We all are taught that perfection does not exist. What we fail to do is to believe that. I don’t really know about the rest of the world, but I am tired of seeing in all places the evidence of how imperfect I am. It is hard to avoid. You would have to live in an isolated island not to feel how your lack of perfectionism is ruining your life. They say it about the way you keep your house, care for your kids, live your marriage (?) (saw this one in a magazine)…Oh how life would be great…But not.

Let’s talk for example about decorating and de-cluttering:

How can I have a perfectly de-cluttered, decorated house? That is an easy one: by not living in it.

I have been reading de-cluttering blogs for a long while now. And all of them, at one point or another, have talked about perfectionism. Even here it has been mentioned a few times.

So where am I going with this talk? First, there is no such thing as perfection. Believe that, it is real. The reality for me is that, in de-cluttering and in housecleaning I have three categories: nice, great and YAY. I don’t have to clean for a week! Not perfect, not eligible to be photographed for a designing magazine. Just my house clean and uncluttered to my standard. For a while at least my trouble was I wanted perfection, I always aimed for it. Sometimes I felt like Lord Farquaad from Shrek (the first one) who wanted a perfect castle, and a perfect village and a perfect princess wife. His words were “I want order! I want perfection!”. He ended being married to an ogress and being eaten by a dragon. So much for perfection.

I did learn that wanting perfection leads to doing nothing. I was frustrated, wishing for that picture perfect house on so and so internet site, all the while I had a whole cluttered house suffocating me because I wanted to clean them up…perfectly. It accumulated. I did not clean or fix things because I had to do it all at once and perfectly. And there is another catch right there: to do everything perfectly we have to do it all at once. But there is never enough time. I certainly never had that much time available. And when I did I was too lazy to do it all, it was too much. And I always gave myself the excuse that (we rent) but when I moved to MY house, then things would be perfect.  I had other stuff to do instead of de-cluttering. Play with the kids. Go out with the husband. Chat with  friends on Skype. I didn’t want to spend hours and hours cleaning, sorting, de-cluttering, just to have a perfect house. I wanted to live.

As it has been said before and will be said again. Ditch perfection. Do what you can, when you can. Get one thing done or just get something done. And good is great. If you do a good job on time, you are way ahead than if you aimed for a perfect job that never got delivered. Like models, the perfect made up houses that are pictured in magazines and design sites, are really that: made up models. I have recently looked at pictures from a décor magazine and I saw huge, spectacular houses there, beautifully decorated. They were great, but all I could think about was: “Who is going to clean all that?” And lately: “I bet they have a full time maid to have that much stuff and a perfect house…”. So, I realized perfection has a price I am not willing to pay.

To quote a new singer/comedian in a interview about her new CD: “If we keep thinking about what we could do better  we’d never do anything. The things we do are imperfect, it’s part of human nature.” And that is the beauty of it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a few shades of eyeshadow, lipstick or nail polish that you rarely if ever use.

Eco Tip for the Day

When racing off to the grocery store to pick up something you need phone a friend or neighbour to see if they need anything while you are at it. You make save them a trip.

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

There are many one off things that sit idle in our homes and then there are also collection of things that are just too numerous. We tend to view these collection as a whole that we don’t wish to part with. However if we view the items individually we might realise that we could stand to part with a few.

Monday – Declutter a few pots and pans even if they belong to a set. If you don’t use them all there is no point in them cluttering up your kitchen.

Tuesday – People collect all sorts of things and often when others get wind of this they gift you similar items . if you have such a collection perhaps you could stand to declutter some parts of the whole that you don’t particularly love.

Wednesday –  Declutter a few shades of eyeshadow, lipstick or nail polish that you rarely if ever use.

Thursday – Declutter a few magazines from you collection that you haven’t returned to in a long while.

Friday – Put all your socks in box elsewhere, as you use them return them to their usual place. After two months declutter the ones still in the box.

Saturday – Go through the kids’ artwork you have saved, set a limit to keep and declutter your least favourite beyond that limit.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Using too much of anything is wasteful. Don’t overuse shampoo, cleaners, paper items, water, food…

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

Jamie Oliver’s jam jar dressings

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week’s mini missions are designed to get you thinking twice about some of the excess items within your home. This method of analysis assisted me in letting go of more and more items as my decluttering mission progressed. To the point where I would find reasons to relinquish items I had held on for a long time and then wonder why I hadn’t let them go sooner. Here are some examples of the questions you might ask yourself.

Monday – Does this kitchen gadget save me time or would a knife perform the same task in quicker time than it takes to assemble, use and clean it? Let it go it it doesn’t pass this test.

Tuesday – Am I saving this book to read it again or am I just putting it on display for some other personal reason? If a book doesn’t inspire you to reread it then perhaps you should just let it go. Declutter a few from your collection that you haven’t felt inspired to reread in a very long time.

Wednesday – Will I ever use this leftover craft supply or will it still be tucked away unused in five years? Be realistic about the likely hood of using up leftover craft supplies and let them go if the chance is unlikely. Perhaps a local school or craft group could find a more immediate use for them.

Thursday – Do I need to waste space storing these salad dressings (mixed spices, sauces etc) or could I quickly and easily whip up delicious fresh alternatives when needed from ingredients that I usually stock in my pantry anyway. Don’t double stock your pantry. Get on line and find simple easy recipes for spice mixes, salad dressing etc and do a use it up challenge on items you have no need to stock.

Friday – Am I in love with all the knick-knacks and thingamabobs in my home or would life be easier if I just kept the ones I really love and have less to dust?

Saturday – Do I often have a sudden need for gift wrap and greeting cards or could I reduce my stash to a more manageable size? If the answer is no to this question start a use it up challenge on the overabundance. 

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Use the stairs rather than the elevator. This of course has the added bonus of a little impromptu exercise.

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This weeks mini missions are about organising the frequented areas of your home by decluttering some of the excess stuff that is getting in the way. People often fall into the trap of thinking they are naturally disorganised people because their stuff is always messy. However it could just be a case of rummaging through an abundance of stuff getting it all messed up. So here are six areas to declutter that might make your day to day household operations more efficient.

Monday – Pick a small area of your kitchen ~ perhaps a messy drawer or an overcrowded shelf ~ and declutter some little used stuff that is getting in the way of the items you do actually use regularly.

Tuesday – Begin a use up challenge on, or simply throw or give away items cluttering up the space where you store your toiletries.

Wednesday – Forget the boy scout motto of “Be prepared” and ditch some of that stuff cluttering up your handbag.

Thursday – Make finding your good underwear or socks easy by throwing away the ratty old ones that you avoid using.

Friday – Declutter DVDs or CDs from your collection that only serve to make it harder to find the ones you do watch or listen to regularly. You can sell or donate the rest.

Saturday – Go through your jewellery box and declutter any items you never wear or are broken.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

When boiling dried pasta, bring to the boil then turn the temperature down to low and once settled put a lid on. It will boil quicker and at a lower temperature this way thus saving electricity. When you think it is almost done turn off the heat and allow the residual heat to complete the cooking process. The same method works for rice. Rice will usually take 12 minutes to cook this way.

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

Last weeks post ~ Memories are no stuff ~ deserves a little more attention than just one post. So this week I will dedicate the mini mission and another post to the subject. I feel this is important because this kind of clutter is often the sort that most people have trouble detaching themselves from. The power of suggestion is, as the phrase suggests, a powerful thing. One can change their belief system when exposed enough to an opposing logical suggestion. So let me just repeat again that we don’t need stuff to remind us of those we love, what we have achieved or the good times we’ve had. Without further adieu here are some suggestions for things you might find you can happily live without.

Monday – Old birthday cards

Tuesday – A family heirloom you possibly never really liked. Give it to another member of the family.

Wednesday – A souvenir.

Thursday – A childhood or baby item of you or your children.

Friday – A diary or journal.

Saturday – Any memento that is boxed away somewhere where you rarely see it.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Using reusable items rather than throw away is not only good for the environment but can save you money.

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week we are going to let our feeling help us to declutter. I will name an emotion and you will find something in your home that evokes this feeling. I will of course be focusing on negative emotions because after all who wouldn’t want to get that sort of clutter out of their homes. I will how ever through at least one positive emotion, one neutral one and one undecided. So here goes

Monday – Declutter something that brings you sadness whenever you see it. Perhaps something that reminds you of a lost love.

Tuesday – Declutter something that evokes a feeling of dissatisfaction. Perhaps an item of clothing that never quite suited you.

Wednesday – Declutter something that causes you anger. Perhaps something that you bought but has never worked properly.

Thursday – Declutter something that although it brings you happiness you really would rather the liberated space.

Friday – Declutter something that you feel ambivalent about. Something you have been sitting on the fence about decluttering for a while. Perhaps it is time to let it go.

Saturday – Declutter something that evokes no other feeling except sheer boredom. This could be anything.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week I have tried to put together six missions involving items that you may not of thought to declutter as yet. They, like last week are items that I don’t mention very often or perhaps, in some cases, not at all. As usual, if you have already decluttered these items or never had them in the first place, perhaps they will jog ideas of similar items you haven’t dealt with yet.

Monday – Declutter any too large suitcases you avoid using because of their bulk. Firstly there is rarely a need to pack so much stuff. Want maybe, but need, not so likely. Secondly, once these cases are packed they are too heavy to manoeuvre.

Tuesday – Declutter any saucepans or frying pans you simply don’t use. These are bulky items that waste a lot of space if they are kept for those just-in-case moments. They are also items that can easily be borrowed from a friend, relative or neighbour in the rare case they are necessary.

Wednesday – Declutter disposable items from your home and your shopping list. For example ~ Cling film, aluminium foil, paper napkins, paper towel, dryer sheets, wet wipes. Utilise other items in your home that can easily take their place. The environment and your bank account will be all the healthier for it. I haven’t eliminated all of these things from my home but I use so little of the ones I do still keep (paper towel and aluminium foil) that I buy them in small quantities and only replace them when they totally run out. And before anyone tells me that these things are cheaper in large quantities, think for a minute about how easy it is to be wasteful with stuff when there is plenty on hand.

Thursday – Declutter parts of sets that aren’t being utilised. It isn’t compulsory to keep sets together. In the past I have sold or donated attachments to kitchen gadgets, a strainer from a pasta pot, saucers from a dinner set…

Friday – Declutter items adorning benches that just make cleaning more of a chore. Kitchen benches and bathroom cabinets are  areas prone to this nuisance clutter. In bathrooms particularly there is not need to keep everything you use, once or at best twice a day, sitting on the bench top. It takes a fraction of a second to open a door or a drawer.

Saturday – Declutter an item that you keep as a backup for something similar. One reader last week said she had a backup electric kettle. If she disliked it so much there is a good chance she isn’t going to revert back to it should the better one stop working. Cell phones are another item that people tend to have several of. One is fine, more than that is just excessive. These are both cases of buying something when the current one was perfectly fine. We are all guilty of this I am sure.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week for our mini mission I tried to come up with suggestions that I don’t cover very often. Some things like kitchen, linen, stationery and beauty items, knick knacks and clothes appear here often so I thought I would steer away from them this week. I hope you can find an item appropriate to each day’s mission but if you can’t just come up with your own idea. Good luck!

Monday – Declutter some printed photos. Poor quality images, duplicates and images of stuff you care little or nothing about.

Tuesday – Declutter a sports related item. No longer used equipment, uniforms, souvenirs or even trophies.

Wednesday – Declutter a music related item. Old records, cassettes or CD’s you no longer listen to. When I occasionally feel like listening to something that isn’t among my usual selection I just go to YouTube. There is no need to keep once-in-a-while music on hand these days.

Thursday – Declutter excess cushions and throw rugs. The ones you sit or drape on furniture as a decor item. They are a pain when you want to sit down and are just in your way. Perhaps a few of those six cushions/pillows on your bed that you pull off and put back on every night and morning.

Friday – Declutter a few excess picnic items that you keep for those rare occasions when you actually do eat outdoors. Or ones that are completely unnecessary even if you do picnic often.

Saturday – Declutter one or two storage containers that you have eliminated the need for through you decluttering efforts. Having these items hanging around gives you permission to fall off the decluttering wagon. You don’t want to do that now do you?

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

 

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This weeks mini missions are all about bringing your attention to items that have a tendency to unnecessarily build up, be decluttered and build up again. I made that sound like this happens without our being responsible for it but we all know that we are. We succumb to the temptation to replace perfectly serviceable items with something new whether we need it or not. Lets see how many of these items you can find to declutter in your home. But more than that, become aware that you are doing this and consider a change in this behaviour from here on.

I am not going to mention clothing or shoes in this list because that would be the most obvious choice for this category. However give some thought to your habits in this area and consider what you might do to improve on your initial choices that might help help avert this happening in the future.

Monday – Declutter a decor item that has been stashed away out of sight. ~ Do you find yourself refreshing your decor with an endless parade of decorator items. I would suggest displaying meaningful/sentimental items rather than hiding them away in a closet somewhere. You will be less inclined to dismiss and replace them so easily.

Tuesday – Declutter any pet toys that are overabundant in your home.  ~ Do you buy a new toy to amuse you pet with on a regular basis when their old toys are still in reasonable condition. Slowly they build up and then you find yourself throwing away the oldest or less loved items whether they are worn out or not. Think of the money you could save.

Wednesday – Declutter excess bath towels and in future only replace them when they wear out ~ Judging from many of the linen closets I encounter, during visiting friends and relatives, I would say the people generally replace towels on a far too regular basis. Not because they are no longer capable of the task of drying but simply because they are considered decor items that are to be replaced when tired of.

Thursday – Declutter any kitchen utensils or gadgets that you don’t use often enough to warrant keeping. ~ Who isn’t on the lookout for something that can make our workload lighter. When it comes to the home the kitchen is a major source of this focus. The problem is that many of the gadgets on the market don’t live up to their promise to lighten that load. The utensils drawer ends up with three different styles of peelers, can openers, potato mashers etc and the shelves are packed with all manner of electric gadgets. I must say that some credit has to be given to anyone who still believes on home cooking rather than caving into buying, not always healthy, prepared meals, but be sceptical about the usefulness or such gadgets.

Friday – Declutter any stationery items that are overstocked in your home. Especially if they were purchased for their novelty factor. Cute pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, thumb tacks, paperclips etc. ~ You may think this is an odd thing to suggest but you might be surprised at how often inexpensive items such as these are purchased when they aren’t needed.

Saturday – Declutter any children’s toys that are neglected, broken or perhaps never were enjoyed.~ Children don’t need more and more toys they need to be left to use their imaginations with a smaller selection. And they aren’t a substitute for quality time spent with parents and friends. If you find it necessary to allocate a room in your home just to store toys then you most likely have too many.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Reduce the number it items you buy just for the novelty factor, be they for you or as a gift for someone else.

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

I received a comment from Denise recently from which I have included an excerpt below.

Denise ~ Thank you Colleen, yes I did and it feels so good to get rid of the stuff. Its amazing no matter how many times you do it you still find more.

Quite often readers write in saying that they are surprised that they are still managing to find things to declutter. The readers that say this have usually been at their decluttering mission for quite a while and are expecting it to finally come to an end, or at least to the maintenance phase. However they continue to find things to declutter that have been there all along.

Like I said in my response to Denise ~ “I don’t really consider it still finding more. I consider it becoming more enlightened about what I need, what I want and what I don’t.”

Instead of being amazed, disappointed or perhaps even a little horrified ~ like some readers seem to be ~ I simply feel pleased that I have come to a point where I am ready to let go of yet more items. Admittedly I do find the odd thing that I have just overlooked but for the most part they are things that up until that point I still wanted them around.

So am I disappointed to still be finding things three and a half years into my mission? Heck no! I am just glad that the grasp that possessions have on me is lessening more and more each day.

As I become more enlightened, the burden of my possessions lightens.

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