Key 1 – Don’t bite off more than you can chew

If you are finding the idea of decluttering your home daunting maybe you are thinking too much about the big picture. Maybe you are picturing turning over entire rooms and disrupting the household. That isn’t necessary. Just work on one small area at a time. Even if you want to focus on one room at a time just clean out a drawer, then another, then one side of the closet, then the other, then under the bed… Limit yourself to one hour jobs so you can easily get finished in one time period and leave no mess when done.

Item 357 of 365 less things

One short conversation with a friend and this VCR had a new home. They wanted to digitise their video collection but no longer had a VCR and we were only too happy to help.

5 Reflections of gratefulness for the highlights of this year

1. The miraculous recovery of our son from his head injury – This one has to go to the top of the list.
2. Our wonderful one month vacation in Italy.
3. Starting this crazy resolution to declutter – It has made a big difference to my life.
4. The big family get together – It was nice to see my mother-in-law surrounded by all her children and grandchildren.
5. Surviving a four month separation from my husband while he was in the Middle East.
   

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

I have been spending a bit more time in my craft room lately but at the same time I flit here and there doing other things. I must confess I have not spent the sort of time I should have tidying up after myself as I went. As a result my tool drawer in my craft room was looking like this when I needed something out of it today…

…Needless to say I spent longer looking for what I needed that it really should have taken. The drawer didn’t need decluttering it just needed a good tidy up. So I pulled all the items out of the drawer…

…I had a good look at what was there and indeed there was only one item that required decluttering. The rest either needed to be put back in their proper place elsewhere in my craft area or just rearranged back into their rightful place in the drawer. And here is the result…

… I think you would have to agree that this looks a whole lot more user friendly that the before shot. It took ten minutes tops to get this drawer back to the way it should be and it was well worth the effort. Now when I need something it will be effortless to find.

The beauty of a decluttered home is that once it holds only the things you use it is a lot easier to put things right even if they do get a little out of hand. Simply because there is a place for everything and enough room for every thing it fit in it’s place.

Item 352 of 365 less things

This is the one item that I not longer have a use for among the item in my tool drawer. I have put it in the charity box.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. The cool air seeping into the house after I open the door first thing in the morning – Remember it is Summer here in the great Land Down Under.
2. The little twinge that gets me up and doing something useful.
3. How little effort it takes to clean out a drawer – I did three today. they didn’t need decluttering they just needed tidying.
4. Realising a mistake before you go too far with it – Nothing drastic here just trying to reorganise something and I could see my plan wasn’t going to work before I wasted too much time on it.
5. A nice evening walk with my guys – They may have been ganging up on me and trying to push me into the odd bush or two and walking off the other way when I wasn’t looked but it was fun anyway.
   

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

Today as inspiration to do a little decluttering I am going to challenge you to take part in ten declutter mini missions. I have been including these missions on my new Twitter account and added some extras for fun. I will check back with you next Thursday to see how you went. So get cracking and be sure to send me some feedback on your progress.

1. Take a look in your closet and find 5 items you no longer use/wear (shoes, clothes, bags, belts…).
2. Find 1 item that someone gave you that you no longer want but are keeping just because it was given to you.
3. Find 2 items in your home that once had sentimental value but are now just taking up space.
4. Sit on your sofa and look around and see if you can see 1 thing you no longer want.
5. Take a look in your pantry and take out 2 out-of-date items.
6. Find 5 things in your utensil drawer that you never use.
7. Take a look in your bathroom cabinet and remove 2 items you no longer use.
8. Have a search through your first aid kit/cabinet and remove any out-of-date items.
9. Go through your sock draw and take out any holey socks that you keep avoiding to wear.
10. Have a look in your bookcase and remove 1 book you know you will be unlikely to read again.

Give away, throw away or sell all the items you have found during your mini missions and you will be at least 22 items closer to a decluttered home.  If you can’t find as many items as I have stated that is even better because you must already be well on your way to being fully decluttered.

Item of 365 less things

This sleeping bag was taking up a big chunk of space in the closet and it hasn’t been used for at least 3 years.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. The house cleaning went smoothly – So smoothly that I did a little decluttering and reorganising of our walk in wardrobe as well.
2. A cool breeze on a hot day.
3. Having another good laugh with Liam – He knows of some very funny web sites.
4. That first cup of coffee in the morning – It never fails to please.
5. Christmas decorations – I may not be putting any up this year but I can enjoy others that I see.
   

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

I used to be an editor, which invariably involves reading and rereading the same material. As far as I can tell, the process I used was similar to what most editors use. First I would read through the material, changing any obvious mistakes, but my larger goal was simply to familiarize myself with the material. Next, I would read it through looking for content discrepancies and sentences, or even whole paragraphs, that should be moved around or removed. The next time through, I would search out formatting errors, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Last, I would print the document and read it on paper, giving it a final check. If I found more than one or two mistakes, I would print it again, and keep at it until I found no errors.

Decluttering is no different than editing. You begin by getting rid of the really obvious stuff – a huge, uncomfortable, and ugly chair that you’ve always hated, the big mixer you don’t like, the vacuum cleaner your honey said he would fix but never did. But you have to keep going round and round to find everything that should be winnowed. Perhaps we become more ruthless the more we declutter, but perhaps it’s just that when the really obvious things are gone, you can now truly see what else might also be unnecessary.

Recently, I was struggling with a kitchen closet. It holds my small appliances, Dan’s “secret” stash of chips and hot sauce, any extra cases of soda or beer, the step stool, a broom and dust pan, a dust mop and microfiber covers, a mop, and a large plastic bag for plastic recycling. (I don’t accept plastic bags at the store but still accumulate bread wrappers, shrink wrap, etc.)

There’s enough room in the closet for all of these things, but it’s not working. The brooms and mop tend to fall out on me, and the appliances are more jumbled than I would like.

First I looked at the big picture. Was there anything in here that simply did not belong? Yes, the extra batteries that my husband had stored on an upper shelf. Then I thought about each of the small appliances. Any that could go? Yes, an ice cream ball, a box of rock salt, an ice shaver, and 3 bottles of snow cone syrup. I took those out and tidied up what was left. That helped with the organization, but the mops and brooms were still in the way. I left them there to think about.

Today I realized that although the idea of storing them in this closet is a good one, the space and ease of access is not good. I’m going to put a couple of hooks on the back wall of the laundry room and move them. Even though I don’t have the hooks, I went ahead and moved the brooms and mop, so I can confirm that this really will be a benefit. Then,  in a couple of days, I will stand back from the kitchen closet, look again, and ask, is there anything else in here that needs editing?

Item 349 of 365 less things

This tool caddy was a lot less useful than I expected it to be and I haven’t used it for a long while so out it goes.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Scones – They are so nice with jam and cream and so easy to make. There is a batch in the oven right now and I am going to have one soon with a cup of coffee while they are still piping hot.
   
2. Laughter – You know the tears rolling down your cheeks kind. Liam and I are looking at some funny web sites and trying to relate what we are seeing and we are having trouble with talking between the laughter. Check out failblog.
3. When I receive a cute Christmas card that has a great design I can reproduce myself next year.
4. Good design – I have a coffee grinder whose grinding bowl comes off so it can be easily be washed. If that isn’t smart enough – The designer had the foresight to make drain holes where the mechanism is on the underside so that when it goes in the dishwasher the water drains out. Brilliant!
5. Actually having my blog post ready to publish before dinner.
   

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

I have a little book that a friend gave me recently although she knows better than to give me presents she just can’t help herself. The little book is called Everyday Happy 365 Ways to a better you – by Jenny Hare. Day 339 was so relevant to the way I declutter that I thought I would share it with you on Day 339  Simple Sunday. So here it is…

Break tasks down

When you are trying to get something done, it may help to break the project down into easy do-able chunks. Looking at the whole picture can be so daunting that you judder to a halt before you’ve even begun.

Setting it out in bite-size chunks and tackling them one by one, suddenly makes the process less of a scary task and more of a pleasure. When you complete a section, you’ll feel so pleased with yourself you’ll eagerly get going with the next one.

Bit by bit – when you move through a job piece by piece the whole journey feels good.

Item 339 of 365 less things

Yet more plastic drawers the we no longer have anything to put in. Decluttering the clutter holders is a good sign of making progress.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. We had a nice amble around a local craft fair – All we came away with were good ideas.
2. We had a lovely get together with the neighbours – A neighbourhood get together to say Merry Christmas to each other and welcome to the newcomers.
3. Leftovers for dinner – So I didn’t have to cook.
4. Free 20 minute cell phone calls after 8pm – They are the main source of communication with my daughter.
   
5. Stumbling upon today’s post idea at the 11th hour

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

Cindy Bogard’s Weekly Post

I’m half-way through my decluttering journey. At the end of May, my friend Janet sent me a link to Unclutterer.com, and from there I found Colleen’s blog. I decided, “That’s a challenge I can take on,” and I started decluttering June 1. Every day, I post what I have decluttered on Facebook.

In the 182 days since, I have purged 1225 items, and made $1034.54 selling on Craigslist, Ebay, and Amazon.

How has this journey changed me? My family? What lessons have we learned?

Here’s the biggest one for me: Decluttering leaves money in your pocket. We are savers and have a fairly complex system of accounting that allows us to save for all sorts of eventual needs and wants: large home improvements, a new car, annual property tax on our house, etc. Each time my husband gets paid, a significant amount of money is siphoned off to savings, leaving a relatively small amount for groceries, monthly bills and gasoline. Prior to decluttering, this account was often close to (or at) zero when the next paycheck arrived. But in the past few months, I’ve had several hundred dollars still available when the next check came. That’s powerful motivation!

In addition to just staying out of the stores, with every purchase I ask myself “Do I need it? Do I want it? Will it fit? Do I have something that I could use instead? Can I borrow this?” Sometimes it slows my shopping down (sometimes ridiculously so), but it keeps money in my wallet. I’ve just gotten rid of too many things to bring more stuff in willy-nilly. I look at everything with a critical eye and think, “How long until you’re decluttered?”

My husband says that the thing he has learned is that storing things for years because “I might need it someday,” is a poor trade-off between space and money. He realizes now that he would rather move things along and have more space, particularly in the garage and office.

My ten year old says that she’s realized how much she enjoys having a cleaner room, and she’s also thought a lot about gifts.  She’s concluded that while gifts are exciting to get, they often don’t get used and end up cluttering your space.

My eight year old says she’s learned, “Don’t clutter,” and what I’ve learned about her that while she loves to gather, hoard and collect, she is a ruthless declutterer too. Truly, she is “easy come, easy go.”

Besides the savings, other lessons I have learned are:

1. It’s lovely to have an easier-to-clean house.
2. Everyone appreciate the cleanliness and space.
3. Everyone’s “want its” are diminished because a “want it” today is a “don’t want it” tomorrow.
4. The less you have, the easier it is to use and appreciate what you do have.
5. Purchases are sweeter knowing how it was hard for them to get into the house.
6. The more you let go, the easier it is to let more go.
7. This journey will go past 365 days. The list of places I have yet to investigate ranges from my jewelry drawer (probably a 10 minute job) to the garage (possibly 365 days by itself).

Congratulations to me and to you, too, wherever you are in your decluttering journey.

Item 335 of 365 less things

We have learned how to reduce paperwork over the last twelve months so we no longer need this hanging file box.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. That my mother-in-law and I get along – Especially since she is visiting for a week.
2. Rolling over and going back to sleep – after my husband got up at 6am to go to work.
   
3. Cheap Tuesday pizza night – It is OK to have a night off cooking occasionally.
4. Happily watching the world go by– Sometimes I like to be kept waiting because it forces me to stop and simply observe for a while.
   

5. The facial doctors gave Liam the all clear to chew again. Yay!!!!

Our house is slowly taking shape. We eliminated another piece of furniture yesterday, well almost, it is now sitting in the garage waiting to go on ebay instead of our living room.  One less thing to dust Yah hoo! It has actually been a great piece of furniture and has been with us since we first got married 23 years ago. It has been in and out of storage twice and therefore in service for 12 out of those 23 years. All that being said we just don’t need it any more and I am sure someone else will be happy to take it off our hands.

Over the last twelve months we have replaced our lounge suite (it was sagging in the seats) our bed (which squeaked badly, not good with teenagers in the house) and a desk (the new one is more functional than it’s predecessor) all at staff discount of course, the only advantage that my last job afforded me. When I say replaced that is exactly what happened, out with the old and in with the new.

Also since moving in three and a half years ago we have removed other furniture from our house – a single bed, a sofa bed, a wardrobe, a coffee table  and a bookcase. All of these items were excess to our needs and in same cases full of stuff that was also excess to our needs.

As a result of all these changes there is space opening up all around us.

• Physical space – More room to move and breath. None of that claustrophobic feeling of being hemmed in by our possessions.
• Mental space – Knowing that we have less cumbersome possessions tying us down making it harder to pick up and move on when we feel like spreading our wings so to speak.
• Time space – Pockets of time freed up in our household routine where we don’t have to take care of all those items that were excess to our needs or wants for that matter.

It is a very liberating feeling. Liberating not just having off loaded all this stuff but also having no desire to replace it with other stuff that will only weigh us down. Nothing comes into our home any more unless something else goes to make way for it. That doesn’t mean that we buy stuff all the time and get rid of perfectly good stuff to make room for it. It also doesn’t mean that we never buy things just  because we want it. It means that we are still reducing our belongings but whenever we do consider buying something new there is a lot of thought going into the purchase before a decision is made.

We are content, comfortable and free and our home reflects that. And I am not even finished yet.

Item 326 of 365 less things

This is the piece of furniture that as of yesterday is awaiting a new home

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. A sunny day to wash the bed linen.
2. Space – I can feel it round me no matter where I am in my home and it isn’t a big house.
   
3. Tissues with aloe vera – They are way kinder on your nose during hay fever season.
4. Having a grocery store nearby – I have been very forgetful over the last month and am always having to go back for something.
   
5. Life returning to almost normal – There are a lot of appointment to attend and life isn’t quite the same as it was before that horrible month which will never be forever etched our memories but today I only had to deliver Liam’s washing to his bedroom not to the hospital.

I am satisfied with the fact that our garage is a work in progress. Certainly the step by step strategy is being employed in this area of our house more so than anywhere else.  Sometimes it may be one step forward, two steps back because it is the holding area for many things…

• Items awaiting their trip to the thrift store.
• Ebay auctions items that we haven’t dealt with yet.
• Things that belong to the children that will move on when they do.
• Things that we are not real sure we want to get rid of or not.
• And I dare say there are more than a few things that we just haven’t considered for decluttering yet.

What ever the reason, I am OK with that. One thing a day is all I have committed to do and I am happy to continue at that pace even if it takes longer than the 365 days. I am more than satisfied with the progress we have made, and with the benefits I discovered that came with going slow. Being calm and relaxed about the process and knowing that the lessons I learned along the way are now engrained into my psyche.

Now please join me for a tour of the garage before and after and keep in mind this isn’t the end of the garage declutter…

BEFORE

AFTER

Item 322 of 365 less things

We dismantled the wardrobe that took up valuable real estate in the garage and put it out on the street during bulk waste pick up week. You can see this item in the middle of the Before photo at the top of the page.  Most of the items removed from it were either disposed of during the pick up week or found a new home in the garage where once again something has been disposed of to make way for them. I featured some of the other items on Days 308 to 313 and Days 318 to 321.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Coffee with a friend.
2. Being able to play CD’s on the laptop – when you want to stay sitting next to your husband but don’t want to listen to the c**p on TV.
   
3. Music – I really don’t stop to listen to it often enough while my children can’t live without it.
4. My new little ebook – I hope everyone picks up a copy it is free to subscribers new and old.
5. A chance to show our gratitude – Liam, hubby and I went back to the ICU and Ward G2 today to thank the staff for taking care of Liam for the first two week after his accident. Liam didn’t recognise anyone but they sure remembered him and were glad he was doing so well. We hope they enjoy the cards and chocolates we delivered as a token of our gratitude.

As you all know I advocate decluttering with the slow and steady approach. I often say even if you do just 10 minutes a day it will make a difference. Here are a list of ways that you squeeze in ten minutes of decluttering each day…

1. While waiting for the kettle to boil and the tea to brew.
2. When having done nothing useful for a while and feel the need to feel better about yourself.
3. During the commercials while watching a show on television.
4. Between dinner preparation steps.
5. When putting the laundry away check the cupboards for unused items.
6. While dusting on cleaning day think why do I really want this thing I keep cleaning every week.
7. When ready to go out with a friend but they haven’t arrived yet.
8. When  finished showering and you grab the deodorant, give the cabinet the once over.
9. When putting away the dishes pick one cabinet or drawer and do a little decluttering.
10. After driving into the garage stop for 10 minutes before going inside and find a couple of unused items that can go in the donation/eBay/garage sale pile.
11. When searching for a DVD to watch go through your collection as see if there are any you don’t really want.
12. When putting the children’s toys away pull out the broken and outgrown toys.
13. When folding the laundry check for items with holes or faded or outgrown by the children.
14. Before putting the recycling bin on the street have a look around the house for anything that should go in it like old boxes, magazines that you no longer read, newspapers etc.
15. Enlist the children to go through a drawer in their bedrooms and discard items they no longer want.
16. When in need of a band-aid declutter the out of date items from the first-aid kit.
17. When grabbing a pair of shoes before leaving the house give the shoe box/cupboard the once over and discard any holey or outgrown shoes and ones that just never get worn any more.
18. When choosing a book from your bookcase pick a shelf and do a little check to see if there are any book you no longer have a need for or can live without. Popular fiction titles are always available at the library to borrow if you ever feel the need you re-read them while the information in some non-fiction book can become out of date.
19. When you finish working on a craft/hobby project pick one area of you work space to declutter.
20. Any drawer in the house usually only takes about 10 minutes to clean out.

That list should keep you busy for a while or at least for ten minutes a day for the rest of this month so hop to it. I would love to hear your 10 minute declutter tips so leave a comment on the post so we can all take advantage of our collective knowledge.

ITEM 314 OF 365 LESS THINGS

I am putting together a bunch of craft supplies and having a little sale at a local craft group and these tags will be part of the sale.

5 things I am grateful for today

1. Getting my post written early.
2. Knowing I have a great post from Cindy to share with you tomorrow.
3. Understanding friends – Especially when you forget to text them and let them know you can’t make an arranged outing.
4. The pie shop down the street – There aren’t many places in this country where you can buy lunch for three people for $4.50.
5. Liam scored a 12 out of 12 on his PTA testing again today – Lets hope he can do it again tomorrow and the next day and then he can start on the brain injury rehabilitation. Also we may be able to bring him home for a couple of hours on the weekend.

“The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” -John Burroughs

How many days do you start out with good intentions to do something useful with your day. A little decluttering here, some tidying up, finishing a craft project, getting some exercise etc. Unfortunately, good intentions don’t mean anything unless you actually follow through with action. Unfulfilled good intentions aren’t that different to procrastinating and neither help you feel good about yourself.

What is blocking you from following through. Some of the reasons may be…

• Inertia caused by sadness due to heartbreak or bereavement – I can relate to this one after sitting in ICU and Neurology wards for the last two weeks. It can be very hard to dust yourself off and try to think of anything else except your sorrow when your world comes crashing down around you. I found that getting busy with a task helped take my mind off my troubles for a while or at least made me feel useful. I told myself that I am not the first person to be in this position and won’t be the last, so giving up wasn’t going to make the situation better.
• Health problems that cause mobility issues – This is a very real problem for some people and it is very easy to give up trying. I think the best thing to do is to tackle the tasks that you know you are capable of and let someone else help with the physical stuff that are just to difficult. So long as you are having input rather than feeling useless it has to be good for your piece of mind.
• Low self esteem due to weight issues or feelings of failure – There are always times when we just feel down about ourselves. Times when we haven’t been as successful as we feel we should have been at one thing or another. Just remember tomorrow is another day and you can start again with a new mind set. Set the bar a little lower and once reached you can go to the next level instead of setting goals that are too lofty. Reaching your goals are possible if you don’t set yourself up for failure but making each step to great.
• Just not knowing where to start doing what it is you want to do – This is not a sign of weakness, it is just a fact that if you aren’t taught something you can’t expect to know what to do. I don’t know how to change the spark plugs in my car but if someone showed me the steps involved I would know how to go about it the next time I needed it done. It is the same with most things that you want to do. If you don’t know how, take a lesson or get some professional help then in future you will know where to begin and possibly adapt the method to suit your particular needs.
• You are focusing on the big picture instead of breaking the job down into small pieces – Sometimes it doesn’t pay to look at the enormity of the task but better to break it down into bite size chunks that you can deal with easily. Decluttering is a perfect example of a project that this method can be adapted to. You can take a look around your home and think “Oh my God! There is so much work to be done.”  Or you can think “OK, today I will clean out this room or this cupboard or even just this draw” and you will feel you have achieved your set task, made a good start and move on to the next task tomorrow.
• Just feeling to lazy to be bothered – This is OK if it is a temporary thing but if it pervades your every waking moment then you need to do some serious soul searching. If you are reading this post then I would say you are at a point where you feel you need to do something about this problem and that is good.  My advice is just get started by weaning yourself off your laziness by making an effort to do a small task each day. Slowly build that task up to a bigger and bigger undertaking and before you know it you will be proud of yourself again and feel like a worthwhile human being.

Turn your good intentions into a small deed today and see how much better it feels to follow through rather than just have the thought.

ITEM 312 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Tool storage grid that we used for another purpose for many years but has sat in storage and in the garage for the last 13 years. The less stuff we have to store the less stuff we need to organise it with so out this goes.

5 things I am grateful for today

1. A feeling of peacefulness – although Liam may only make slow progress from now I am at peace with that because he is so much better than he was a week ago.
2. Laughter – One of the things my mother taught me to do well and it really is the best medicine.
3. Family – In times of need they sure rally around.
4. Lamb – We are having roast lamb leg and vegetables with gravy and mint sauce for dinner tonight. I will likely lick my plate. Mmmm Mmmm!
5. My new blog look – Hubby has been busy redecorating my blog and he did a good job don’t you think.