Here are the five comments I singled out for favouritism this week…

Andréia in response to Andréia’s declutter story ~ Stuff in our lives is very relative… Read more

Ideealistin in response to Eliminate clutter without even trying ~ You asked for the readers’ ways of decluttering without even trying… Read more

Mrs Green in response to Eliminate clutter without even trying ~ …think I would add DVD rental to your list… Read the full comment

Cindy in response to Eliminate clutter without even trying ~ Ideealistin’s comment reminded me of another category of clutter that can be eliminated… Read more

Jennifer in response to Eliminate clutter without even trying ~ I am often surprised by the intersections between different movements… Read more

The five blog posts/web articles I most enjoyed this week

Listen Feel Breathe ~ The bridge builder

Be More With Less ~ Calm down mini mission

Organised living solutions.com ~ Tips-on-getting-organised

Upcycled Love ~ Ask-yourself-to-buy-less-crap

Search.earth911.com ~ Where to recycle almost anything if you live in the USA

Today’s Declutter Item

Getting more and more ruthless with the cookbooks. There aren’t too many left now. Mostly ones I need to copy a few recipes out of that I actually regularly before I declutter them. These have gone to the thrift store.

Cookbooks

My Grateful List

• Something that made be laugh ~ This from Fail Blog – Tip Math Fail – I don’t think that person could English either.
• Something awesome ~ Freshly baked chocolate chip muffins. Even better with a little whipped crean and a few juicy ripe strawberries.
• Something to be grateful for ~ The tiler finally came to start on finishing the balcony repairs.
• Something that made me happy ~ My daughter calling to tell me how much better she is at saving these days and that she hasn’t gone over on her phone plan for three months. Hope springs eternal!
• Something I found fascinating ~ Deep sea nature shows.

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

Once again it was a very busy week for comments and it was very hard to narrow my choices down. Here are the five a chose…

Rebecca in response to How Many is too much ~ I know this post is from a week ago, but I just got time to catch up… Read more

Di in response to Mini Mission Monday – Declutter Kids Stuff ~ This is very good advice, Colleen. When my son was growing up… Read more

Ideealistin in response to Children’s clothing ~ I usually so agree with you and your take on the whole clutter issue… Read more

Jill in response to Children and alternative gift giving ~ Ever since my now 5 year old was about 3 he has loved to help bake… Read more

Nurchamiel in response to Is shopping the new religion ~ I totally agree. Although I have never lived in the US… Read more

I have hardly had a minute to bless myself this week but I have gathered together  a quick selection of blog posts for you to check out and here they are…

Simply Being Mommy ~ Using-charts-to-simplify-daily-activities-and-goals

Be More With Less ~ Choose-to-be-happy-with-enough

Becoming Minimalist ~ Why-becoming-minimalist-is-still-appropriately-titled

Marc and Angel Hack Life ~ 10-commandments-for-a-good-life

My Zero Waste ~ The-best-mothers-day-present-ever

Today's Declutter Item

Don’t you just love it when visitors leave with more than they came with. That was the case with my mum and dad’s visit this week. My mum took this set of Bamix accessories with her when she went because she didn’t have a stand for hers. I didn’t need it because my Bamix died a few weeks a ago. Now my visitors have gone and some clutter has left with them. And that is not all they took so stay tuned for more installments.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• Catching up with the things neglected when visitors leave.
• Selling a piece of furniture that we have been trying to declutter for some time.
• Automatic washing machines ~ I know I have said it before but you have to love a chore that pretty much does itself. I know I still have to hang it out and fold it when it’s dry but nevertheless the hard part is done without any effort.
• Scratching up enough food for dinner when I don’t want to go to the store.
• Always managing to find just the right box in the garage to mail out eBay sales. ~ I love a good bit of recycling.

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

Andreia in response to Friday’s Favourite Five ~ …“United we stand, divided we fall.”… Read more

Cat’s Meow in response to Ahhh the good old days ~ …I always think it’s backwards when people think… Read more

Jo in response to How many is too much ~ For me, Colleen, this piece exemplifies everything I love about your blog… Read more. This choice was cheer self-indulgence but hey its my blog and I’ll indulge if I want to.

Lynn in response to Landscape Clutter ~ This is another one that pictures help with for me… Read more

Ideealistin in response to Why Bother? ~ As I has almost caught up with the blog I think I can dare to comment… Read more

Five more great post I linked to this week

Simple Kids ~ Evening-prep

Marc And Angel Hack Life ~ 50-things-you-need-to-give-up-today

ExConsumer ~ Decluttering-and-making-money

My Zero Waste ~ Clean-your-home-without-the-waste

Be More With Less ~ The-power-of-one

Today’s Declutter Item

More papercraft adhesive. The variety I once had of adhesive alone in my craft supply stash amazes even me.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• I had a full body massage yesterday ~ if that isn’t something to be grateful for I don’t know what is. And it didn’t cost me anything because it was a gift from friends.
• Enjoying having my parents visiting. ~ Laughing with my mum is always a treat.
• My husband received a promotion at work ~ Yay for him, that should help his job satisfaction no end for a while.
• Watching some shows on television that I normally wouldn’t watch when hubby is home.
• Today would have been my grandmother’s 105th birthday were she still alive ~ happy birthday Mamma. Fond wishes and fond memories.

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

We are going to do a declutter tour of our houses this week and visit one room a day. While you are in each room do a little visual declutter. What I mean by that is, aside from the mini mission item you are removing you might spy an area or two that needs more attention later on. Make a list of these areas so you remember where and what they were for when you have a little extra time up your sleeve. I will leave the item up to you to choose but I want something removed from each room I mention each day.

If by some lucky chance you don’t have seven different rooms in your home and have a lot less housework than some, chose seven different function areas. Even in a small living space we designate spaces for paperwork, cooking, bathing, relaxing, sleeping, dining, storage etc so concentrate on each of these areas if you don’t have separate rooms.

Monday – Bathroom (Perhaps you have some old make up brushes you no longer use)
Tuesday – Dining Room (Perhaps you have some excess linen in the buffet)
Wednesday – Living/Lounge Room (Are there old magazine in your coffee table drawers)
Thursday – Bedroom One (There is nearly always old clothes that are hiding in the back of the closet)
Friday – Bedroom Two (Children’s old toys may be found here)
Saturday – Kitchen (There is always something lingering here, unused gadgets particularly)
Sunday – Laundry (Cleaning products that didn’t perform well or old cleaning rags are often found here)

Good luck and happy decluttering

Don’t forget to leave a comment telling us what you managed to achieve with your mini missions.

Today’s Declutter Item

These little plastic bottle held beads and hotel shampoo. I was saving them to put more beads in but have convinced myself that I need no more beads unless I use something else up. I will use the one in one out method to keep things under control in the craft room. So these bottles are useless to me and unfortunately they went in the bin because there is no recycle mark on them.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• I had fun at a surprise birthday party of a good friend. ~  It is so nice to be a part of the celebrations of life.
• I looked after a friends dog and she gave me a clutter free thank you gift of two plants for my garden.~ I needed a little inspiration to do some gardening now that the weather is colling down.
• Roast chicken dinner.
• The cooler nights of Autumn.
• Chatting with an old friend from America on Facebook ~ it was great to hear from her.

Wow, it was a busy comment week but I narrowed it down to five for you. I hope you enjoy them.

Hanoush in response to Don’t let it linger-Donate ~ …Oh, and totally agree with donating… Read more

Cindy in response to Annabelle ~ Annabelle, I agree with Colleen that it’s best if you stay away… Read more

Debra F in response to Excess Abundance ~ Sometimes the hardest lessons to learn and the simplest… Read more

Loretta in response to Declutter Update ~ While I don’t think most of us can live with 100 items… Read more

Liina in response to Declutter Update ~ This is really inspirational! I love the idea of your project… Read more

Fave Five Links this week

Exconsumer ~ Nostalgia sentiments and stuff

Simply Being Mum ~ Faminimalism simply being mums story

Uberless ~ 3-steps-to-minimalist-bliss

Minimalism Defined ~ What-to-do-when-you-live-with-non-minimalists

Willow’s Cottage ~ March-begins-with-small-things

Today’s Declutter Item

Finally starting to reduce the amount of crafting supplies. Every birthday card I make every celebration someone asks me to create invitations for is one step closer to a less cluttered craft area.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• Lots of chats with the neighbours ~ The time just flies then you realise you are half an hour late to start cooking dinner. Having an efficient decluttered kitchen helped put me back on track.
• Soap that comes in cardboard boxes with no individual wrapping.
• Getting my tea party invitations made and delivered.
• A refreshing shower at the end of the day ~ followed by a cup of tea.
• All the wonderful minimalist bloggers out there who contribute to our collective wealth of knowledge.

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

Raesha left this comment on Friday in response to ~Don’t let it linger – Donate~ and I just had to make sure everyone had a chance to see it. I know you don’t all have time to read the comments so please enjoy her story if you missed it…

Thank you for this great post today. I wanted to share a story with you that perfectly illustrates this point. My grandpa passed away a little over two years ago and one of the things I inherited from him was his organ – a big old beast of a thing – that required us to haul it from California to New Mexico (After it had been hauled to California from Washington by my uncle). That organ was huge – it took up almost one whole wall in our living room. But it was VERY sentimental to me – I had played that organ everytime I visited my grandparents when I was a child and my grandpa loved to listen to me play. I treasured that organ and the memories associated with it. But the room it was taking up just got to be too much…..after much thought my husband lovingly suggested I try to sell it. I listed it on Craigslist for $250 – the day after I listed it I was contacted by a pastor of a small church in Santa Fe that his parish really needed an organ and would I take $200 for it. I decided to donate the organ to this church…..I felt in my heart it was the right thing to do and what an even more beautiful memory I will now have of my grandpa and the organ. The legacy of that organ will carry on…..and I received a beautiful thank you letter from the church that I will keep forever. I took a picture of the organ and will scrapbook it along with the letter – so now my beautiful memory will live on in a single scrapbook page instead of taking up a whole wall in my living room.
Kind of a lot to share – especially for my first comment – but thought you would enjoy reading it.

Here is a link to the comment and the responses it in received.

This week I have decided to feature five recent comments from five readers that are new to commenting here at 365lessthings

Virginia in response to Natural Progression Decluttering~ I try to use everything until its gone… Read more

Katie in response to Moving Fantasies ~ I think it depends with furniture as willow pointed out … Read more

Holly in response to Day 273 Why am I still clinging ~ I’ve only just recently found your blog… Read more

Debra F in response to Moving Fantasies ~ I love this post. We just moved 7 weeks ago… Read more

Happy Clam in response to Don’t let it linger-Donate ~ I had a second adidas running jacket that I bought… Read more

This is my five favourite links for this week.

Not Easy To Be Green – Can-good-intentions-save-the-planet

The Cat’s Meow – Room-for-living

Elegant Simple Life – Breathe-in-beauty

Realsimple – How to recycle or reuse anything

Becoming Minimalist – The-domino-effect-of-simple-living

Today’s Declutter Item

This binder is one of those rare object that went in the garbage bin. What I don’t understand is why I kept using it when I had several other perfectly good binders sitting unused in a drawer.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• Avocado on toast for lunch with a cup of tea. The simple things in life are often the best.
• A pleasantly cool overcast day.
• When walking along the shore of Lake Burley Griffin on Tuesday I spotted no less than 18 different bird varieties – Black Swans, Galahs, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, Wood Ducks, Magpies, Pee Wees, Willie Wagtails, Crested (top knot) Pigeon, Superb Fairy-wrens, Rosellas , Plovers, just to name a few.
• Ignoring my desire to avoid an unpleasant task and just getting it over and done with. I am talking about the ironing.
• That my country is not on the edge of a tectonic plate and we have only one nuclear reactor (Used for medical science).

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

My husband surprised me this morning by telling me that a recruiter from Microsoft had contacted him about a job. I think I surprised him even more by saying, “In Washington State? Go for it.” Truth be told, I surprised myself. I have lived in Austin, Texas for almost 30 years, virtually all of my adult life. I like my life here, but the summers are brutal, my husband is terribly allergic to pecan trees for six weeks every spring, and the statewide politics make me grind my teeth in frustration.  Washington is cool and rainy with no pecans, and the politics are much more to my liking. I happily whiled away my chore time fantasizing about how different life would be if we moved from the Southern Central United States 2200 miles (35oo Km) to the Pacific Northwest. (Believe me, I only imaged the good stuff and ignored all the negatives.)

It wasn’t long at all before I started dreaming about the packing, and you’ll be happy to know that these thoughts didn’t terrify me. (Thanks to decluttering, of course.) What I started thinking of was how much more stuff I would unload if the alternative was to haul it across the country. I imagined sorting through everything, considering everything. Frayed underwear – out. The plastic pitcher with the almost cracked handle – out. The living room sofas and on the one on the screen porch – definitely out.  So then I started thinking, “If these things aren’t valuable enough for me to take across the country, are they valuable enough for me to hang onto right now?” I’m not a minimalist by any means, but stuff that you don’t value is stuff that you don’t need, right? I wondered: In a perfectly decluttered house, would you be able to move without decluttering more as you packed?

I talked to Dan about this. His conclusion was that moving is an extreme event and that requires more scrutiny than day-to-day life.  I think he’s right, but I also think that if you’re stuck on something, asking yourself, “Would I be happy to move this across the country?” is a helpful criterion.

I want to know what you think: Is the ideally decluttered house ready to be packed and moved at any moment, or does moving realistically necessitate a deeper level of decluttering?

Today’s Declutter Item

As insane as this may sound this is an empty box. At some point we decluttered the broken amplifier but the box was still wasting space in the garage.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

Cindy’s post reminded me of the wonderful years we spend in Seattle and I have dedicated this gratitude list the that experience.

• The opportunity to get to know the real Americans – Who were quite different from the stupid prejudice opinions we had been lead to believe.
• Living in a different country and all that has to offer – Like driving on the other side of the road.
• Enjoying our first winter Christmas.
• Cinnabon, garlic fries, Taco Bell, soft pretzels, brownie mix (Ghirardelli of course), toaster strudels, the endless variety of ice-cream … – Not Hershies though because they have no business calling the chocolate.
• Baseball

This list could go on and on these are just a few of the things that came very quickly to mind.

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

I am sure we all have multiples of certain items cluttering up our home. Items that a certain number of would suffice but we have several more than necessary. It occurred to me last week that I have a set of everyday glasses in my kitchen cabinet. This set has four sizes one of which never gets used. So why am I keeping them? What amazed me also was – that they have been staring me in the face for the last 14 months and I hadn’t even noticed this excess. That got me thinking about what else is lurking around my home that has escaped my notice. I am sure you also have items like this and my mission this week is to help you find them. So lets get started.

Monday – Take a look in a kitchen cabinet and see what you can find. The kitchen is a classic place where we stock more than we need of many items, like my glasses.
Tuesday -Do you have more pairs of reading glasses and Sunglasses than you need or even wear. Perhaps you still have reading glasses that are not even strong enough for your eyes and more.
Wednesday – We all know the bathroom cabinet is a collection point for excess toiletry products. Pick one product that you have too many varieties of and concentrate on using up one bottle/jar at a time until you reduce the quantity. These products do deteriorate over time so best not to let them sit there going off.
Thursday – Do you have any recipe books that you haven’t looked in for some time. With the endless availability of recipes on the Internet there is no need to have these cluttering up your kitchen cupboards or bookcases.
Friday – One of the first places I decluttered was my utensils drawer. How often do we buy a new utensil because the old one really isn’t performing optimally any more. We keep the old one “just in case” but only ever use the new one. It’s time to get rid of that old one. Let’s face it we can manage without any so we really don’t need a back up.
Saturday – The linen closet is another place where we tend to have more of some items that we could possibly need. I remember a time when I had about fifty facecloths (the result of my grandma-in-law being an avid crocheter). Personally I prefer to approach this from a natural declutter angle because things wear out and these items will get used eventually. However you may have a linen closet bulging at the seem and really need to free up some space.
Sunday – We can’t do a “too much of a good thing” mini mission without out including the Tupperware collection. I know I have sent you to this area over and over again but I know I keep finding more and more of these to declutter and I imagine you can too. So have another look, you may be surprised.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

This mini skateboard park was a toy once enjoyed by my son.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• Sitting writing my blog while my foot is resting against my husbands foot in a silent natural embrace.
• Swinging open the doors in the morning and letting the fresh air into the house.
• Shutting the doors and turning on the air-con when the temperature passes 35ºC – What can I say I’m adaptable.
• Having a BBQ at the neighbours – I love socialising and I love it when someone else cooks for me. Win Win!
• The new Club chocolate with cashews and cherries.

It was very remiss of me to forget to put a link the The Cat’s Meow blog on Saturday. I have since rectified that but because it was a bit after the event I would like to add it here again today. I hope you will go and check out her blog. Just click on the banner below.

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

Wow! It was difficult this week to condense down to only five comments because there were so many good ones and a lot of AH HA moment for our readers and for me too. I would like to feature much more than five but these are the five I have chosen…

Laura in response to Adam and Eve and rampant consumerism – …Colleen’s essential point is correct… Read more I was particularly please with Nurchamiels response to this comment. Learning these lessons when you are young is so important.

Anne in response to Friday’s favourite five – …I injured my foot this week and was ordered to stay off from my feet. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I… Read more.

Katharine in response to Defining Sentimental Clutter- Ah, “the fear of the regret in the future”… Read more

Andreia in response to The Perfectionist Trap - Yesterday, when I was clearing our living room, my husband said… Read more

Liz Mylar in response to The Perfectionist Trap - I just came to the same kind of conclusions and have been decluttering… Read more

This week I have had to cram at the last minute to find my favourite five links because I have been ignoring my RSS feeds and had a digital sabbatical. I think I have come up with some last minute gems though. Enjoy!

Be more with less – 25-reasons-you-might-be-a-minimalist

Small Notebook – Are-you-making-your-to-do-list-too-hard-find-out-why

Raptitude – Why-your-fears-wont-come-true

Work Happy Now – 4-tips-to-help-you-stay-happy-present-and-productive-at-work

The Change Blog – Positive-habits-to-cultivate

Today’s Declutter Item

Pokemon cards, I hate these things and am glad to see the back of them at last. Products that are designed to prey on little kids in this manner are a blight on society. I know these are strong words but that is what I think. To me they are a form of underage gambling and that is just wrong.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• Hearing the magpies warbling when I woke up this morning not to mention my husband standing there with a cup of tea in his had for me.
• One motorbike has finally finished its overhaul at the mechanics and I can have my car back at last.
• Even though my mum and dad had to postpone their visit there is an upside – I get to go the Canberra with my husband for a couple of days next week.
• Anthony Bourdain – No reservations – love that show.
• I recorded an interview about 365lessthings for an Australian radio show called Future Tense today – I must admit I am glad it is over but I think I did alright.

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