My surname is Madsen, that’s M A D S E N. It is simple, two syllables, no extra letters that have no purpose, easy to read. So why do you think that most people, when confronted with this name, whether in plain print or spoken to them, automatically complicate it. Nine times out of ten people will pronounce it Marsden, Maddison or even Mathison.

I think I know why. Because these three other names are more common in Australia. So people revert to the norm rather than repeat what is said to them or written in front of them. That is the problem with “The Norm”, it is the usual way of things, acted upon by the bulk of the population whether it makes sense or not.

The Norm is…

1. Buying stuff whether we need it or not.
2. Replacing that stuff with new stuff when we tire of it or something “better” comes along.
3. Keeping the old stuff when the new stuff comes along requiring progressively more space to store it all in.
4. Hiring off-site storage when your dwelling becomes too small to store all the stuff.
5. Needing two incomes and working 50+ hour weeks to pay for all this stuff and the mortgage.

What is meant to be the simple life (like my simple name) becomes more and more complicated the more “normal” we behave.

You know what is more fun than normal, being different. I love being different. I love the stunned looks on peoples faces…

1. When I talk about how I have been decluttering my belongings for three years.
2. How I don’t buy things unless I really have a need for them.
3. That I prefer not to receive gifts.
4. That I prefer to live in a smaller home.
5. That I only have one handbag.

The beauty of going against the norm is that the clutter stops flowing in. My money isn’t wasted on stuff I don’t need. And I don’t have to work my butt off to afford a lifestyle that is different but quite wonderful. Granted my husband is still working full time but at the ripe old age of fifty even he can considering semi-retirement.

Dare to be different.

Today’s Mini Mission

Complete a project ~ Finish a project you started some time ago but haven’t added the finishing touches to. You can then either use it, gift it or donate it. Just this weekend I restrung some beads my mother had sent home with me about two years ago. She is coming to visit me this week for a couple of days and I can finally give the revamped necklace back to her. That frees up a little space and removes the guilt of it sitting there unfinished. 

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

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.

Some clutter isn’t just solid tangible objects that you are either using or you aren’t. Some it it comes in the form of things that can be used up, ingested, absorbed, altered, or repaired to become of more use. Sometimes these things hang around far too long out of  lack of interest, dissatisfaction or lack of enthusiasm or time constraints. This week our mini missions are set to help you identify such items in your home and take action to transform them.

Monday – Repair ~ Repair an item so you can begin using it again or so that it is in a condition to donate.

Tuesday – Complete a project ~ Finish a project you started some time ago but haven’t added the finishing touches to. You can then either use it, gift it or donate it. Just this weekend I restrung some beads my mother had sent home with me about two years ago. She is coming to visit me this week for a couple of days and I can finally give the revamped necklace back to her. That frees up a little space and removes the guilt of it sitting there unfinished. 

Wednesday – Ingest ~ Find an ingredient that has lingered in your pantry, fridge or freezer and use it up. Perhaps in a way you hadn’t considered before. Use a recipe site like taste.com type in the ingredient you have and see what recipes come up.

Thursday – Absorb ~ Read a book that has been sitting on your shelf for a while and then declutter it.

Friday – Alter ~ Alter an item that isn’t quite right so that you will be more inclined to use it. (Change the fit of a clothing item, cut up large note books to make small jotters, change a piece of furniture, maybe just give something a fresh coat of paint.) I used graffiti paint to freshen up some old coasters recently. I cut a body pillow down to two standard bed pillows. And I pulled the last few pages out of two old note books and cut them down to make note paper for my grocery list etc. 

Saturday – Use Up ~  Turn a product you don’t like so much into something else in order to use it up. (Bubble bath or shampoo into liquid hand soap. Make tinted moisturiser out of that foundation you don’t like so much. I used some old craft felt that I thought I had no use for to line my buffet drawers. 

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

When all else is equal between one product or another choose the one with the most eco friendly packaging.

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!

Saskia has run into the dreaded unwanted collection issue. Give her some advice if you have any.

June realised that she is a bit of a vase junkie. But never fear she has come up with a solution to the problem that will get her on the road to recovery in no time. 😉

Melissa is a dab hand at Use-It-Up decluttering. Read about her efforts here. Also Moni’s response to Melissa’s comment had a good method of using up toiletry products.

Now you are all going to think it odd that I appreciated this comment form Morgen. I have however felt in a bit of a blogging slump lately and admit that I may actually be coming across as a somewhat negative. I would be happy for anyone else to make suggestions where I could improve because I am certainly open to them. By all means don’t feel it necessary to come to my defence as I think the criticism was probably well deserved.

And finally, thank you to everyones condolences and well wishes regarding missing out on the apartment we were so exciting to be buying. I am inclined to agree with all those who suggested that something better is waiting just around the corner.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

In case you missed it here is a link sent in by Angel with some great natural cleaner recipes. Thanks Angel, I have found them very helpful and have bookmarked each sheet for future reference.

I like this concept of minimalism that I found at Pinterest.

This post from Tiny Buddha is about letting go of pain, but with a little imagination I think you can use the same principles to help let go of clutter. After all clutter, like pain, often holds us in the past, while letting go of it frees us up to live in the moment and opens our minds to the possibilities of the future.

This article from Real Simple has some good and sometimes humorous suggestion on why to let go of stuff.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a book.

Eco Tip For The Day

Find some time to spend in the sun. This is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than buying bottles of vitamin D tablets.

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

Our apartment deal fell through. Although the owner had accepted our offer and we were about to sign the initial contract, he received a last minute higher bid and reneged on our deal. So for now we are staying put. I prefer to be philosophical and say that perhaps it wasn’t meant to be and something better is around the corner. But really we are very disappointed and for the moment will just lick our wounds, chalk it up to experience and look forward to our seven week vacation. So I guess life isn’t so bad.

The premature excitement did however spur me on to getting rid of and swapping out  a few more items around the house. Some old towels from the second bathroom are off to the thrift shop. A framed caricature of my daughter is now at her house. My husband bought a “new” secondhand office chair which is better for his posture but also more streamline than the old one. The old one found a new home at my daughters house. We also downsized my husbands desk to an old recycled sewing machine table. Our daughter once again benefitted from this exchange and now has herself a very nice American poplar table for folding her laundry on. I have also set aside my electric trains to find a new home for, and some old broken silver jewellery that I will give to anyone who wants it at the lapidary club in my neighbourhood. I also donated some of my handmade jewellery to the thrift shop.

I remain optimistic that we will eventually find our new home but for now I will keep slowly reducing what we have so that we are bound to be ready when the moment arrives.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a piece of jewellery.

Eco Tip for the Day

When entertaining, rather than resort to disposable crockery and cutlery, use all the non-disposable items you have on hand, if necessary borrow more from family, neighbours or friends or get the guests to bring their own. I put on the occasional neighbourhood get together and all guests are instructed to bring their own cups, plates, and cutlery. They never turn down the invitations so I guess they don’t mind.

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

Cindy

I’ve been thinking a lot about cleaning supplies recently – how many I should have, where I should store them, etc. and I have come to a somewhat shocking conclusion: I’m going about it all wrong.

I don’t use a lot of cleaning products, and they are stored in a couple of places. I have a caddy of supplies in the laundry room, a huge container of vinegar under the kitchen sink, a toilet brush by one toilet but the toilet bowl cleaner is in the laundry room, and a vacuum in the upstairs closet.

What got me on this train of thought was a problem with the vacuum. I’ve had my vacuum for many years, and it’s been repaired a couple of time. Literally, one of the wheels has fallen off and won’t stay on for more than a minute at a time. (Ironically, this doesn’t seem to impede the action of the vacuum or scratch the floors – makes me wonder what the wheels are for!) I only have one 10 x 12 rug in the whole house. I thought when the vacuum finished dying, I would chuck it, sell the rug, and just work with a broom and dust mop. Then Colleen and my mother persuaded me that I would have a lot less dog hair on my floors if I vacuumed more, rather than less.

What happened next is the opposite of what I preach: I bought a second of something while the first was still functional. Yes, I bought another vacuum cleaner, an upright. I planned to sell my old canister-style vacuum cheaply on Craigslist. But the more I used the upright vacuum, the less I liked it. Instead, I tried to sell it on Craigslist, with no success. The upright was good on the rug, but less great on the hard floors. I had a brain storm, and even though I felt completely indulgent doing it, I brought the old vacuum downstairs and left the new one upstairs. My floors, upstairs and down, were cleaner. Because I didn’t have to lug the vacuum up the stairs, I was vacuuming more often. My floors really were less hairy. Yes, I became a person with two vacuums.

This revelation of convenience got me started thinking about my other cleaning supplies. For example, what the heck is my cleaning caddy doing in the laundry room? I never clean in there (except clothes, of course). Why do I only have one toilet brush with the cleaning fluid stored elsewhere? I started noticing that I would think, “If I had a sponge (or toilet brush or glass cleaner) nearby, I’d take care of that real quick.” But “real quick” did not involve going to another room, getting the proper supplies, and bringing them back. That was not “real quick.”

I started small: I got a toilet brush for beside every toilet, and I added toilet bowl cleaner to the grocery list – one bottle for every toilet. I’m adding a scratchy sponge and a container of baking soda beneath every sink. I have two vacuum cleaners. What I discovered is that, for me, more cleaning supplies, not fewer, more duplicate items, not less was the secret to housekeeping success.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a fashion accessory.

Eco Tip For The Day

Share and borrow between friends and family rather than everyone owning/buying everything.

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

After waking this morning to my husband’s goodbye kiss, I lay in my warm cosy bed trying to decide if a cup of tea was worth getting out into the cold for. My mind began to wander to the question of what will I have for breakfast. Deliberately, my pantry provides ingredients for a limited choice, rolled oat porridge or toast. Granted the accompaniments to these basic choices vary, so it isn’t as boring as it sounds. This morning, however, I felt like something different. So I got to thinking about what else I could throw together from my fridge, freezer or pantry. This lead me to the train of thought ~ What is there that I want to use up. Once again an intentional limited choice. It came to me in that moment that I had a packet of parathas in the freezer. At that point I stepped outside the box and began thinking how could these be used as a breakfast dish.

So, for breakfast this morning I cooked up my paratha, folded it around a generous portion of banana slices, switched off the burner and allowed the residual heat to warm it through. Once plated up, I added a generous slurp of maple syrup, a dob of cream and a sprinkling of slithered almonds. I have to say it was delicious.

The moral of this story is that all manner of things can be used up in ways not necessarily intended. And sometimes in ways actually intended that you just haven’t thought of. You see I have had banana roti (similar to parathas) on a visit to Malaysia once, so this wasn’t really an original idea, simply a convenient recollection.

Just yesterday I retrieved a piece of black felt from my garage. Thinking that I would probably never use it for a craft project, it was waiting there to be donated to the thrift shop. While putting something away in my buffet drawer it occurred to me that I could use that felt to line its drawers with. I attended to this task immediately rather than just putting the felt back in my craft room for another day.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not trying to send a message here that it is a good idea to keep things because they may actually come in useful one day. What I am suggesting is that if you are considering decluttering something potentially useful, figure out that use now and utilise the item. If you can’t come up with a use then simply let it go. Similarly, if you feel wasteful of your hard earned cash by decluttering such items, do the same. Figure out a way to use them up, outside the box, so you don’t feel bad about it. If you can’t do that, then let them go.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a souvenir.

Eco Tip for the Day

Food takes a lot of resources to produce so never let it go to waste. Have a few recipes handy that are great for using up left over bits and pieces, like curry, quiche or bubble & squeak.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

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

This week’s mini missions are all about getting rid of things that were acquired out of choice not necessity. Items that, if you are trying to reduce your belongings to just the things you really like or need, should be quite easy to part with. Unless of course you love all the items in these categories that is. If that is the case then these items aren’t clutter, right? 😉

Monday РDeclutter a d̩cor item.

Tuesday – Declutter a souvenir.

Wednesday – Declutter a fashion accessory.

Thursday – Declutter a piece of jewellery.

Friday – Declutter a book.

Saturday – Declutter a rarely used kitchen gadget.

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

Be very selective about what you buy so that you are so satisfied with the product that you will use it until it wears out and not trade it in for something else soon after.

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!

Lucinda gives us her take on slow and steady decluttering in this comment.

Jane tells us about how she is prepared to be flexible with her self imposed decluttering deadline in this comment.

Kimberley give us two more reasons to let go of stuff in this comment.

Moni‘s daughter set her an interesting declutter challenge this week. Wise beyond her years that one. Read about it here.

Here is a great example fro June on how one tends to take care of items better when they are the one and only.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Here is a little eco tip from Daily Lime

Here is a good link on decluttering.

Here is an oldie but a goody from Zen Habits.

I didn’t have much time for reading this week folks so I am sorry but that is all I have to share today. Have a great weekend.

Today’s Mini Mission

This one is mentioned often here at 365 Less Things. Declutter something you keep out of obligation. Most people have more than one of these ~ unwanted gifts, family heirlooms, stuff their kids left behind etc. . I figure if I keep harping on about it you will eventually, perhaps slowly as you become more comfortable with the idea, let them all go.

Eco Tip For The Day

If you use aluminium foil when cooking be aware that it is one of the easiest household items to recycle. So if it is possible to rinse it off and put it in the recycling bin please do so.

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

One thing I haven’t brought to your attention for a long time is the fact that some items left unused can perishe over time. Therefore, without you realising it, some items in your home may slowly be becoming useless while you wait for “someday” to arrive when you will have a use for them. I know I have encountered some incidences of this during my decluttering experience ~ Elastic that lost its stretch, electrical item than no longer worked, shoes that the fabric perished on, lipstick that smelled off… I always feel it is such a shame that these things end up going to waste.

Below is a list of items that can perish over time when not being used

• Elastic:- Found in webbing in sofas and chairs, clothing items particularly underwear, fitted Sheets, bandages, hair Bands…
• Electrical Appliances:- Especially anything with a heating element, a printed circuit board or drive belt.
• Foam linings or filters:- As in Ski Goggles, some Vacuum Cleaners…
• Plastics:- Some soft plastics go sticky and some hard plastics go brittle.
• Rubber:- Seals on washing machines etc – Rubber Bands – erasers.
• Leather Goods:- Leather items need cleaning and conditioning on a regular basis and can go stiff when not taken care of and also mouldy if not stored properly.
• Photographic Gear:- If not stored properly mould can grow and eat into camera lenses, leaving permanent scars. Films, colour slides and photos can loose their colour and clarity over time.
• First Aid Supplies & Medications:- Medications and ointments go out of date, bandages and the rubber in eye droppers can perish.
• Drive belts:- Both times my clothes drier has gone into storage the drive belt froze into a D shape and made an awful clonking noise and had to be replaced.
• Glue:- Items that are glued together such as shoes can separate, and tubes and bottles of glue can dry up.
• Pens:- The ink dries up and/or the ball gets stiff and scratchy.
• Batteries: Remember to remove batteries from toys and gadgets if they aren’t being used as the batteries can ooze acid and ruin the item.
• Food: This one is a no-brainer.
• Wine: some are meant to be stored some aren’t.
• Make-up: The oils in them can go rancid and smell bad. Also bacteria can build up putting you at risk of infection (in particular eye make-up)
• Textiles: Clothing and other items made from wool may become moth eaten if not stored properly. (Submitted by Willow @ willowscottage.blogspot.com )

This list of perishable items is always available here. However, I dare say it is by no means comprehensive. So if there is something that you feel needs adding please contact me and I will be pleased to include it on the page.

Today’s Mini Mission

There are certain items that nearly everyone owns, if you don’t have a use for such an item, why keep it. Declutter it now. In Australia most homes have a BBQ, a laundry basket and trolley, a deep fryer and a second television, we weren’t using ours so we saw no point in keeping them.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t stock up on perishable items unless you are certain you are going to use them before their used by date expires.

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

Cindy

Unless I’ve lost track, which is possible, this article from Wired magazine on the need to fix things, rather than just tossing them out, has not been included in a Friday post. I’ll wait while you read it.

One of the things that I love and appreciate about my husband is that he can fix almost anything. Sometimes his care in fixing an item makes it better than when it started out. Recently, he fixed a bag dryer that we’ve used for a decade. (See a photo of a bag dryer here.) Years of use had finally caused the glue to completely give up and the base to fall off, so I was using it balanced in a short drinking glass. Dan took the entire thing apart, sanded it, waxed it, and reassembled it. Quite frankly, it was better than new and will surely last another decade. I think some people would have been tempted to either use it in its broken down state or maybe fixed it but without all the extra fuss. Most people, I fear, would have tossed it and purchased new. After all, they’re only about $20, and that one lasted a decade – good enough, right?

After reading the article in Wired, my Aunt Eileen commented that she had heard that you can judge a society by how it treats its broken. “Broken” here referred to people, but it made her wonder if we could also judge a society by how it treats its broken things.

That really got me thinking about all the things that Dan has fixed in the many years we’ve been together: shoes, a play baby buggy, computers and electronic items, jewelry, and (my favorite) a stick from the yard that one of the girls broke when she just had to have it. Yes, my husband fixed a stick.

Your money will go further, and so will your pride, when you fix up something and keep using it.

But for clutterers, the challenge and thrill of potentially fixing something can be a real trap. Do you have items in your house that have been broken for more than a year? Items that you do not know how to fix? Items that you could fix – maybe – but still wouldn’t use? Do you pick up broken items during bulky trash because you’re sure you can fix them up and use or resell them, even though you don’t have the time, money, tools or know-how? Stop! This is a trap for clutterers, and you don’t need to get sucked into it.

Like an never (or partially) started craft or a gadget that you used for just one project, it’s time to let those broken things go. Offer it free to someone who can fix them, or break it down for recycling, or just put it out on the curb with a “free but broken” sign on it and see what happens. If you can fix it, do. And soon. If you can’t, it’s time to say good-bye.

Today’s Mini Mission

Identify and declutter an item that has remained in your home out of habit. Something that has so far escaped your notice just because it has been around for so long and has literally just become a piece of the furniture.

Eco Tip For The Day

Return hangers back to the dry cleaners to be reused. Every little thing recycling effort helps!

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