Cindy

Recently a friend was cleaning out items from his mother’s estate, a chore than sadly has stretched on at least two years now. He brought over a bag of craft supplies, jewelry, and a peanut butter jar full of needles and other small sewing items.  In pretty short order, Dan and the girls and I sorted through the jewelry and craft supplies. Only the peanut butter jar remained. Specifically, it remained on my desk for weeks. Finally I got sick of looking at it there, so I moved it to the kitchen island to motivate myself to sort through it. There is remained for another month. I looked at it yesterday and realized that I still hadn’t sorted through it and that, more importantly, I obviously didn’t care. I don’t need any needles; I don’t need any pins. I suppose it’s possible that there is some tiny sewing item in the jar that might make my sewing box better and more complete, but I don’t know what it is and (say it with me) I don’t care. It’s just clutter. I don’t know everything that’s in that jar, and I just don’t care. It wasn’t my clutter, but then I let it become my clutter. I put it into the thrift store bag without opening it. Problem taken care of.

We think that we have to sort, and categorize, and make a wise decision about every item that needs to be decluttered. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you; maybe you don’t care.  Do you need to look through each craft supply, each ball of yarn, each set of beads and make a separate and independent decision? Not if you don’t care. Just get rid of the whole lot and be finished with it. Same with books, tools, cookware, collectibles – anything that you feel this constant, aching need to “deal” with when you just really don’t want to. Let me free you from that nagging thought. Who cares if you could make a few bucks on Ebay? Who cares if one of those 100 books might be worth more than 25 cents at a garage sale? Just free them from your life. Sometimes it’s okay not to care.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a souvenir.

Eco Tip For The Day

Drink tap water in preference to carbonated beverages. It doesn’t take a genius to work out how much better that is for the environment. Your waistline and your teeth will thank you for it as well.

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

I mentioned yesterday that I have been doing some more decluttering in my garage. I had gathered, in one corner, a pile of stuff that belonged to my son. There was his battered old bicycle frame from his accident when he was nineteen, various bicycle parts, a pile of 24 used skateboard decks, a box with spray paint cans, a pile of used core-board for mounting photos from his university days, a sports bag (all shown in the photo below) along with a couple of small tables and a large sheet of chipboard ~ all out of shot.

Some of my son’s stuff in the corner of the garage.

He came over last week and together we went through the items and he decided what he wanted to keep and what I could donate or Freecycle.

Keep in mind that the skateboard decks (some visible in the photo, some in the black bag) are every one that he has used since he first began skating at about the age of thirteen. Being an artist he had aspirations of using them for an art project one day. Well one day has not yet come and he and his partner have been doing a little decluttering at their home lately so he decided to let them go. I put them up on Freecycle, six went to a man wanting them for an art project. Ten more are awaiting pickup by a woman who wants to use them to decorate her autistic son’s bedroom. While the last six have, appropriately, been claimed by a woman for her nineteen year old son to use for an art project while he recovers from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. (Mothers of nineteen year old boys, let this be a warning for you.)

He has, for now, decided to keep the bent bike frame with ideas of either using it in an art project or displaying it as a reminder of his lucky escape from what could easily have been a debilitating brain injury. He kept the bicycle parts that belong to his replacement bike but allowed me to donate, to the local bicycle rescue project, the undamaged wheel, seat and handlebars from the damaged bike.

He is also going to take the two tables and sheet of chipboard to use as work surfaces for artistic purposes in the future. He also kept the sports bag and the spray paint cans, but the core-board will be offered to the thrift store for merchandising purposes.

Skateboard decks awaiting pick-up.

Sixteen of the skateboard decks are awaiting pick-up with plenty of other Freecyclers happy to claim them if this round of claimers don’t turn up. The bike parts have already been delivered to The Newcastle Bike Ecology Centre and all the things my son wanted to keep, bar the chipboard, has already been taken to his home. The core-board will be offered to the thrift shop this week (weather pending).

Both my children have been very good about being responsible for taking all their stuff once they settled into their own homes. I guess I made it clear that leaving it behind wasn’t an option. Which  proves that parents don’t have to hold on to their kids stuff forever. In fact I was talking to a friend of a friend last week who gave her son a ultimatum of pick up your stuff or I’m getting rid of it. She wasn’t popular at first but he got over it and she is no longer housing his clutter.

Today’s Mini Mission

Reassess and possibly declutter a little more stuff from a storage space in your home. I have been working on my garage again, which is my launching place for everything that leaves my home. This time around I have been focused on clearing it of items that belong to my son, who has left home. We achieved a lot in that area this week which I will tell you more about in a post tomorrow.

Eco Tip for the Day

Just like my decluttering approach you can gradually improve your carbon footprint by implementing a new environmentally friendly routine into your life on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be a chore but a fun challenge to not only help the planet but quite often it turns out will also save you money.

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

Cindy

Just a short post today to tell you that my Christmas present finally got finished. My husband Dan and my friend Dan built a Little Free Library for me, out of scraps we had in our garages, and my friend Holly painted it to match our house. It only took contributions from a couple of people, and we were in business – the business of book exchanges.

Little Free Library was started by a Wisconsin man in 2009 as a way to honor his deceased mother, a teacher. Now there are thousands of Little Free Libraries in the United States, and some in other countries, as well. It’s really just a book exchange – in my front yard. I tell people “Take a book, leave a book. Take a book, return it later. Take a book. Leave a book.” We’ve had no trouble keeping it stocked, and we’ve had quite a few exchanges in our first week. It’s been so gratifying to see neighbors stop by or to receive an email from a neighbor I’d never met telling me what she’d taken and what she’d left. One neighbor even brought me some books and some cuttings for my garden after seeing my house on Google Maps.

I promoted the library on our neighborhood listserve, a Yahoo group that frankly, I think every neighborhood should have. It keeps us connected, lets us know what’s going on in the ‘hood, and is frequently the starting point for “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” swaps. The first day the library was finished, I listed all the titles we have on the listserve in an email titled “Need something good to read this weekend.” Most of the original books from that email have already been swapped.

I love it!

Today’s Mini Mission

Do you have any electronic equipment that no longer works or you just don’t use anymore. Perhaps it is time to sell it off or dispose of it appropriately.

Eco Tip For The Day

Don’t just throw old electronic equipment in the garbage. Investigate eWaste drop off’s sites or events in your area. You local government web site will usually carry this sort of information.

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

I read this quote last week when it arrived with my latest update to Gretchen Ruben’s ~ The Happiness Project ~ newsletter.

   “Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful.” ~ Gertrude Stein

The part that struck me mostly about the quote was this “Anything one does every day is important …” which said to me ~ Whatever you do today make it something good because it is important either way. Important because no matter what you do it will have either a positive or negative effect on either you, those around you, the planet you live on and all that inhabit it or possibly all three. I am sure you have all heard of the butterfly effect.

So, today,  with that thought in mind would you rather…

• Buy something new today that you really don’t need ~ or ~ donate something today that you already have and barely use to someone who might have a use for it. (This choice will affect you, others and the planet)
• Today would you rather continue holding on to stuff, that you don’t need, that your family will have to deal with someday when you are gone ~ or ~ start getting rid of the excess stuff today so you family don’t have to in their time of grief. (This choice will affect you and your loved ones, those benefitting from your purging and untimately the planet)
• Add to your debt today by buying something new that you want but don’t need ~ or ~ sell something of your excesses and pay a little off your debt. (This choice will affect you, your loved ones, others and the planet)
• Continue to live in a cluttered, oppressive and possibly unhealthy environment ~ or ~ start purging items that are violating your space, depressing you, collecting dust and possibly hindering your cleaning process. (This choice will affect you, your loved ones and anyone living with you.)

This list could go on and on but I think you get the idea.

So what are you going to do today?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a shirt, pair of trousers or jacket that you no longer fit or like to wear.

Remember the November keep it tidy challenge

Today’s Declutter Item

With two people eating mostly a low-carb diet one set of measuring cups for baking is enough these days as there is very little baking done.

Measuring Cups

Eco Tip for the Day

Remember that every little thing you can do today to lessen your carbon footprint will have a positive effect 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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. Mark 12:41–44

This Bible lesson has been instrumental in my decluttering process because it encourages me to be generous. In fact, my simple, and completely non-elegant interpretation of this passage is “It’s okay to be generous.” That, my readers, is a lesson I had to learn.

I don’t think that I was a selfish person or especially a greedy one, and I’ve always had a thrift store give away bag in my closet, but while I was okay giving fairly small, low-value items away, I definitely had trouble giving away things of larger monetary value.

It’s okay to be generous.

I confronted my reluctance head on when I was cleaning out Audra’s closet. I had a large box of out-grown clothes, and two sisters across the street who are two and four years younger than Audra, yet it was so hard for me to let go of that box of clothing to them. I thought about how their father, a lawyer, certainly made enough money to clothe them himself. I thought about how they weren’t good enough friends to deserve my largess. Then I thought It’s okay to be generous. I’m embarrassed to tell you how hard it was to let that first box go.

I would be lying if I told you that I no longer sell anything on Craiglist or Ebay and that I happily give everything away. I like to recoup some of my investment if I can. But I no longer have trouble giving things away – to friends, acquaintances, friends of friends, charity. Because it’s okay to be generous, sharing your blessings feel good, and there are countless non-tangible rewards for generosity.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a book or maybe two or more.

Remember the November Keep it Tidy Challenge

Today’s Declutter Item

I was hoping my daughter would relinquish more books from the childhood stash but this was all she was prepared to part with but that is OK. I am hoping all her ducks will fall into line by midyear and she will have a home of her own where I can happily transport all her stuff to the is cluttering up my house. Cross your fingers for me! Oh, and her of course.

An eclectic selection of books

Eco Tip for the Day

Give consumable gifts. Preferably one from sustainable sources.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

I have had a couple of conversations lately with people who are struggling to gain momentum with their decluttering. They are making fitful starts here and there but get frustrated. I have discovered through these conversations that the main underlining theme behind their difficulty is that, once chosen, they don’t have a plan in place as to how to get rid of the clutter. As a result all they end up doing is moving it around the house.

Most of my regular readers have this situation well and truly in hand. So much so, that they can also easily investigate and discover an outlet even for those odd items that don’t fit with their usual system. This comes with practice and experience of course. For those starting out though it is better to keep it simple and grow from there.

With a little forethought, a few phone calls and maybe a little leg work anyone can set themselves up to be successful declutterers from the start. The fact is, that knowing how to get rid of the stuff is equally as important as being willing to let it go in the first place.

So here are my suggestions for what to do to get yourself set up for declutter success…

• Keep it simple. Choose a few methods for getting rid of your stuff that will make it easy to achieve success. You can always get more imaginative with your disposal methods later when you have worked out how to really flex your decluttering muscle.
• Let your fingers do the walking. Use google or your local phone directory (online or off) to find where the thrift stores are in your area. Phone them and enquire what items they are willing to receive. Many such organisations have web sites these days that give all the information you will need. Choose the one that receives the widest range of items because that will make it easier for you to get rid of lots of things at once and will save you a lot of running around. Better still, choose one that will come to you if that is an option.
• Make freecycle.org your new best friend. Listing stuff to give away on freecycle is a great way to offload things that are still good but not accepted by your local thrift stores.
• See if curb-side decluttering will work for you. Just put something out with a FREE sign on it and see if it is taken. Please don’t leave things out overnight though.
• If you are feeling adventurous and think you may want to sell some things through online selling sites like ebay, Trademe or Craigslist etc, investigate how that works and do a trial run with an item you have chosen to send on its way. Talk to a friend or family member who has used these sites for advice on how to go about selling and what strategies have worked best for them. My suggestion is to keep it simple to begin with; don’t worry what day or time your auctions begin, just get them up there. Limiting yourself with best times can have the effect of slowing you down. I find it makes no difference as to how my auctions perform so long as the auction ends at a reasonable hour of the day.
• Consider having a garage/yard sale. This way you can put the stuff aside for a while until you have enough items for the sale. What isn’t sold at the sale can then be donated.

Once you have yourself set for success that is exactly what will ensue.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something used for food preparation.

Today’s Declutter Item

I have a timer on my oven, a timer on my microwave and a stopwatch on my cell phone so why do I need this old fashioned egg timer. I don’t! So out it goes. I can’t imagine how I have missed decluttering this for so long.

Old Fashioned Egg Timer

Eco  Tip for the Day

 Avoid using throw-away items where possible. Eg. paper napkins, batteries, paper cups etc. Instead, replace these with reusable items to reduce on waste.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

My husband and I had a garage decluttering session the weekend before last. Let me just say that the garage gets regular attention as we get more and more ruthless with our decluttering. It is also the holding area for the items decluttered from the house ~ prior to trips to the thrift store and ebay auctions and for those procrastination items awaiting decision ~ so the landscape is constantly changing out there.

There are also items that have been stored there for some time that, if we are to be honest with ourselves, are really just “I might need/want it someday” items. Some of those items didn’t make the cut this time like…

• Ikea peanut table that gets used maybe twice a year when we have a neighbourhood get-together. I can always borrow a table for this purpose from one of my neighbours or friends.
• The original boxes for packaging up small electronic items when we move. Small items that aren’t really that fragile don’t need to be packed in their original boxes.
• The folding photo screen that has been in the house for several months that I put aside for my daughter. The reality is that it will probably always be harder to get it to her than it is worth.
• Tools and other equipment that are never used. Unused items that came in sets of which only some items are helpful to us and other items that were useful to us in the past but are no longer.
• Like the picnic rug that hasn’t been used in the five years we have lived here. We really aren’t picnic people and even if we do decide to dine on the grass we can always use a couple of old towels or other more versatile rugs in the house.
• The clothes rack that I would have a use for on ironing day if it fitting in the house but it doesn’t so there isn’t much point it keeping it.

Many of these things are useful items that once served us well and I find these old faithful items harder to part with than most other things including sentimental items. I obviously place a lot of worth in usefulness. But what better way to honour these items but to set them free to be useful to someone else.

At first I held back on the peanut table ~ which I forgot to photograph ~ and the photo screen but my desire to decrease the quantity of stuff in my garage overtook my desire to keep these things. This is usually the case with all of my decluttering. If there is a space that I want cleared my desire to minimise will usurp my desire to keep things just about every time. Items need to have a legitimate and immediate use once they are in my radar or they will most likely be out of here.

With that said there are still a few items in the garage that won’t be there for long. There is a corner display stand that is just waiting for a friend to scrutinise and possibly claim, two organising container that I am awaiting possible first dibs by friends, a box of books that I am going to double check to see if my daughter still wants and two bags that belong to my husband that may or may not also finally succumb to our decluttering efforts. I am also still looking forward to the day my daughter can finally collect her stuff which also resides on my garage shelves. My current goal is to reduce the garage storage to one set of shelves plus the under-stair cupboard that is in the back righthand corner. I am not far from that actually.

All I can say is it is an ongoing process. I am working at it at a speed that I am content with. The progress is evident from the photos below. And taking into consideration that there may not be a garage as such in the next home we live in I had better hope I can get it down to a least my current goal and perhaps even a  little further. Actually I have no doubt that I can achieve this and more. Already as I look at the last photo in the group I can see more things that I am confident will not be there this time next year.

The progress made over that last two plus years.

Today’s Mini Mission

What is on your walls? Is there something hanging there simply out of habit that you don’t really want or even particularly like? Now is the time to declutter it.

Today’s Declutter Items

Below are the items removed from the garage last week. They were all donated to the thrift store. What is not shown in the pictures ~ because I forgot to photograph them ~ was the recycling bin full of cardboard that was eliminated from the under-stair cupboard.

The items removed from the garage last week.

Eco Tip For The Day

Buy local produce where possible as this cuts down on fuel required to transport products from further away.

 * * * * * * *

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

My mother, as I have mentioned before, is VERY decluttered. She was a minimalist before I had any idea that there even was such a decorating style. (I thought is was called “bare.”)

Very recently, my parents moved back into their house after having it extensively remodeled. Before moving to Austin, Texas, my parents had lived in a very stylish, although not very large, custom-built house. The plain ranch that they purchased in order to live next door t me and my family never fit my mother’s idea of stylish.

Every remodel produces its share of furniture and accessories that no long work, no longer have a home, are no longer wanted, and my Mom’s remodel is certainly no exception. As a result, I have taught her how to use Craigslist, and she has had quite good luck selling her items. Her first round of selling were items that she sold during the remodel, knowing that they would not work with her new scheme. (My mother, interestingly, found a decorator who shops widely at thrift and consignment stores. Almost all my mother’s accessories were already second hand when they came to her.) Those items that hadn’t sold in a couple of months were painlessly donated to the garage sale at my daughters’ school.

Now that she and my father have been back in the house for a couple of months, more things are not making the cut – items that she’s thought might work, but didn’t. One of those was a sofa and loveseat set. These are the couches my parents have owned almost as long as I can remember. I know from photos that we had one sofa when I was quite little. I remember another when we lived in Houston for almost 10 years. Then my parents bought this set. It has been reupholstered twice, and it is a classic, well built piece of furniture. My own sofas were really worn out and tatty, so Mother’s sofas came over to my house for a trial. We didn’t really like the way they worked in our house, so I told my mother I would sell them on Craigslist for her. (Better than dragging them back to her house.) She kind of poo-pooed me and said that she didn’t think they were worth more than about $50, which I thought was completely absurd. We moved the loveseat into my husband’s office (he decluttered a whole desk to have room), and I listed the sofa for $200.

Two weeks passed, and the sofa hadn’t sold. I was having a party and having an extra sofa to maneuver around was starting to set my teeth on edge, so I contacted my favorite furniture consignment store, sent them a photo, and arranged to take the sofa to them to sell. They told me that they would like it from $100 to $300; my mother would receive 60% of the sale. Mom found out that I was taking it away, and insisted that I return the sofa to her. She would list it on Craigslist. When I asked her why in the world she would do that, she said that I had said that the value was $200 and “that figure was stuck in her mind.”

For my mother, this is just a quirky moment. For some people, this perhaps false idea about value could be a true stumbling block toward decluttering.

Things like Lego kits, Madame Alexander Dolls, books, James Avery jewelry, and automobiles have a fairly fixed, easily discernible resale value. There are plenty of identical items on the market and enough buyers to have established a fairly uniform price. Things like accessories, furniture, clothing (unless, perhaps it is a popular name brand), jewelry, and antiques have a more variable value – and often much, much less than their original purchase price. Don’t let the idea – possibly a false idea – of something’s value prevent you from decluttering it in a timely manner. 

Today’s Mini Mission

Round up all your stationery items ~ Keep a pen in each room of the house if that makes your life easy but the bulk of your stationary items will be more easily found if they are all stored together. If you don’t have a desk or set of drawers for this task why not use that spare shelf you have cleared in the linen closet during your last towel and sheet declutter.

Today’s Declutter Item

Some more bits and pieces decluttered out of my craft area. Aside from some items I have recently or am about to list on ebay I think  I may have finally come to the end of the craft items decluttered during the big craft area minimisation. That’s not to say that these will be the last craft items ever decluttered, there are still plenty of supplies left, but they are certainly greatly reduced from the quantity I used to own.

Craft Odds and Ends

Something to be grateful for today

The variation of the waves that break on the beach. I love it that every time I go down to the ocean where I live that it is different in some way from the time before. Different tides, different weather, different waves for the surfers to enjoy. Today was a surfers delight even though it was overcast the waves very ridable and so constant that the surfers had no sooner paddled out from the last ride and then were riding their way back in again.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Week after week, tons of clothes arrive in Guinea‘s capital : Conakry. They are sent everywhere and sold at the markets. Here in Kissidougou, the sellers open new bunches of clothes every Tuesday. There is a rush on them, as everyone wants to have the best pieces. Then, the rest is sold during the week. You can really find anything: clothes, bras the seize of shower basins, gloves, ski suits, and the most beloved pajamas. Guinean love pajamas, because the shirts match the pants. They don’t understand pajamas as such, and wear them all the time. They don’t mind wearing ski suits either, even with 100°F !

I often go on a treasure hunt too. Today, I found six shirts. They seem brand new, are of good quality, and only cost me 30’000 francs. Don’t worry, this represents only 4,50$ ! But I must say I was lucky . There are some days where I only find torn, dirty clothes. Some people don’t mind wearing socks with holes, but who wants to buy them? A few people over there seem to think that « the poor africans » will be happy with anything, even their trash. But let me tell you that for 3000 francs, « the poor african » has to choose between a pair of socks with holes, or a whole meal. What would you do ? And what do you think we do?

But I must say, even if everything is not perfect, we love what you send, and it is SO useful to us ! So thank you everyone!

But I must say, even if everything is not perfect, we love what you send, and it is SO useful to us! So thank you everyone!

Just one last thing : maybe you are shocked because these bunches of clothes are supposed to be given to people in need, not sold on the market. But let me tell you that nearly everyone here is in need. The women who sell the clothes are usually very poor women, who earn their living, and their whole family’s living with this selling. The cooking oil I buy is « Gift from the Russian Federation ». I don’t mind, and nobody does : this oil or these chlothes are meant to help people, and this is exactly what happens !

The Weekend’s Mini Missions

Saturday ~ Declutter items that have accumulated on your desk top.

Sunday – Declutter items that have accumulated on the coffee table.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

As I’ve told you (probably countless times), we remodeled our house, and the last of the workmen pulled away two years ago in July. There were a lot of smaller jobs and some very large painting jobs that needed to be completed, but the house itself was done. Two years have passed, and I still have a half dozen paintings, including a couple of pieces of expensively framed limited edition pieces, that have not been hung. About every three months, I get into the closet where they’re stored and vow that today is the day that I’ll finish figuring it out. And every time I end up feeling anxious, itchy, uncertain, overwhelmed, unsure, and I shove it all back in the closet and gratefully slam the door behind me.

What’s behind this great difficulty? It’s hard to say exactly, but I attribute it to several causes:

• Sentimentality, part 1 – I’ve always hung this piece, so I should hang it again.
• Sentimentality, part 2 - Some of it is the children’s art that’s framed and won’t their feelings be hurt if I don’t hang it again (or worse, get rid of it)?
• Gift – A couple of pieces were gifts. (Do not give gifts of art, unless you’re the artist. Even then, it’s questionable.) Will the gift-givers, my in-laws, or my husband be offended or hurt if one of them disappears?
• Expense – Once the cost of framing is included, I probably have a thousand dollars worth of art that’s unhung. I must get my money’s worth by hanging it again.
• Uncertainty about what else to do with it – There some good stuff here and some expensive stuff. How should I sell it / give it away / donate it? I paid good money for it and want someone else to appreciate it.
• Maybe I can make it work – A different frame? A different mat? Maybe I can make it work.
• Certainty that I still like the piece – Self-explanatory, I guess.

But here are my counter-arguments:

• Sentimentality, part 1 – Just because I’ve done it before doesn’t mean I have to do it again.
• Sentimentality, part 2 – One child is sentimental; the other one is not at all. Offer it to her for her room, or take it out of the frame, recycle the frame, and keep the art with her other pieces.
• Gift – Often a tricky area. I no longer think my in-laws would notice. Frankly, my husband probably wouldn’t either because he probably doesn’t really notice what’s on the walls. I could ask him. Or not. Something to ponder further.
• Expense – We’ve all had this hang up. We paid a lot of money, and even though we no longer value the item, we hate to waste our money and perversely feel that someone else should value something as much as we no longer do. (That thought is so twisted that it’s hard to write it in a sentence that makes sense.) Personalized art is a lot like a 10 year old computer. It may still be very nice, but it doesn’t have the same value on the open market.
• Uncertainty about what else to do with it – I know all the local resources, but if I feel stuck, I can seek help from others.
• Maybe I can make it work – This is like valuing a broken vacuum cleaner that you just know will be fantastic – and such a bargain – once you fix it up, but you never have. But it’s also like that saying, “Throwing good money after bad.” If I’ve lost my attachment to the art, a costly new frame probably isn’t going to solve the problem.
• Certainty that I still like the piece – Clearly this is self-deception. If I really liked the piece, it would be up on the wall. After all, I have a lot of hanging art. My walls are not bare, and these pieces repeatedly have not made the cut.

So what did I do? I contacted a woman I know who works for a charity that has an annual garage sale – by far the biggest and best garage sale held in the city. There was a tickle in the back of my mind, which she confirmed, that they have a “designer” section, and they’re grateful to know the original purchase price of more unique items. The three most expensive pieces went with her, my mother was interested in two (she just remodeled her house so they may or may not work, but she put them in her mix to try), and three of the more generic (also known as “having wide appeal”) pieces were listed on Craigslist, which come to think about it, is where they came from to begin with. Anything that doesn’t sell on Craigslist will also go to the garage sale charity. Eight pieces finally dealt with. I cannot tell you how good that feels!

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a guilt item ~ Don’t feel obliged to keep something just because you shouldn’t have wasted the money on it in the first place. Try to sell it to recoup some money or just find a way to pass it on. Forgive yourself and move on.

Today’s Declutter Item

I don’t have a guilt item to declutter today in fact I don’t think I have any guilt items left. I hope so anyway. I have however finally decluttered all the cookbooks I am willing to let go of. The only ones left are my self made one with all my mum’s old recipes and the favourites I have discovered over the years and a Jamie Oliver one that has several favourites in it. My daughter bought it for my birthday one year so if I decide to decluttering it I will offer it back to her.

More Cookbooks

Something to be grateful for today

 The third fine day in a row, just when I really needed to get the washing done. Yay!

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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