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!

I liked this clever idea for socks from Wendy B.

NatalieinCA reminds us of the only sure fire way of avoiding unnecessary purchases in her comment this week.

I liked Cindy’s assessment of shopping in this comment. And then Rebecca B. A. R. rounded it off quite nicely in this comment.

I love it when a post has a reader racking their brain about excess like Lena did on Tuesday. She tells us about it in this comment. I also love her faith in the fact that I will one day, by the end of the year in fact, finally be decluttered in my craft area. I am up for the challenge.

Check Dizzy out, she has been doing some power decluttering due to being on the verge of moving house. See her big list of decluttered items in this comment. Go Dizzy!

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

I was asked to link to this site by Alina Shahnazari, the Cofounder of  clouditems.com. It’s a marketplace where you can sell, rent, exchange, borrow, or just give away goods to the people of your life or to a trusted network of people in Clouditems.

Blog by one of my readers Sammyliea ~ www.sammyleiamoneysaver.com

I enjoyed this post from The Minimalists ~ Shopping or finding meaning. It inspired this quote I tweeted and posted of Facebook ~ “What is the difference between crack-cocaine and consumerism? One habit is more socially acceptable.” ~ Colleen Madsen

Low Income Lady sent me this link from smh.com.au (Sydney Morning Herald) ~ One parents junk is a future parents treasure. I found this one for the booklovers while I was on the site Chapter one ~ a booklover’s lament by Adele Horin

A little story on how well thrift stores are thriving these days in Australia ~ www.theage.com.au ~ Opshops the latest fashion as retail opportunity knocks

Today’s Declutter Item

We are getting closer and closer to the end of the baseball souvenir declutter. This little Mariners train was sold on ebay for $26. There are more items to go from this category in the near future.

One more baseball souvenir gone

Something I Am Grateful For Today

My husband has sold one of his motorbikes. It won’t appear as a declutter item because it has already been replaced with something more in keeping with out ageing bodies. But it will be nice to have the money in the bank and space in the garage.

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

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!

Sabine nailed the clutter selection process perfectly in this comment. I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Karen has a sensible outlook on what is an heirloom in this comment.

I loved Juhli’s last sentence of this comment so much that I tweeted it and posted it on Facebook.

You might want to follow this comment thread back to the beginning to understand it fully but what I loved about this response is that Lena is clearly analysing her belongings. This is a good thing because it helps you make good decisions. Mind you there is a difference between analysing and falsely justifying so be mindful of that. If in doubt consult a third party.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Beckie suggested this site for anyone wanting to organise and use recipes on line www.pepperplate.com

Here is another new blog to take a look at. It is by another 365 reader, Jane, who has been inspired not only to declutter but to blog about it. declutterrecycle.blogspot.com

I often like to visit Unclutterer.com to see what their latest offering is in their Unitasker category. These products would be simply hilarious if it wasn’t for the fact that natural resources are wasted making these pointless items.

I googled “Too lazy to declutter” and came up with this post. I liked it because instead of continually cluttering and decluttering the areas of concern, this person analysed what the cause of the clutter problem was and eliminated it for good. A little rearranging of your space can make a big difference to how it functions.  www.idreamofclean.net ~ Decluttering-tips to prevent clutter from returning

Today’s Declutter Item

The thrift store jewellery stock has increased and profited a lot from me this week. Between the vintage jewellery I donated, all the items I repaired for them and a few that I made for them from craft supplies I no longer wanted they stand to make a good few dollars that’s for sure. It isn’t a one way street though I have the pleasure of knowing that while gaining some space in my craft room I have helped a worthy cause. So win win.

Another 3 stand Vintage Necklace

Something I Am Grateful For Today

A good book to read. The only problem is, that right now I don’t really want to do anything else but read it. Now I know why so may of my cluttered readers are book lovers. 😉

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

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!

I loved this attitude from Faith and  I am exceedingly grateful to the thrift stores for accepting my stuff too.

I liked this short comment from Ann. The benefits of decluttering are realised in little ways that add up to a big difference in the long run. In what little ways have you noticed the difference a little decluttering can make?

Spendwisemom has the right idea in this comment. If we lived our lives like most of us treat our good china what a boring life it would be. (Ssshhh. Just don’t tell my son I said that alright. He is a big enough danger to himself already 😉 )

Our friend Dizzy has the most interesting comments at times and this one is a doozy.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

We have another new reader Karen who has recently started to declutter and blog about it. Take a look at her site ~ stashingless.blogspot.com ~ she has gotten rid of a lot of kitchen items and yarn and that was just two of the many items that have gone since the 26th of December.

This link has nothing to do with decluttering but has such a worthy intent that when I was asked to feature it on my blog by Siobhan I couldn’t say no. It is focused on a United States audience but some of the tips are universal. ~ Icantpaymybill.com

And here is a link just for fun. Cindy shared this one with me and I had to feature it here for all you book lovers out there. Enjoy! The joy of books.

I must give a warning before you read this next link as his idea is sound but his language can be a little colourful at times and some may find it offensive. jaeminyi.com ~ Stop buying, start “temporarily owning”.

Spendwisemom sent we this link that is a real eye opener. The lady in the interview said it was shameful and she was right about that. All I can think of when I see this is the people are starving in the world.

Here’s another good link sent to me from Cindy. womensvoicesforchange.org ~ My battles with clutter – Sorting the wheat from the chaff.

And why has it taken so long for these to make it onto the market. I believe the technology has been around for years. Hush money perhaps? popularmechanics.com ~ The world’s first air-powered car.

Today’s Declutter Item

I think these are discs from a hard drive. One of those things set aside that might come in useful one day. Surprisingly enough one day never came.

I might use these one day clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

A cool afternoon breeze, taking the time to welcome the new neighbours, refreshing watermelon for lunch and finally ordering my new glasses. My desire not to shop does sometimes impede my progress at buying the things I do need, but I am OK with that.

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

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!

Sabine reminds us of how removing clutter can make a space more tranquil in this comment.

Spendwisemom lives up to her title with this comment and I agree all the way.

Sabrina from Italy needs a little help with selling options in her City of Roma (Italy) if anyone out these is from the same area could you please give her some suggestions. Read her comment here.

I wanted to bring this comment for rds to your attention. It is a shame her thrift store wasn’t a bit more courteous in the process of accepting donations. I am going to write a post soon on donating to thrift stores so stay tuned. But please even if you have a bad experience don’t let it deter you for making these donations. The money really does go to a good cause even if sometimes the people on the front line don’t behave as they should.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

becomingminimalist.com ~ dont-just-declutter-de-own

Cindy sent me this link and it sure made me laugh. I’m sure you will enjoy it too. ~ www.smithsonianmag.com ~ The Hoarding Instinct

Here is a new blog from one of our readers Delona. Take a look and give her some encouragement. I love the title ~ Recovering Dabbler.

“The secret to overcoming clutter in in the mind, your mind to be precise.” That is the lead into this website’s content and never a truer word has been spoken. I chose the following post to share with you because I think they are on to something. www.mindoverclutter.com ~ Does the clutter drive you crazy enough

For my Australian readers I found this little gem when trying to find thrift stores in a certain area of Sydney for one of my readers http://opshop.org/search/ It is a valuable resource for anyone looking for a thrift store in their area.

Today’s Declutter Item

Here is one of those aspirational clutter items that I have to say I am glad to see the back of. It has been hiding in my book shelf for years and that is about how long it is since I last wrote in it. Most of the pages were still blank and I have no desire to fill them in. It went in the recycling bin.

Aspiration clutter be gone!

Something I Am Grateful For Today

It’s the middle of Summer and a beautiful fine day and yet the temperature is only 25°c outside. I love this kind of weather.

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

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!

There is an important message in this comment from Joanna especially if you are not coping with issues on your own. Whatever they may be.

I had to add this comment from Becky in the hope that those of you who have had success convincing spouses to declutter might give her some advice.

Karen hit the nail on the head with one short sentence in this comment ~ “I has changed my brain.” I like that because it really somes up what needs to be done in order to do a proper declutter. You have to realign your thinking from being materialistic to being content with less. And who wouldn’t want to be content, right?

Like Karen above Nurchamiel has got to the point where she is letting go of book. To non-prolific readers that may not be a big deal but to book lovers it sure it. When they have honed their decluttering desire to include books they know they have reached a huge milestone. Read full comment here.

This comment from Calico ginger sums up the best of what slow and steady decluttering is all about.

I also liked what Ideealistin had to say in this comment. It shows that the best method of decluttering is an individual thing. Whatever it is that keeps you motivated to continue is a good thing.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

lifehacker.com ~ How to dig yourself out from leftover holiday clutter. Of course I think it is wiser to avoid the excess by requesting moderation during the holiday season but not everyone finds that option acceptable.

Alison sent me this link. Those of you who live in America might be interested in sending your cards on to be recycled ~ Ann’s Christmas Card Project

This link is to the blog of one of your fellow 365 readers, Joanna. The difficulty level of Joanna’s mission far excedes mine. Please give her some support. 365declutterchallenge ~ Moving out of a hoarders home, what does and doesn’t work. 

My husband has been reading this blog recently and although I feel I ought to be a little insulted it ha inspired him to purge stuff I have been hoping he would get rid of for a long time. So thank you ~ www.theminimalists.com and I particularly liked this post ~ Failure but I think the one that spurred my hubby on was this one.

Today’s Declutter Item

This necklace was given to me by someone who had received it from someone else and now I have given it to the thrift shop. I wonder if someone will eventually wear it. I found it among my craft supplies.

Handed on Clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

There has been a birthday in the household today (not mine) and it has been a very pleasant day. I may have gained a pound though after cooking Raisin Bread French Toast for breakfast, lunch out at a café, cooking nice fat steaks with sweet potato fries and sweet corn for dinner followed by sweet sticky syrup dumplings with lashings of cream. Mmmmmm.

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

As I mentioned on Monday it was Lena who inadvertently chose four of the five archived post I have been sharing with you this week. She had conveniently even chosen a Friday’s Favourite Five amount those four. I will point out that I was away on vacation during the period that this post was published so there are only three favourite comments.

Day 253 Friday’s Favourite Five 10 Sep 2010

This week’s favourite comments

• All comment from Day 245… Read More
• Jo on Day 247- All of us could use this wonderful perspective…  Read More
• Deb J on Day 250 – Yes, yes, yes!! I so agree. Right now I use a carryon roller case but I am looking for what you have… Read More

Five great posts I dug up in blog archives before my vacation

• Unclutterer – Saying farewell to a family home
• Zen Habits – Get off your butt 16 ways to get motivated when youre in a slump
• Becoming Minimalist – Eliminating the little rocks
• mnmlist – Finding contentedness
• The sound of my own wheels – Source of inspiration

Today’s Declutter Item

I know what you are all thinking “Colleen, I think you really need to keep this book because your grammar is often painful.” But never fear should I need help, and I often do, there is nothing I can’t find about grammar using google. My biggest problem is I don’t see the mistakes until it is already too late. My mistakes are often the source of great amusement for you all and who am I to spoil your fun anyway. I’ll take my chances with google, you, my readers, can help with the bloopers that slip through and this book can go to the thrift store.

One more book that sat unused

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!

Well done to Dizzy, she and her family have finally eaten through a freezer full of food clutter. Read here for the full details.

I love it when our posts here at 365 evoke ah ha moments for readers. Shirls tells us in this comment about how Tuesday’s post provided her with the ah ha moment she needed to move forward with some closet clutter she had been hanging on to.

I received this comment from Melissa, on Thursday and was amused by her label for single use gadgets. Check it out. This was Melissa’s first comment, the first of many I hope.

I know there were probably lots more great comments this week but my week has been derailed by a small family crisis so I haven’t been as attentive to my blog as I would have liked. Thank you everyone who has shared there opinions, tips and stories with us. I always appreciate them even when I can’t get to respond. If my darling son would stop getting involved in accidents my life would run more smoothly. He is fine, no major injury this time except he managed to break just the wrong bone in his wrist which required surgery.

Favourite Links

Betty Jo of Living Real shares her tips on Christmas gift wrapping the sustainable way in this blog post ~ bjlivingreal – Thats a wrap

In case you missed it on my 365 Facebook page last week here is a wonderful link I just had to share with you. ~ http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxSF-Louie-Schwartzberg-Gratitude 

I discovered this site via my twitter account and, although it isn’t the usual kind of site I link to, I felt compelled to share it with you all. It isn’t so much the limited information within the body of the site but, oddly enough, the ads in the margins that is imporatant. All these ads point you to organisations who recycle computers or resell refurbished computers. Therefore, for its sustainability function I have linked to it here. ~ www.recycle-computers.com

Cindy sent me this link to share with you this week. It is an interesting and thought provoking read, enjoy! ~ www.guardian.co.uk ~ The path to happiness: it is better to give than receive

This next link is to an online store that specialises in reusable products to reduce waste. I don’t usually link to retail sites but this one had some interesting products. Thank you Snosie for suggesting it. She bought some of the produce bags to help her avoid plastic bags at the supermarket. I believe Ann uses the same bags and has made her own version. I also altered some bags I already had at home made of thin gauzy material to make my own bags. Here is the link ~ www.reuseit.com

Today’s Declutter Item

This is another of those things I had too many off. I have kept a few in case the power goes out but this one didn’t make the cut.

Tea-light candle holder

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I finally got to eat two of my homegrown strawberries today. It’s not that I haven’t grown more but the slugs usually get to them before I do. I really only planted them as a ground cover so I don’t begrudge the slugs for having a feed. I am just grateful they finally left me a couple. Yes I could put slug pellets down but I don’t like stuff like that in my garden.

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

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!

I loved this comment from Sanna, I knew straight away it belonged in my favourites. Sanna is doing her best to bring back the good old habit of sharing rather than owning and sharing what you do own. Good on you Sanna!

This comment from Eileen isn’t from this last week, I just happened upon it in the archives while checking something on Monday. I thought it was worth bringing to your attention again as it was a lovely example of decluttering together with loved ones.

Snosie had a good way of divesting herself of items she no needed at the end of and extended overseas stay in this comment. I have used this method myself while on vacation.

Lena tells us about the progress she is making when it comes to letting go a little when it comes to books in this comment.

And Hazel sure had some fine examples of the Pitfall 2 in her response to Cindy’s weekly wisdom post this week. I am sure we can all relate to this situation through experience.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

I liked this simple blog post from The Everyday Minimalist the message was simply put and uncomplicated.

While having a little browse around The Everyday Minimalist blog I found this little gem that I though was fabulous. The visuals made it all the more entertaining and real for me. Minimalist Comic ~ Stuff no one told me: The weight of things.

Here is a great but scary web link for those with children. It was brought to my attention by Kim Cameron_Webb through my 365 Facebook page. momshomeroom.msn.com ~ Is my kid entitled? How to tell.

Please take a look at this link and even sign up for the challenge if you think you are up for it. Even in this modern age women are often still the main caregivers and homemakers of the world. Maybe it is up to us to set the ground rules for responsible consumption and eco-friendly behaviours and I think we are up to the challenge. Lets see what you can do.  1 Million Women

I went over to The 7th Rock to wish Rakhee a happy blogiversary the other day and found this little gem while I was having a read there.~ George Carlins comedic routine on stuff. It’s hilarious and all too true.

Here is a fun little link sent to me by NatalieinCA that I couldn’t resists sharing with you. Keep scrolling down when you get there because there are all sorts of fun Christmas decorating ideas. And also click on OLDER at the bottom of the page to see even more. unconsumption.tumblr.com/tagged/Christmas+tree

Today’s Declutter Item

This pile of clutter is the result of a little bit of an odds and ends declutter in my spice chest. No I don’t keep spices in there in case you were wondering. I keep batteries, bens, clips, eyeglasses and their accessories, candles for if the power goes out, blah blah blah. It is my version of a junk drawer only mostly it isn’t junk and it is organised. 

Miscellaneous Thingies

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Discovering that making my our pizza dough isn’t so hard without a bread maker. I still cheated and used my electric mixer with the dough hooks but it all worked out just fine. I think maybe next time I should get a little more eco-friendly and do it by hand.

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

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.

You may have noticed a little change to the title of todays post. If not, the difference is that the five has gone. Some weeks I struggle to choose five favourites while others I struggle to keep it at five, particularly comments because my readers are such good contributors. So to make life easy for me I have decided to change this weekly post to Friday’s Favourites, with no numerical boundary. Hope you like the new format.

Oh, and don’t forget if you ever come across a web link you think my readers will enjoy please send me the link so I can add it here. You will get the credit and I will get it easy. I like easy. 😉 That goes for comments too, if you think a reader has contributed a particularly good comment please feel free to nominate them as Friday Favourite.

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

I enjoyed this short comment from Spendwisemom. I sincerely hope she is right and that we are on the right track.

Gail C has been reading my blog for a while now but stepped up to introduce herself in this message this week. Great to have you on board Gail!

Ideealistin gives us a wrap up of here give-away-get-together in this comment. What a great idea and what a great success it was. Well done Ideealistin.

Lena has been reading through the archives and sent me this response to day 221. I don’t know if I have influenced her or she has been encouraged by other sources but it got me thinking about the contributions in Lynn Fangs new ebook about inspiring change. I know I am constantly being inspired to act more environmentally responsibly in new ways by the examples of others and I hope you all are too.

I really enjoyed this comment from Bec mostly because she agreed with me but then she topped it off with saying how much she loved my blog. One is allowed to indulge themselves occasionally when choosing favourites. 😆 Welcome to my blog Bec.

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Cindy sent me this great link and I love it. www.wired.com/geekdad ~ The 5 best toys of all time 

Thanks again to Cindy for this link. ideas.time.com ~ Why we can’t spend our way back to normal

Once again Cindy has sent me this link on ten uses for non-organic packing peanuts from thisoldhouse.com. I love a good recycling idea.

Give yourself some credit for the things you are already doing for the environment this Christmas ~ Mother Nature Network ~ 7 green things you’re already doing this christmas

Today’s Declutter Item

These Snoopy items didn’t sell on ebay so they were donated to the thrift store.

More Snoopy items

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

On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my five favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my five favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Fave Five Comments. Enjoy!

This comment form Jo epitomises the complexity of gift giving.

Ami is a new reader or at least a new commenter and needs a little encouragement to be patient with the slow and steady approach. She left this comment, her first, on Thursday and I was particularly happy with her finishing sentence. It proves that she is seeing the benefits already and just needs to focus on that.

Felicity highlights the advantage of a Summer Christmas in this comment.

I love how our readers help one another at 365 Less Things. Jo gives some good advice in this comment in response to this comment from Pamela.

I likes this idea for fundraising in a comment from Wendy W. Cut straight to the chase and forget all the nonsense.

Fave Five Web Finds. Happy reading!

I received a comment from Neko from Chicago IL a week or so back telling us about how, as a teacher, she incorporates fabric in her lessons. Here is her blog ~ bagitup4me-neko.blogspot.com . Perhaps if you live in the area you might be able to help her out by donating unwanted craft supplies and fabrics.

Quite often these days readers send me great links and here is one sent to me by Lynn ~ The Nest Effect ~ October Project-Conquer Paper Clutter

Australia has a new web site where you can give away or pick up free goods. It is much the same concept as Freecycle only with a really modern web design. I hope it catches on in my area. Here it is ~ Ziilch

Snosie was kind enough to send me a couple of links about recycled art to round off this weeks Favourite Five. I hope you enjoy them as much as she and I did. unconsumption.tumblr.com and recyclart.org

Today’s Declutter Item

It pays to do a little homework before discarding some items. Do to my experience at the thrift store I know the old ceramic items can be valuable. So I checked out this little figurine on ebay before deciding what to do with it. I soon discovered that it was worth more than the 50c we paid for it. I sold it on ebay for $20, once again my son was happy with the cash bonus.

Vintage Snoopy sold for $20 on ebay

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I think my cold has gotten a little better as the day has worn on. Fingers crossed I will feel even better tomorrow. I am grateful it hasn’t gotten worse at least.

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