Sometimes, when it comes to the stuff around our homes, we continue to own things just because we always have. To have them has literally become a habit. Fortunately any habit that has been created can also be broken.

There are two ways that you can experiment with breaking the ownership habit. The first, which we have spoken of in the past, is to have a trial separation from a selection of your stuff. Choose things that you are on the fence about decluttering, then put them away somewhere out of sight for a selected period of time. If you haven’t had the need for these objects during the trial period, or perhaps learned to improvise in order not to need them, then you are safe to send them permanently on their way, if you so choose.

The other way is more suited to less permanent objects, items that come, are used up and then usually replaced. Products like toiletries, cleaners, paper products, cooking ingredients, wrapping materials etc. You’d be surprised how many of these items inhabit your home, and how much you really don’t need many of them.

The experiment to declutter such items is to use up your current supply and choose a trial period of time during which you do not replace it. If, at the end of that period, you have happily survived without said product you just don’t ever replace it. If living without it was unpleasant then you have lost nothing and can go back to purchasing it again.

There are many of the second example above that I have decluttered over my years of slowing purging my home of unneeded stuff. Plastic wrap, cleaners, makeup items, stationery items, craft supplies, cooking ingredients, toiletries… Some I have gone without altogether while others I just keep less variety of. Either way I am wasting a lot less space storing them. And I dare say I am also having less impact on the environment.

I am still slowly eliminating more and more of these products as time goes on, and I feel better for it. I am continually discovering that there are so many things, that are of little value to me, that I can happily live without.

What items in your home have you experimented with doing without? Please share your stories with us. They are all successes whether you decided you could or couldn’t live without them, because at least you were brave enough to give it a go.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from outside.

Eco Tip for the Day

Eliminate as many chemicals as you can from your home. There are many natural products that can perform the same tasks with a lot less impact on the environment.

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

I have experienced examples lately on how clutter can lead to disorganisation which in turn causes more clutter. Actually, in the cases I am thinking of, the clutter is useful and used stuff but in such abundance that it ends up scattered making items hard to find. This can then lead to acquiring more of the same because of the mistaken idea that things have run out.

Of course this isn’t something new to me, I have written about it more than once already. However it is worth a repeat mention on a regular basis. My own craft supplies can get like this at times. Usually due to the fact that I like to use up every square inch of paper or cardstock that I have, so I punch shapes from the little leftovers which build up if I don’t make a concerted effort to incorporate them into a card design. Also sharing supplies between friends can lead to the organisation of lots of little bits of this and that getting out of control. I am making that concerted effort to use up or consolidate such items at them moment.

But enough about my own example as I have encountered far worse in my travels. When it comes to supplies of any kind I have found it best to allocate a space for such things and be determined to confine my supplies to always fit within that space. As soon as there is an overflow, storage of like items become scattered. When required the first place to look is the usual location, and then it gets tricky, because you then have to remember where else you stashed the stuff. Inevitably the conclusion is arrived at that you are indeed out of a supply and a replacement is acquired. Then as sure as snow is white, the others shows up when searching for something else soon after.

In the case of large pantries things get lost behind other stuff. I find this is especially so if you are inclined to stock up on sale items of frequently used food stuffs. Inevitably these items end up at the forefront while less used items get shuffled back. Then on the rare occasion when the less used stuff is required it is so hard to find that a replacement is acquired. Thus cluttering up the pantry even more with things going out of date before ever getting used up. This is especially so if more than just grocery items are stored in a large pantry. Add paper towel, food wraps, medications, appliances, utensils, shopping bags etc and things can get really out of control. Being disorganised has its own cost on your time and sanity, so weigh up the pros and cons of whether cost savings are really worth it.

Then there is wardrobe overflow. Too many clothes equals not enough space in your closet, then items get stored in whatever spare space is available. When there is an abundance of clothing one can also get rather blasé about the necessity of regular laundering. Then when an item is needed, especially a work related item, it isn’t unusual for it not to be in immediate wearable condition. This is bad enough when the item needs ironing when you need to be out the door in ten minutes, but imagine the panic that sets in when an item is soiled beyond use in this situation. My experience is that a limited, organised assortment of clothing forces more attention on to the care of them, which generally results in keeping better control of their rotation through your wardrobe.

So think twice about overstocking. It really can add complication to your life that you may not even notice until you feel the relief when it is gone. If you don’t believe me try reducing in a small area ~perhaps your stationery supplies or your bathroom cabinet ~ and just see how much easier it is to keep the area tidy, find what you need and not waste time choosing when less variety is available.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item from a bedroom of your home.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Save on waste by not allow perishable supplies to go out of date in your home. The best way to achieve this is by not stocking an overabundance.

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

I was fortunate to meet up and become friends with Colleen after starting reading her blog.   She has ‘enlightened ‘ me greatly and we laugh a lot. I will try and keep it simple, this is just my take on a bit of my declutter journey.

HABITS

The Habits I have changed over the last few years and the new ones I have embraced in my declutter journey.
No Junk Mail.
A simple sign that attached to my mailbox avoids my house being filled with free newspapers and catalogues from every store in town.
Result ~ massive clutter saver and removes any temptation to go and purchase items in catalogue.
I have extended this to my electronic mail box. Un subscribing from so many things like Cruise Lines, Ikea, Political blogs, Airlines, Blogs of any description and store newsletters. It takes a minute to check my email and I save on downloading potential time wasting junk mail and using up data that I pay for.

Not hitting the Like or Subscribe Button
Result ~ less reading of emails or posts.

Reducing the Number of Bath Towels
With five adults (plus their friends)in the house, the amount of towels to be washed exploded. The towel cupboard was always empty and the pile to be washed was huge. So I reduced the number of towels down to 15, I removed the extra large towels and only have similar size and thickness towels to make washing and drying easy. Giving everyone their own color or pattern towels works well.
Result ~ No large pile of towels to wash. Everyone is now aware that there is a limited supply of towels and they are responsible to wash their own.

Making my bed when I get up of a morning
Result ~ room looks tidy immediately.

Setting the trip meter on the car 
I can usually tell how many miles/kilometres I get on a tank of fuel. I Always fill the car up and reset the meter. I do this because I have a iffy fuel gauge and have been caught running out of fuel. I always fill the car up which saves time. Putting $60 of fuel in once a fortnight is simpler than $20 every few days ( or so it seems)
Result ~ I no longer have to carry a fuel can in car in case I run out of fuel.

Setting an alarm on my phone at the same each month or week helps remind me to do odd jobs around the house. I have terrible memory and usually think of doing things at the wrong time.

Putting things on a hooks
Never underestimate the usefulness of hooks. Behind the door in the bedroom for the clothes that don’t need washing but not going back in the wardrobe.
Behind the door in the bathroom for clothes.
In the kitchen for your bag and keys.
Hooks for the house/car keys. One placed in a convenient place in the kitchen saves time for you and anyone else that needs to use the key.  I have a cousin who refuses to use the hook set I gifted her and she still spends forever searching for her car keys.

Using a lanyard
I keep my house and car keys on a lanyard. I especially like this when I go grocery shopping. The car key is hanging around my neck and is easily used to unlock the car. A lanyard makes it easier to place keys on the hook as well.

Reducing my use of Loyalty Cards
I once had a wallet full of cards for collecting loyalty points. I used a hole punch and put a hole in the corner of them and had them on my car keys for easy access. Then I ended up discarding the rarely used ones and now I only use an actual discount card which is in my wallet. Loyalty statements and emails from these companies are just junk mail for me. Investigate wether the points you earn traveling can be combined with other family members or other cards.
When a credit card is paid off , close it. They have annual fees and are a temptation. I closed a store card five years ago , just before Christmas last year, they sent me a statement ??? showing I had credit on my card. Obviously to induce me to contact them and reinstate my account.

In summary the things that make my habits workable -Hooks, reminders on my phone, less towels, less junk/email/mail, no loyalty cards, a lanyard for my keys and setting the trip meter in my car.
What habits have you embraced?
Cheers.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a spare thing-a-me-jig that you have been keeping just in case.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

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

I’ll be the first to admit that I am no fashion expert. So I am not going to give you any advice on what clothes to shop for. However, what I am going to share with you today are tips that I think will help you to avoid a wardrobe cluttered with clothes that you don’t wear. So without further adieu I will give you my opinions on ways to avoid adding clothing clutter.

1. Don’t insist on keeping up with the trends. Trends are all about changing whats “in fashion” in a  ploy to keep you buying whether you need new clothes or not. So don’t be a sucker to consumerism and only buy clothes when you need them. Sure indulge in a few in trend items when needed but keep with the classics for 80% of your wardrobe because they never go out of fashion.
2. Don’t buy clothes just because you like the look of them on the rack, in advertising or on famous people. Do buy clothes that suit your body type and complexion.
3. Keeping with the suggestions in 1. and 2. also try on the clothes prior to purchase and only buy the ones that you look and feel great in.
4. Buy clothing items that or well designed, cut and constructed. That doesn’t necessarily mean the high price equals high quality because it often doesn’t.
5. Don’t overstock on wardrobe staples. A good laundering routine should make certain that you have clean items when needed. I have witnesses more than one in recent times how laziness and poor routine contribute to the necessity of an overstocked wardrobe.
6. When you do buy an item, to replace one that has gotten shabby, make sure you declutter the old one as soon as the new one enters the home. My experience is that if you don’t you will end up with the one new model that you now wear and several just-in-case versions of the same item. Then even if the new one isn’t available you will avoid the others because, lets face it, they haven’t gotten any less shabby over time.
7. Don’t window shop or browse. Temptation is easier to resist when it isn’t with in reach. Don’t be looking on-line either because an e-shop is only a click away. And to make that worse you could buy without trying only to find the items isn’t right for you in more ways than one. And we all know how slack we can be at returning items and before you know it the return period has lapsed and you are stuck with the item with no hope of a refund or exchange.

I am sure this post will generate some interesting comments where we will learn even more tips and suggestions. So please don’t hold back your input can be very helpful.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that you keep as a backup for something else but isn’t expensive to replace.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Keeping up with trends generally leads to waste. Waste environmentally, waste of our hard earned money and often leads to waste of space in our homes.

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

Life is, at the very least, punctuated with stressful periods. For some there are no end of stressors almost 24/7 365 days of the year. Mostly this is caused by the complications of life. Past history, current hassles, work obligations, financial issues, family, illness… Boy, this is making me feel depressed just writing about it and my life is quite sweet for the most part.

The one thing I have learned from my decluttering experience is that simplification is the key. The more you own the more you have to take care of. The more work the is required from you. And all that acquiring means less savings in the bank when needed. Add that to all the other stressors and things can get really ugly.

What could be worse than a sudden health issue just when your rent has gone up and you have to take unpaid time off work. I’ll tell you what could be worse, and that is being surrounded by a messy, cluttered home when you are in the thick of it. During times of stress it is a wonderful thing to have a welcoming haven to return to at the end of the day. A welcoming place to cocoon yourself in to recuperate.

Sometimes when life is going well for you it can go to hell for someone close to you and you need to step in to help. Once again it is nice to feel free to be able to do that because things are simplified in your life.

Either way it is best to live by the Boy Scout motto of be prepared. I have found myself in both situations in recent years on several occasions and I have been able to step up to the plate at the drop of a hat. When my son had his accident, when I was having health issues, when my father went into hospital, when my daughter came home at short notice, in the last couple of weeks when I dashed off to help my friend with her move.

So don’t leave it until life happens to realise that you should get your own nest into shape. Get started now so that when things hit the fan you at least can be sure of is a place or peace and serenity to recharge in.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item that brings you unnecessary feelings of sadness whenever you lay eyes on it.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t accept free promotional products that you have no use for. Accepting these just encourages the continuation of this practice while the environment would be healthier without the manufacture of cheap throwaway or needless items like these usually are.

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

Well folks I have spent the last two days hectically decluttering and organising for my friend and I have to say it was hard yakka (Australian for hard work). Call me strange but I really enjoyed it and was a little sorry to have to drag myself away so soon when there were still things to be done. I am very happy to be home with my husband though. And extremely grateful for my wonderful apartment that, considering I haven’t done my weekly clean for the last two Mondays’, was there to welcome me home looking tidy and cleaner than I expected. It will be Monday before I bother to do much in the way of housework because it still looks so good.

But I digress.

I really enjoy decluttering because of the space it opens up and the reduction in general cleaning it results in. However I also love to organise. I love the flow of it and the results and spending two days doing that has revitalised me as much as exhausted me. The only thing I regret is not taking before and after picks as I felt that was too much of an invasion of privacy. It is enough that I am writing about it without naming names. But I can assure you the transformation was nothing short of amazing.

My friend has been so open to the process and cooperated wholeheartedly. Although I have to remember that the pace I do things at is not the pace that most normal human beings operate under. I can be a dynamo in the relentless pursuit of a finish line. Which is ironic considering my own slow approach to decluttering. However my home, when I started my declutter journey, mostly consisted of hidden clutter where as my friend’s, although not a hoarder case, was in an obvious state of too much in and not enough going out, to the point of dysfunctional.

I am please to say that my friend can now begin to take a slower approach. Although I think she is keen to tackle a few more obvious jobs before truly slowing down to the fine tuning. And there is plenty of fine tuning to do. As I am now intimate with contents of her home, I will be sending her weekly missions to achieve.

Now let me tell you about some of the tasks I have tackled over the last two and a bit days.

I arrived in Sydney at about 3:10pm on sunday and my friend picked me up from the train station to go to IKEA. Her closet had fallen apart in the move and she needed another to begin the reshuffle. Once that was achieved, not so simple because the boxes of parts weighed a ton and we had to not only get them into the SUV but out again and into the apartment. I am glad she lives on the ground floor.

Before unloading a space had to be cleared in the bedroom which required the take down a reassembly of her bed which had structural integrity issues after her attempt to assemble it earlier. I also changed her mind about where the best spot was to place it in the room. Once this task was complete it was off to dinner. Once home again we decided to tackle the new wardrobe because there would be no time in the morning as she had to go to work. Job complete we had a nice hot cup of tea before turning in for the night at around 10:30pm.

Then, for me, it was up at 6:30am on Monday to welcome the new day as my friend left for work. Alone to face the monumental task my first full day was spent doing some serious fitting in of stuff still packed in boxes and plastic crates. Every room was cluttered with hastily placed loads of stuff and too much furniture to comfortably fit the space. As a result my first day was spent following a cascade effect style of organising. This had to go there before this went there, so I was going from one room to another putting things away and shuffling things about. It was a whirlwind of continual improvement and I was in my element.

Tasks ranged from unpacking boxes to deconstructing furniture that we had, the previous night, decided weren’t going to fit. There was also the washing machine to set up before doing a few, much needed, loads of laundry. There were items that needed cleaning before putting into place and some serious dusting to continually do in order to begin the new uncluttering life in cleanliness. I was given carte blanche to make any decisions on placement, although I did run ideas by my friend via text messaging. By the time my friend returned home there was already much more visible floor space in every room than when she had left in the morning. We then went out to dinner, but on our return there was a shelf full of items that decluttering decisions were now to be made on. She performed admirably with that task and yet another crate full of stuff was ready to go out the door. By which time I was about ready to drop. Fortunately navigating my way to the bed was much easier now.

Day two dawned and I was itching to get started on the craft room, it was still piled high with stuff however there was plenty of furniture into which to organise it. That isn’t to say that I ignored the rest of the house. Oh no, as the floor cleared in there, other possibilities opened up elsewhere and although I focused most of my attention in the craft room I deviated off on other projects here and there.

I arranged, rearranged, labeled, repurposed furniture and piled up a massive quantity of stuff for my friend to adjudicate on once she returned home for the evening. Fortunately, as I have mentioned before, my friend and I do very similar crafts, so deciding what was useful and what wasn’t was a fairly simple task, so no time was wasted procrastinating over what I should fit in and what I thought she would be willing to part with. The only interruption to my hectic pace was the cat who had decided that she would like extra attention and kept climbing into my lap whenever I sat to work. And sitting there wasn’t enough, if I didn’t pet her she would nip at me and gently stick her claws into  me. In the end she found herself at the receiving end of a gentle tap on her nose with a sheet of Halloween stickers, when her attention seeking actions got somewhat out of hand. Needless to say, when she fell asleep in the chair I wanted to work in I let her have it and fetched a dining chair instead as I was just grateful for the chance to work in peace.

The changes were obvious to my friend the minute she walked in the door. However there was that massive pile of potential clutter, I had amassed during the day, to be sorted through before the day was done. A home cooked meal and a bottle of sparkling rosé later and we were ready to tackle the task. I joked that this would have to be complete even if it took till midnight. She quickly made choices while I listen to her reasoning and assisted where I could. At one point she was deciding whether to set aside some free grocery store cooking mags when I gently chimed in with all the logic of the, then upcoming, Tuesday post titled ~ Why keep cookbooks. She soon agreed to this logic and threw them onto the recycling pile without even glancing inside.

This task was finally complete as the clock ticked closely to 11:30 pm, by which time I could barely keep my eyes open and thinking was a struggle.  Two ibuprofen, some teeth brushing and goodnight wishes later I collapsed into bed, exhausted yet happy.

With much of what I needed doing done we had a more leisurely start to Wednesday morning. After much needed cups of coffee my friend cooked us a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and fried tomato. Then it was back to the task. Firstly I relocated a bookcase into the hall to be used as her transition point for future decluttering. She then packed another two boxes and two bags of clutter into the SUV to be later delivered to the thrift shop while I made a couple of trips to the recycling bin. This required climbing up onto the fence to compact the contents down with my foot in order to fit it all in. I was feeling a little guilty for taking up most of the precious little recycling space the apartment block was afforded. But it had to be done and I am sure no one else was in greater need of that space than we.

The next task was to rearrange some of the living room furniture in order to open up the space. Then while my friend unpacked yet another box into furniture in this space I helped buy wiping and dusting. And then the one box of kept items, from the previous nights sorting, had to be shuffled into the craft space before we called it quits for the morning in order for me to prepare for my journey home.

To be continued….

Today’s Mini Mission

Work on a collection of similar items so that you might be able to eliminate the excess and reduce the size container/piece of furniture they take are housed in. (I said I wouldn’t bring crafts into this weeks missions but craft is an area where I hope to achieve this this week. In fact I am hoping to eliminate one or even two small wheeled storage carts in the process.)

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

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

Are you one of those people who has a shelf full of cookbooks with the good intention of being experimental in the kitchen but tend to stick to the same tried and true recipes? Or perhaps you are someone who steps that up just a notch by trying a new recipe only once in a while. Then this post is for you.

In fact even if you are adventurous in the kitchen then this post may also be for you. Especially if you’d rather spread out your cooks gear than waste space on cookbooks that you don’t really need.

Or perhaps you are a want-to-be cook who buys foodie magazines and clips recipes that you never get around to using. And when you do remember a clipping, that you want to try, you can’t find it among the masses.

The solution is simple for those of you who own either a laptop computer, a tablet such as an iPad or a smart phone. Instead of hoarding shelves full of cookbooks that house only a few recipes that you like, try using the internet as your endless supply of recipes at the touch of a few buttons. Whatever you want you can just Google search either by recipe or by ingredients on hand. You can create a board on Pinterest of those recipes you want to try, bookmark them, or only look up a recipe when you need it and then only save it if it turns our well for you.

When you are ready to use a recipe all you have to do is place your mobile device on the countertop and have at it.

Now lets say you only have a dest top computer. This is a little harder to manage, however you can still save yourself all that shelf room by only printing the recipes you are going to use. Of course you can save paper and ink by only printing the ingredients and instructions on the back of already used paper. I suggest this because paper and ink cost money but then so do cookbooks and magazines. You can them limit your amount of wasted space by only keeping the printed recipes that you are likely to use again.

I decluttered all but my home printed family recipe file a long time ago and I have never regretted it. Sometime I print and add another often used recipe to it. I could even declutter this file and access the recipes via my laptop if I so wished.

So give it some thought. Could you make better use of that kitchen shelf to spread out your other kitchen items, making them easier to access.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter the messiest most cluttered drawer in your home. if you have one that is. If not perhaps you have some other small, messy, cluttered space you could attend to.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Only print out document that are absolutely necessary thus saving paper and ink.

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

The story of Adam and Eve, I believe, is about more than just defying Gods wishes and giving into temptation. Even many religious people believe this to be a made up story, a parable if you will, to make a point. Or even several points, if you read between the lines.  One clear lesson of this parable, that I see, is to be satisfied with what you have and not be forever wanting for more or other things.

Given the age of this story, even if made up, it is obvious that people have been inherently greedy for a millennia or more. So why is it that no matter how much we have we are always wanting something else. This gets me to thinking about another things that the nuns taught us about in Catholic School, and that is purgatory. This is a place, we were told, where sinners go when they die to suffer for their sins before being allowed into heaven.

Here is the definition as per my Apple Macbook dictionary…

purgatory |ˈpərgəˌtôrē|
noun (pl. purgatories)
(in Roman Catholic doctrine) a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven.
• mental anguish or suffering: this was purgatory, worse than anything she’d faced in her life.

It has occurred to me more than once since my school days that it seems that we are already inhabiting such a purgatory. This state of never being satisfied with what we have is certainly a form of suffering in my opinion. It is a state that I am sure many of us would happily live without. It is a constant state of ~ This one next thing, or being just a little more financially comfortable, will make us happy. Then when we reach that state we once again find a new “one next thing or state of financial security” that will make us happy sometime in the future. Preferably sooner rather than later. If that isn’t a form of suffering then I don’t know what is.

My declutter journey has certainly eased this suffering for me, but the demons still come to visit now and again. Financial security is my Achilles heel but the desire to acquire can also creep up on me at times. I must say that I get far more long term satisfaction from letting go of things than I ever do from acquiring them. Maybe there is a lesson not to be missed from that experience.

And I don’t need to tell you that the more we resist these temptations the less we need to declutter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter shabby fabric items other than clothes. Worn out napkins, rags, table cloths, cushion covers…

Eco Tip for the Day

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The more we refuse to acquire, therefore reducing our consumption and reusing what we already have, the better caretakers of the environment we become. And the less recycling we need to do.

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

I wanted to share two comments from yesterday because they are both good examples of rationalising ones belongings. So here they are along with my own thoughts on the subject.

From Claire

I have been working on Monday’s Mission, glass, for a few weeks now! We moved across country about a year ago and even though I had given away probably half of what we owned we still moved way too much stuff – we had over 80 boxes for 2 people, yikes! I found that kitchen items were at least 1/3 of those boxes. And also that everything glass took up twice the space in boxes because it had to be wrapped and padded. We are in an apartment that we will probably move from in a year, so I want to get our belongings down before we move again. I just added 8 Christmas glasses to the give away. They are wine glasses, we don’t drink, and they have Christmas flowers all over them. Only good once a year. I also added 8 soup bowls/crocks. They are really nice for soup but nothing else. I haven’t made soup in over a year now and don’t have plans to. If I did, I can just use regular bowls. I got rid of about 10 decorative dishes that don’t suit us anymore. They were made to hang on the wall but have been in a cupboard for years. I have 4 glass pitchers, rarely used, so I am parting with one. I still have way too many breakables/glass items for two people! I’m going to keep working on it for sure.

Claire’s rationalising is a good example of realising that items designed for a single use are often just clutter and we don’t really need them. This is especially so when we have more versatile substitutes already on hand. There is also no need to stock your home with items that you don’t use on a regular basis, such as wine glasses when you don’t drink wine. Sure someone may visit with a bottle one day but they can easily drink the wine from an ordinary drinking glass. Feeling that we need to cater to the enth degree to the occasional guest is a recipe for a cluttered home. This includes food items. I recently visited my in-laws in another state. My mother-in-law uses margarine, whereas I use butter (I don’t like margarine) and I love mint sauce with my lamb roast but she doesn’t stock it in her pantry. My toast was was quite edible with the margarine and my lamb roast was still delicious without the mint sauce. Had she bought these items they would have languished in her fridge and pantry for months.

From Vicki K

Ooooh – I am ready for Tuesday. I’ve been making my way through your archives, Colleen, and found a post about gift wrap. Really, I enjoy wrapping gifts but there are some wraps that I’ve had forever because I don’t like them well enough to use! While I was at it, I cleared out all the mashed bows, unusable tissue paper, tags, ribbons, one-purpose dispensers and left only the items I know I will use. Now it is all contained in one small bin – but I will use ALL of it.

And I am going to be disciplined about using up what I have before acquiring more. This part is key in a lot of areas!

Vicki’s example of rationalising is about downsizing a collection of items without compromising on enjoying it. As she says, she “..really enjoy’s wrapping gifts…” but doesn’t need to keep the materials she doesn’t like so much. She also realises that she can still enjoy it with less variety on hand.

I also found this to be the case with my craft supplies. I am enjoying my craft as much as ever these days with a whole lot less stuff on hand. I have a limited amount of space to store it and intend for the collection to remain within those confines. I did the same with my kitchen items, my Christmas decorations, my linen, my clothes and many other groups of things in my home. In fact their are a few areas of my new home that I think could still do with a little rationalising on now that we live in a smaller space.

Is there in area in your home that you need to rationalise in order to reach your declutter goal.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some paper items ~ Paper is one of the materials that can be really difficult for many people to deal with. Items made from this are either usually loved or hated. Books, magazines, letters and photos can be numerous and cherished, while paperwork is a pain to sort through and deal with. You only need to spend 10 minutes on this so make the most of it.

Eco Tip for the Day

Use only the amount of product required. This could be, hair products, cleaners, paper towel, toilet paper, deodorant and other toiletries etc etc. Using too much doesn’t do a better job it just causes waste.

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 in the early days of my decluttering mission I wrote a post about keeping it simple. I stand by those words to this day and have pasted them below for you to study again. Here they are…

• Do SIMPLE things to improve your way of life.
• Keep your spending SIMPLE .buy what you need not things that just clutter up your space.
• Eat a more SIMPLE diet choose fresh ingredients that aren’t enveloped in wasteful packaging. Choose recipes that are SIMPLE to create using ingredients that can be used in subsequent meals so nothing goes to waste.
• Enjoy SIMPLE pleasures like a walk in the park, a coffee with a friend or a wander through a museum instead of spending all your free time shopping.
• Keep your decluttering efforts SIMPLE by concentrating on one SIMPLE task at a time so you aren’t overwhelmed.
• Keep the decision making SIMPLE so you don’t waste time and energy agonising over what stays and what goes. My Declutter Decision Making Guide can help with this.
• Make housecleaning SIMPLE, the less stuff you own the less work there is involved in maintaining a clean and tidy home.

And where am I at today April 22, 2014?

I have done simple things to improve my way of life.

I have kept my spending simple by not buying stuff I won’t use.

My grocery cart is evidence of how I have kept my diet simple. Simple in its ingredients. You won’t find much in it other than fresh food.

Every day, whether pending, I enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Going for walks with my husband, riding my bike, going up to the roof of my apartment and enjoying the views of the harbour, having coffee with friends…

And as you know I have always kept my decluttering simple by mostly adhering to my average of a thing a day for the first 365 days and then at a slightly slower pace after that. And yet even at that pace my husband and I smoothly moved our belongings into a two bedroom apartment. And the decision making actually got easier as I went along even though I thought I was doing the easy stuff first. It just so happened that as I realised the joy of living with less I found it easier to part with stuff.

Oh, and I can vouch for the fact that being decluttered has sure made housecleaning easier. Also many other tasks around the house have simplified too because I can quickly get at what I need for them. No more overstuffed cupboards making it hard to get at stuff.

Choices have become easy because there is simply less stuff to choose between.

Being eco friendly has even become simple because now it is just habit. It is also a fun challenge to find other ways to be so.

During the decluttering process we also started the search for a home to live in. The one we finally found has also simplified our lives. I hardly use the car because nearly everything I need is within walking distance. Exercising is a joy because of the sights along the way. Our home is much small making housework simpler.

I love my new simpler life and I would recommend it to anyone. And if you would like your life simpler to just make that one first step today, then another tomorrow and another the next day and before you know it your life will be simpler too. For those of you well into your journey remember that you can take it as far as you want.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter some out of date paperwork.

Eco Tip for the Day

Encourage family, friends and anyone who will listen to refuse, reuse, recycle and reduce.

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