wall so you can clean behind it. At worse, if the item contains breakable items or it has items resting on it you may have to remove them first. For the sake of this exercise, as clutter is the special subject here at 365, choose an item that does require emptying. It will make you think twice about whether you need or want to have to go to this much trouble every time you clean behind it. Keep in mind that in order to keep your home properly clean this task should happen at least quarter yearly.

Wednesday – Clean the outside of, and behind your fridge. If you have stuff on your fridge this will all have to come off first in order to do the job properly. If you have an old fashioned fridge with the element visible you should also gently vacuum this element. Once again this task ought to be executed about every three months and the less there is to move each time the easier the job will be.

Thursday – Empty and dust the most cluttered shelf in your home. This might be in a bookcase, a display cabinet, a shelf in your kitchen or even in your linen closet. Either way, doing this job will bring your attention to just how many items are on there, and may just inspire you to get rid of a few.

Friday – Empty, sort and clean out your cutlery drawer. In the last two houses I have lived in, the cutlery drawer has been right below the bread board. As a result crumbs get into the drawer. My children also had a tendency to go to this drawer for a pair of scissors to snip off the end of food packaging and then, as kids do, leave the snipped off piece in the drawer. Also twist ties and rubber bands tend to accumulate here. Being as we no longer eat much bread and the kids have left home I no longer have most of these problems. However this drawer still needs a good clean out every now and again.

Saturday – Dust around the frames of all of the wall art or photo frames you have hanging on the walls in your home. I do this at least every two weeks. A slightly damp microfibre cloth is the best tool I have found to do this job, as it will not only hold any dust it encounters but will also give the glass a nice polish. Glass on the walls can tend to get grimy over time if not wiped regularly.

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 throw perfectly good items in the trash just because it’s easier than taking it to the thrift store. Collect them up over time and do one big drop off or list them on Freecycle.org if you want to save yourself the bother of delivering them.

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

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

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

Here are one wise and one amusing comments left by dizzy this week.

And the Change post this week resulted in some great comments from… Melissa ~ Lucinda & Loretta

This comment is from a readers who had not commented before. Shelley welcome to 365 Less Things and thank you for sharing your story.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Here is a post for LucindaSans that tells about some decluttering inspire by Andréia, one of your fellow 365ers.

Here are two good links from Tony at We Do THis Only Once. Read them here and here

This post from The Change Blog ~ Facing Your Biggest Fears may be based on a situation much different to letting go of stuff but the principles can apply to both and many other scary situations.

Moni sent through this link to a great online resource for those readers in the USA looking for a place to donate your gently used unwanted stuff.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter excess plastic kitchen storage items. I have discovered that there is often just as many of these items waiting to be used as there are ones in use. This means to me that, for the most part, I have more than I really need or else the majority of them would be in service most of the time. I think it is time I gave a few more to my daughter.

Eco Tip For The Day

Plan ahead and get all the ingredients you need, for a recipe you are following, from the fridge at once, rather than opening and shutting it several times letting the cold air escape.

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

In Cindy’s post yesterday she talked a little about staging a home for selling purposes. This got me thinking two things ~ 1.) Why wait until you are about to sell before making your home look good. 2.) A home can look good without being impersonal such as they suggest in this staging process.

How nice would it be were your home in a state where it looks good enough to show people through at the drop of a hat while still having those personal touches that make it feel like home? Keeping in mind that people viewing a home, with the intent to buy, will look in your storage areas to see how they are configured.

Why wait to make your home look good for complete strangers while you live day to day in the inferior version of what your home could be? Don’t you deserve that much from yourself?

I have viewed a lot of homes in the last year with the intension that if we found one that was just right we would consider taking the plunge into actually buying a home to live in. Some of these homes have had occupants  whether owners or renters, who clearly weren’t too house proud, and I can tell you that among these I have seen some pretty scary examples of how not to present a home to the public eye.* There have also been some examples of homes that don’t appear to have been professionally staged but are uncluttered with enough personal possessions on display to give the property a peaceful homely feel. And we have also viewed homes that have been newly renovated and not lived in but have clearly been professionally staged for the viewing public.

What I have notice about these three examples is that one has to look past the mess to see the potential in the unkempt homes, while with the professionally staged homes it is very easy to see any shoddy workmanship in such a sterile environment. The homely, uncluttered, lived in, homes give you such an feeling of warmth that it is easy to miss the little imperfections because you could so see yourself living there. Which says to me that a uncluttered home with a reasonable amount of personal items is the ideal atmosphere for any family.

Does this kind of home sound like something you can aspire to? If so why not make that your ultimate declutter goal.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter small hardware items that have accumulated. Excess screws, nails, drywall plugs, used sandpaper, multiple allen keys, washers… .

Eco Tip for the Day

Get familiar with your local bus timetable because it is cheaper and better for the environment to take a bus rather than a taxi when necessary.

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

Decluttering is all about change.

• Changing the way you think about stuff: It isn’t important. It can trigger memories but doesn’t contain them. It usually becomes clutter eventually no matter how excited you were at acquiring it in the first place. It doesn’t raise peoples’ opinions of you. It doesn’t make you happy in the long term. You have to work to acquire it, which may rob you of precious time spent taking care of those and that which are actually important to you. 
• Changing long formed ideas and habits: You are not obliged to keep stuff no matter how it was acquired ~ gifts, heirlooms, rewards, awards, prises, souvenirs… . You are also not obliged to accept stuff ~ gifts, freebies, special offers… . You can express your wishes, ahead of time, to those close to you that you would rather not receive gifts and learn to say no when people offer you other things that you don’t need. It is OK to say no politely.
• Changing your shopping habits: Replacing what you are decluttering will put you back to square one in no time. I have found that resisting the temptation to purchase things that aren’t necessary can soon become a habit that requires no effort or cause any disappointment.
• Changing your mind about what need is: Chances are most of that stuff you are afraid to get rid of, in case you need it one day, was never really needed in the first place and probably never will. Don’t be confused between need and want.

If you aren’t prepared to change, then the chances are, your attempt to declutter will fail or your decluttering will be a never ending process. All these changes can be made gradually, you don’t have to go cold turkey or become a new person overnight. The changes in me during my decluttering process have been gradual and painless. Remembering all the while that these are all changes for the better makes it easier.

Are you ready to change? Have you noticed the changes in yourself already? Tell us about it.

Oh I forgot to mention. The result of all these changes can be a beautiful, wonderful, simplifying, economical, time saving and liberating thing.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some garden related items. Tools you don’t use, empty plant pots, bits of wood or wire that are rotting or rusted, seeds you are never going to plant… .

Eco Tip for the Day

Try changing your usual wash cycles to ones a little shorter and more economical. You might be surprised that your clothes come out just as clean.

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. Here are this weeks missions.

Monday – Declutter some computer related items. Old floppy discs you no longer have a drive for, outdated or unused CD-ROMs, unused components or even just old digital files you no longer need… .

Tuesday – Declutter some garden related items. Tools you don’t use, empty plant pots, bits of wood or wire that are rotting or rusted, seeds you are never going to plant… .

Wednesday – Declutter some money related items. Old money boxes, wallets, bill clips, change purses, coin sorters, coin wrappers or bags… . You could also drop foreign coins off to the bank for donation to charity or gather up all the coins that you have accumulated and cash it in at the bank by either depositing it into your account or getting bills in exchange.

Thursday –  Declutter small hardware items that have accumulated. Excess screws, nails, drywall plugs, used sandpaper, multiple allen keys, washers… .

Friday – Declutter excess plastic kitchen storage items. I have discovered that there is often just as many of these items waiting to be used as there are ones in use. This means to me that, for the most part, I have more than I really need or else the majority of them would be in service most of the time. I think it is time I gave a few more to my daughter.

Saturday – Are there things in your laundry cupboards that need decluttering? Cleaners you no longer use, grubby rags, perished rubber gloves… ~ if so give this area a little decluttering.

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

Check that your fridge is not set too cold. You only have to keep things cold not icy. This will save power and cold hard cash.

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

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

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

Becky

Jez

Creative Me

Marianne

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Sanna brought my attention to this web site and I think you will enjoy it ~ thesimpleyear.com ~ The-great-library-book-hunt-of-2013

I love this song by Peter Doran, brought to our attention this week by the guys at The Minimalists 

Here is a link sent to me by Wendy F. ~ www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/sunday-review/should-america-bag-the-plastic-bag. It seems the USA is ahead of Australia with this move. No states have instigated a ban the bag here.

www.time.com ~ Don’t own, share

Today’s Mini Mission

Last week I was determined to do a little more reshuffling in my craft area. As a result I decided to part with some items that hadn’t been used in quite a long while, or at all in the case of some. I figured if I haven’t found a use for them yet then I probably never will.  Do you have craft or hobby items that you haven’t used in a long time. Perhaps they just don’t appeal to you anymore so let them go.

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

One of the methods that really helps me get ruthless with my decluttering is making a decision to allocate a certain amount of space to a category of items. Take my craft space for example. After decluttering quite a lot of stuff from that space I eventually made a decision that ultimately all my craft items must fit into the ten specially made craft cubes I had bought to house it all in years ago. It took a while but I finally achieved that goal. That decision certainly did spur me on to declutter lots of stuff I otherwise would have clung on to.

I made a similar decision with my linen closet ~ one shelf only for towels and one shelf only for sheets, throw rugs and small miscellaneous linen. In my kitchen I decided that one set of double door cupboards should be enough to house all the dinner ware, mugs and drinking glasses, one shelf for the baking trays, two shelves for canisters etc etc. Our clothes were to fit only in our wardrobe and not spill over into the guest room. Which isn’t so easy when married to a man in uniform (cams, blues, mess kits, flying suits, etc etc).

My most recent “space allocation” method of decluttering is taking place in my garage. My goal is to finally declutter enough items so that everything stored on two existing shelving units and a small single door pantry unit should eventually fit onto only one shelving unit. The notion of “I might need it someday” soon is ignored when the desire for space limitation comes into play.

I have to say that I find this method of decluttering very motivating and effective for me. Perhaps it would work just as well for you.

Today’s Mini Mission

Do you have any things lingering around your home that your kids no longer want. Seek out one or two and send them on their way.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t use one use throw away cleaning wipes. They are available for cleaning wood, kitchen spills, television screens, make-up removal etc etc. They are usually made from manmade fibres, soaked in chemicals and sold in plastic containers, all of which are bad for the environment. You can do all these jobs with a little water and a microfibre cloth that can be washed and used over and over again.

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