I thought this was a good comment from Sanna last week regarding how being decluttered makes life simpler.

Sanna wrote ~ “I’d add that it’s simpler to have a “cleaning day” as well. My home still gets messy, especially when bf and I are both very busy at work. Dishes and laundry still tend to pile, I have to admit. However, a few years back it would take hours – or even days – to get everything back into shape after some busy weeks and even then there would be piles left, stuffed in cupboards, under sofas or in the bedroom, just because we would be too exhausted to manage getting through all at once. Now, the mess is just superficial, which means that even if we feel we drown in chaos, we usually can achieve a tidy and clean home in just about two hours (including laundry and dishes), without hidden clutter left.”

Part of my response was this… “By the way I am curious. I often wonder how, when people are busy at work, they still manage to get their homes in a mess. It always seems to me that they aren’t there most of the time so why does the mess happen. You prove that having too much of everything could be a big part of the problem because when the excess is eliminated suddenly the biggest part of the mess is eliminated as well.”

I have found that, when you have a limited amount of things that you use regularly, you have to stay on top of the cleaning in order to have what you need when you need it. Therefore the laundry needs to stay up to date as does cleaning the dishes…

Many people resort to buying more items when keeping up isn’t working, but they are generally only digging themselves into a deeper hole. Avoiding work doesn’t make it go away it just makes it pile up so it gets even harder to deal with later. Not only that, things get lost in the mess which wastes even more time. And then there is the constant misery of knowing the mess is there waiting for you to deal with.

There is also the panic in the early morning because you can’t find that shirt you need for work, you then discover it crushed on the floor, unwearable. Hanging clothes when they can be worn again makes them easy to find and keeps them wearable. And arranging what you are going to wear the next day prior to going to bed makes for a less stressful start to the day. Have you ever noticed how when the day starts out bad it usually follows along in the same vein. So any wonder when you get home you are completely drained and just want to flop down and do nothing. Then dinner needs to be cooked you can barely move in the kitchen for dirty dishes piled up all over the place.

Just thinking about it makes me frustrated.

Like Sanna, have you noticed it has become easier to keep your home in order because you now have less stuff? Tell us about it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that you aren’t using that could be helpful to someone else. Old eye glasses to be used for charity, children’s and baby clothes, a pair of runners, craft supplies to your local school or perhaps a tool or two to a Men’s Shed in your community.

Eco Tip for the Day

This eco tip was sent in my Cheryl. I’ve been trying to have less in my freezer so to fill up the space and save energy I’ve been filling milk jugs with water (not to full) and putting on the bottom and putting some boards on top. Fills up the air space and also makes it easier to get things out of the freezer.

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.

Monday – Choose a nook in your home where you would like more space. Perhaps a kitchen shelf or a drawer somewhere. Declutter a thing or two from that nook to achieve your space goal.

Tuesday – Declutter something that you aren’t using that could be helpful to someone else. Old eye glasses to be used for charity, children’s and baby clothes, a pair of runners, craft supplies to your local school or perhaps a tool or two to a Men’s Shed in your community.

Wednesday – Declutter a couple of things from a category that you have too many of. Something that might take years to ever need replacing. Too many towels, too many shoes, too many sheets, to many crockery items…

Thursday – Declutter or put away an item from your car, even it it is just a trash that is lying around in there.

Friday – Declutter some old paperwork, receipts or prescriptions lying around in drawers or on desk tops.

Saturday – Start a use it up challenge on a product or food item you don’t like so much but it would be a shame to waste.

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

Put the right things in your recycling bins. Living in an apartment I find so many things in the communal recycling bins that don’t belong there. This makes sorting labour intensive and the wrong plastics can spoil a batch.

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

Doodles blog post yesterday got me thinking about how out of character my decluttering method is to my usual behaviour. Of the seven sabotaging behaviours Doodle mentioned in the post, I am not guilty of any of them when it comes to my decluttering over the last four years. Although there certainly are a few that I would previously have thought I was susceptible to.  Lets go over them.

1. Do you focus on how much there is left to do rather than how much you have achieved?

This is something I would most certainly have done in the past. I would be constantly looking at the volume of the task and lamenting what is left to be done. Wishing that I was doing just about anything else.

2. Do you find your self apologising a lot to others and calling yourself lazy and other derogatory names rather than defining yourself in more positive language and a ‘work in progress’.

This I would be unlikely to have done regarding keeping house. I have been good about keeping a tidy home throughout my entire married life (I lived at home prior to that). As an adult I have always been a hard worker, thanks to a good upbringing. “A job worth doing is worth doing well!” was one of my father’s favourite sayings.

3. Do you throw away essential things that then prove how risky decluttering is?

This is also not something I would ever do. I am too tight fisted to waste anything so getting rid of useful stuff would never happen unless I definitely didn’t feel the need to keep it.

4. Do you create such a mess when decluttering that you give up half way through a task and have made everything worse.

I would be unlikely to have done this either. I am a finisher once I start a task.

5. Does being a perfectionist stop you from doing small 15 minute tasks; one drawer or one shelf at a time. Is it all or nothing; an entire room or it’s not worth it…but you can never bring yourself to face a whole room?

I am a perfectionist that is for sure which is why I am also usually an organised person. Therefore I would have set a goal and stuck to it because failing would be out of the question. Being organised also meant that my task oriented internal time clock helps me to know how much I can get done in a day and be tidy again at the end of it, ready to begin again the next day until the task is done.

6. Are you easily distracted, starting off one task in the kitchen, wondering off to the bedroom to put something away and start sorting the  laundry on your floor  which leads you to the bathroom to put dirty clothes in the laundry bin when you spot the sink needs a clean…

I am prone to do this during my usual daily meandering through the house doing things. But when there is a major task to get through I can be ruthlessly single minded.

7. Over complex or unrealistic plans of where or how  you might get rid of stuff.

Here is where my perfectionism comes in again. I do like things to go to the best home possible which can complicate the task. However previous experience put me in a position to carry this off quite easily. And then as time went by I learned of a few extra outlets to utilise when it came to rehousing my stuff. So although in other peoples view I would seem to complicate this task, to me it was a case of just sticking to a plan.

All that being said, it was a shock to me when I came up with the idea to declutter a thing a day. I suppose it was my previous experience of doing it all at once that put me off going through that again. I was determined to make it easy on myself. And lo and behold I embraced the method from the get go. Never looking back.

Anyone who knows me personally will vouch for the fact that I am like the Energizer Bunny. Flat out is the only speed I know. So for me to decide to reduce a household of stuff for four people to the amount that would fit into a two bedroom apartment, at the pace of one item a day, was ludicrously out of character. So if you think you don’t have the staying power to declutter your home at such a slow pace, think again. If I can change my mindset in an instant you can too. The desire to make it easy on myself usurped any of my other personality traits that said get it done in a hurry.

My father had another saying ~ ” There is smart lazy and there is just plain lazy.” Smart Lazy is being clever enough to find and easy way to complete a task effectively. And that is always more admirable than being just plain lazy and not achieving anything.

In this case I think I have done a great job of being smart lazy. Wouldn’t you like to be smart lazy too?

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter something from a bedroom.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you grind and percolate fresh coffee why not use the grounds as fertiliser rather than using not so environmentally friendly alternatives. The coffee than also serves two purposed reducing its carbon footprint.

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

Doodle

Are there things you do to sabotage your de-cluttering goals?

I got the idea for this post after reading “No More Clutter” by Sue Kay. She suggests the following as ways we undermine our decluttering efforts:

1. Do you focus on how much there is left to do rather than how much you have achieved?
2. Do you find your self apologising a lot to others and calling yourself lazy and other derogatory names rather than defining yourself in more positive language and a ‘work in progress’.
3. Do you throw away essential things that then prove how risky decluttering is?
4. Do you create such a mess when decluttering that you give up half way through a task and have made everything worse.
5. Does being a perfectionist stop you from doing small 15 minute tasks; one drawer or one shelf at a time. Is it all or nothing; an entire room or it’s not worth it…but you can never bring yourself to face a whole room?
6. Are you easily distracted, starting off one task in the kitchen, wondering off to the bedroom to put something away and start sorting the  laundry on your floor  which leads you to the bathroom to put dirty clothes in the laundry bin when you spot the sink needs a clean…
7. Over complex or unrealistic plans of where or how  you might get rid of stuff

I have definitely at some point done all of these except for 3) The good news is,from my experience, that once you bring these behaviours from your unconscious to conscious level, all these traits you can train out of yourself and create new habits.

When working on my own stuff, I now consciously choose to tackle decluttering in small bite size chunks. If I am in the mood for a few hours sorting, I finish one bit before starting the next session, because I know how my energy for the task can suddenly go.

Of course, when working with clients, I work differently because we know we are going to be keeping going for 3-4 hours per session: I’m there as the energiser and motivator, attuning to each clients individual needs, so we won’t be giving up after 20 minutes. This does mean I can empty whole wardrobes and larders at the start rather than doing small chunks. In this instance, it is down to me to ensure the pace we work at balances with the time I allow at the end to leave the area we are working in   a far better state than when we started.

We create piles on the floor for things that need to be put away elsewhere in the house. Then we do that all at the end, rather than lots of too-ing and fro-ing distracting us from the task in hand.

A significant proportion of my clients apologise a lot and feel bad about themselves with regard to their clutter. I always gently challenge that view of themselves, because there are always life reasons why things have become too much and now they are taking steps to change: they deserve to praise themselves and believe this is the start of change.

In my own home, I find it very helpful to set an alarm/kitchen timer for 15 minutes to tackle an area I just can’t face: it means I make a little breakthrough and am then rewarded by being allowed to stop. Occasionally of course, it gets me going and I keep going long past the 15 minutes. But it is ok to stop at 15 minutes. It’s a technique I pass on to clients too.

Do you recognise yourself in any of the above 1-7 list? If you recognise any of them as the way you used to do things, how have you changed?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from a bathroom in your home.

Eco Tip for the Day

Here’s one way to save paper. Write your grocery list on the fridge with a whiteboard marker and then photograph it with your cell phone and take that with you when you go shopping.

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

Related articles across the web

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.

We are going to spread our mini missions throughout the house this week. Choose whatever you’d like to declutter from the rooms /spaces that I mention below. I might even try this myself this week. It could be a challenge but when it comes to clutter I never cease to be amazed where it appears and that it seems to be endless. Lets see what you can come up with also.

Monday – Declutter something from your living room, lounge, family room or whatever you would like to call it.

Tuesday – Declutter something from your kitchen.

Wednesday – Declutter something from a bathroom in your home.

Thursday – Declutter something from a bedroom.

Friday – Declutter something from your study or craft area.

Saturday – Declutter something from the garage, attic or basement.

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

Try to replace at least a couple of meat meals a week with plant based offerings.

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

When I began decluttering it was all about downsizing to fit into a smaller home. However it didn’t take long to realise that decluttering resulted in simplicity. Here are some ways in which my life has become simpler due to my decluttering.

• Decluttering displayed items means less dusting making housework simpler.
• Decluttering items inside cupboards and drawers makes it simpler to keep them organised and tidy.
• Less stuff in general makes it simpler to keep an entire home tidy.
• And when the house is tidier it is also simpler to clean the surfaces because there is less stuff to move out of your way.
• Simplifying your housework means it is simpler to find time to do other things you enjoy more.
• The less clothes I own the simpler it is to decide what to wear.
• The less stuff I buy (because I don’t want to become cluttered again) the simpler it is to save money.
• The less stuff to choose from in any category the simpler it is to find the items I need when I need them.

And now that I have reached my goal of living in a smaller place in a wonderful location it is…

• Simpler to keep fit because it is a delight to go out for long walks and enjoy the scenery and atmosphere.
• It is simpler to get from A to B because most of what I need is within walking or cycling distance which means no getting the car out and trying to find parking spots. And public transport is in abundance here also.
• It is simpler to get to a cafe that sells good coffee because there are so many handy to my location.
• It is simpler to go to the movie theatre, the beach and restaurants because they are also within walking distance.

I am sure I could go on but I will leave it at that for now.

What have you found to be simpler in your life because of your decluttering? And what possibilities or opportunities have opened up in your life for the same reason?

Today’s Mini Mission

Make the effort to list an item for sale that you are been wanting to rid yourself of but haven’t mustered the effort to bother with.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you are one for ironing just about anything ~ sheets, underwear, pyjamas, tea towels etc ~ do yourself a favour and give it up for the sake of the environment. Electrical energy won’t be the only energy you will be saving.

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

Way back at the start of my declutter journey it was obvious that my craft collection of tools and materials was way out of hand. Especially since I hardly bothered to find the time to use them. So I set about deciding which tools I used and which ones I didn’t and which materials I didn’t like so much. Separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

The before and after shots of my craft room. Click here if you want to see the progression shots.

As you can see there is a vast difference between the before and after shots above. But this didn’t happen overnight. It happened gradually through several sorting sessions to decide what I use, what I don’t and what I thought I never would. Many of you have read about my progress when it comes to my craft supplies but this post isn’t simply about that.

This post is about knowing yourself in this time period, seeing where you have come from and foreseeing where you are going and decluttering with that in mind.

This post was inspired by an email I received from my husband yesterday. A work colleague had posted a For Sale ad on their work social board. He had finally come to the conclusion that he and his wife so rarely ride their motorbikes these days that it was time to let them go to a new home.

I dare say this decision took a lot of soul searching because they had been avid riders and dedicated BMW motorcycle fans for a long time. Their bikes and associated gear were decked out with every mod con going. However after spending twelve months separated from their bikes, while working overseas, their lives had taken a different turn. As life is prone to do. It took a couple more years, of the bikes sitting almost idle in the garage, to finally come to the conclusion that life has moved on and it is time to let them go.

The situation was much the same with my crafting supplies. The only difference was that I still loved to craft, I had done so since as far back as I can remember, and I was still participating in it if only on an irregular basis. What I did was reduce what I had to fit the impending change in my lifestyle. Now I find I am once again crafting all the time and even have an outlet to sell my handmade items.

So you see it can take time to make the hard decisions. Every parting with clutter isn’t a sweet one. And sometimes it is just a matter of reducing rather than letting go altogether. Either way it is about know yourself and realising what is now clutter to you and what isn’t.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that triggers fond memories but is never displayed where you can see it.

Eco Tip for the Day

While running the water in the shower till it gets hot only run the hot water so you aren’t wasting more water than necessary.

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

Here is an item that served me well for some time that I recently decluttered.

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 I am not going to make it very easy on you. But it is up to you as to how easy you take it on yourself. If you can’t manage the missions declutter something a little simpler for you. Don’t force yourself to let go of something you aren’t ready for.

Monday – Declutter something you have been procrastinating about letting go of for some time.

Tuesday – Allow yourself to declutter something someone gave you, that you don’t really want, but have hung onto out of obligation.

Wednesday – Declutter something that triggers fond memories but is never displayed where you can see it.

Thursday – Make the effort to list an item for sale that you are been wanting to rid yourself of but haven’t mustered the effort to bother with.

Friday – Declutter an item that once served you well but now you never use. You probably won’t ever need it again some day.

Saturday – Declutter something you use so infrequently that it really isn’t necessary.

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

Hang your clothes to dry when possible rather than wasting power using a tumble dryer. For me a clothes line isn’t required, I mostly hang my wet washing on an airer either inside or out depending on the weather.

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

Doodle

Those of us who have been decluttering for a while, know the general principles laid out below:

1)If you haven’t worn it for a year, then it possibly needs to go.

2)Don’t buy clothes you need to lose weight to look good in.  Don’t keep clothes there isn’t a realistic chance of fitting into in the next year.

3)If you haven’t touched an unfinished creative project for 2 years, it’s fair to say you probably never will.

I think these are great principles but of course, there are always exceptions to the rule and I’ve just experienced 2 of them, so I shall confess…

Here’s a picture I embroidered 23 years ago and it’s been stuck in a bag ever since waiting to be framed. I’ve dithered over whether to get it done many times, and then back in the attic it has gone.

Don’t these indecisions hang over you eh?

But last month I finally got it done and it now hangs on my mantle piece.  And the relief of that decision being done and dusted is immense.

So what was the dithering about? I guess for a long time I had little money to spare for such luxuries as framing. And then some of the time I wasn’t sure how much I liked it and then there was a slight problem with the embroidered mount that wasn’t easy to resolve and put me off trying. And finally, I could never face the decision making process of what sort of frame would look good. All this took up TWENTY THREE YEARS!

And now it is done and I so love it and it is giving me much pleasure every time I walk into the room. It is the only embroidery I have ever done, as like my mother, me and needle work are not natural bedfellows. But I was very poorly at the time I did it and there wasn’t much else I could find to occupy my time that I could actually do. It represents one of the first times in my life I took an irrational fancy to doing something unfamiliar and let myself do it with finding a 100 reasons to not just follow my feeling. That was the start of the road to recovery.

My other experience is that last year I fell in love with a dress in a nearly new shop and bought it even though it was a size too small. Now we know that breaks the cardinal rule don’t we. Buy clothes for now, not some never never time in the future when we think we will lose weight like we’ve been promising ourselves for  along time…

Then, very unexpectedly, given various health issues I have had over a number of years, I took up running in the Autumn, following a marvellous beginners program called C25k (couch to 5k) which gets complete couch potatoes running 5K (3.1 miles) in 9 ish weeks.  Yesterday I tried on the dress. It fits and really suits me.

I guess that’s why we have the saying ‘exceptions to the rule’.  I shall ensure it remains an exception though!

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a décor item. Anything from curtaining to floral arrangements to cushions or figurines.

Eco Tip for the Day

Stop using fabric softener some experts say that it is a waste of money and not that good for your clothes. Try using white vinegar instead. Not only will it remove chemical residue in your fabrics but will also help control mould and mildew in your washing machine. If you like to add a nice scent to your wash load add a few drops of essential oil.

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

Have you ever noticed how when you buy something it requires you to buy something else to go with it. You buy a new dress and then decide you need shoes to match. You buy a new cookbook and realise you need some extra utensils and ingredients to make the recipes. You buy a piece of sporting equipment and you need to by a storage bag, another piece of equipment, maintenance equipment and supplies. You buy a leather garment and you need leather conditioner. You buy a bike and need a pump, an oil can, a helmet and a basket…

I could go on and on about this for hours. And the same goes to changes in your life. A young person gets their licence and then they need a car and all the stuff that goes with maintaining it. You have a child and I haven’t got space here to list all the things that usually accompanies this wondrous occasion. You change hairstyles and then you need different products and styling equipment. You start a new hobby witch requires tools and supplies. You change careers and a different set of equipment and dress code are necessary. And once again the list goes on.

It is no wonder then that our homes end up so cluttered with stuff. Even less of a wonder when with the passing of each phase we then store them away in case we need this stuff again someday. Meanwhile we have moved into another phase and acquired all the stuff that goes along with it.

People often ask me if I ever regret getting rid of things. Well sometimes an occasion arises where it would have been good had I still had an item on hand, but I usually improvise and manage without it. I have long ago learned that most of the things we acquire along this journey of life are just conveniences and we can get by happily without them.

Hence why I have little regret for letting things go and no desire to rush out buying stuff to equip me for a new phase of life. That is not to say I don’t buy anything at all, but what I do do is give it long and considered thought. I also test run ideas before taking the plunge. But that is a post for another day.

So what I am getting at with this post is…

When moving from one phase to another in life, as this is inevitable, declutter the stuff that worked with your old life and think very carefully about what you will use in the new one before rushing out to reclutter your home. And be wise to the pitfall that one purchase leads to another and another. Choose wisely.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a fashion item. Be that clothing, accessories, shoes or maybe just a magazine.

Eco Tip for the Day

Use some sort of reusable splatter guard when heating in the microwave. This can be rinsed off and used over and over rather than wasting paper towel or plastic wrap. I use a large plastic microwave safe container lid when reheating most dishes or a glass casserole dish with a lid when cooking from scratch.

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