Among the answers to the ten questions post last week was a response from Cindy to question 2 (For Me)…

Question 2. ~ My style of decluttering is “Slow & Steady” do you think that is a style that works for you and makes my blog unique?

Cindy’s Answer ~  Yes, I think slow and steady for decluttering, like weight loss and love, is better than “fast and furious” which often doesn’t last. In terms of your blog being unique. It must be, because I’ve read every single post, and I don’t read any other blogs except for a very occasional peak.

In response to that answer from Cindy I received this email message from Delores…

I think she is on to something.  When you declutter in a hurry you are not changing habits so are more likely to continue bringing things into your life.  When you go slowly you realize why you are doing it and the weight stays off, your spending patterns change, you can develop new habits.

I have repeated this same information over and over again in my blog because the same thing can be said many ways and people comprehend in different ways also. Clearly, the analogy Cindy used to explain the principles of the slow and steady approach spoke to Delores. So if you even notice that I repeat the same information here in different ways don’t think it’s because I am forgetful or have run out of things to say it is because comprehension is unique to us all and the more ways I say something the better the message will get through to everyone willing to hear it.

When I first started to declutter one thing a day the idea was to just take it easy and not overwhelm myself. Everything was tidy including the clutter that was tucked away in its neat hiding places. Yes I also intended doing a more thorough job of the task this time around  but was unaware of what I was about to discover. Once I got started and began reading minimalist blogs etc I started to realise that the clutter wasn’t the problem but the habits that got it there in the first place and the mindset that stopped me form releasing it were.

It wasn’t that I was oblivious of lifestyle choices causing the clutter I think I just chose to ignore them and follow the same habits most people exhibit. That is…

• Buy stuff not because you need it but because it makes you feel good. Of course the novelty wears off and then it’s back the shop for the next fix.
• Keeping stuff because you can and because it is the “done thing”. After all you shouldn’t give away memories right? 😕 Mementoes from your children and passed loved ones, gifts people give you, cute nicknacks from vacations, things you have deliberately collected over the years. And it would be crazy to get rid of things that you “might need some day” even though you haven’t used them in months or years even though you need the space they are wasting.

Sensible shopping habits, analysing each item, working out why I kept certain things became my new way to approach the declutter process. I think one needs to understand these elements of the task to make lasting change. Purging quickly without thinking about the cause just creates temporary space not wisdom.

When my husband suggested I start blogging about my decluttering experience I was at a stage where I had become far wiser about my situation and felt compelled to share that wisdom with others. I wanted other people to understand that tackling declutteing slowly and steadily could teach them the lessons to make lasting change. When I say slowly it doesn’t have to be as slow as one item a day but slowly enough that you can see the error of your ways because if you don’t see this you are doomed to repeat yourself. And if I have to repeat myself again and again to get that message across, so be it.

As Eve wrote in a later comment ~ As for whether this blog will continue to be useful to me, I have to say YES! Even when we think all has been said and done on any topic, it’s just a fact that frequent reinforcement is the best way to stick with any goal, so I’m counting on you to be here and reinforce my decluttering habits and help me to keep on the right path! Thanks.

Yes Eve, I will be here with the same information different translation with some new stuff thrown in so long as people keep dropping by to read it.

Today’s Declutter Item

Did I mention I finally admitted defeat at trying to use up my vast collection of stationery clutter. These plastic folders are part of the box full of it  that I donated to the school up the street today. They were more than happy to take them off my hands.

More stationery clutter

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ I made myself laugh today making silly ki-ai sounds to increase the thrust while trying to get the doona (duvet) on my bed. I had just changed out the summer for the winter one and it is heavy to try to throw and spread at the same time. I hope the neighbours weren’t listening. 😆
• Something Awesome ~ A great pair of jeans that fit well are confortable and last for years. Like the Calvin Klein ones I bought in 2003 and am still wearing.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Liam starting to get more work shifts. He will be happy finally making real money again. He will be saving to go to America of course.
• Something that made me happy ~ Having the car today so I could drop off a load of clutter to the thrift shop.
• Something I found fascinating ~ and confusing. Why do they have both a one dollar coin and a one dollar bill in circulation at the same time in America. When they brought out the dollar coin in Australia they stopped making the dollar bill. Has it got anything to do with the attachment to the fact that it has George Washingtons face on it. If someone knows the answer to this I would love you to share it with me.

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

“Is prosperity only a material condition? Is there not prosperity of the soul? Outward riches without inward peace, I think we can all agree is a tentative state of wealth.” –Dave Bruno

Having never actually been a follower of Dave Bruno’s Blog, I only had a vague idea what the 100 thing challenge was all about, and in my ignorance I was very sceptical about the concept of paring down to only 100 things. The odd snippets I did come across while reading minimalist blogs gave me the impression that a lot of people were jumping on the band wagon like it was some kind of competition as to how few things the participants could live with.

When out of the blue I received an email from Mary at Harper Collins asking if I would be interested in receiving a free copy to review my initial reaction was to think – Do I really want to add this book clutter to my home.  Then I thought – What have I a got to loose, I can always hand the book on when I am done.

Well I have to say the book pleasantly surprised me. The story is simply one man’s attempt to break free from the constraints of American-Style consumerism. As my readers know I am  a strong advocate for adopting a more sustainable approach to consuming. My first advice when it comes to decluttering is to be conscious about what you buy or you will just be re-cluttering while you are decluttering.

Dave lives with his wife and three daughters in San Diego, California. He sets his story up with a little information about his life from both a business and personal point of view so we get to know him a little. He outlines the rules  of his challenge so we know exactly what is considered personal items, and what items are considered shared property, so not included in the challenge. Dave is honest and open about his struggles during the challenge, and about the mistakes he made with some of his choices.

He touches on how disappointment is built into the products we buy causing us to be constantly dissatisfied with our purchases. I could really relate to this and have blogged about this problem myself in the past on Day 214 and Day 111. Sustainability is not even a factor in some of the useless and flimsy products on the market.

Even though he took a year to reduce his belongings to the 100 thing limit, it forced him to part with some things that he later regretted not keeping.  This particularly concerned me as he then talks of replacing those items once the challenge was over. He also traded a few items out as the challenge went along.  All in all though, compared to the average consumer he certainly set a fabulous example for how we can all live a fulfilling life with minimal possessions. Several months after the challenge is over he is still living with less than 100 personal items, and content that the challenge brought him to to his goal of being a more thoughtful and joyful person.

Would I recommend reading this book? Yes, I personally preferred reading the first half of the book, it tells of Dave’s soul searching to choose which 100 personal items to keep. He delves into the reasons behind why he was clinging to certain objects in his life, how he came to terms with and untangled those ties. How there is more to it than just parting with the items but also letting go of the unrealised dreams that those items represent. For this alone the story is really worth the read.

I wouldn’t suggest that you reduce you personal belongings to 100 things on a whim?  No, but it is not unreasonable to think that in the endeavour to simplify and declutter your life you may wake up one day and realise you have done  just that. I have no doubt that you would be happier for it.

Today’s Declutter Item

Another DVD that Liam decluttered. He has been very cooperative with the decluttering lately and I am milking that for all it’s worth. There is no telling how long it will last.

Things I am grateful for today

1. I have managed to resurrect a favourite pair of shoes today with the help of a bottle of suede/nubuck dye.
2. I found a good red lentil dahl recipe on the internet.
3. I have my car back – Steve’s motorbike is finally back on the road.
4. I made it home safe and sound each time I left the house today – despite the fact that in four separate instances when vehicles tried or did take my right of way. I seem to have been a crazy driver magnet today.
   
5. Memories of reading bedtime stories to my children when they were younger- I loved reading to them and sometimes I would con them into brushing my hair so I would read an extra story. I love to having my hair brushed.
   

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

Financial security is one thing to strive for but when does that cross the line to decadence?

We must be prepared to sacrifice certain things in order to eat well, put a roof over our heads, clothe ourselves and pay our utility bills and medical insurance. The main thing we give up here is usually our time since we need to work in order to pay for the basics. At what point do we then start to sacrifice more of our time and other things in order to pay for the things that aren’t a necessity.

Do we really need –

• Homes larger than our needs dictate.
• Cars bigger, newer and more expensive than required.
• The latest and greatest techno gadgets.
• Cable TV.
• Beauty treatments and expensive hair styling.
• More stuff in our homes than we can possibly fully use.
• Replacing perfectly good items just because we feel like a change.
• Expensive/excessive dietary items that are likely not healthy anyway.
• Dining out on a regular basis.
• So many toys for our children that they couldn’t possibly learn to appreciate any of them.
• Expensive holidays.
• And worst of all credit card interest that accumulates from buying things we really can’t afford.

I will stop here but that list could go on forever. In order to make more money to buy life’s “luxuries” we work longer hours and something has to give…

Family:-Unfortunately and sadly the first thing to be sacrificed is time with family. There are so many double income families out there whose children are in day care on a regular basis.  Some out of necessity just because of the cost of living, but there are many in this situation because they are just trying to keep up a standard of living that goes way beyond necessity.

Friends:- If we have a lack of time to spend with family it stands to reason that there isn’t going to be much time left for friends either.

Dreams:- We will often sacrifice the life we would really prefer for the one that earns us the most income. While we may be offered our dream job we would have to turn it down in preference to the one that pays more. While we might wish to start our own business we can’t afford to take the risk.

Health:- Working long hours and trying to make time for private lives and for ourselves can be very stressful and stress is not good for your  health. Often on top of that our diet can suffer due to doing everything fast including food. Add  lack of exercise and you have a recipe for disaster.

There are many other things we sacrifice but these are a some of the most crucial and important ones. Unfortunately modern society seems to place so much more value on professional position, qualifications and status symbols than it does on family and personal happiness.

I am sure every person reading this has fallen into this trap to some degree. Be it working too hard and sacrificing too much or just working to surround yourself with stuff you just don’t need while there are far more satisfying things you could be doing. Either way it is worth giving some serious thought, and working out what is really important to you.

Item 333 of 365 less things

Computer parts and cables that are no longer needed but have too little value to sell on ebay. I will have to check out local computer recyclers to see if they would like to take them off our hands.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Being left to sleep in – It made up for the fact that I went to bed late
2. My ebay auctions are going well – Yes I finally got around to placing them.
3. I am going out to dinner and a show tonight – It will be nice to spend some time with my old work mates.
4. Having had the wisdom when young to give up the trimmings in order to stay home and raise our kids – That’s not to say we didn’t make other mistakes along the way where our money and time would have been better spent.
5. Liam getting out and about with his friends this weekend – He must have been getting bored sitting around the house and spending all his time with his parents.

Each person’s goal when it come to minimalism is very individual. I, for one, cannot ever see myself living with only 100 things as some minimalists suggest. In fact at this point in my journey I have no idea how many more items will leave my home before I am satisfied with the end result. It may be that as time goes by my embrace on this lifestyle could strengthen and I may detach myself  from even more of my belongings than I ever considered when I started. Who knows?

Being comfortable in the here and now with what is too many and what is too few is all I concern myself with. I want to keep working on weeding out the things in the too many category while not getting carried away and ending up with too few for my needs.

Find you own balance

Just as we may have ended up with too much stuff while trying to keep up with the “Have all” Joneses. We could now take it to the opposite extreme by trying to outdo the minimalist Joneses. My advice is to gather all the wisdom you can from all the sources you subscribe to on the subject of  minimalism, simplicity and decluttering but keep true to yourself. Don’t look at it as some kind of competition or feel obliged to get rid of your treasured possessions. Just learn as you go and evolve naturally to the level you are comfortable with. No one is keeping score.

Item 327 of 365 less things

“If in doubt read the instructions” is not so smart. Had I noticed the sticker that said wind up every 3 month maybe the batteries would not have died and these would still be usable. Lesson learned.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. Artistic ability – Even if I am not using it much lately.
2. I think I have found a good dentist – It only took me three years. The last one we used looked more like a dental museum.
3. Being financially secure – That is even more important in times of crisis.
4. Chicken – How many ways can you cook chicken? Tonight we are having roast chicken and veggies. Mmm mmm? Liam however is having pureed veggies and gravy. Not so mmmmm.
5. A nice message from a precious friend

Way back on the 5th of March when we got this blog up and running I wrote the “about” page to introduce my new adventure to anyone who cared to read it. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and I thought it was about time that I updated the “about” page to better reflect the current personality of the blog. Here is what I have come up with…

About 365lessthings Part II

At the start of this journey my intention was to journal about the physical and psychological aspects of my daily decluttering efforts.  I immediately starting reading other decluttering blogs for inspiration and these sites and forums alerted me to the existence of the minimalist movement. One link lead to another and the next thing you know I realised there is more to this than just cleaning out my house.

First there was learning to resist the temptation of the materialistic desire to go out and buy more “stuff”. Although I knew shopping was a big no no if I wanted to actually achieve anything with my decluttering efforts it is another thing to act upon it. Or not act upon it as the case may be. I am happy to say that I was amazed at how quickly I adapted to this key law of decluttering. Minimalist blogs soon alerted me to how much pollution and waste is produced by adding to the supply and demand of unnecessary items purchased day in day in by consumers just like me. If that doesn’t put you of shopping nothing will.

Then there was the mental ties that had to be broken to objects around my home that I thought meant something to me on a personal level. Very soon I realised that it was the memories these object provoked that were of importance to me and that I didn’t need “stuff” in order to keep these memories alive.

One thing you may have noticed that I don’t write about is organisation. Even though I am a bit of a natural at this (even if I say so myself) and a neat freak to boot I soon came to the conclusion that I don’t want to encourage people to keep stuff because I gave them a good storage solution. I figure that if we all do this job properly there should be so little left that their position in the home should be logical so no organization skills would be required.

I have also become interested in the idea of less stuff requires a smaller space to keep it in therefore a smaller home should be enough to satisfy our needs in the future. We had actually downsized before all this started which was the catalyst for the decluttering in the first place but I am sure that once both our children have left home we will be keen to downsize once again. This concept also has great advantages for the environment.

So as you can see I have learned a lot so far on this journey I am on and I dare say there are many more lessons to come before it is finished but I am very open to the experience.

I will cut and paste this to my About 365lessthings page the next time I have access to the internet.

ITEM 263 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Some bits and pieces I found in my camphor wood chest that are pretty much useless to anyone

Minimalizing Chemical Clutter

Guest Post by Betty Jo Martin – joy with less

Over twenty years ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). In broad terms MCS means an unusually severe sensitivity or allergy-like reaction to many different kinds of pollutants including solvents, VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), perfumes, petroleum, diesel, smoke, mercury, lead,  “chemicals” in  general. The list of toxic chemicals used today in our homes, yards, and offices/studios are too numerous for me to list.

My physical decline began in my thirties when the first ever fillings were placed in five of my teeth. The dentist used dental amalgam fillings, sometimes called “silver amalgams,” which are actually half mercury. Within two days of having the dental work, I experienced severe pain in my limbs and along my spine. It was so painful I couldn’t hold a teacup, or climb the stairs to our bedroom. I sat up at night due to the excruciating pain in my back. I spent many days and weeks bedridden. Periodically, and for several days at a time, the pain would lessen somewhat and I could actually make it up and down stairs without crawling or being carried.

We were living in England at the time, serving with a benevolent organization as hospitality couple to families passing through the UK from around the world. We maintained a huge, rented, centuries old stone house in the country. It was similar to running a bed and breakfast. My husband also traveled five days into London working with book, and humanitarian aid distribution. I took care of school activities with our boys, the daily running of the house, and handled many of the hundreds of inquiry letters received by the organization. We also traveled many weekends with the ministries outreach programs.

After hospital tests I was diagnosed with a viral infection in my spinal column and told there was no treatment except bed rest. We never accepted that diagnoses and decided to continue our search for answers and hopefully a cure. Of course it was basically impossible to handle the vigorous work schedule, which took the two of us working together as a team, so we decided to take a less strenuous position in the US.  My husband would continue his work with the organization in one of their book distribution warehouses, traveling often. I would stay home, coping with my disabilities, and starting a very long trek through the maze of doctors and further medical tests. It was extremely difficult, and some days it took all I could do simply to get from my bed to our living room couch due to the horrific pain in joints, back, and head, much less face specialists and tests. At the time, we, nor any of the doctors I consulted, connected the amalgam fillings to my becoming basically an invalid within a couple of days of having them. That knowledge came years later.

Once back in the US the viral infection in my spinal column was ruled out as being nonexistent, as I suspected it would be. I was tested for MS, which one doctor was totally convinced I had. There were also tests for other immune mediated diseases. But, to everyone’s amazement, all of my diagnostic tests proved negative to any disease!

To make a long story shorter, I’ll now jump ahead three or four years.

My husband decided to take another “job” with less traveling, giving him more time to help me. We relocated to Chicago, IL where my husband was employed by a book company. A board member of the company rented a house to us only minutes from where my husband worked. This gave him opportunity to check in with me several times a day. It was an older home and my husband painted rooms, put up wallpaper, and made many repairs. We were only there for a short time when my health took a nose dive, the pain grew worse than ever, and again I was bedridden for long periods of time. I experienced relentless “brain fog”. Fighting depression was a daily affair.

When a new friend I met at church heard of my plight she began to educate me about chemical toxins and how they can affect our health, especially the immune system. My hubby and I began to read everything we could get our hands on about the subject. We read incredible information by Theron Randolf, Debra Lynn Dadd, Lynn Lawson, Doris J. Rapp. Light bulbs came on! It didn’t take us long to piece together that the toxic mercury in the dental fillings I received in England was the beginning of the damage to my immune system. I was later tested for mercury and I registered extremely high with mercury toxicity. We then realized that other toxins in our environment continued to add to the load, affecting my immune system even further.

We began to hunt down the toxins in our environment and rid our lives of the chemical clutter. We were forced to leave the home we occupied, due to new paint and repairs, a gas heat system and cook stove, as well as the volatile gasoline toxins from the myriad of cars passing our home daily in the congested Chicago area where we lived. We relocated to rural North Carolina, my hubby taking a job managing a pizza parlor, and to continue our cleansing process surrounded by cleaner air and natural beauty.

We learned that as consumers we were spending a lot of money on products containing toxic materials that were adding to my physical digression, and possibly harming our children in ways that might not be detected until they were older. We also began to realize the impact toxic products have on the environment at large.

I saw immediate relief from a lot of the physical problems as we began to replace household toxins with natural products. Although to this day I still have severe sensitivities to many, many chemicals I am now able to live a limited, but somewhat normal life, without daily pain. It is basically impossible to live in a chemical free environment, but I can and will, continue to minimize my exposure as much as possible.

Since reading much in the minimalist online community I’ve come to realize that clearing the chemical clutter from my home was the actual beginning steps to a more simple lifestyle and minimalism. Another reason I chose joy with less as the name of my blog.

Here are a few of the products we purged years ago, and perhaps something on the list will inspire you to clear away chemical clutter in your environment. For more in-depth information do a computer search of individual chemical names found on a product’s packaging. One of the best online sources for further info I’ve found is ATSDR (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp).

• Gas heat, cook stove, and hot water heater (Switched to electric. Solar power is even better.)
• Chemically filled household cleansers
• Oven cleaner
• Synthetic materials in clothing
• New furniture
• New cars
• New carpet
• Pesticides: I use an electric (ultrasonic) device, and haven’t had any household pests in years.
• Deodorizers, air fresheners
• Nail polish and nail polish remover
• Shoe polish
• Paint, paint strippers
• Dry cleaning
• Perfume/cologne or perfumed personal grooming products
• Chemically laced: shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and lotions
• Prepackaged products sold as food with long chemical lists of ingredients
• Canned foods
• Most plastics: food containers, plastic wrap, bottles, cups, place mats, shower curtains, toys, just to name a few
• Dryer sheets
• Newspapers and magazines

Symptoms of exposure to the chemicals found in these items can include headache, backache, stiff and painful joints, nausea, diarrhea, asthma or allergy attacks, dizziness, memory loss, stuttering, premature puberty, low sperm count, reduced motor skills, sudden mood swings, dyslexia, ADHD, anti-social behavior/autism and birth defects, depression, among others. Pound for pound, children’s exposure levels are higher than adults because, although the amount of chemicals in an exposure remains equal, children’s bodies are smaller so the concentration is stronger. Also, their immune systems are still developing. Children are probably the highest risk population for chemical exposures. For many of these same reasons, pets may also be at risk. Other populations with a pronounced risk are breast cancer victims, the elderly, asthma and allergy sufferers and those with compromised immune systems.

Thank you Colleen for the invitation to share my story on your wonderful blog.

ITEM 253 OF 365 LESS THINGS

I hope some one will find these bits and pieces useful they are remnants from days when I used to sew more.

This week’s five favourite comments

• I can’t promise I will get to do all of the fav fives while I am on vacation so if this area is blank please forgive me I will be back soon
• All comment from Day 245… Read More
• Jo on Day 247- All of us could use this wonderful perspective…  Read More
• Deb J on Day 250 – Yes, yes, yes!! I so agree. Right now I use a carryon roller case but I am looking for what you have… Read More

Five great posts I dug up in blog archives before my vacation

• Unclutterer – Saying farewell to a family home
• Zen Habits – Get off your butt 16 ways to get motivated when youre in a slump
• Becoming Minimalist – Eliminating the little rocks
• mnmlist – Finding contentedness
• The sound of my own wheels – Source of inspiration

ITEM 253 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Just a couple more items from the camphor wood chest that aren’t likely to be used my me

Another guest post by my husband.

You’ll never meet a traveller who, after five trips, brags: “Every year I pack heavier.”

Rick Steves – Travel Writer

These words echo in my head every time I pack for trip, whether business or pleasure, reducing the amount of stuff I carry always makes for a more enjoyable time. Whenever I travel with colleagues, they are amazed by my small bag and unable to imagine how they could do it. Packing light is easier than they think and anyone can reduce their luggage to a manageable size with some planning and preparation.

Colleen and I are committed to only take as much stuff as can be carried onto the flight; a 9″ x 22″ x 14″ bag weighing no more than 7 Kilos (15 lbs) plus a smaller bag for personal items like a camera. We use a convertible backpack/suitcase with zip-away shoulder straps that is lighter than your average roller bag, and easy to tote across town to our hotel. How do we do it? Well, my bag contains the following items:

• 2 collared shirts
• 2 t-shirts
• 1 pair of pants
• 1 pair of shorts/swimmers
• 4 sets of underwear
• 4 pair of socks
• 1 jacket
• Vibram Five Fingers
• small toiletries kit
• first aid kit
• 1 small towel
• journal/pens
• sewing kit
• guide book/maps
• phrase book (if needed)

In my camera bag:

• DSLR plus 28-135mm zoom
• 50mm lens
• iPod Touch
• battery charger
• spare battery/compact flash drives
• Archos 604WIFI (used for photo storage and charging the iPod)

I used to carry a laptop but an iPod touch provides me all the computing power I need except for an ability to upload photos from my camera so I carry the Archos 604. Despite carrying two devices, I still save more than half the weight of your average 12-13 inch laptop or netbook.

The main advantage of this small uncluttered travel bag is mobility. While most people are waiting for their bags, we are heading to the hotel. We can easily change planes, trains or buses when a delay occurs because everything is with us. Sure we have to do some washing along the way but it is often no more expensive to use a fluff and fold service than to do the laundry yourself. We also use lightweight wash and wear clothes that can be washed in a sink if necessary, and air dried over night.

Virtually nothing in our bag is there because we might need it, we will use every item continuously throughout our travels and when those one-off occasions arise we just buy what we need at that time. Plan for the best and be prepared to spend a little money if needed, why ruin a vacation lugging a huge bag of stuff you never use to save a few dollars. Travelling light is an awakening that can open your eyes to how little you need in your life, try it on your next vacation.

For those who cannot imagine travelling with one small bag, check out Rolf Potts’ No Baggage trip.

ITEM 250 0F 365 LESS THINGS

I am sure someone will find these fabric scraps useful but I am sure I am not going to use them

A guest post by – My Husband

During a recent overseas business trip I read about an experiment to choose six clothing items and only use those items for a month. You could have multiple copies of each item, even a different colour counted as a separate item but underwear, sleepwear, shoes and jackets etc did not count. I looked at my standard travel wardrobe, and found two pairs of Columbia pants, four sweat-wicking golf shirts (three colours) and two pairs of shorts. Five items to which I could add a more formal shirt for those dressier occasions, and still meet the Six Items or Less challenge. I lived with these five items for three weeks, and as you read this I am using them again for a month in Italy. No one ever comments on my limited wardrobe, and my daily choices are limited to picking the colour of my shirt for the day. Could I live like this for longer periods, or is six items too few to cover every contingency?

I decided that with some minor modifications, the experiment could be applied to my every day life and significantly reduce the size of my wardrobe. The first adaptation was to allow different colours of the same items so my four golf shirts would become one item. I also allowed myself some latitude items that get regular use in rotation with other similar items. For example, I had many long-sleeve shirts of different brands from which I selected the ones I use regularly and counted them as one item. As these items wear out I will look at following my plan to find an item I like that will replace all the differing brands. Using these adaptations, I have reduced my wardrobe to seven items plus work uniforms that are supplied and required by my employer.

I feel liberated from the fashion cycle, and yet have retained the best of my clothes while ridding myself of clothes that are functional but never made it into my rotation. For most of us, we keep returning to the same old favourites until they fall apart, so why clutter our closets with clothes that are never going to be worn? With a smaller clothing footprint, the clothes are not jammed into the hanging space, come off the hanger ready to wear and I can see my entire wardrobe in one place.

The Six Items or Less challenge looks daunting at first but a worthwhile experiment for anyone seeking to simplify their life. The original experimenters had a variety of experiences, and you can read their stories here. Now it is your turn.

ITEM 242 OF 365 LESS THINGS

The first of the clothes that were decluttered from my hubbies closet

This week’s favourite five comments

• Cindy on Day 218:- Overheard at a furniture consignment store today, 3 ladies NOT on the decluttering band wagon: “You don’t understand the way I shop; I buy and figure out where it will fit later.” … Read More

• Hope on Day 223:- I used to be one of those book collectors who had many more books than I could read in a lifetime (even though I’m an avid reader). My husband challenged me to read 100 of the books I already owned… Read More
• Jo on Day 222:- This is actually an important concept to remember – if your storage space can accommodate the extras, and if you’ll use them eventually… Read More
• Meg on Day 221:- You are definitely a woman after my own heart. What a nice, solid week. We do much the same here, avoiding plastic bags like crazy… Read More

• Deb J on day 22o:- Not having kids myself I don’t have to worry about the kid closet thing. BUT, I used to help my friend buy for her grandkids and let me tell you the thing we learned… Read More

The links/posts I discovered this week that I really enjoyed

• So much more life – Top 5 lessons for you from half a year decluttering my house
• Step 1 Minimalism – 10 Minimal lessons from Jean Jacques Rousseau
• Becoming Minimalist – Breaking The Sentimental Attachment to books
• Simple Savvy – A house the size of a wagon
• Minimalist Woman – Minimalism and how it’s shaping my life

ITEM 225 OF 365 LESS THINGS

This wire jig is one of the many craft tools I have owned. I think I have used this twice so out it goes.