Just so you all know, I appreciate each and every comment I receive and I hope no-one ever feels left out from my favourite five. I chose them for all sorts of reasons but mostly because I feel we all have something to learn from them.  I hope you enjoy the five I have spotlighted for this week.
Andreia in response to Day 91 Stocking up of obsessing -Â I used to paint. Not canvas, but plaster figures… Read more
Andreia in response to Mini Mission Monday -Â Hi Colleen! I did the same with our tools… Read More
Katherine – I wanted to feature three comments that Katherine has posted this week. Once you read them all you will have to appreciate the difficulties she faces with how little space she has. I feel she deserves to be applauded for her can do attitude and her positive outlook – Comment 1 *** Â Comment 2 *** Â Comment 3
It has been a good week for great down to earth minimalist post. I had this roundup of five chosen by Wednesday. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Raptitude – Everything-in-its-place-finally-and-forever
A Guy Name Dave – American-style-consumerism-will-seal-your-fate
Not easy to be green – Reusing-the-gateway-to-hoarding
Om Freely – On-Creating-New-Habits
Small Notebook – 10-ways-to-simplify-without-becoming-a-minimalist
Today’s Declutter Item
These rose scented rosary beads were a souvenir from our first visit to Rome. Liam decluttered these from his room recently. I am sure someone will be happy to find them at the thrift store.
I am grateful from anything that brings me joy. Below are five things that gave me joy since my last post.
- The lessons I have learned – Some lessons can be harsher that others but so long as we learn something from them we have gained from the experience.
- Trying a new cafe.
- Multi-tasking – Watching video lessons on the computer and ironing at the same time got two unpleasant tasks out of the way at once.
- Leftovers
- Hubby and I went out to see a comedy act at the local entertainment centre – A night out and a good laugh what more could you ask for.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.
Thank you so much for including my blog in your round-up! I’m looking forward to checking out the other entries.
Hi Jennifer,
it was my pleasure and thank you for such a great article. I have been pondering that issue for a while and it is probably time I wrote an article about it myself. I think there is a real conflict there for some people to try to conform to “zero waste” while trying to declutter at the same time.
Thanks for that Colleen. That’s made my day. I am so loving this blog. The thrill of being able to share the joys of decluttering and those ‘aha!’ moments with people who get it, is wonderful. And I am learning more form you all all the time. And you have been so welcoming.
I’m just now reading the ‘Raptitude’ blog you recommend. He makes passing reference to the toaster being used 0.05% of the day, but it takes up counter space 100% of the day. Total ‘aha!’ moment there for me. The toaster is now going elswere, so I have more room for the gadgets I use several times a day.
hi Katharine,
it is my pleasure but the thanks goes to you for sharing your story which in turn may help others.
As for that toaster thing – I think I should take that idea on. My mother keeps hers in the pantry but I keep mine on the bench where it is easy to get at. My hubby is on a low carb diet and I am pretty much following suit with him. My son seems to be eating very little toast at the moment too so we actually tend to keep the bread in the freezer otherwise it goes stale. Perhaps the toaster doesn’t need to be out on the bench any more since it is getting used so infrequently. I will run it by Liam before I move it though he can be funny about those sort of things. He is tactile but lazy at the same time so it is all about feel and convenience for him, I can’t imagine where he gets that from. 😉
That Raptitude link was wonderful, especially all the comments. I’ve struggled with getting rid of books for year, but finally, last years, I gave in (getting rid of over 700 books!) and the resulting feeling of lightness is wonderful. Plus, it actually gives me MORE time to read, as I don’t have to spend ages agonising over which book to chose 🙂
Hi Loretta,
it is a particularly sweet victory when you finally manage to part with the things that you envisaged to be most difficult to live without. Congratulations!
Whew! I’ve been reading for an HOUR and only visited two of the links – great reading and food for thought. Thank you, as usual, for pointing out things I would never have found – or had the time to find – on my own.
Now, off to get some actual work done 🙂
Hi Jo,
I am glad you enjoyed the links even if they did use up far too much of your day. I pulled my head out of my computer to clean and condition my leather sofas. That was no treat but at least it’s done and I suppose I got a little exercise while I was at it.
The comments & links (FRIDAYS FAVORITE FIVE) are extremely HELPFUL and completely enlightening. There is SOOO MUCH to learn from so many people and experiences in life; what a blessing to open your blog and read and become so inspired. Todays post was the kick in the pants I needed to read (hear) to get my-own-self-back-into-gear (I’ve been kinda ‘stuck in the mud’).
THANK YOU!
Hi Annabelle,
I am glad today’s links contained just the help you needed. That is exactly why I have the favourite five each week because there are so many points of view and so many angles to come at them from. A person can hear the same advice many different ways but then all of a sudden hear it stated in just the right words for them. Then it can be just the tonic they needed to lift them out of the rut they were in. I am glad you are feeling better about yourself today, lets hope that feeling can gain momentum and launch you into a really good week and beyond.
I love Friday’s Favourite Five, too. It’s a special service to get great links hand picked by someone who shares the sames interests as I do. Thank you Colleen! 🙂
I injured my foot this week and was ordered to stay off from my feet. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I realised that this was the perfect time to declutter my recipes! I had tons of torn out pages from magazines. I went through them all and I only kept the recipes I use. After admitting to myself that I don’t love to cook and I will never try all those recipes it was easy to get rid of them. I will have to think of a good way to store the remaining recipes, but at least the hardest part is now done. Anything else I could declutter in bed?
Anne, I think you just helped me with my recipe collection too. You said “After admitting to myself that I don’t love to cook and I will never try all those recipes . . .” As much as I think I will try new recipes someday, I don’t like to cook either, and make the same 10 – 12 main dishes most of the time. (AND most of the recipes I have collected require fattening ingredients which I am working to avoid anyway 🙂 )
Do you have any of the following things that need decluttering while you are laid up?
Paperwork (eg. files, stacks of magazines you might intend to tear or scan articles from, or just to sort without reading)
Photos, paper or digital (if you have access to your computer in bed)
Small drawers from bureau, night stand, or desk, that can be carried to wherever you are
Good wishes for a speedy recovery!
Hi Jo,
good suggestions for sitting back ans decluttering. Maybe I should write a blog about that.
As for the recipe collection. I have gotten rid of most of my recipe books and even the ones I have I rarely use. Every time I want a recipe for something I google taste.com.au and voila I find exactly what I am looking for. No flipping through pages for hours and the recipes usually have pictures which I love. Since I started doing this I have been trying more and more new recipes and actually enjoying it.
Haha, me too! I just tossed them all in the recycle bin, because I don’t look at them anyway. I’m going for online recipes now too!
BTW: I also like that my country even recycles plastics. No more guilt for me when I’m recycling plastic! Hurrah!
Hi Nurchamiel,
now that I have a new computer that starts almost instantly going digital with a lot of stuff is so much easier. Six year old laptops just don’t do the job.
Thank you Jo for the suggestions. Paper photos! That’s something I’ve yet to declutter. I have several albums full of photos, dating back to pre-digital era. And back then, I saved every single photo I had developed no matter how bad the result. 🙂 Time to start decluttering those.
Hi Anne,
I hope your foot is healing quickly but aren’t you clever coming up with a way to declutter while incapacitated. There is no holding you down for long. It seems like you must have read the link I left the last Friday on Probitunity — ignore the problem and see the opportunity it presents.
Hi Colleen,
No, it wasn’t the Probitunity post that got me to do this. It was the nice lady living 15,000km southeast of here that has over the past year put new thoughts into my head and taught me to see my stuff in a new light. 🙂 Besides, she’s pretty strict and I don’t think she would have let me just lay on the bed doing no decluttering for several days so I had to come up with something to declutter. She has that effect on people. 🙂
Hi Anne,
Thank you so much for you “kind” words. All those year going to a Catholic school with strict nuns, something has to rub off. You are just lucky that you aren’t close enough for me to use the cane. I must admit it didn’t get hit much I was like you and figured it was best just to comply with their wishes and just get on with it. In all seriousness though I am glad to have had the opportunity to help you see a way through the clutter and find the joy that living with less can bring. Have a great day!
Thanks Collen! The very first time I post in your blog, and my two posts are friday’s favourite! Well, I discovered your blog trough Unclutterer.com and I find that it encourages me to do a little thing at a time. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, and so you know, I live around the globe, so when you read this, it’s already Sunday for you, but for me it’s Saturday. I can always start Mini Mission Monday before, lol.