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!
Michelle has been converted to using microfibre for cleaning. Read why in this comment.
Melissa tells us about some quick clothing decluttering she did this week in this comment.
This comment  from Dizzy had my head spinning. What a mammoth effort.
Whoever Anon is I thank them for this comment. What a wonderful example of why stuff is not the answer to a happy life. And more so, what a great example that with the right help one can overcome depression and keep it in check.
Kim and her husband have instigated some great ways to avoid clutter and do the right thing by the environment in this comment. Good for you Kim and Hubby.
Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!
Here is something to think about when choosing which brands you think have the right ethics to suit your sensibilities.
One a week where I post a mini mission about reducing your gift wrapping supplies Lena stubbles upon this article to share with us. I am only posting it for your amusement, please no one tell me you have a wrapping room or I am going to give up blogging. 😆
Here is the latest episode of The Midway Decluttering Show from Midway Simplicity.
I liked this article from The Minimalists because I was never on the minimalist path either. My path had the same purpose described in this article. One the suited the way I wanted to live. Little did I know how wonderful that feeling of freedom from stuff and the desire to acquire would be.
Today’s Mini Mission
Declutter something that has no real value to you, either of use or sentiment. I am sure if you go searching with this criteria in mind it shouldn’t be too hard to find something. You may have pangs of “I might need it someday†but I am sure you can determine that most things are never really needed in the first place never mind someday down the track.
Eco Tip For The Day
I have been skipping the Eco Tips here and there lately because I can’t always come up with something new to add. My question is would you rather I skipped it or would you prefer if I just reposted a previous tip. I like the idea of reposting because we can always do with a reminder.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
A wrapping room? As we say at my house, “Oh Lord have mercy on my pea picking soul” which translates, for you non-Southerners to “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
I only wish I was Cindy.
I do enjoy the tips. I checked out a few books from the library to help me to have ideas to post or I just share little things I am doing along the way. If you reuse something or cut down on your utilities somehow or use containers instead of plastic bags. I enjoy hearing them, but if you don’t enjoy writing them then just skip it. Sometimes it takes more effort than it is worth so I am in favor of supporting whatever you want to do. Thanks for all the posts, etc. Have a nice day.
Marianne, thank you for your support. I do love to include the Eco Tips because I think it is so important to encourage this behaviour. I think I will just start reposting old ones unless a new idea comes to mind. There are so many little things we can do that all add up to a big difference.
I spent the last week visiting family; just caught up on a good week of blog reading. 🙂
The homes I visited were clean and maintained, but they were cluttered and I felt the clutter as an unpleasant, somewhat oppressive force. Walking into my own home and seeing near-empty horizontal furniture surfaces was really peaceful. I have plenty of excess still, but I can feel the progress I’ve made and it is good.
I also had a nice conversation with my parents about minimalism, which is definitely at odds with the farmers’ sensibility of my extended family of “keep anything you might need.” For me, minimalism is a way of focusing your life: time, money, effort away from material things to pursue your true goals, whatever they are. I am not a minimalist, but most of my stuff is irrelevant to my goals, and in excess is a hindrance.
Great comment Rebecca J. I must admit one of the few disadvantages of decluttering and being somewhat of a fastidious cleaner is finding it oppressive in other peoples homes. Also I notice that when people come here they apologise too much for traipsing any tiny speck in underfoot or leaving a smear on anything, like my glass dining table. I love friends and family coming around more than I care what my house looks like 24/7.
Hi colleen, do you think it is clean and uncluttered that Makes guests uneasy or is it more Materials, lighting, colours …? I find these question highly interesting. I am unrelaxed about stains/scratches with some surfaces/pieces in our apartment and find that Takes Away from gatherings because it Makes guests unrelaxed too. I’d love to have a home that can take the occasional mess and I am still trying to find out how to achieve that.
It is only people who know that I blog about decluttering who seem to get concerned about messing anything up. My family don’t seem to be bothered by it. Mind you I am probably just imagining that they care while the guests probably really don’t care. Just every now and again they apologise for traipsing something in under foot or spilling things. They are probably just being polite but aren’t very concerned. Just in case I put them at ease by saying “Think nothing of it.”.
What I think about all this is that I have to live in the house all of the time so it should be the way I like it. If others feel it is too clean then that is their problem. For the most part people seems relaxed here and I am happy with that.
I always enjoy the Friday Favorites. The Wrapping Room – good grief. I had no idea such places existed.
I recall one Christmas with my in-laws where the person playing Santa wasn’t checking the tags very well and handing gifts to the wrong people. It was kind of chaotic, and then there were still unopened gifts under the tree after people left. I mentally questioned how important this was. It seemed a bit empty and sad to me.
Hubby and I pretty much stopped exchanging gifts. I did ask that whenever the fancy hits him to give me flowers, grocery store bouquets are just fine because I have plenty of vases already and the floral industry is just so marked up. He gave me some lovely purple iris and a Mother’s Day card from the cat yesterday. 🙂
Rebecca J, my grandparents were farmers as well. After they passed and the children were cleaning out the house, they found tons and tons of empty boxes (you never know when you might need a good box. LOL), mayo jars, cool whip and margarine containers. Not sure what Granny was doing with all those. I start hoarding boxes at work as Christmas gets closer, but after the holidays if they haven’t been used, they get recycled.
Funny story related to “you never know when you might need a good box”. For more than 30 years, Ian has owned an antique display shelf that came from his grandparents’ house. He has never put it up in his own home and for the 20 years I have known him it resided in a large packing box that has moved from house to house and to its latest home in our basement. As Wildlife Rescuers, we keep a supply of old towels, blankets and boxes for picking up critters so we were prepared when we got a call yesterday to capture an injured Bald Eagle. We had everything we needed….except a box suitable for a huge, potentially feisty bird with a big beak and sharp talons. Very quickly, the contents of the packing box ended up on the basement floor and off we went…. Double happy ending here. #1. The eagle is now at the Wildlife Hospital to have its broken wing tended. #2 Ian had three hours of driving time to come to the conclusion that a Valuable Family Heirloom that has sat in a box for 20 years can go to the charity sale next week. Value of shelf – zero. Value of cardboard box — priceless!!
What a wonderful story, Wendy B! Love it!
That story is priceless Wendy B. Thanks for sharing.
Just Brilliant!! Love it!! And the Eagle will fly another day!! Fabulous 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes Michelle that sounds a lot like Christmas to me. Although we have always got the correct gifts, the novelty wears of very quickly. Then their are the disappointments when you don’t get the one things you really wanted and the awkward words of thanks to someone who gave you the thing you least wanted.
I had to laugh at your grandparents’ empty boxes. I have a large storage container of empty boxes in my garage. Kept for sending ebay sales on their way. We sell so little on ebay these days and I am tired of that box taking up space on the shelf. Perhaps it is time to eliminate the box or boxes. Bad enough that there is a cupboard full of electronic equipment boxes in the garage as well. We keep those for when we move because it is always safer to transport these items in the boxes they came in. Now that the kids have moved out and some of those electronic items with them the box stash has dwindled somewhat.
That was just a funny thing that Gran would always say and Mom does it too. When I see that one that might be appropriate for a gift, I always think “this is a good box” which is crazy because who wants a “bad” box??? LOL
We have little side cubbys in our attic that are accessible by half-doors and you have to crawl to get in. For a long time I shoved bags/boxes of packing peanuts and bubble wrap in them. Last summer I pulled it all out and you’d think I was running a retail shop with all that packing material! I was so excited to learn that some shipping companies will recycle certain types of packing stuff. Hated the idea of putting that stuff in a landfill.
At least your empty boxes have a purpose in their future with sales!
Michelle – I find myself hanging onto empty cardboard boxes and it really annoys me but I am incredibly reluctant to get rid of a “good box” – I agree, there is no such thing, there isn’t a world wide shortage on cardboard boxes and I can get as many as I want from Pak n Save supermarket. Probably one of those ingrained habits from childhood. Fortunately, common sense eventually prevails and I send them for recycling.
One of my work mates says he had the same problem and so when he shops at Pak N Save (you have to pay for plastic bags but are free to help yourself to cardboard boxes) he takes a couple of laundry baskets and then he doesn’t have to deal with boxes. I’m going to try that today.
Hey Moni,
That is a cool idea. Everytime I go to shop for food, I never have enough re-cycle bags, (they ae too busy hiding in one of my 65 drawers). I used to just throw everything back in the trolley and then into the car. Usually ending with stuff on the floor blah blah blah, then I have to scurry around for them when I get home. I think the re-cycle bag thing isn’t working for me too well. I use the type that will rot away in the garden at the end of their life, but your idea sounds great! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Dizzy – it worked well using the laundry baskets for the groceries. I also have some mini size ones – very cute – about half the size of the usual laundry basket (talking the short wide ones, not the tall narrow ones) but anyway, didn’t have lots of boxes and plastic bags to deal with.
I like the laundry basket idea. I think that might be too heavy for me though so may get some smaller baskets. I need to find something that works because I hate bringing all of those plastic bags home even though we recycle them. Plus they aren’t easy to carry. I just don’t have enough of the “bring your own” bags and they do’t hold up well.
First, it is fine with me whatever you do about the eco tips. I notice when they are not there but I don’t get upset because it’s missing. I like them when you do put them out there.
I really got a lot out of Anon’s comment. We just really have good comments each week. The links were good. I got a kick out of the Hypocrisy video because it is so true. The wrapping room shocked me. I thought I had seen everything. I have seen wrapping stations in other rooms like the laundry room or a craft room but a whole room just for wrapping? Sheesh. Miriam’s interview by Mohamed was interesting. Like you, Colleen, I started my path more for the freedom, breathing room and visual cleanness that to become a minimalist.
Another good Friday’s Favorites.
Loved reading all the favourite comments and web finds as usual but am rendered speechless by the “wrapping room” story and discovering that this is a trend on the rise!
The Hypocrisy video shows exactly the situation with all those big companies and unfortunately so many people are duped into thinking they are making good conscience choices.
Keep spreading the word Colleen 🙂
I will Megan S, I most certainly will.
I like the Eco Tips, reposting is good, but maybe members could also send you their Eco Tips so you don’t have to do all the thinking.
Good idea Wendy F, I was thinking the very same thing this morning. I will send out a request for just that some time real soon.
Wrapping room? OK I feel so much better now. I found a small box here at work yesterday fallen down beside a cupboard that had a few small packets of pink and white and lavendar tissue paper, cellophane and sparkly fabric wrap. Not sure why it was here but the box was quite dusty so possibly its been here for eons. I was a bit hissy and spitty over this discovering because I was feeling quite good about this week’s mini mission for gift wrap and now I had stuff that Barbie would be proud of. I might offer it to my sis-in-law as she has two little girls.
I remember seeing a magazine article about someone’s fancy conversion of a closet into a mini-wrapping room and thinking how crazy that was. We only give to the grandchildren and birthday gifts usually get wrapped in the comic papers. I’m a pretty sloppy wrapper, so it is just as well that the gifts are usually “torn into”. I’m trying to go to giving money or gift cards, but that seems a little cold. I usually find a few books at the library sales or thrift shop for gifts for them, since they all love to read.
Hi Nana, I say give whatever suits your philosophies and their taste. I sometime give gift certificates for massages or manicures but have never been much for giving gift cards for stores unless it is a specific store that I know someone shops at often. For the most part I don’t give gifts at all. I take my friends out for lunch or a movie.
I do know that when I was a child I loved that my grandmother, who lived out of town, sent us money in a card. We only got about 50c pocket money in those days while she sent us $5 at birthday time. I felt rich with that cash in my hot little hand.
Great stuff this week, Colleen. “Wow!”, is all I can say about the wrapping room. I can see if people want to have a hobby/craft room or area but not an entire room devoted to wrapping. I can see it now, people insisting that when they go to buy a house that one of the must haves, will have to be a house with a wrapping room.
Jen ~ Frightening thought isn’t it. When you have that much money you can afford to shop in the kind of places where they wrap your purchases for you. 😉
A wrapping room! I would never have thought of such a thing in my wildest imagination. And here I was feeling guilty about my little stash of gift bags which must have been around the family at least half a dozen times. We all just feel it’s more economical than buying wrapping paper. When they get too wornout looking I put them in the recycling bins.
Hi Shirls. Those gift bags are much better for the environment I think because they tend to get used over and over again.
Hi Shirls, if I give a gift it is usually in a gift bag, I love hearing how often it’s been used and sometimes I have received something in a bag that started out from me. It’s great knowing it gets used till it can no longer function!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
I once saw an article about a wrapping station – it was just a very small room under the roof, and I think they had some cleaning supplies in there as well. I thought it unnecessary, but “oh well… ” however that picture of this huge room in Lena’s article is really disturbing.
Thank you for putting together the favourites each week. They’re always a good read!
My pleasure Sanna.
Hi Colleen,
Great roundup again.
Loved reading all of it but have to admit even I was shocked at the Wrapping Room “WHAT THE”!!!!
Times when I wrapped a lot – Christmas – I had a wrapping room, it’s called a kitchen and the bench of choice was the breakfast bar or the table. Hahhahaa. all my supplies were in a box and the rolls of paper just bounced around till they were used up, no roll holders, no ribbon holders and God forbid, we used plain old run of the mill sellotape, although we were posh, ours was on one big school office sized dispenser, oh how grand, one handed wrapping and taping fabulous-ness!!!!
Mind is sufficiently blown : time for a Bex and a lie down!! I think I have seen it all, and I don’t like it!! No I don’t !! Not at all!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Are you serious?! Wrapping rooms?!
Consumerism has gone insane!