"...the answer is invariably in the question." Â This is part of a quote from a wise man. That man is Billy Connolly and the quote is from the same book I mentioned yesterday. So, how does this relate to decluttering? Well I am about to give my thoughts on that. In the Guides section of my blog you will find my Declutter Decision Making Guide. It is packed with questions to ask of yourself when deciding whether you should declutter an item. However this quote from Billy Connolly got me thinking ~ (Wise words from worldly people often have me applying their wisdom to the subject of … [Read more...]
What’s your clutter weakness
Since today's mini mission is to analyse your clutter weakness I thought it would be good if I also made it the subject of the day. Perhaps in the comments you might like to admit your clutter weakness and see if you can get any advice about it. My clutter weakness would be my craft supplies. It is one of the few areas where I still add items. Mostly cutting dies and embossing folders. However there is more going out than is coming in so I am happy with that. And these items are being used over and over again. I did also bring home fabric and lace from my mother and mother-in-law but I am … [Read more...]
Simple
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 … [Read more...]
Decluttering, the cure for retail therapy
I was wondering what I should write about today when it occurred to me that I have just past the four year anniversary of blogging about decluttering here at 365 Less Things. That got me thinking about how things have changed and in some cases how things haven't. My living circumstances have certainly changed, having reached the goal I originally started out trying to achieve. I am a little amazed that the goal never really changed over that time. However, my principles of decluttering haven't changed at all. So today I thought, just for fun I would dig up a blog post from about this time … [Read more...]
The Great Unveiling
Today I want to share with you photos of my new home. It is a work in progress but I am sure you will agree that we have slotted in fairly well so far. However my photography leaves a little to be desired. We are constantly decluttering and reshuffling and it is coming together nicely. This Friday we take possession of a secondhand 70s sideboard which will replace my craft cubes that have been serving as our TV cabinet since we moved in. Two of the cubes will go into my kitchen cupboards while two others in the spare room wardrobe will be decluttered to make room for the paper file drawer … [Read more...]
Efficiency v Plastics
There was a lot of chatter generated yesterday about an overabundance of plastic containers. It seems most of us still have an excess of these. In a bid to reduce food items in both the fridge and pantry due to my long vacation and impending move late last year, I have become very efficient at catering, shopping and using up leftovers to the point where my need for plastic containers has become greatly reduce. I mostly shop for fresh produce, meat and dairy these days from which there is very little waste. Any leftovers are soon devoured. I have also eliminated several baking items in my … [Read more...]
Owning your life skill ~ By Doodle
One of our long time regular readers Doodle has kindly agreed to help out here at 365 by writing a blog post for me every other Wednesday. Today is her first regular post although not the first she has contributed. She has become quite the expert on the subject of decluttering over the years and I am sure you will all be able to learn a lot from her. Welcome Doodle and thank you for your contributions, past, present and future. Owning your life skill The biggest reason I owned too much stuff, was I just never realised I didn’t have to. It was as simple as that: getting rid of stuff as a … [Read more...]
Fewer things = Less Rummaging
As you can imagine this blog post title ~ You don't have to declutter to own fewer things ~ caught my eye in my inbox last week. It is a recent post by Mohamed Tohami @ Midway Simplicity. You can read it here. In fact please do read it before going further. My response was this ~ "Having your stuff organised can no doubt make your home appear decluttered, tidy and less oppressive. I know this because my home has always been that way. Nevertheless it has taken me over three years of slow and gradual decluttering to get it to a point where we don't have a lot of unused and unloved stuff neatly … [Read more...]
An Update On ~ Five Items I Won’t Declutter
Way way back on Day 258 of my decluttering journey I wrote this post on five items I won't declutter. Today I am writing an update on that post. Pictured below are the five items in question. So which of these items do I still own that I would never part with. The Flour Sifter ~ As I have mentioned previously was decluttered. It left on the 19th Oct, 2012. As I mentioned in this post I decided I no longer needed it, either for practical or sentimental reasons. The Can Opener ~  This I still have. It serves me well and I have no need to replace it with some new fancy modern equivalent. … [Read more...]
Craft Like a Beginner
Have you ever had a craft/hobby that got completely out of control. Not so much the making of items but the accumulation of crafting supplies. I most certainly have. Through that experience I have learned a few things and here is my advice on avoiding this problem. Always supply your craft hobby as though you are a beginner. Any wise person who starts a new hobby generally begins with the minimum of supplies in order to try it out to see if they are really going to enjoy it. They buy or better still borrow the basic equipment or perhaps even take a class where the equipment is provided. Then … [Read more...]