I am posting on a Friday for a change because I was too busy to put a post together yesterday. It has been a busy couple of weeks keeping up the stocks of my handmade cards at the art space where they are sold. It was Mother’s Day here in Australia on Sunday so cards were in demand. I have to say I will be happy to have a slower week next week. However I am also happy that a nice quantity of crafting supplies went out the door in the form of those cards. And the money I made was another added bonus.

So how has everyone’s contemplations gone this week? It is good to remember the wonderful results of decluttering, to pinpoint our clutter weaknesses and consider our acquiring habits… If we can give rational thought to these things and feel good about where we are at with out decluttering then we must be on the right track.

This week I decluttered an eight place dinner set which freed up some valuable space in my kitchen cupboards. Kitchen items used to be a particular weakness of mine, without me even realising it I think. These days however the more I reduce in this area the happier I am. It is one area in the house that is definitely easier to work in because of improved accessibility due to less stuff.

I think it is time I did a thorough sweep through of my home to weed out any remaining clutter I can find. Then it will just be a case of maintenance. And of course the continual decluttering of the craft supplies. I hope this gig at the art space doesn’t end for a while yet. It is helping me offload some long held on to clutter.

It has been interesting hearing about other peoples clutter weaknesses. Although, like mine, many of them weren’t really clutter because they were loved items and pastimes that will likely carry on forever and will never really be a burden so long as they are kept in check. I know I will always have crafting supplies as I would never be happy without something creative to do in my spare time. And all those avid readers out there will always have books on had to indulge their love of reading with. The fashionistas among us would be lost without a closet a little more stocked than others. And while there are kids in the house there will always be some in-between excess. In between hand-me-downs and in between dependant child and leaving home. So long as we are comfortable with all these things and enjoying our special vices then all is well.

So keep on working on those items you know your don’t care about or use and I will see you next week with a new set of missions.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about it. Why you are letting it go and what other similar items you have around the house that you could also declutter.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you are in need of an item, investigate the possibility of acquiring it in good condition secondhand. It is environmentally guilt free, it will be cheaper and if it becomes clutter it will be easier to let it go.

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

Since today’s mini mission is to analyse your clutter weakness I thought it would be good if I also made it the subject of the day. Perhaps in the comments you might like to admit your clutter weakness and see if you can get any advice about it.

My clutter weakness would be my craft supplies. It is one of the few areas where I still add items. Mostly cutting dies and embossing folders. However there is more going out than is coming in so I am happy with that. And these items are being used over and over again. I did also bring home fabric and lace from my mother and mother-in-law but I am already making inroads into using that up.

My previous clutter weakness was garage sales. I used to go to them every weekend in the Summer when I lived in Seattle. I love a great bargain. Now I could count on one hand the number of garage sales I have been to in the seven years I have been back in Australia. Lead me not into temptation I guess. I do like the thrift shop though but only for items I am trying to avoid buying new that I have an immediate use for. And the beauty of getting items cheap is I have no qualms about donating them back if they don’t get used within a short length of time.

On a related topic, Wendy F and I went picking through the bulk waste pick up piles on the side of the road yesterday. We had a wonderful time. I was searching for some organising items for the art space where I sell my cards, which I found. I also brought home a free standing hand towel rail for one of our bathrooms. My husband and I had had a discussion about this just the other day. For some weird reason they never fitted hand towel holders in our apartment when it was built. If this rail doesn’t work out I will either be use to hang my potted plants on or be donated to the thrift shop. I also brought home a handful of suction cups from an old desk. We are in need of these as replacements for ones the removal company lost from my dinning table during our recent move. I tried them out but they aren’t quite right so they will go in the bin. It was the try though.

During this outing Wendy and I also collected up a car load of items to be donated to the thrift shop. I suppose you could say that one of my weakness is that I just can’t bare to see perfectly good stuff go to waste. It angers me to see this stuff dumped on the side of the road when it could have been easily boxed up and taken to a thrift shop. Why are people so lazy and frivolous?

Recognising a weakness is the first step to overcoming it. So what is your clutter weakness and do you have it under control?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about what your particular clutter weakness is. Knowing this will help you avoid it in the future.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you see something going to waste, rescue it and donate it to someone in need or to a charity of your choice.

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

Even when a person has been working at this decluttering thing for a long time it is possible for stuff to build up right under your nose. A little something comes in here and a little there and before you know it a drawer, a cupboard, a corner of the garage… is more cluttered than you would like. Or maybe even there is a thin even spread of clutter built up all over the house.

One must be ever vigilant so that this clutter build up does not occur or at least doesn’t get out of hand. It can happen due to a change in circumstance.

• Perhaps you are doing a little renovating and home hardware catalogues build up in a drawer somewhere.
• Or you need medication for some reason and find you don’t respond well and have to try several before hitting on one that works for you. In this situation packets and paper paraphernalia can build up in your medicine cabinet.
• Your child grows into the next size of clothing and you don’t immediately declutter the outgrown size ones.
• For health reasons your diet changes and you don’t eliminate the ingredients from your pantry that you should no longer eat.
• You begin a new hobby but still have products and tools from the old one now relegated to the back corner of the garage.

I could go on all day with circumstance after circumstance but I think you get the idea.

Never fear, the solution is to nip these situations in the bud before another occurs, then another, and before you know it you are back to square one of your declutter mission. All you need do is be aware, be ever vigilant when spaces in your home start to appear a little fuller than you remember them being.

I have found a couple of drawers in my home to be like this recently. They have been a little neglected and have become a little cluttered. Not with things I have been frivolous about, or caused by any desire to acquire but simply life happening. And this can happen to anyone.

The way I become aware of this is by paying attention when visiting areas of my home during my day to day routines. As soon as I realise that the clutter is starting to build I quickly do something about it. Today I cleared a drawer in my living room that had a couple of hardware catalogues and some notes I had taken with measurements and preferences. There is also a little build up of receipts, in another drawer, that I have kept for items bought that carried a warranty. I know this doesn’t sound like much but when left unchecked we all know where it can lead.

So be ever vigilant and deal with the new clutter before it gets out of hand. Whether you have reached your declutter goal or are still reducing your belongings you are always in a maintenance phase. Either ensuring the you maintain the goal you reached or ensuring you aren’t taking one step forward two steps back when you are in the throws of your major decluttering effort.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes listing the reasons why you should acquire less stuff. For example, save money, work less, environmental reasons, better uses of your time, not accumulating more clutter…

Eco Tip for the Day

Recycle responsibly by checking what you can and can’t put into your bins and sticking by those rules. All locations aren’t equal when it come to what is and isn’t collected for recycling. It is up to you to find out. Usually your local government website carries this sort of information. So be a responsible consumer and recycle the right things and only put in the trash the things you can’t.

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 decided this week that instead of giving a you a list of items to declutter I would give you some food for thought each day. We often don’t give enough thought to the positive side to decluttering, whether some items are really as crucial in our lives as we think, or whether sentimental items are truly meaningful or simply novel.  Perhaps a little focus in these areas might bring an epiphany, or two, that will aid you in letting go of more stuff. Here’s hoping it has the desired effect.

Monday – Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes listing all the positive effects decluttering will have on your life. For example, less cleaning, more space, simplifying choice, ease of retrieval of the useful stuff…

Tuesday – Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes listing the reasons why you should acquire less stuff. For example, save money, work less, environmental reasons, better uses of your time, not accumulating more clutter…

Wednesday - Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about what your particular clutter weakness is. Knowing this will help you avoid it in the future.

Thursday - Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about the less useful “time saving” devices in your home and whether they are worth the space they take up. Take into account, storage, cleaning, ease of use, assembly, frequency used…

Friday - Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about it. Why you are letting it go and what other similar items you have around the house that you could also declutter.

Saturday - Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes questioning the sentimental attachment to other items you own. Consider whether these items really matter or whether it is just the excitement evoked on the rare occasion that you unearth 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

One of my readers commented this week that she often finds herself trying to rationalise keeping items rather than letting them go. I have two pieces of advice about this behaviour.

1. If you find yourself doing this just put the item aside and move on to something that is easier for you to declutter. My experience has been that we get better at this decluttering thing with experience. The experience of performing it and the pleasant experience of realising the advantages of owning less stuff. I don’t need to repeat again what they are. There is nearly always something that we a willing to let go of rather than waste time procrastination over the stuff we aren’t.

2. Stay focused on the object of this exercise ~ Decluttering. If you feel the need to declutter then it is best to carry it through to the best of your ability. Take your time and, once again (and I can’t say this enough times), work on the easiest stuff at all times. The harder stuff becomes easier eventually. Focus more on what you are gaining than what you are giving up. The desire to have excess and acquire more stuff is a fools game, be determined to give it up. Especially if it is affecting you negatively and loved ones around you. One of the greatest joys of decluttering for me was losing the desire to acquire. That doesn’t mean I never acquire anything I fancy, I just don’t do it as a recreational sport on a regular basis.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item made from fabric ~ Clothes, linen, carpets, blankets, pillows ought to be items easy enough to find. I have something in mind for this one this week.

Eco Tip for the Day

When shopping, if you have the option, say no to a receipts. Of course only on things you will have no need to return. I do this at cafe’s, grocery stores, service stations and any situation where it is a choose and use up purchase.

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

Last week I was interstate visiting my parents and my in-laws. There was a change of weather in my absence. Actually it had started turning prior to my departure, but I wanted to wait until I returned to deal with bringing down my box of winter closed from the top shelf of my closet.

Yesterday I began putting it all through a refresh cycle in my washing machine in preparation for wearing. This is a very handy steam cycle that takes care of any chance of allergy inducing dust mite while wasting very little water. Separating the items, hanging them out to dry, then folding and putting them away was a good opportunity to scrutinise each piece. After all that, I felt I have done a mighty fine job of decluttering in the past and am fairly satisfied with the quantity of items I have.

However, the wearing of the items will be the real test of whether they will all stay or some will go. I already have my doubts about one corduroy jacket. I have owned and used it every winter for eighteen years. Although it is of a style that doesn’t really date I feel it could do with a little modernising. However for me it has one fatal flaw, no pockets. When one is out and about in the winter there is always the inevitability that one will want to put their hands in their pockets to keep them warm. Or need to carry a tissue for that cold, runny winter nose. Every time I wear this jacket I lament the fact that it doesn’t have pockets. The question is ~ Do I want to go to the trouble of altering the jacket and add pockets at the same time, or would it be simpler to try to pick up a nice new jacket or perhaps a secondhand one at the thrift shop.

Keep in mind that I am no fashionista or participate in paid employment and don’t live in an area of really cold climate. I have…

• three pair of track pants ~ Just enough I would say.
• 3 white, two black and 1 red long sleeve T-shirt. Also just enough as these are my everyday clothes.
• 4 scarves of various colours and styles. I will observe these over the winter and decided whether to keep them all.
• 1 red casual cord jacket, 1 pink puffy cold day jacket, 1 3/4 leather jacket and the black cord one mentioned above. All for different weather and situations so they are all also safe for now.
• only 1 winter nighty, so it is also safe.
• only 1 long sleeve button up shirt. I could actually probably do with another of these.
• 2 tunic dresses for casual dressing up that go well with tights. These get well used each winter.
• 2 pair of black tights.
• 3 pair of plush bed socks. These are also well worn and in constant rotation.
• 3 pair of hiking socks, also well worn and in constant rotation.
• 1 pair of micro-fleece gloves.
• 2 fleece sweaters, which may not actually be enough.
• 1 fleece vest for those mid range cool weather days.
• 1 black knit cardigan.
• 2 pairs of boots,  one ankle and one knee length, both black.

That is about it I think. Not too much, not to little. And nothing that doesn’t fit or that I am waiting to come back into fashion.

Can you do a stocktake on your incoming season’s clothing and honestly justify them all? If not maybe it is time you did a little of your own wardrobe rationalising.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something made of metal ~ Once again plentiful. Tools, mixing bowls, utensils, pots, vehicle parts and jewellery all come to mind very quickly but I am sure you can think of more.

Eco Tip for the Day

Get your bank balance in the screen when using an ATM rather than a printed copy. Every little saving of paper and ink counts.

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 wanted to share two comments from yesterday because they are both good examples of rationalising ones belongings. So here they are along with my own thoughts on the subject.

From Claire

I have been working on Monday’s Mission, glass, for a few weeks now! We moved across country about a year ago and even though I had given away probably half of what we owned we still moved way too much stuff – we had over 80 boxes for 2 people, yikes! I found that kitchen items were at least 1/3 of those boxes. And also that everything glass took up twice the space in boxes because it had to be wrapped and padded. We are in an apartment that we will probably move from in a year, so I want to get our belongings down before we move again. I just added 8 Christmas glasses to the give away. They are wine glasses, we don’t drink, and they have Christmas flowers all over them. Only good once a year. I also added 8 soup bowls/crocks. They are really nice for soup but nothing else. I haven’t made soup in over a year now and don’t have plans to. If I did, I can just use regular bowls. I got rid of about 10 decorative dishes that don’t suit us anymore. They were made to hang on the wall but have been in a cupboard for years. I have 4 glass pitchers, rarely used, so I am parting with one. I still have way too many breakables/glass items for two people! I’m going to keep working on it for sure.

Claire’s rationalising is a good example of realising that items designed for a single use are often just clutter and we don’t really need them. This is especially so when we have more versatile substitutes already on hand. There is also no need to stock your home with items that you don’t use on a regular basis, such as wine glasses when you don’t drink wine. Sure someone may visit with a bottle one day but they can easily drink the wine from an ordinary drinking glass. Feeling that we need to cater to the enth degree to the occasional guest is a recipe for a cluttered home. This includes food items. I recently visited my in-laws in another state. My mother-in-law uses margarine, whereas I use butter (I don’t like margarine) and I love mint sauce with my lamb roast but she doesn’t stock it in her pantry. My toast was was quite edible with the margarine and my lamb roast was still delicious without the mint sauce. Had she bought these items they would have languished in her fridge and pantry for months.

From Vicki K

Ooooh – I am ready for Tuesday. I’ve been making my way through your archives, Colleen, and found a post about gift wrap. Really, I enjoy wrapping gifts but there are some wraps that I’ve had forever because I don’t like them well enough to use! While I was at it, I cleared out all the mashed bows, unusable tissue paper, tags, ribbons, one-purpose dispensers and left only the items I know I will use. Now it is all contained in one small bin – but I will use ALL of it.

And I am going to be disciplined about using up what I have before acquiring more. This part is key in a lot of areas!

Vicki’s example of rationalising is about downsizing a collection of items without compromising on enjoying it. As she says, she “..really enjoy’s wrapping gifts…” but doesn’t need to keep the materials she doesn’t like so much. She also realises that she can still enjoy it with less variety on hand.

I also found this to be the case with my craft supplies. I am enjoying my craft as much as ever these days with a whole lot less stuff on hand. I have a limited amount of space to store it and intend for the collection to remain within those confines. I did the same with my kitchen items, my Christmas decorations, my linen, my clothes and many other groups of things in my home. In fact their are a few areas of my new home that I think could still do with a little rationalising on now that we live in a smaller space.

Is there in area in your home that you need to rationalise in order to reach your declutter goal.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some paper items ~ Paper is one of the materials that can be really difficult for many people to deal with. Items made from this are either usually loved or hated. Books, magazines, letters and photos can be numerous and cherished, while paperwork is a pain to sort through and deal with. You only need to spend 10 minutes on this so make the most of it.

Eco Tip for the Day

Use only the amount of product required. This could be, hair products, cleaners, paper towel, toilet paper, deodorant and other toiletries etc etc. Using too much doesn’t do a better job it just causes waste.

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.

Today’s mini missions are categorised by what they are made of. This gives you a pretty wide scope as to what to let go of that is made from each of these materials. I’ll help you out with some suggestion as to what you might look for but, by all means, use your own imagination. So have fun as you declutter something made from…

Monday – Glass ~ There are no end of things made from glass within the average home. Here are some suggestions of items you might declutter in this category. Drinking glasses, vases, eye glasses (donate these to charity), figurines, computer screens, pictures frames…

Tuesday – Paper ~ This is one of the materials that are really difficult for many people to deal with. Items made from this are either usually loved or hated. Books, magazine, letters and photos can be numerous and cherished, while paperwork is a pain to sort through and deal with. You only need to spend 10 minutes on this so make the most of it.

Wednesday – Metal ~ Once again plentiful. Tools, mixing bowls, utensils, pots, vehicle parts and jewellery all come to mind very quickly but I am sure you can think of more.

Thursday – Fabric ~ Clothes, linen, carpets, blankets, pillows ought to be items easy enough to find. I have something in mind for this one this week.

Friday – Wood ~ Furniture items, kitchen tools (cutting boards, knife blocks, trays, bowls etc), and unused project materials would be  good targets for this mission.

Saturday - Plastic ~ Excess storage containers, toys, bowls and sporting equipment are just a few suggestions but I am sure you can think of many more.

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 use throw away cleaning wipes. They have them 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.

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

Today’s mini mission is ~ Declutter one hand powered kitchen gadget you don’t use enough to warrant wasting the space on. So let me give you some examples of the things like this that I can remember decluttering over my four year mission. Hopefully that will give you inspiration to let go of a few yourself.

Flour Sieve ~ I had had my flour sieve since before I was married. It used to belong to my Grandmother. I used it most times when I baked. However in a mission to minimise and simplify in my kitchen I decided that I didn’t need this item. I already had three progressive sized multipurpose sieves that I used for all other sieving need. I figured these could suffice to take care of the flour as well.

Garlic Press ~ To begin with I usually bought crushed garlic in a jar. But then I discovered that fresh garlic was much better. By this time I had already decided that my garlic press didn’t work all that well and was difficult to clean. I am sure there are better ones on the market but instead I chose to use the internet to get tips on chopping and mincing garlic with a knife and never found the need again for a gadget to do this task with.

Hand Powered Rotary Mixer ~ This one was easy because I hardly ever used it because I had long ago decided that I preferred other methods of whisking and mixing ingredients. This one was too laborious and besides I rarely bake these days.

Box Style Microplane Grater ~ Once again, this item was rarely used. It was cumbersome and bulky. I had two or three other flat microplane graters to perform any task this one could, and they took up less room. I sold this one on ebay.

Apple Corer ~ A knife can do this job quite well and since I wasn’t coring a multitude of apples everyday then I didn’t need a faster method. Out it went.

Gas Stove Igniter ~ I hadn’t had a gas stove in at least 15 years or a BBQ in about 8 years so I sure didn’t need this gadget. I now have a gas stove again but it has inbuilt igniters. So no regrets there.

A Rotary Grater ~ I must have had some sort of obsession with graters at some point. This one was only being used for one purpose in the end. That was for thinly slicing apple for making Polish Apple Pancakes. I only make these every now and again and slicing the apples is a job easily done with a knife. That freed up a good bit of space in my utensils drawer.

I think this is enough examples to give you the idea of my thinking when it came to letting go of these items. I could have kept them, sure, and I probably would have continued to use them occasionally, but my goal was to free up space. With less items in my kitchen to choose from I didn’t didn’t find preparing food any harder in fact I found working in my kitchen more efficient, therefore actually saving me time. With less stuff to dig through to find the items I needed I simply wasted less time.

From my kitchen, I also decluttered numerous crockery items, utensils, baking trays, glassware and plastic storage containers. The more I removed the more pleasant the working conditions in this area became. And now that I have a slightly smaller kitchen I am still on the look out for more items I don’t really have a need for. My goal now is to make a little space in my kitchen cupboards so I can move some of my most frequently used craft items closer to the kitchen bench where I do my crafting these days. This will make crafting more efficient as well.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter one hand powered kitchen gadget you don’t use enough to warrant wasting the space.

Eco Tip for the Day

Subscribe to your local government newsletter, if they have one. This will keep you abreast of the chemical and electrical recycling opportunities they have on offer. I read my Newcastle City Council newsletter this week and discovered dates for these and other drop off days coming up soon in my area.

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 spent last Saturday at TEDx Sydney. It was a fabulous day with many great talks. I wouldn’t dare to pick a favourite because they were all good in their own way. But one stood out to me that I could relate to decluttering, or more so as an example of the falsehood of need. It was a lesson in substitution and imagination which is a talent sometimes handy when it comes with living with less.

The talk I am referring to wasn’t so much of a talk as it was an example of ingenuity. Of knowing the mechanics of something and reinventing it with what is on hand. The person in question was Linsey Pollak and his special subject was making musical instruments from unusual objects. I was particularly impressed when he made a clarinet from a sax mouth pieces, a funnel and a carrot.

And where was the connection between this and decluttering. Well my thought was, that we have so many things we think we need but in reality we really we could really manage without them. I though if Linsey can fashion a clarinet from a carrot then not only can I do find a reasonable substitute, should I discover I had a “need” for something I had previously decluttered, but I could have fun with the challenge. In fact I already have done this more than once and been proud of my own ingenuity.

Have you ever found yourself in this situation and figured out a way around it?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter any crockery that you have too many pieces of.

Eco Tip for the Day

Carpool with friends when attending social events. Consider the possibility that you could compromise on when you need to arrive and/or depart. Sometimes we are a little too spoiled when it come to having things completely our way.

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