I looked in my closet one day last week trying to decide what to wear for the day. I wasn’t doing anything special or going anywhere in particular but was a little tired of the same old jeans and long sleeve T combination. (My default outfit in the cooler months of the year.) Then I spied the lovely velvety olive green jacket that I usually reserve for special occasions. After dismissing the initial thought of “But that jacket is only for good.” I decided, why not! That is just what I needed to spruce up an otherwise ordinary day.

This is exactly what we should do with all our good stuff. Use it just because it is nice and for no reason but to brighten up our day or any regular activity. Use your good china for an ordinary meal just for fun, use that silver plated antique fountain pen for writing your grocery list, spray on a little Channel perfume before going to bed at night, drink that $10 bottle of Chardonnay out of your best crystal glass. Why not!

If you aren’t comfortable about doing this all the time just do it on a regular basis. Once in a blue moon is not enough.

“When a tree falls in the forrest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?”

“If your beautiful items are never used or seen, are they still beautiful?”

Items such as the good china, the expensive hand cut crystal, the precious heirloom jewellery and the like are rendered useless simply by the fact that they are viewed as too expensive to risk being damaged. And what a waste that is. All these beautiful treasures locked away in their ivory towers.

I am of the opinion of ~ Sell it if its monetary value is worth more to you than its beauty, its sentimental value or its functionality. And I especially believe that if an item has sentimental value why not take it out and enjoy it to the fullest. Honour the item and perhaps the person who gave it to you.

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

Deb J

I’ve been taking an inventory of what we own. I’ve never done this to the extent I am doing it right now. It’s for insurance purposes but also because I really want to know. What do we own? Do we need to own it?

I’m not listing every little thing. For instance, I listed things like 8 place settings of Corelle dishes rather than each individual one. I listed 8 place settings of Oneida stainless. I made sure to take pictures so that I could “show” what we own. I have a long way to go to finish the list as we still own lots of things.

When I started this list I took pictures first, pictures of the big pieces of furniture, shelving units, behind doors and inside drawers in cupboards, and in closets. Now I am in the listing portion. I’m excited to say that we have two empty cupboards—over the refrigerator and the stove. Then it gets complicated. We have all these other cupboards that are full. Not full to the brim but well populated.

As I was taking pictures I realized that we still had too much. That’s when I began decluttering more from the scrapbook supplies, the books, and the shed. But still we need to declutter more. Where do I see the issues? Books. Ribbon. Plastic food storage containers. Specialty dishes we haven’t used in the 20 years my father has been gone. Clothes in Mom’s closets. “Stuff” in the two bathroom closets. Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

I am glad to report that my mother is beginning to see that we have too much. It helps to have the pictures and all the pages and pages of inventory. I realized something. Anyone can see what needs to still be done in their home without going to the time and stress of making an inventory. You don’t even need to take pictures. Oh, I admit both help. But, the big thing is just looking. Really looking.

If you open a door and something at the back of the shelf has you wondering what it is, you probably don’t need it. If the only time you open a drawer is to see what is in it, you probably don’t need that stuff either. If you were to sit down and just list the hiding spots (drawers, cupboards, other storage) in a room and you don’t know what is in each one, you might need to declutter. Think about it a while. Go through your house and do a mental inventory by taking quick mental pictures. How many new things do you see that you can work on? Good luck!!

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

Deb J

We moved here to Arizona 5 years ago. We had very benevolent former owners. They just knew we could use a number of things so left them here for us. Along with a yard containing 6 fruit trees, two rosemary bushes, two grapevines, a jasmine, a honey suckle, 5 Texas Sage bushes, 3 western petunias, 8 rose bushes and a bougainvillea. They also left a couch, two garden chairs, a metal patio sink, and bunches of “construction/building” materials. Now, mind you, they had done a wonderful job of updating the house. The kitchen was “to die for” and the pantry and laundry area were very handy. They had screened the porch and then put lattice work around the patio so it was private with an arbor holding up the grapevines as the entrance to the patio from the yard. They had put in an irrigation system for all of the trees, bushes and flowers. It is a beautiful place that we bought for a song. BUT!!!! Why did they think we wanted their cast offs? Have you ever had this happen to you? You start moving into a house you think has been vacated only to find all sorts of detritus laying around. You aren’t sure what you might need and what is just junk. You don’t know the house that well yet. So what do you do?

I suggest you do what we did. We asked a couple of male friends to come over and gather all of the stuff from wherever it had been dropped. It was in the house, in the back yard, in the two sheds, and under the house in the crawl space. What was all of this stuff? Why did they leave it? Did we need it? The smart thing was to ask people to help us who knew construction and repair. They were able to decide what was important to keep and what was just junk lying around that the former owners didn’t want to take the time to dump. After a few hours the guys were able to haul off a pickup truck load of junk. One of them kept a good bit of supplies that weren’t even for our house but things that were used by the former owner who played neighborhood handyman. We still had a few things left that we didn’t need but we hung onto them for the next neighborhood rummage sale. These were things like lamps, a rug shampooer, two chairs, a side table, some indoor carpeting, some outdoor carpeting and some paint. When we were finished, the back shed was empty except for one piece of carpeting, some fencing and some replacement lattice pieces. The front shed was also empty of everything but some nails, screws, and special light bulbs. Under the house only held some extra piping for the irrigation system. The house, porch and patio were free of anything they had left behind. We found the couch to be so nicely made and comfortable that we gave our couch away and brought it in to use in our living room. It took awhile but it was soon all the detritus was cleared away and we had a nice decluttered house to move into. The next time I move I will make sure to tell the owners to take all their junk with them unless they explain why I might need something they want to leave.

Have you ever found yourself in this situation and what did you do to sort the wheat from the chaff.

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

I got to the end of the day yesterday and realised at 10:15pm that I had forgotten to put a post together for today. Luckily for me Andréia had sent me another post she had whipped up this week. She has obviously been thinking a lot about clutter lately and likes to share her experience with us. She has titled this post “How to Equip a New Home” but she could just as easily have called it “How to Declutter Your Home to Suit You”.  Thanks Andréia. So without further adieu here is her post.

How To Equip A New Home ~ by Andría

I have been decluttering for a while and this question has always been on my mind:  What if I had known exactly what I needed when I was moving to my new home when I was just married? What would I have brought and what would I never ever had brought into my home?

These are very interesting questions. I have concluded that my house would be entirely different if I was setting it up now. It would put far less stuff in it than I did back then, 10 years ago. If I could go back I would be far more selective about what I would bring in so that my home would be less cluttered and easier to maintain.

I am not trying to tell anyone how to assemble their house, but these are the tips I would have given myself.

1)      Don’t buy loads of furniture. Work with the basics. You really don’t have to fill the house. No, really, just buy what you need. As time goes by you can make adjustment to suit your tastes but don’t waste money on things that just clutter up your space. For instance I had a big four door wardrobe, so did I really need to buy another 5 door wardrobe, or did I need less clothes? (I don’t think my old self would listen, but hey, I could always tell myself I told you so later… :D)

2)      How many kitchen gadgets does one really need? Looking back I would have advised myself to put to use all those nice gifts I got at my wedding instead of saving them for good. Many things I bought turned out to be redundant and had to be decluttered. I bought loads of stuff because I thought I needed them and because someone else had them and, in the end, I did not need them at all. They spent years in my kitchen drawers unused and wasting space. Again, work with the things you have, and buy only the necessary/everyday use items. So, as much as that bread pan looks great in the store, if you don’t like baking, don’t buy it.

3)      Return the wedding gifts you don’t want. Or exchange them for things you really need (that is especially useful if you got a whole lot of china as I did that ended up being decluttered years later without never being used). And don’t put in the registry stuff you are not going to use and is buying for someone else’s benefit (like the coffeepot I put in my wedding registry that got used like 5 times in 10 years, until I finally got fed up and gave it away to a relative who makes coffee every day). I love to drink coffee, but I never make it. Ever.

4)      Finally, I know we all have houses we look upon before having our own house, like our parents’ house, our grandparents’, but remember, this is your house and it has to look like you, to feel  like you, and not be a copy of someone else’s. I looked at other peoples’ houses and thought that a nice house had to have all the things I had seen somewhere else. Turns out I was wrong. Even if your Mom’s house is great, your friend’s house is cool, this house will be your home and it has to make you feel comfortable and look like you. If you like books, your house has to have a place for them (like mine should and doesn’t) and as I am not a really great cook, I should have a practical kitchen, for everyday stuff and not loads of different pots and pans I will never really use.

So, I think if I had followed these tips I would have a far less cluttered house than I have now. However I learned from my mistakes and I am working on having a dream house or a house that reflects who I am.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter two excess items from your choice of professional clothing.

Eco Tip for the Day

Decide what you need from the refrigerator before opening the door. Standing there with the door open while you think about what you want to eat just lets the cold air out. Then the fridge has to work harder and waste electricity to regain its optimal temperature level.

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

Our apartment deal fell through. Although the owner had accepted our offer and we were about to sign the initial contract, he received a last minute higher bid and reneged on our deal. So for now we are staying put. I prefer to be philosophical and say that perhaps it wasn’t meant to be and something better is around the corner. But really we are very disappointed and for the moment will just lick our wounds, chalk it up to experience and look forward to our seven week vacation. So I guess life isn’t so bad.

The premature excitement did however spur me on to getting rid of and swapping out  a few more items around the house. Some old towels from the second bathroom are off to the thrift shop. A framed caricature of my daughter is now at her house. My husband bought a “new” secondhand office chair which is better for his posture but also more streamline than the old one. The old one found a new home at my daughters house. We also downsized my husbands desk to an old recycled sewing machine table. Our daughter once again benefitted from this exchange and now has herself a very nice American poplar table for folding her laundry on. I have also set aside my electric trains to find a new home for, and some old broken silver jewellery that I will give to anyone who wants it at the lapidary club in my neighbourhood. I also donated some of my handmade jewellery to the thrift shop.

I remain optimistic that we will eventually find our new home but for now I will keep slowly reducing what we have so that we are bound to be ready when the moment arrives.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a piece of jewellery.

Eco Tip for the Day

When entertaining, rather than resort to disposable crockery and cutlery, use all the non-disposable items you have on hand, if necessary borrow more from family, neighbours or friends or get the guests to bring their own. I put on the occasional neighbourhood get together and all guests are instructed to bring their own cups, plates, and cutlery. They never turn down the invitations so I guess they don’t mind.

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

One thing I haven’t brought to your attention for a long time is the fact that some items left unused can perishe over time. Therefore, without you realising it, some items in your home may slowly be becoming useless while you wait for “someday” to arrive when you will have a use for them. I know I have encountered some incidences of this during my decluttering experience ~ Elastic that lost its stretch, electrical item than no longer worked, shoes that the fabric perished on, lipstick that smelled off… I always feel it is such a shame that these things end up going to waste.

Below is a list of items that can perish over time when not being used

• Elastic:- Found in webbing in sofas and chairs, clothing items particularly underwear, fitted Sheets, bandages, hair Bands…
• Electrical Appliances:- Especially anything with a heating element, a printed circuit board or drive belt.
• Foam linings or filters:- As in Ski Goggles, some Vacuum Cleaners…
• Plastics:- Some soft plastics go sticky and some hard plastics go brittle.
• Rubber:- Seals on washing machines etc – Rubber Bands – erasers.
• Leather Goods:- Leather items need cleaning and conditioning on a regular basis and can go stiff when not taken care of and also mouldy if not stored properly.
• Photographic Gear:- If not stored properly mould can grow and eat into camera lenses, leaving permanent scars. Films, colour slides and photos can loose their colour and clarity over time.
• First Aid Supplies & Medications:- Medications and ointments go out of date, bandages and the rubber in eye droppers can perish.
• Drive belts:- Both times my clothes drier has gone into storage the drive belt froze into a D shape and made an awful clonking noise and had to be replaced.
• Glue:- Items that are glued together such as shoes can separate, and tubes and bottles of glue can dry up.
• Pens:- The ink dries up and/or the ball gets stiff and scratchy.
• Batteries: Remember to remove batteries from toys and gadgets if they aren’t being used as the batteries can ooze acid and ruin the item.
• Food: This one is a no-brainer.
• Wine: some are meant to be stored some aren’t.
• Make-up: The oils in them can go rancid and smell bad. Also bacteria can build up putting you at risk of infection (in particular eye make-up)
• Textiles: Clothing and other items made from wool may become moth eaten if not stored properly. (Submitted by Willow @ willowscottage.blogspot.com )

This list of perishable items is always available here. However, I dare say it is by no means comprehensive. So if there is something that you feel needs adding please contact me and I will be pleased to include it on the page.

Today’s Mini Mission

There are certain items that nearly everyone owns, if you don’t have a use for such an item, why keep it. Declutter it now. In Australia most homes have a BBQ, a laundry basket and trolley, a deep fryer and a second television, we weren’t using ours so we saw no point in keeping them.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t stock up on perishable items unless you are certain you are going to use them before their used by date expires.

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

Today I am going to suggest five scenarios, that you can imagine you are a part of, that would likely force you to be more ruthless with your decluttering. You find an area in the house that you feel could do with some decluttering, and I will set the scene for a situation that would, if it were reality, make you let go of some items you might otherwise keep just because you have the space.

Scenario One: Your kids have left home and you have just had an offer, out of the blue, from someone who would like to buy your house. It is a very generous offer and you have been thinking of downsizing for some time. You have viewed a very attractive two bedroom apartment recently that you could imagine yourself living it. You look at your stuff and think what would I have to get rid of if I were to move into something smaller. What among this stuff could I find quite easy to live without should it not be likely to fit in?

Scenario Two: You have just brought a new puppy home and it is an indoor dog. You need a space to be able to leave it at home alone, at times, without it chewing up stuff. One room needs to be quite clear of items it can get at. So everything that is at danger either has to go or fit into another room in the house. What items would you give up to make this work?

Scenario Three: You are fifty-five years old and are already on the waiting list for a hip replacement. The reality is you aren’t getting any younger and your body isn’t as young and agile as it used to be. But joyfully it also isn’t old and decrepit either. This hip replacement is however a warning signal that there are certain tasks that aren’t going to get any easier as you get older. So now is the time to start getting your affairs in order. Not ten or fifteen years down the track when mobility could possibly become a real issue. What can you do now to make life easier for you in the future? What items can you start eliminating so it makes cleaning, organising and access easier?

Scenario Four: There is a new baby in the household. Whether that be your household or the baby is a grandchild that will be visiting. Soon enough the little darling will be mobile and able to get their sweet little hands on anything at their level. As wonderful as the idea sounds ~ “They just have to learn not to touch things.” ~ do you really want to have to be ever vigilant during that learning period. Or would it be easier for everyone if you just declutter items that you don’t need or care much for, to make it easy to move everything breakable out of hands way? What can you declutter from your higher and lower shelves so that what is important can be neatly displayed out of reach?

Scenario Five: You have just lost a loved one in your family and you have been helping in the process of sorting out the estate. Clearing out the home of this much loved relative has been a real eye opener. Oh, the things you have had to sort through. Items you aren’t sure are valuable or not. Personal items that would have been best left personal. Old correspondence that you just don’t have the time to read through and decide what is worth saving for family history reasons. Wardrobes full of clothes that clearly haven’t been used in years. A shed full of stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day since this loved one lost their male spouse ten years earlier. And just the usual household items that seem far too abundant for someone who had so few to cater to on a daily basis. Do you want to leave the same mammoth task for someone to clear away should something happen to you. You think not, so what do you have in your home that no longer suits your lifestyle and probably never will again?

Use one or more of these scenarios to help see your stuff in a different light and use that to guide you in letting go.

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter a small section of a cupboard anywhere in your home.

Eco Tip for the Day

When you are out and about and there is no provision to recycle bring your items home if possible and not ridiculously inconvenient

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

When you have been a clutterer for a long time, decluttering never seems to end. Reading posts and articles I found that there is always room for improvement. Last year I was very much upset with my bedroom, but I had no idea where to start. Frustrated I asked Colleen for help and she told me to make a plan. My bedroom didn’t just need a declutter, it needed a new life. I always felt a mess in my bedroom. Not a nice feeling to have at all in one’s sleeping place! So I started to point out to myself what were the trouble areas: the furniture in a whole, the excess stuff I put off dealing with and crammed into my bedroom and my excess clothing, my husband’s excess clothing, my load of shoes and this and that and lots of bits and pieces. One of the first things I did to help me declutter was to establish my “Untouchable box”. So, treasures secure, time to tackle whatever else was in the bedroom.

The first item to go was the rack you see in these pictures.

It does look lovely empty, but it never had such luck being in this house. It was my husband’s “throw” place. I will explain: “I will use it later: throw over the rack; It is a tiny little piece of something I am fixing one day: throw over somewhere in the rack; It is a piece of iron/plastic/wood/whatever I might need one day in my life in a future I can’t envision: throw it in the rack!” However, my husband bought the rack and it was a piece of furniture from his single days (the only one left). I thought I would first gradually declutter the things in the rack, then I would donate it, but I found out that, in this case, Moni’s hurricane method was all for the best: I emptied the thing and called someone to take it out of my house immediately. The things I wanted to keep soon found their rightful home (some CDs that I had a nice place to put, for they were not so many) and some toiletry that should not have be there. Most things, stored there “just because”, are now gone. I still have some things I have to deal with that are sitting on my closet floor, but in no way resemble the mess that rack contained…

I had this lovely bed. However the mattress had seen better days. As I have a bad back I can’t stand a bad mattress for too long. So when a night’s sleep started ending with back pain, I knew it was time to have a new mattress. As I was contemplating a new mattress I had the idea for a trunk bed. It would store all of my heavy bed covers (blankets, comforters, extra pillows, bedspreads) and leave my wardrobes free to hold only clothing. First of all, before going out to buy the new trunk bed and mattress I found a buyer for the old bed. I had a double bed and wanted an upsize to a Queen. It would be more comfortable for me and my husband. I sold the bed and gave away the mattress for free.

However there is a catch to this changing beds – the bed linen. I always thought I did not have enough bed linen but boy, was I wrong! As I was moving things to put in my trunk bed I started to unearth (I was digging things out from a wardrobe!!!!) lots and lots of bed linen. I gave to a relative six complete sets of sheets for a double bed. These were in excellent condition. Then I donated four complete sets that weren’t so good. And I still donated incomplete sets that added up to 7 or 8 extra sheets. I could have opened a motel!!! I had no idea I had this many sets of sheets. There were also old pillows and lots of other stuff as you can see in the pictures.

Maybe you will ask me: why didn’t you look? Didn’t you change the beds? Well I am ashamed to say I did not want to look. I knew it was a lot, but I could not bring myself to part with any of it. Some I bought on impulse, some were gifts from my grandmother and most of the good ones were not even used a lot because they had to be saved for better days…Whatever that means because I saved a set of sheets for ten years and used it once before donating it because it did not fit my bed anymore.

I have decluttered, this time 65 items, including in this count the bed and the rack. Back in January I declutterd almost 80 items including clothes and some small stuff like earrings (small stuff does take up space as Colleen said here) all featured in the pictures.

Well, this was the first part of bedroom declutter. I am, by no means finished. I still have two massive wardrobes to take care of, but hey, soon enough news will come on that front.

Today’s Mini Mission

Dust around the frames of all of the wall art or photo frames you have hanging on the walls in your home. I do this at least every two weeks. A slightly damp microfibre cloth is the best tool I have found to do this job, as it will not only hold any dust it encounters but will also give the glass a nice polish. Glass on the walls can tend to get grimy over time if not wiped regularly.

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

This comment by Jo H and the mention of Feng Shui last week got me thinking about the aesthetics of a home. We all have our own tastes when it comes to the kinds of things we like, fabric choices, art works, furniture styles, knick knacks etc etc. However as Jo pointed out in her comment the beauty of these objects have a better chance of shining out when they aren’t so plentiful that they get lost in the clutter.

Although I only have a vague understanding of Feng Shui, and  am sure some people think it is a lot of hocus pocus, I would suggest that it is worth investigating. I feel that some of the basic principals such as de-clutter every room, position furniture correctly, keep work and rest areas separate and make repairs promptly, will make any home more pleasant to live in. Homes have a feel about them whether you believe in chi (the flow of positive energy) or not. Have you ever had an area of your home that just doesn’t feel right to you and can’t put your finger on why. To another person the problem may be obvious but, because you have emotional attachment to the stuff in the room, your ability to see the problem is obscured.

I happened to visit a local antique shop this last weekend. This shop is large and jam packed with all manner of old and interesting things. So jam packed that you couldn’t possibly see even one tenth of what it has to offer in a single visit. I had come to show my husband one particular item which was right at the front door and took seconds to accomplish, however these places are so intriguing that it is fun to have a look around. The decision then had to be made whether to glance over the entire store or choose a couple of areas to look through closely. No matter what choice one makes in this situation one is always left with the feeling of missing out on something. What treasures could be hiding amongst all the clutter. Where do I look first, what might I be missing if I make the wrong choice of where to look. Even though I didn’t even wish to purchase anything I find this feeling oppressive.

Now imagine living in your home with a similar feeling every day. You believe you love and need every item in it, you wouldn’t want to part with anything because you might miss it or need it someday. However you know something about your home is making you feel on edge and you can’t put your finger on it. My guess is your need and love for all your stuff has your eyes closed to the fact that you can’t deal with it all. You spend so much time maintaining it. Or you feel guilty if you don’t. You encounter inconveniences everyday manoeuvring around and through your stuff. Be open to the idea convenience might just be worth parting with some stuff.

As always I would suggest you start decluttering the items, among the multitudes, that you love the least. But if you would like to immediately experience what it would be like with less stuff, why not do a trial separation. A practice run so to speak. You can test how much you really would miss some items when they are gone. At the same time experience how much easier maintenance can be with less stuff. Then weigh up what is really more important to you.

Find a place in your home where you can store some boxes of stuff for a while. Choose an area of your home that feels the most cluttered. Box up the items you least use and/or love and take a break from them. Leave the items in the boxes for at least a month, two or three would really give a good indication of whether you really miss them or not. At the end of the time you can either sort through the boxes to retrieve what you have decided you want or just send them as is straight to the thrift shop. If you do decide to go through the boxes don’t allow the novelty of seeing your items again cloud your judgement and have you forget the benefits of having less stuff to maintain and live with.

Today’s Mini Mission

If you have a bunch of fancy, rarely used utensils getting in the way of  the useful stuff why not pare down a little.

Eco Tip for the Day

Just like yesterdays eco tip on saving fuel not idling the car, you can also practice this with your vacuum cleaner. When you are vacuuming and get sidetracked by another task turn off the vacuum, even if the other task takes little more than a few seconds. Every little bit of electricity you save is good for the environment and your energy costs.

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 written, more than once, about clutter categories on my blog. Categories such as obligation clutter, sentimental clutter, lazy clutter, guilt clutter… One category I have written about before but am not sure I have ever labelled is Life Circle Clutter.

I have been reminded by recent events that people usually have their own particular clutter weakness or weaknesses. I have also noticed that these weaknesses may involve not accepting that a certain phase of ones life is now in the past.

For example, are you reluctance to let go of the fact that there are no longer young children permanently in your life. Does your home have enough kiddy items ~ toys particularly ~ to cater to more than one small child living there permanently. While in fact children only visit their once or twice a year with the occasional half hour visit from neighbours’ children.

Do you have enough kitchen items, linen, and rooms to cater for a large family while there is only two of you left in the home. Do you know someone who is reluctant to part with a shed full of tools that even they admit are rarely, if ever, used.

This is not simply a case of “I might need it someday.” but more of a reluctance to let go of the past and be realistic about who and what one is in the here and now.

I am not talking about being reluctant to part with items of past interest that one is still able and likely to return to. This is a case of being resistant to the circle of life. There comes a time when we simply pass through phases that are never to return and it can be very sad if we can’t accept that. Life is all about change. Change isn’t a bad thing it is simply inevitable. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy these things it just means you don’t have to cater to them 24/7. A bucket of toys for visiting children, a realistic number of items to cater for the occasional guest and enough tools for the odd jobs you still perform around the home…

Enjoy the happy memories, revel in your new circumstances and make the most of life no matter what phase of it you are in. And, of course, let go of those excess things that are now of little or no use to you.

Today’s Mini Mission

Let go of some grown children clutter ~ This is something long ago left behind by your grown child. Your home is not a storage unit, ask them to collect it and let them know you are going to get rid of it otherwise. With a little diplomacy this is possible without alienating them.

Eco Tip for the Day

Check the water flow of your shower (litres per minute). If it uses more than 9 litres per minute I would suggest you buy a new water saving shower head. Some go as low as 7.5 litres per minute.

To test the shower run it on full blast for 10 seconds. It should use no more than 1.5 litres in that time.

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