We all are taught that perfection does not exist. What we fail to do is to believe that. I don’t really know about the rest of the world, but I am tired of seeing in all places the evidence of how imperfect I am. It is hard to avoid. You would have to live in an isolated island not to feel how your lack of perfectionism is ruining your life. They say it about the way you keep your house, care for your kids, live your marriage (?) (saw this one in a magazine)…Oh how life would be great…But not.

Let’s talk for example about decorating and de-cluttering:

How can I have a perfectly de-cluttered, decorated house? That is an easy one: by not living in it.

I have been reading de-cluttering blogs for a long while now. And all of them, at one point or another, have talked about perfectionism. Even here it has been mentioned a few times.

So where am I going with this talk? First, there is no such thing as perfection. Believe that, it is real. The reality for me is that, in de-cluttering and in housecleaning I have three categories: nice, great and YAY. I don’t have to clean for a week! Not perfect, not eligible to be photographed for a designing magazine. Just my house clean and uncluttered to my standard. For a while at least my trouble was I wanted perfection, I always aimed for it. Sometimes I felt like Lord Farquaad from Shrek (the first one) who wanted a perfect castle, and a perfect village and a perfect princess wife. His words were “I want order! I want perfection!”. He ended being married to an ogress and being eaten by a dragon. So much for perfection.

I did learn that wanting perfection leads to doing nothing. I was frustrated, wishing for that picture perfect house on so and so internet site, all the while I had a whole cluttered house suffocating me because I wanted to clean them up…perfectly. It accumulated. I did not clean or fix things because I had to do it all at once and perfectly. And there is another catch right there: to do everything perfectly we have to do it all at once. But there is never enough time. I certainly never had that much time available. And when I did I was too lazy to do it all, it was too much. And I always gave myself the excuse that (we rent) but when I moved to MY house, then things would be perfect.  I had other stuff to do instead of de-cluttering. Play with the kids. Go out with the husband. Chat with  friends on Skype. I didn’t want to spend hours and hours cleaning, sorting, de-cluttering, just to have a perfect house. I wanted to live.

As it has been said before and will be said again. Ditch perfection. Do what you can, when you can. Get one thing done or just get something done. And good is great. If you do a good job on time, you are way ahead than if you aimed for a perfect job that never got delivered. Like models, the perfect made up houses that are pictured in magazines and design sites, are really that: made up models. I have recently looked at pictures from a décor magazine and I saw huge, spectacular houses there, beautifully decorated. They were great, but all I could think about was: “Who is going to clean all that?” And lately: “I bet they have a full time maid to have that much stuff and a perfect house…”. So, I realized perfection has a price I am not willing to pay.

To quote a new singer/comedian in a interview about her new CD: “If we keep thinking about what we could do better  we’d never do anything. The things we do are imperfect, it’s part of human nature.” And that is the beauty of it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a few shades of eyeshadow, lipstick or nail polish that you rarely if ever use.

Eco Tip for the Day

When racing off to the grocery store to pick up something you need phone a friend or neighbour to see if they need anything while you are at it. You make save them a trip.

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

About a month back Michaela, in response to the post Memeories Are Not Stuff,  left this comment…

“This week I sold one of my American Girl dolls. My grandmother had bought her for me, I had gotten different outfits with extra cash back in the day. I took good care of her, and then she stayed in my closet for years. The other day at work I overheard a lady I know talking about getting one for her granddaughter for Christmas, but she was sad how expensive they were. I immediately offered to sell her my doll. Yesterday when I took her in all the ladies fawned over what great condition she was in and all her little outfits. They questioned me getting rid of her. Like I told them, I have two boys and the thought of her getting a little girl to play with was a good enough reason to finally let her go. Plus I made some money LOL. Sure I could have gotten all sentimental and kept her, but there was probably an inch of dust on the box. While she held memories, she wasn’t being cherished or loved. It was time for her to move on . . . and me to grow up. I still feel pretty good about it, so maybe I’ll finally part with my other one too . . .”

What a lovely story. Thank you Michaela for sharing it with us.

Have you ever found yourself in this position like Michaela did where the opportunity spontaneously presents itself that helps you let go of a once loved item that you may otherwise have held onto. An object collecting dust in your home. It has happened to me several times during my decluttering mission. It is so much easier to pass an item on when you know that it is going to bring joy to someone else.

So keep your ears open for these opportunities and when they present themselves embrace them wholeheartedly and share the joy while you declutter.

Today’s Mini Mission

People collect all sorts of things and often when others get wind of this they gift you similar items . if you have such a collection perhaps you could stand to declutter some parts of the whole that you don’t particularly love.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you can’t resist the temptation for hanging Christmas lights use a timer to limit the number of hours they twinkle for.

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.

There are many one off things that sit idle in our homes and then there are also collection of things that are just too numerous. We tend to view these collection as a whole that we don’t wish to part with. However if we view the items individually we might realise that we could stand to part with a few.

Monday – Declutter a few pots and pans even if they belong to a set. If you don’t use them all there is no point in them cluttering up your kitchen.

Tuesday – People collect all sorts of things and often when others get wind of this they gift you similar items . if you have such a collection perhaps you could stand to declutter some parts of the whole that you don’t particularly love.

Wednesday –  Declutter a few shades of eyeshadow, lipstick or nail polish that you rarely if ever use.

Thursday – Declutter a few magazines from you collection that you haven’t returned to in a long while.

Friday – Put all your socks in box elsewhere, as you use them return them to their usual place. After two months declutter the ones still in the box.

Saturday – Go through the kids’ artwork you have saved, set a limit to keep and declutter your least favourite beyond that limit.

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

Using too much of anything is wasteful. Don’t overuse shampoo, cleaners, paper items, water, food…

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

I received an email for Anke last week with a great eco friendly Christmas gift wrap idea. Here is what she had to say… “Last year I decluttered a lot of clothes. Some of them had nice prints or fabric so I sewed little bags out of them which I now use to wrap presents. Good thing is that I can use them over and over again and I think they just look different next to the other presents.” Here is the photo Anke sent me of her wonderful gift bags…   How clever is Anke. She has managed to turn clutter into an eco friendly gift wrap alternative.

Today’s Mini Mission

Question: Am I in love with all the knick-knacks and thingamabobs in my home or would life be easier if I just kept the ones I really love and have less to dust?

Mission: Declutter a few knick-knacks that you are tired of dusting.

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

You might be wondering what could Colleen possibly have left to declutter after three and a half years of downsizing. Well let me tell you, the decision making becomes a lot easier when limited space is immanent.

With only two bedrooms it becomes easy to decide to let go of a few more towels and a couple of pillows. Visitor space is limited therefore catering for them requires less stuff.

With only a single car space and a small lock up cage what used to be stored in our spacious two car garage also needs to be limited. Couple that with no yard to care for and I was able to declutter most of my gardening tools. Leaving only enough to dig around in the odd potted plant. Also as this move is intended to be more permanent we no longer feel it necessary to store the original boxes and packing for our large electrical items. That will make a big gap post moving day.

There a some items of furniture that are too big or just won’t have a place in the new apartment. They are going to my daughter.  These are items that we would have kept under different circumstances.

We also have limited closet space so in future will be storing the winter items in plastic storage bins on high shelving in the laundry. While packing up my winter clothes I decided to declutter a few less-loved items from my closet. Along the same lines I also decluttered a couple of pairs of shoes. One to the thrift shop the other to the bin as they had so little sole left that water was starting to seep through on wet days. I got a good eight years out of those shoes so I have got my money’s worth.

There has also been the odd thing that belonged to the children show up during my move prep. These items have or will soon be returned to them.

I have also been doing a use it up challenge on items in the pantry and fridge. I stock far fewer items in both places these days but still there was a few things that I no longer have a need for now that the kids aren’t living at home. I have been having fun improvising and exploring new recipes to use these items up. Taste.com has been visited by me several times recently.

My point is that even though many of the items mentioned above have survived the cut in the past there is no space for them in my future. This has made the decision to finally let them go easier. The goal to fit into a smaller dwelling has been my inspiration from the start. However anyone can create their own goals to help them make the decision to let go of items easier. Here are a few to think about…

1. Having a guest room the is always ready to receive guests.
2. To clear enough room in a garage where all vehicles can be parked out of the weather. This is better for the car and to lowers insurance premiums.
3. Wanting your kitchen to be more user friendly.
4. You have been through the arduous task of sorting out after a lost loved one and don’t want to inflict the same torment on your loved ones.
5. Simply to make your home less oppressive…

Basically give yourself a greater goal than I might need it someday.

Today’s Mini Mission

Question: Do I need to waste space storing these salad dressings (mixed spices, sauces etc) or could I quickly and easily whip up delicious fresh alternatives when needed from ingredients that I usually stock in my pantry anyway.

Mission: Don’t double stock your pantry. Get on line and find simple easy recipes for spice mixes, salad dressing etc and do a use it up challenge on items you have no need to stock.

Eco Tip for the Day

Keep a jug in your kitchen sink to save the water that would otherwise go to waste when waiting for the hot water to come through. This water can be used as drinking water, to fill the kettle, rinse dishes, water plants, rinse the sink etc.

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

This week we have been talking about making decisions about what is clutter and what isn’t. Recently I received an email from a reader named Lesley who shared with me a story of why she decided to declutter and downsized her handbag. Here is what Lesley wrote~

“Hi Coleen, I have recently come across your website and I am enjoying it very much and finding it very inspirational. I was reading some older posts from your archive and came across one regarding handbags, and I wanted to share my experience with you. Three years ago my large, very cluttered, handbag was stolen. It contained too much information about my life, too many things I really did not want to lose. As well as cancelling all my cards, I had to change the locks on my house and car, get a new camera, mobile phone, replace my favourite make-up, warn all my friends that their addresses and phone numbers were in the hands of thieves and possibly fraudsters (My address book was in there).

It was just awful, and it made me realise how much stuff I carried round that was not necessary. I switched at once to a hip bag/fanny pack. This has two benefits. It means that you are limited as to what you can carry and you realise very quickly what you really need with you, and it means you do not put your bag down or hang it on a chair etc. You have a wonderful company in Australia called Happy Cow, and they make some lovely and very stylish hip bags, which are an excellent more fashionable alternative to the standard canvas bum bag. I learnt the hard way, and I would never go back to a big cluttered bag now.”

This is just one example of where cluttering can become a real issue. However there are plenty of other examples ~ mould, dust, pests, fire danger, inconvenience, wasted money, relationship strain, stress… . All of which are as good a reason as any to decide to clear that clutter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Will I ever use this leftover craft supply or will it still be tucked away unused in five years? Be realistic about the likelihood of using up leftover craft supplies and let them go if the chance is unlikely. Perhaps a local school or craft group could find a more immediate use for them.

Eco Tip for the Day

Avoid using plastic straws. Even tiny little bits of plastic like that add up to lots of waste. The less demand we put on supply the less of these insidious little things add to the pollution of our planet.

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

Given that the topic of this weeks mini missions is Think Twice, I thought today would be as good a day as any to remind you of my handy Decision Making Guide. The guide below is always available to you simply by clicking the Guides tab to the right of the Blog title. There are other helpful guides as will as this one that you might find helpful with your decluttering.

Have a read through it today. Perhaps you will find just the right question to ask yourself that will help you make a choice on an item you have been procrastination about for a while. Good luck and happy decluttering.

Decision Making Guide

Questions to ask yourself when you are deciding what stays and what goes when decluttering

• How long since I last used this:- If you are keeping an item just because maybe you might need it some day then it is probably clutter.
  
• Is it still useful to me:- Do I still use this item or even participate in the activity that this item is used for if not then it’s clutter.
  
• Is it in working condition:- If an item is broken and you do not have the expertise to repair it or you are not prepared to pay the price to have it fixed then it is clutter.
  
• How many do I have and how many do I need:- If you have multiples of a certain item but only ever need one then it is most likely clutter.
• Do I need this item for the information it contains:- So much information is right at your finger tips these days on your computer and it is constantly updated do you really need to keep a library of books whose information may or may not stand the test of time.
• Do I like it:– If you are keeping something that was given to you even though you do not like it, it is definitely clutter.
• Do I really need this item in order to remember good times or lost loves:- If it is an item that has purely sentimental value yet you never get it out and look at it then there is a good chance you don’t need it to remind you of the good times you had and the wonderful people you have known. If it means so much to you put it out where you can see it if not let it go.
• Am I keeping this item out of guilt:- I paid a lot of money for this so I hope one day I will get my money’s worth out of it (old hobbies, sporting equipment, expensive clothing all fall into this category). These are the items you need to cash in on now and sell while they are still useful to someone else.
• Do I want to clean it:- Any item out on display will require dusting at least.
  
• Do I want to store it:-Do you have the space to store this item or is it just taking up precious space you can’t afford. 
  
• Do I want to move it out of the way when looking for something else:- The more items you have taking up space in your home the more likely they are going to get in the way of each other forcing you to have to shuffle things around when you do have cause to use them.
  
• Does it have a real purpose other than looking pretty:-This one speaks for itself. Although I like to have some nice objects to enjoy just for their appearance there is a limit to how many if any I can accommodate or justify.
  
• Will I be tired of it in six months:- This is a good question to ask before even acquiring an item in the first place.
  
• Do I want to pack and unpack this item when we move in a couple years:- This is a critical question for anyone who tends to move location on a reasonably regular basis due to work commitments for example.
• If this item had been taken from you and sold to a pawn shop (by a junkie friend or an evil in-law, whatever) would you buy it back? :- I bet there will be a lot of items that you wouldn’t waste your money on,  however low the cost. These are the things that need to go! (Thanks Gogol for this tip) The same could be said for an item were it to break would you replace it or be secretly relieved that is is gone and you didn’t have to make the decision to declutter it.
• “What the heck are you and what on earth is your purpose?:- If you find you need to ask this question of an object then it could very well be clutter but I advise checking with every member of the family first because it could very well be an important part to something. Chances are thought it is rubbish. (Thanks go to Toffee for this addition to the list)

Today’s Mini Mission

Question: Am I saving this book to read it again or am I just putting it on display for some other personal reason?”

Mission: If a book doesn’t inspire you to reread it then perhaps you should just let it go. Declutter a few from your collection that you haven’t felt inspired to reread in a very long time.

Eco Tip for the Day

When buying bars of soap, buy ones without wrappers or multi packs that come in a simple cardboard box. Every little bit of plastic saved from landfill 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

Jamie Oliver’s jam jar dressings

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week’s mini missions are designed to get you thinking twice about some of the excess items within your home. This method of analysis assisted me in letting go of more and more items as my decluttering mission progressed. To the point where I would find reasons to relinquish items I had held on for a long time and then wonder why I hadn’t let them go sooner. Here are some examples of the questions you might ask yourself.

Monday – Does this kitchen gadget save me time or would a knife perform the same task in quicker time than it takes to assemble, use and clean it? Let it go it it doesn’t pass this test.

Tuesday – Am I saving this book to read it again or am I just putting it on display for some other personal reason? If a book doesn’t inspire you to reread it then perhaps you should just let it go. Declutter a few from your collection that you haven’t felt inspired to reread in a very long time.

Wednesday – Will I ever use this leftover craft supply or will it still be tucked away unused in five years? Be realistic about the likely hood of using up leftover craft supplies and let them go if the chance is unlikely. Perhaps a local school or craft group could find a more immediate use for them.

Thursday – Do I need to waste space storing these salad dressings (mixed spices, sauces etc) or could I quickly and easily whip up delicious fresh alternatives when needed from ingredients that I usually stock in my pantry anyway. Don’t double stock your pantry. Get on line and find simple easy recipes for spice mixes, salad dressing etc and do a use it up challenge on items you have no need to stock.

Friday – Am I in love with all the knick-knacks and thingamabobs in my home or would life be easier if I just kept the ones I really love and have less to dust?

Saturday – Do I often have a sudden need for gift wrap and greeting cards or could I reduce my stash to a more manageable size? If the answer is no to this question start a use it up challenge on the overabundance. 

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

Use the stairs rather than the elevator. This of course has the added bonus of a little impromptu exercise.

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

Last year one of your fellow 365ers, Michelle, was on a mission to reduce her Christmas supplies. Some bins she spent time on in consideration while others bins she just did a quick rush through. The following photos show the pile of stuff she had (on the left) and the end result of her decluttering effort on the right.

The third photo below is the stack of what she decluttered.  There was  more on the floor that isn’t in the picture. She told me that she could have spent more time and consideration in getting rid of more but this was at least a first step. Quite a massive effort for a first step don’t you think? 

Here is a recent comment that Michelle left at the blog regarding how she has simplified another big holiday season task ~ “…I used to spend so much time wrapping everything just perfectly, color-coordinating with bows or ornaments or whathaveyou.  It got tiring and now I have a traditional color scheme and no longer spend time thinking/worrying about how it all looks.”

So yes it is possible to simplify Christmas while still enjoying all the usual fun and trimmings of the event.

Thank you for the photos Michelle and please comment here and let us know if you have reduced more now that the silly season is on us again.

Today’s Mini Mission

Make finding your good underwear or socks easy by throwing away the ratty old ones that you avoid using.

Eco Tip of the Day

Today’s eco tip is brought to you by one of our readers Sher.

I thought of an eco tip yesterday…I do it without thinking but maybe others haven’t thought of it. When at the bank machine chose to NOT get a paper receipt…when at the gas station…chose NOT to get a receipt. Just those little pieces of paper are going to be tossed in the trash anyways or just end up cluttering your car. Or if you want to take the receipt…use the back of it to write your grocery list on or something to re-use it before tossing it 🙂

Thanks Sher. I am not sure why I hadn’t thought to write this one before because I do this all the time.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

My organised craft room ~ Circa June 2011

As you can imagine this blog post title ~ You don’t have to declutter to own fewer things ~ caught my eye in my inbox last week. It is a recent post by Mohamed Tohami @ Midway Simplicity. You can read it here. In fact please do read it before going further.

My response was this ~ “Having your stuff organised can no doubt make your home appear decluttered, tidy and less oppressive. I know this because my home has always been that way. Nevertheless it has taken me over three years of slow and gradual decluttering to get it to a point where we don’t have a lot of unused and unloved stuff neatly organised into closets, drawers, cupboards, storage containers and pieces of furniture all over the house.

Being organised and tidy afforded me the lengthy time I used to declutter while still being comfortable in my home. So, organise by all means but at the same time question your need of stuff and especially any desire to acquire more of it.”

Other thoughts I had after reading the post were these –

• You do have to declutter to own fewer things but you can create the illusion of fewer things by being organised. However the more you own the more difficult it is to organise efficiently what you have.
• Getting organised doesn’t require any special talent. Anyone who keeps their cooking utensils in their kitchen, their toiletries in their bathroom, washing powder in their laundry and their clothes in their closets can manage to arrange anything to be in its most logical place within their homes. Not doing so creates more wasted effort than the effort they think they are saving by being untidy.
• Learning to discern what stuff is necessary and/or important in your life also teaches you to be more discerning about what you bring in. Wasting money on the unnecessary makes it necessary for you to work harder to earn the money to pay for it.

As you can see, by comparing the photo above with the one below, there is a big difference between neatly organising your excesses and decluttering them. But Tahomi is correct about the fact that grouping and organising your stuff, while coming to terms with the idea of decluttering it, sure does make your home look a whole lot more neat and tranquil.

My organised and decluttering craft room ~ Circa 2013

Today’s Mini Mission

Begin a use up challenge on, or simply throw or give away items cluttering up the space where you store your toiletries.

Eco Tip for the Day

Save electricity by not turning on electrical appliances, like irons, hair straighteners etc, too long before you use them and by not leaving them on while you decide to take a break during the task.

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