There were lots of great comments this week and here are the five that I have chosen to bring to your attention.

Deb J tells us in this comment how her church group is trying to do their bit for the environment. Like decluttering, every little thing makes a difference.

Kathleen has been reading my blog for a while but was inspired by my Simple Saturday ~ Operation donate Recycle post to leave her first comment. I am glad it has inspired her to make her own stand for the environment.

Sharron points out some interesting facets of perfectionism in this comment. Funny how the same trait can be helpful in some cases and a hinderance in others.

This comment from Amy was an AH HA moment for Jo who although been told these things over and over suddenly heard it in a way that spoke to her. Read the whole comment stream to get the full conversation.

Cindy picked this comment from NatalieinCA as her pick from the ones that came in as a result of Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom. Natalie has even got the kids in on the act.

I seem to devote very little time to reading other blogs these days because I am just too busy. Luckily though I seem to stumble on to some good ones when I am least expecting it.Here are this weeks five that I have chosen to share with you.

Dave hits the nail on the head here. How are people supposed to feel good about showing consumer restraint when we keep getting told it is bad for the economy. I for one think it is time the economy adapted to revolve around another axis. A Guy Named Dave ~ Restraint as economic revolution

When reading this post keep an open mind as to how you can implement the spirit of it into anything you do. Jonathan Fields ~ Make more bad stuff

Do you have the same issues in your kitchen as Lynn does at Defrag my Life ~ Kitchen dekluttering ha ha, if you do perhaps you should follow her lead.

I am lucky that my spouse is on board with the whole declutter/simplify mission but not everyone is so fortunate. Maybe this post from Be More With Less ~ When your spouse isn’t simple will help you to get your partner motivated.

This post was suggested by Amy amid the comment stream mentioned above. I decided to add it here for those who didn’t read that far. Wisebread ~ 25 things to throw out today

Today’s Declutter Item

These pieces of fabric were quickly snapped up at the thrift shop and I was glad that they would finally get used. They have been languishing away in the bottom of my camphor wood chest for years.

Fabric Pieces ~ More Aspiration Clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I had a little visitor today in my back yard as I pottered in the garden. It was the next door neighbour’s cat. He is gorgeous in his lush black and white coat and purs happily when I scratch him under the chin. Other people’s pets are the best, all pleasure and no responsibility. I would have one of my own but I like the freedom of being able to get up and go whenever I want without the trouble and expense of finding a carer. So I am grateful that the neighbour is happy to share theirs with me.

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

Comments aren’t as plentiful as they used to be but there are still some great ones among them and here are five of those that we received this week.

Wendy B has left two great comments that I didn’t want you to miss. She shared a couple of good donating tips with us last Thursday in this comment and gives some good advice about moving on in this comment. Great advice Wendy B, thank you.

This comment from a new contributor jbc puts a whole new slant on how to disassociate from hidden clutter. I hadn’t even considered this possibility before. Thanks jbc and welcome to 365 Less Things.

It is clear from this comment that Sharron grasps the concept of Cost v Value and she has learned the error of her ways.

The thing I liked about this comment from NatalieinCA is that she is happy to go against convention to do the right thing by the environment. I only wish I had the same range of opportunity here where I live.

There are an endless supply of informative posts in all corners of the internet and here are the five I wish to bring to your attention this week.

Lovefoodhatewaste.com Thanks to Ideealistin for pointing this website out to us in a comment she left a week or so ago.

You may think this post from How to be Amazing.com has nothing to do with clutter but it has more to do with it than you can imagine. Clutter often builds up due to insecurity and unhappiness and this post ~ How to be happy 7 tips increase joy ~ could well be the key to avoiding clutter in the future and letting go of the stuff you already have.

I stumbled upon this link while looking for something else and I really enjoyed it. I hope you do too. Paul Graham ~ Stuff

Simply Being Mum ~ No-waste-tastes-great-5-august-2011

This next link was a gem found by Cindy. Motherhood Your Way ~ How-to-have-a-simple-organized-school-year

Today’s Declutter Item

I am not sure whether to chalk this up as aspiration clutter or I might need it one day clutter but either way it is out of here. I am sure a thrift store customer will think they have hit the jackpot when they find this on the shelf.

Aida Cloth for Cross-stitch

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I enjoyed the chance to catch up with a friend that I see far too infrequently even though we live quite close. I love these encounters with old friends because it is always as though we have never been appart. Except that we have so much to say that the conversation runs all over the place and that isn’t a bad thing.

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

Here are my favourite five comments of the week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Becky left this comment on the weekend about the advantages of the New Messy at her home.

This Comment from Cat’sMeow expresses how glad she is that the word is continuing to get out about the advantages for living with less.

Carolyn dropped in to leave her first ever comment and tells us about her “blessing in disguise” declutter experience.

Sharron shares how she changed the way she stores food in this comment in response to Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom this week.

Sue tells us about her unique plan to declutter in this comment, but make sure you also read Rachel’s response to Sue’s comment because she has a unique plan of her own.

Five posts from around the blogosphere I really wanted to share with you this week

Be More With Less ~ 10 ways you can have enough money and stuff ~ No more explanation necessary the title of this blog post by Courtney Carver speaks for itself.

Life should be the cats meow ~ Minimalist-approach-to-exercise ~ I love this post from one of our readers, Cat’sMeow, mainly because I use the same approach to exercise. If you feel like you are unfit just move more and see where that takes you. Putting too many expectations on your exercise routine can lead to inertia.

Here is a good blog post if you have been loosing your drive to keep working at your decluttering. Minimalist at home.com ~ When your passion fire fades to a flicker

This blogger, who also reads my posts, has been linking to my blog a bit lately so I thought I would return the favour. Breathe Releaser Repeat ~ oh-thank-you-obligation-clutter

Here is an excellent example how living with less can make a big difference in your life or to your debt at least. Jenny at Exconsumer shares her success in this post ~ Happy Birthday To Me I’m Consumer Debt Free

Today’s Declutter Item

Yet another science calculator sold on eBay for a mere $10 but better that than having it lingering in a drawer somewhere unused.

Another Scientific Calculator

Something I Am Grateful For Today

The opportunity to travel and explore places I haven’t been to before. We are off to Tasmania soon and I am really looking forward to it. There is a new art Gallery there that should be quite interesting from all accounts.

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

My favourite five comments has turned into ten this week.

There were so many great comments and so many new readers adding to the conversation that I just could not resist doubling my quota for the week. My choices this week may seem a little indulgent at times because there are a lot of lovely thank yous among them. But each thank you message comes with a unique story from the writer that I thought had a lot to add to the conversation.

This comment comes from Ann who despite the fact she has been laid up for months with an Achilles heal injury has not let that stop her from decluttering. She has tackled all those nasty little jobs like sorting photos and the file drawers etc that quite frankly I have been avoiding for some time.

Wendy left a heartwarming Comment about how she used the gently gently, slowly slowly approach to turn the clutter situation in her home around despite the all the set backs along the way. He husband Ian is a little cheeky but I am sure she can whip him into order. 😉

In this comment Robyn talks about her pledge to downsize and the joys of passing on some of her much loved items to people who she knows will appreciate them.

Inspired by the post Disassociation Part 2 ~ Obligation Clutter Marianna joined in to share with us some great advice that her grandmother once gave her in relation to gifts in this comment

I have always said that the comments form my readers are a great part of my blog which is why I choose my Favourite Five on Fridays. This was proved last week when Chelle came to Andréia’s rescue with this comment. I was a little busy and hadn’t seen Andréia’s request for some TLC when she was feeling discouraged.

Esther a new reader had some great decluttered children’s gifts ideas to share with us in this comment . Now if I can just find the time to add the to the guide.

Janine another new reader discovered my blog via one of the radio interview I did last week. She tells us her strategy to join the one thing a day decluttering trend in her comment.

Okgirl tells us how she replaces aspiration with donation in this comment. Sure sounds like a good trade off to me.

And last but not least this comment from Gisela tells us how 365lessthings is finally the answer she has been searching for when it comes to decluttering.

And here are my favourite five blog posts/web finds for this week.

I have to confess I was a little indulgent here as well by adding a couple of blogs by some lovely ladies who I met over the last week or so.

I particularly liked No. 3 on this list from Mark and Angel Hack Life ~ 20 things to stop doing to others

If you want to know where your money could be better spent than on recreational shopping, take a look at this post by Francesca of Tasmanian Minimalist ~ I am sorry to shock and upset you

The Change Blog ~ What’s motivating you the carrot or the stick. It would be interesting to know what is your carrot and/or your stick when it comes to decluttering.

I met a lovely young lady at a lunchion I attended last Friday who has recently started her own blog about cooking, baking and entertaining her name is Megann and her blog is called Meganns Kitchen. So if you like a good recipe go and take a look at what Megann has to offer.

Also last week I did a live interview on ABC Radio with a lovely lady called Sara Cottman she runs her own professional organising business and her web site is www.horder.com.au . She made me feel so comfortable during the show and she really knows her stuff. Anyone in the Sydney area who is thinking of hiring a professional organiser why not look Sara up, her business is call Heavenly Order.

Today’s Declutter Item

This was one of those eBay sales that didn’t go as well as I would have liked. I listed them with a starting price of $20 and they didn’t sell. Just for some perspective, skate shoes usually sell for not less than $120 in Australia. These shoes were second hand but barely used. Because they didn’t sell eBay offer a free re-list option so I opted for that and lowered the starting price to $10 and they sold for $12.00. It was hardly worth the effort but I don’t mind making an extra effort when selling something of my son’s. He is sensible with his money and every little bit counts. 

Used Nike Skate Shoes

Something I Am Grateful For Today

The sun was shining and the birds were singing and I found some time to do a little walking. The postage on the shoes above cost the exact amount I expected it to and now they are out of my house. I am also grateful that I am on a bit of an eBay roll at the moment, some successful and some not so much but either way it is helping things exit my house. I like progress especially when it means that things that I have been marking time on are now being decluttered. Some of them aspirational, and that is a monkey off my back for sure.

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

This week’s posts inspired some great responses from our readers and below are five of the many that I enjoyed reading.

I liked Sabine  take on gift giving and receiving in this comment.

Jo’s concerns were quite valid in her comment about the perils of upsetting people when decluttering obligation clutter.

Snosie tells us how she has soaked up my advice over the last couple of months and is putting it in to action in this comment.

Jude has some great cable recycling tips for our American readers in her comment in response to The Great Cable Roundup.

Sharron reminds us again in this comment about how one can be inspired to reduce their belonging when they have experience the heartbreak of decluttering when a loved one has passed away.

This week for the five blog choices I would like to drawer your attention to five blogs from five of our readers.

Some are long time readers, some new to my blog but it is always good to hear from them in the comments. There are several other readers with blogs that I will also feature in upcoming Fridays.

Willow at Willows Cottage

Chelle at On the domestic front

Angle Kay at Minimalist with 3 kids

Karin at  Green and Generous

Lynn at Defrag my life

Today’s Declutter Item

There is nothing like a little cash incentive to reinforce the benefits of decluttering. Although my son is already very good at decluttering, receiving $32 for the sale of this jacket through eBay will go a long way towards encouraging him to keep up the good work.

Liam's Jacket $32 on ebay

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Today my husband and I walked for miles on the Sydney streets visiting art galleries. It was a lovely day together but I am exhausted and am going to be grateful to lay my head on my pillow in my own bed tonight. I am also grateful to my husband of course for planning the gallery visits and for being with me in Sydney for my radio interview.

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

As you know I enjoy and answer all the comments directed to me here at 365 Less Thing but each week I choose five to share with you that I don’t want you to miss and below are this week’s five.

I had to include this comment from Katharine this week and add my heartfelt congratulations.

Dianne had a sad story to tell in her comment in response to my post Sharing the wisdom of experience. I so very much appreciate readers sharing their stories, happy or sad, because there are such important lessons to be learned from them.

Angle Kay shows she is really “getting it” with this comment about how she is learning to separate from sentimental objects.

In this comment Donna reminds me of a hint I often use when deciding whether to list an item on ebay that I forgot to include in mt post. Thanks for the reminder Donna.

Ornela shows how she is doing a fine job or combining slow and bulk decluttering and finding new homes for the things she is decluttering in this comment.

And of course every week I weed out five blog post/articles from web sites to share with you that I found informative and below are my favourite for this week. Happy reading.

www.littleheroes.com ~ Be cautious about giving too much

Red Lotus letter ~ Feng shui and-clutter how an overstuffed home robs you of vitality…

Becoming Minimalist ~ Encouragement for your first step towards living with less

The Healthy Living Lounge ~ The emotional cost of clutter

A Fresh Space ~ Embrace your clutter release the guilt 

Today’s Declutter Item

I am not sure why I haven’t rid myself of these containers sooner. Actually I have three more in a smaller size and I dislike them just as much. I don’t see the point of microwave containers that can’t handle heating on high in the microwave without causing the lids to stop fitting properly. When I bought these containers I was told that they are designed to heat food not cook food and so I have never cooked food in them. When I tried to get them replaced under warranty I was told I had mistreated them because I had heated them on high. I am not impressed considering I was not informed about this subtle difference in instruction. Adding to my discontent is the fact that they cost about three times as much as the inexpensive containers I also use that seem to have survived my “mistreatment” quite well. Strangely enough Tupperware have redesigned these containers in the years since I bought mine which says to me that they weren’t a good design in the first place. Needless to say I am left feeling bitter and twisted considering what a good customer I have been over the years and I assure you I will never buy another Tupperware brand container ever again.

Tupperware that left me bitter & twistedÂ

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I had a fun time today for my first day volunteering at my local thrift store. The staff were friendly, it was really busy and I wasn’t the only newbie. I spent my time processing clothes and was happy that there were only a few items that were unsellable out of the seven of so big bags that I emptied, tagged, priced and hung. I think I am going to enjoy this new experience and I will keep you all informed about how it goes. Oh! And I only stabbed myself in the finger twice with the tagging gun.

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

The comments are coming in on a less frequent basis of late due to Summer vacation time in the Northern Hemisphere but there were still plenty to choose from and here are my picks for the week.

I enjoyed this great comment for *pol who freely admits to being a former packrat.

LJayne points out in her comment that there is a balance to be struck between too little and too much even when it comes to photography.

I love Natalle’s approach to photographing her children in this comment in response to Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Photos, photos everywhere.

This comment from ideealistin wasn’t informative but it sure was amusing.

Angle Kay tells us about her declutter mission in this comment and leaves us a link to her new blog where she is sharing her experience with the world.

I haven’t had much time to read other blogs since my return but I was lucky enough to stumble upon a few good ones very quickly that I felt were worthy of sharing with you.

A guy named dave ~ Regarding shortcuts

Marc and Angel Hack Life ~ 18 things I wish someone told me when I was 18

Exconsumer ~ Stop consuming start creating

1000 awesomethings.com ~ I love scrolling through the posts on this blog. I can usually relate to every awesome thing they mention. I like to direct people to this blog every now and again just to share the joy.

Zen Habits ~ A simple strategy for simplifying

Today’s Declutter Item

Book that are excess to our needs

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Thai food, particularly Tom Yum Goong (Hot and sour soup), the combination of flavours in this country’s food is possibly my favourite of all, except that I really don’t like to pick favourites.

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

Friday’s Favorites, but Not Five

Once again I am delving into the cyberworld to ferret out interesting and useful blogs for your enjoyment. Because this week was lower than usual on comments, and higher than usual on blog suggestions, I decided to change it up a bit. Hopefully I won’t be in trouble with you or with Colleen!

1. Since so many readers have lots of scrapbooking materials, I love this guide to holiday gift making. It’s July – time to start, right? (Warning, at least one of the links doesn’t work any more.)  http://smallnotebook.org/2008/11/11/holiday-gifts-handmade-with-paper/

2. Blogger Barbara Crafton says good-bye to her old (inanimate) friends at a yard sale. http://geraniumfarm.org/dailyemo.cfm?Emo=1309

3. Katie at Making This Home gives some nice guidelines for dealing with heirlooms. http://www.makingthishome.com/2010/06/28/the-decluttering-project-heirlooms-sentimental-items/

4. Is it cheating to pick two posts from the same blog? Here Katie talks about resisting the lure of shopping. I found the tidbit that the average American woman buys 60 new clothing items a year shocking. My family of four might buy 60 items for everyone, including school uniforms. http://www.makingthishome.com/2011/06/13/is-the-no-new-clothes-challenge-worth-it/

5. The Minimalist Packrat shares ideas on helping your kids to declutter. http://minimalistpackrat.com/2011/03/02/helping-kids-declutter-their-stuff/

And, for your additional reading enjoyment, two links that I especially liked from this week’s interviews.

6. From Bea at The Zero Waste Home, who thinks that our love of cleaning products is out of control.  http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/2010/05/cleanliness-standards-revised.html

7. And Dave at The 100 Things Challenge muses on dealing with the disappointment of things not going according to plan. http://guynameddave.com/2011/06/never-quite-according-to-plan/

Today’s Declutter Item (from Colleen)

I believe this is the last of the travel toiletries. I do solemnly swear that these will be the last ever to clutter up my bathroom cabinet as I believe that the purge is now complete and I plan for it to stay that way.

The last of the travel toiletries

Something I Am Grateful For Today

All the love that we have experienced in life whether fleeting, lost, long term or form those who have passed on. Look at all these experiences in a positive light no matter if the experience ended in sadness because that fact that someone loved you

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

Colleen is on vacation visiting her daughter and other family, so I’m exploring the blog world this week and picking the Friday’s Favorite Five. As a reminder, I rarely read blogs, so picking 5 favorites is always an experiment for me.

And my favorite comments from the past week:

1. Jo praises Colleen for her systematic way of dealing with a trouble clutter spot and finds a solution to a long-term problem. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=1510#comment-8959

2. Di praises Colleen the inspiration she provides after listening to Colleen’s interview. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=1489#comment-8932

3. Natalie shares her great plan to motivate her children to get rid of their no-longer-needed items and to save for future wants and needs. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=1243#comment-8991

4. Chelle reflects on her decluttering journey. http://www.365lessthings.com/?p=1243&cpage=1#comment-8980

Today’s Declutter Item

Books of Love

Something to be Grateful For

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

Hi Folks, it’s Friday again and here are my favourite five comments of the week

This is the first comment we’ve received from Smoothagator and what a great one it is too. I hope she will join in and share her special brand of wisdom with us on a regular basis. Thanks Smoothagator and welcome to 365 Less Things.

This comment came from Grace in Brazil in response the Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ First Fruits. It is short but sweet so I have cut and pasted it here rather than add a link. ~ Something my 17 year old daughter said recently also puts this in perspective. She stated quite wisely, “There is greater virtue in giving away something that you really want to keep.” Let us be virtuous women!

I liked this comment from Sarah simply because it shows she is not afraid to go against the flow. I am such a rebel at heart.

This comment from Annabelle shows she is getting good at delegating the decluttering. Way to go Annabelle! And thanks for the weather report.

Deb J brings more light to the way customers mistreat product in retail outlets in the her response to Are we too conditioned to convenience ~ When I was in college I had to interview a store manager regarding business practices… Read more

This week’s favourite five blog posts/web finds were excavated through various methods and included for a variety of reasons. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Organizing Maven ~ Managing paper controlling clutter part 2

I googled Decluttering Regrets and came up with this little gem. There is some great advice given here by people with experience: ask.metafilter.com ~ Anyone had regrets about a-massive decluttering of their lives

Be more with less ~ The one thing standing between you and simplicity

Every now and again we need reminding about the awesome things we take for granted 1000awesomethings.com is a great site full of those reminders and here is one that tickled my fancy ~ When-you-find-the-spot-on-the-dog-that-makes-its-leg-go-crazy

Here is some sound shopping advice from Susan at One Less ~ My shopping rules

Today’s Declutter Item

I last used this item in 1999 when I had lawn to water. Now I live in a townhouse and my lawn is about 4m² and rarely needs watering. As I have no intention of ever having a bigger garden I feel confident to decluttering this item.

Sprinkler

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Somedays I have a habit of making mountains out of molehills, finding discontentment where it needn’t be and generally making my life miserable for nothing. Today wasn’t one of those days. In fact today I spent some time with a beautiful friend of mine who has more than her share of real difficulties and it felt good to be there for her and remind myself just how lucky I am. Today I am grateful for the wonderful life I am blessed with.

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