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!
Being as I have been away for the last couple of days so I haven’t had much time to get through all the wonderful comment received. So my list is a little short this week. I do appreciate each and every one of them though and look forward to reading and responding tomorrow.
How frustrating this situation must have been for Becky. But she found the perfect solution in the end.
I loved this story from Moni. I am not really a lover of gift registries but they do have their good points. Avoiding clutter gifts would be the main advantage.
Here is a response I wrote to a comment from the post Awkward Clutter which is very relevant to the Baby Clutter post. Read Lena’s response as well, it proves the idea as valid.
Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!
Lynn has been sharing her declutterin skills with her son in the link ~Â themamageek.net-noahs-plushie-purge
I was directed to this TED talk by 365 Grateful, both links are worth a look. Being grateful each day can change your mind to automatically look to the positive.
This is an older TED talk but the message is worth listening to over and over again.
Barry Schwartz lets us know by no uncertain means that multiple choices aren’t always a good thing. I can so relate to this.
I have included this link that Amy added in comments on the Baby Clutter post in case you missed it.
Today’s Declutter Item
I know I know, they just keep on coming. Another baseball collectable, this one was sold on eBay and has returned home to the great state of Washington.
Yes, another baseball collectable
Something I Am Grateful For Today
For the wonderful couple of days spend in Sydney with my darling for our 25th wedding Anniversary. He is the best vacation planner.
I really enjoyed the positive energy and attitude expressed in the Shawn Anchor video.
Ditto, Spendwisemom. I know exactly what you mean. Who wouldn’t want to follow his example when he makes it sound so good.
I so admire you getting things listed and sold. We had a bunch of stuff that seemed like perfect eBay fodder but just could not get the trigger pulled. Last week, we had an auction house come in and take the stuff we had piled up to sell. We’ll see if we net anything at all after the auction. In the meantime, we tell ourselves that we are selling and downsizing and it all had to go sometime — the one fell swoop approach was something of a relief. It even inspired my husband to go through four large bookcases/cabinets of sports memorabilia and get rid of about 90%. Next up: a charity pick up on Monday, so we can make another run through the house for that. But I still rather wish we had started some months (or years) ago and tried eBay.
Well done Sabrina! About a month ago I was overwhelmed by the heaps of stuff that we designated ebay-worthy. I ended up making $2200. Not kidding! And I still have a fair bit more that I can list, plus winter gear that I have held off until the temperature drops a bit more.
Having said that…….a lot of stuff went out to recycling that possibly could have been individually listed and we might have yeilded some returns (though probably not enough to justify the time, set up fees, all the queries etc) but honestly, sometimes it is just better to make inroads and feel that relief. And if it got your husband all fired up to declutter it was worth letting go of that stuff.
I wouldn’t feel too bad Sabrina, ebay is just an on line action house after all. For all you know you may make more at the actual auction house than you would have on ebay, without all the postage hassle.
That is a very good point Colleen – my trademe campaign pretty well took over my life for 2-3 weeks and was not without its negative aspects. Out of the house is still out of the house.
Colleen, congratulations to you and your hubby on 25 years of marriage!
Thanks for the anniversary wishes all my lovely 365’ers. Now are embarking on the next 25.
Congratulations on your 25th anniversary!
Definitely, congratulations on the 25 years! It’s quite a milestone.
Happy Anniversary!! 25 years together is great.
The comments and links are good ones. I enjoyed them all. Had help yesterday with cleaning in the shed. The back shed now only has the extra pieces for the fencing and laticework we have and some empty storage containers. Replacements bought and stored by the previous owners. Might as well keep them since we have that shed and they don’t take up much room but would cost if we had to get them. I’m working on Mom to get rid of some of the storage containers. 🙂
In the front shed I placed 3 boxes of things for a garage sale that is going on at a friends. One box has all sizes of boxes that we will put out for free. One has office type things that people eagerly snap up. the 3rd box has some electronic equipment that was passed down to me and that I don’t want. It feels so good to get rid of it all. We also have a bunch of packing stuff (foam peanuts, packing paper, bubble wrap) that has come into the house recently due to purchasing something by mail. This we are going to give to a friend who helps people pack and move. It’s so freeing to get rid of all of this stuff. Yippee!!
Hi Deb J – this weekend I am psyching myself up to work on the garage, unfortunately it is an internal access garage where my laundry is located so I see it many times daily and it has been bugging me for months. As the rest of the house has gotten more and more minimalist, this has become one of the last standing “hot spots” in the house.
The parts of the house that have become minimalist oasis – no one dumps stuff there and the family is more considerate about keeping it tidy but the garage (the “hot spot”) just seems to draw chaos, and the same people don’t think twice about dumping things on the floor, or acknowledging any sense of organisation. Aha! Now I remember how the rest of the house used to be!
Thank you for inspiring me to focus on the garage next.
Tonight I will go thru the shelves above my washing machine as a “warm up” (haven’t done them in a year) and then wade in.
I grew up with pack rats for parents. We always had 2 car garages but had to park at least 1 if not both cars outside. And, yes, we lived in snow country. I think I got so tired of all the stuff stored everywhere that it turned me off to cleaning and saving. Our main storage shed (we have a carport) is still full of more than I would choose to have. But it has been pared down from FULL to only 1/2 full. I guess I can live with that. I will get more out of there eventually as Mom gets more inclined. I’m proud of what all she has gotten rid of so far. She’s learning. Have fun in your garage. It may be a nightmare but look on the positive side. It will be heavenly when it is all cleared out.
I just requested my husband help – he is usually really supportive about decluttering but is treating this one like a hot potato. I have gotten him to agree to do just ten muscle jobs for me in the garage which he thought didn’t sound too involved. Wait until he reads number one on the list: finish building tool shed to move tools, lawn mower and weedeater into!
OOO!! You are so sly. Hope he does them all.
Ha Ha Moni, just like the children he wants the tools but doesn’t want to have to look after them or put them away properly. 😆
LOL – number two is iron the 10 or so dress shirts that he has draped all around the garage post-laundering. (I think I was supposed to be so grateful for his consideration that I was meant to iron them)
Happy 25th Anniversary – and many happy returns!
Happy Anniversary!
Congrats on the anniversary.
It’s always such a nice feeling to get ‘rid’ of stuff! I returned some light globes to ikea (seemed silly, but $30 later, I’m pleased I did!). Off loaded old pillows (that I got from freecycle to make cushions) and two cushion covers I didn’t care for to another freecycler. Found another few things I’ve put on freecycle – a seldom utilised cookbook (of my very few!), a paper lantern, some sticky dots for photos, and some photo tape.
Even like getting stuff out of my house – like my brother’s 21st gift is now done, and wrapped, been ‘cluttering’ me up for at least six months. I’m not sure why I feel so good to have gifts out, but it’s the same sentiment, less for me to care about, store, clean etc!
So cool to see the Mariners’s shirt – in a shop in Auckland, I found a child’s U-dub (University of Washington) T-shirt. I had to buy it, even though my kids were years away from fitting it.
It’s my son’s size now, and although for a while he wouldn’t wear it because of the colour (unisex purple), he has worn it without any pushing a few times… and he looks great in purple!
I know the U-dud and the colour scheme so I understand the situation. My son still wears his sisters Newport high school choir t-shirt just because it is from what they consider their hometown. Oh I can’t wait, I will be there in three weeks. Woo Hoo!!! Seattle here we come.
I enjoyed both TED clips – loved the unicorn story – this was very timely in another area of my life where I have been umming and ahhing about whether to approach the school about one of my children’s teachers. Long story.
I want to live in Graham Hill’s appartment! Of course, I’d have to downsize…..and probably have to let the children go as well. 🙂
He mention something that I have been wrestling with lately. In my pursuit of minimalism, and while also trying to be considerate to my carbon footprint – when is it ok to trade big bulky items for modern, small, streamline equivalents? Any good formula’s out there?
Hi Moni, I understand your dilemma, it is hard to justify buying new smaller more streamline items to replace bulky stuff without considering the environmental issues. I have been faced with this same guilt trip over the last couple of years. What I did was attempt to buy secondhand first and if I couldn’t find what I needed or liked I resorted to new. I made sure I found new homes for the old stuff saving someone else from having to buy new and that makes me feel slightly better. When I consider how little other stuff I have bought over the last two years compared to people who buy willy nilly every day I feel a little better again. I don’t receive gifts either which also helps, but in the end I do still feel guilty to a certain degree. Sorry mate but there is no miracle cure to that guilt. The truth is I could have bought smaller items secondhand that weren’t really to my taste and then been unhappy with the outcome but I chose want over need and there is no getting away from that.
Colleen, I think you hit on a good point “want”. Sometimes we have to give it a vote. I’m thinking this is what I will do. I will price the item I want on trademe and price it new in the store (sometimes there is very little in it) and I will first attempt to sell the other two, and if they don’t go, can I freecycle them out or donate to Charity store. I think I need to make sure I don’t end up with THREE in the house, and will ultimately end up with what I want.
And Moni take your time, do your homework. If you are going to buy new the least you can do is get it right so two years down the track you aren’t wanting to replace he item again.
Any advice on getting your family on board when you are the only one decluttering?
The simple answer is ask them. When it comes to the kids, insist they be involved when you are dealing with their stuff. You may have to drag them in kicking a screaming like with any other household chore but if the alternative is to do it without their supervision I am sure they will comply for fear of you getting rid of their stuff they still want. With the husband, let him know how important it is to you for him to deal with his stuff. Offer to help if that is what it takes. Unfortunately that is all you can do because if he will not comply you can’t force him.
I can’t believe how catchy anything with “365” in it is. I loved the idea of the 365 grateful scrapbook BUT all I could think of is, ugh more sentimental clutter which I could never let go of. (I have a stack of journals, baby journals, book journals which I have to go through!) So I thought about putting it completely on my computer. I will make a file in my pictures titled “365 Grateful” and take a picture a day. I really loved how when she started looking for those wonderful qualities in her husband she found them. May we all be so dilligent finding the good things about those around us!
I think doing your gratitude journal on the computer is a good idea. Far less cluttering. I don’t find it necessary to keep a journal as I find I don’t look back through it. I am happy just to try to be grateful in the moment or add it to the bottom of my blog when I am not pressed for time. A picture journal sounds like fun though I might do that for my items sometimes and share it with my readers. They will get to see what the world around me looks like as well.
Happy Anniversary, sorry I’m late but I have been de-cluttering the garage AGAIN!!
I’m grateful for this blog and all the beautiful people that frequent it and very grateful for Colleen being so good with daily tips, pushes and prods in a nice way and for having Cindy on board to enlighten us from the Northern Hemisphere. I’m so grateful I decided to ‘get a bunch of stuff out of my house’ but blog hopped around looking for sustainable ways to do it. A few jumps and I found ‘365’ I was glad I wasn’t the only one ‘junked up’ Thanks Colleen and Cindy and all the ‘365’ers’.
I’m also grateful for the people who came to look at our ‘Home for Sale’ and extrememly grateful for the 3 couples coming back to hash it out!
Have a beautiful day 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hey Dizzy – was working on our garage over the weekend, not finished by a long way but good inroads. Did you find that your garage had turned into the Last Chance Saloon from all your other declutterings? I found so much stuff that I was sure had been dealt with.
OOooohhhhh yeeeessss!!!!! My (sorry) OUR garage always seemed to attract more and more, although the junk was out of the house it always, always, always sat for a while in the garage and then I’d find stuff in the garage to add to the pile, then get rid of that only to find more stuff in the garage. OUR garage was always a ‘Stuff Storm’ held everything but the kitchen sink, I’ll probably find one of those when we move hahaha. I truely wonder what people do with their stuff if they are decluttering and have no garage, sometimes you can’t deal with what you’re getting rid of straight away.
Drives me nuts but I will be going through it again and again with our impending move. The ‘Stuff Storm’ has just been issued with it’s Last Rites and hubby is pouncing on all of his bits ‘n’ bobs tonight yeah yeah!!
I think they have tool sheds instead………
As the rest of the house looks better and better, the garage has seemed to go downhill on an equal scale.
Good on you for starting well ahead of the shift. Is the next house going to be the minimalist show case?
I am with you Dizzy on this one ~ Decluttering is so much less complicated when you have a garage. Many of the houses we have looked at lately have to garage or even a parking space and the though fills me with dread. If I reduce the inside space and don’t have a garage where will my transition point be. I am sure I would find one, many of my readers live in just this situation. Hopefully by then I will have very little clutter left so all will be well.
Thank you Dizzy I am glad you found us too. And it is important to find new homes for your stuff and dispose of the junk responsibly. And really it isn’t that hard if you are prepared to make the effort. Good for you.
I hope you have luck with the house sale.
You have a beautiful day too 🙂 🙂 🙂