Photo Credit ~ Spaghetti Gazette

According to the January/February 2012 issue of Money magazine, you’ll be happier if you

“Spend a Little a Lot of the Time

“The Reason: Frequent small indulgences give you greater happiness than occasional splurges, according to a growing body of research covering everything from the pleasures of chocolate-chip cookies and massage chairs to lottery tickets and good grades.

“The Resolution: Skip big-ticket purchases in favor of smaller ones you can spread out. Instead of splurging on dinner and a show, eat out one weekend and go to the theater the next. Rather than a designer dress you might rarely wear, treat yourself to monthly pedicures.”

I read this, and it immediately occurred to me how this information could easily lead to the accumulation of clutter. Buying something feels good, and it’s fun, so we do it again. And again.

For those of you for whom shopping really is the weak link in your decluttering efforts, how can you take this information and use it in a way that is beneficial rather than destructive? Some of my ideas are

• Coffee out or purchasing very nice coffee or tea to have at home
• Getting a pedicure (Painted toes give me a real thrill.)
• Taking a weekly class on a topic you’ve been interested in for some time.
• What else? Shopping isn’t much of a vice to me, but I know for those of you who enjoy shopping, the advice “talk a walk in the evenings” probably isn’t going to replace the thrill of shopping. What ideas do you have for buying happiness without buying stuff?

 

Cindy

According to a survey I saw recently, 67% of people said that paper clutter is their hardest area to deal with. Who knows if this is truly accurate, but I’m going to assume that it means that a lot of people, possibly including you, are having trouble dealing with paper.

I think there are a couple of fundamental mistakes that people make regarding paper:

1. Believing that every piece of paper is important or has the potential to be important
2. Believing that if a piece of paper was important at one time, it’s important forever
3. Not intentionally minimizing the amount of paper that enters your life, and
4. Leaving paper for another day

Let’s deal with these one by one.

1. Every piece of paper is not important. You do not have to read sale ads for shops where you do not shop. You don’t even have to read the sale ads for where you do shop. Bills, once paid, do not need to be kept. Magazine that have been sitting by your chair for six months are clutter, not a treasure. Newspapers more than one or two days old are recycling. Another one is coming today, I promise.

2. Just because a piece of paper was once important doesn’t mean that it continues to be important. I’ll confess, sometimes my desk backs up, just like everyone else’s. It amazes me how many of those once important papers are no longer important once I get around to sorting them: coupons are now invalid, a new bill has come to supplant this one, a receipt for a shirt you thought you might return but have now worn twice, an announcement for a talent show that occurred last month: none of these are important any more. Even papers related to buying a house can be shredded once you’ve refinanced the loan or purchased another house. Your tax papers only need to be kept for 7 years, at the longest. (You can get more specifics at the IRS website.) Every year, you can shred one more year’s worth of tax forms (in the U.S. only; I don’t know about other countries).

3. I’m sure there are more junk mail and more school papers floating around now than there were a dozen years ago. You need to do your very best to stem the tide before it reaches your home.

1. Aggressively take your name off mailing lists for catalogs and other regular mailings that you do not care to get. All catalogs contain an 800 number; call them. You will not hurt the feelings of the operator for asking to have your name taken off their mailing list.
2. You can return a charity solicitation in the envelope they send you after you write “please take my name off your mailing list” on the solicitation form. If you feel bad about doing this, put your own stamp on the envelope. I donate annually to two charities through my church. I will donate to them every year, and I know that I will not donate to them at any other time. Every year when I write my check, I write “Please do not add my name to your mailing list.” Why should they waste their time soliciting me when I know I’m not going to give? This helps both of us.
3. Stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers by using this free service, which was established under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (U.S. only).
4. The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Service (MPS) lets you opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial mail from many national companies for five years (U.S. only).
5. This  privacy website has more information on more specialized cases, such a the ValPak you may be getting weekly (Again, U.S. only).
6. To get off the mailing list of small local companies, like the real estate agent you met last week, you’ll have to email or snail mail them directly. Clip the label off the mailing and include it if you contact them by snail mail. Extra postcards you own are good for this type of correspondence.
7. Politely refuse business cards, fliers, and appointment cards that are offered to you. Write important information directly into your appointment book, address book, or smart phone, and bypass the paper all together.
8. Enter the relevant information for important announcements for work or school directly into the same locations (appointment book, smart phone, etc.) so you’re never searching your desk for a vital piece of information on an un-vital piece of paper.
9. Switch as many bills as possible over to email delivery. There’s no need for you to receive paper bills any more, and they’re easier to track on your computer anyway.
10. Really consider the mailings you willing let in your home. Do you want the newsletter from the national branch of your church even if you’re a faithful church attendee? How many magazines should you subscribe to? Is there an on-line version instead? If you never manage to read the newspaper, stop your subscription. You may love to shop at Ikea, but do you really need to get their monthly catalog? You know how to find them on-line if you want to see what they have.

4. The last mistake people make is leaving their papers to another day. When you bring in a stack of papers from the car or the mailbox, you should deal with it promptly. At a minimum, junk goes right into the recycling bin. (Yes, even after you do the above steps, there will still be some junk.) Bills are opened and appropriate reminders to pay noted. Personal letters are opened. Envelopes go into the recycling. There’s a place for everything and everything in it’s place, and that place is not a big heap on your entry table, kitchen counter or desk.

Paper is a tool for relaying information; manage it wisely, so it doesn’t manage you.

Today’s Declutter Item

Lena will be pleased to see I have found another craft item to declutter. There are still plenty of craft items to go but they are going, one day at a time.

Another crafting tool

Something I Am Grateful For Today

My husband and children. We may no always conform to the conventional family mould but that is what makes life fun for us. We are anything but boring.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

I bet I’m not the only one who has had conversations like this:

• Doing laundry, husband says: “Look at these socks. I think I need to throw them away. In fact, I think I need to get rid a lot of my socks.”
• Me: “Looks like it.”
• “When you go to the mall, can you get me some new socks?”
• “What colors do you need?”
• “Oh, I don’t know. Just get some blue, black, tan, and brown. I’ll get rid of the ones that are getting holey later.”
• Not said: Hold it right there buddy! You’ll declutter after I buy new?
• Said instead: “Most of the socks are in the laundry. I can help you sort the holey ones right now. Then, when we see what you need, I’ll get you some new one.”

He grunted, and nothing more occurred.

I was pleased with the outcome of this conversation. Why? Because, quite honestly, I can’t image that my husband needs new socks. While it’s true that some are holey or getting thin, he seems to have more socks that any one man needs. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he does need new socks, but buying new ones before he actually assesses his needs is foolishness. It’s purchasing randomly, and that’s how clutter occurs. In fact, once he culls, I’ll stall on that trip to the store because I want to see which colors of socks he really lacks and truly needs more of.

Another example:

I’m at the store with the girls. We like to paint our nails, and we have a couple dozen different colors of polish. Without assessing what we have, we buy several more bottles, two of which turn out to be almost exactly like colors we already had at home. (It’s amazing how many different variations on reddish-orange polish there are.) Where did we go wrong? Obviously, we purchased on impulse without assessing our needs before we bought.

The longer I declutter a thing (or more) a day, the more I understand that purchasing is the second, and equally important, part of the decluttering equation. True, you’ll never have a decluttered space unless you actually move items out of your house. But it’s just as true that you’ll never achieve or maintain a decluttered state if you continue to acquire items in excess to your needs. Shopping should be a way of acquiring needed goods not an expedition to overload your home with needless purchases that don’t satisfy you and don’t fulfill your needs, so assess before you add.

Today’s Declutter Item

I guess we have had this double adaptor for a long time. So long that the modern houses have a lot more power outlets so we don’t need it anymore. I think I might be showing my age here. Not to mention that fact that they now make power boards with four or more connections including power surge protection which makes this old thing more of a relic than a useful device

A double adaptor

Something I Am Grateful For Today

You know, doing kind deeds for others often has instant payback. That good feeling you get for doing the deed is as heartwarming to you as the deed was for them. I took a day trip to Sydney today for the sake of a friend helping another friend and what a lovely day we all had together.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

We just passed Thanksgiving (in the US) and are coming up on Christmas and Hanukkah,  and I am willing to guess that December is the most heavily photographed month of the year. Well, last month, I spend an hour sorting through a huge box of photos and memorabilia. There were packets of organized photos from my college years, but beginning with my wedding (1997), nothing was organized, culled, etc. What a miserable experience!

"The photos that survived this culling and an outfit that was in box that belong to my Grandmother Clara."

Here are the things I learned:

1. If you don’t sort through your photos when you get them, it will not get easier 14 years later.
2. If you don’t label your photos, it will not get easier 14 years later.
3. If you’re not motivated to put your photos in albums now, you won’t be any more motivated in 14 years.
4. You will wonder why in the world you took certain photos. Did they once mean something to you?
5. You may experience a sharp, sad feeling of regret when you come across a lovely photo of yourself and someone who is no longer a part of your life.
6. Your digital camera takes far better pictures than your film camera ever did.
7. What in the world was the point of getting every photo printed in duplicate?

And the changes I will make in my photographing habits:

1. I will use my delete button much, much more.
2. I will transfer my photos into Picasa and label them when I download them, deleting more as necessary.
3. I will remember that just because I can take photos of every conceivable moment of an event, that doesn’t mean I should.
4. I will leave my camera at home at times so that I can fully appreciate the event with all my senses, not just through the lens of a camera.
5. I will take fewer photos of things and more photos of people.

I hope you have a great holiday season and that you use common sense with your camera. Remember, each photo you take is one that you have to process in some way. If you don’t, instead of preserving memories, you’re just creating clutter.

"The photos still to be sorted and more than 2 pounds of photos that went into the trash. These were mostly duplicates, lousy shots, and photos of people I did not (or did not want) to remember."

Today’s Declutter Item

I had another sweep through our paper files and found more out of date paper clutter. This is a task that requires attention on a regular basis. 

Paper Clutter ~ Decluttered & Recycled

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Last year, as a thank you gift, a friend gave me a blueberry bush. She knows I hate clutter so she gave me something lovely for the garden. Earlier in the season I replanted it into a lovely big pot I had picked up off the side of the road. I am so excited that is has grown so beautifully in its new location and I harvested my first crop this week. So, it was only two blueberries but they were juicy, sweet and delicious and I am expecting greater things from it next year. Thanks Jen for my lovely plant I am really enjoying watching it grow.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Last week Dizzy informed me she was totally committed to Buy Nothing New November, a self imposed challenge as she was not able to comply during October. Not being one to do it the easy way Dizzy has committed to only buying milk and bread while feeding her whole family with just the contents of her Freezer for the whole month.  If I attempted that my family would stave to death due to the minuscule size of my freezer but that is a whole other story.

This is what dizzy wrote in a comment last week…

Great post Cindy and a great post from Colleen, love your Chrissy Preparations, I have not done anything yet, haven’t even been anywhere to find a bargain, op shop or otherwise except for milk and bread. We are happily still making our way through the freezer and so far all I have bought this month is milk and bread. I have pledged to buy nothing in November and so far I haven’t, (except milk and bread) I will admit it was tough to start but it made me get creative in the Kitchen and we’ve had some rather weird dinners hahaha, my hubby loves it cos he’s getting fit and my son gets the chance to help and serve up some rather interesting concoctions! We are still alive though 

I asked Dizzy if she would write a post for me about her freezer decluttering effort and of course in Dizzy’s true enthusiastic style the very next day I received this response.

MY CLEAR OUT THE FREEZER CHALLENGE

Four things have been at the forefront of my self appointed challenge…

1. Sheer stupidity when shopping for food (buying the 2 for 1′s etc.)
2.  Sheer laziness, it was, or seemed easier, to pick up a cooked chook (that’s chicken to non-Aussies) and a bag of pre-pared salad etc rather than cook what I had in the freezer!
3. Realising that I and my family were doing too much apart rather than together! We are all busy but thankfully that is changing!
4.  And (just thought of this now) we bought a bigger freezer back when I used to get Chrisco, my freezer habit went from there! I no longer get Chrisco so the big freezer will be finding a new home.

I always rotated the food so I haven’t had to throw anything out. However this situation gave me the kick in the pants I needed to come to the realisation that the shops are open nearly all the time so until I need something the shops can store it for me.

My storage habits are changing because I’m planning ahead better and I’m more organised when it comes to meals. My spending has changed dramatically because (apart from this month being self appointed) I am organising myself more therefore everything around me is becoming more organised. My money is happily gathering dust in my purse. 🙂

From now on shopping will become easier because I will have a list and only get what is on the list!! Since I started this ‘Buy Nothing New in November’ it has made me think twice about everything I am doing and so far it has worked. Clarity is there now, I actually find myself saying that I don’t ‘need’ it or what I have is ‘enough’. When whatever it is at the time breaks, falls apart or otherwise becomes redundant then and only then will I replace it with a new one or 2nd hand if available.

Whilst I have been whittling away at the food side of things I have also realised that I don’t need half of the storage containers I have for the freezer so they will be finding new homes too!

I will be shopping today for fresh fruit (I have used up all the frozen berries and tinned fruit) and I will buy only fresh, it’s spring/summer now so there is an abundance of great fresh produce available.

Out of this whole excercise I am learning that a full freezer is not only taking up space and wasting electricity, it is requiring constant vigilance, the thought of it breaking down sits in my brain screaming at me. Imagine having to clean that mess up, the waste and the insurance run around etc, I do not want to travel that road. Now it all matters not a jot if the freezer blew up tomorrow because there will be very little to lose.

Right now I have what I NEED and I WANT what I already have!

Today’s Declutter Item

More of the Snoopy collection sold on eBay. A little more cash in my son’s bank account and a little less clutter in the garage.

More Snoopy items sold on ebay

Something I Am Grateful For Today

After Sunday’s 39Ëšc I am grateful that the temperature has dropped back down the the mid 20s. It might be raining but I am perfectly OK with that.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

Have you ever got to a point where you think I really must go on a diet, my weight is getting out of control. So you follow the latest trendy crash diet for a month and the pounds are falling off. By week five you are pretty happy with your appearance and figure you don’t need to be so hard on yourself. The odd treat starts sneaking its way back in but what harm does that do, right? A few more months down the track you have returned to all your old habits and have regained the pounds that you lost and are back to square one.

After repeating this cycle a couple of times it becomes apparent that this method of weight loss does not work in the long run. What is required to maintain a healthy weight is a lifestyle change not a crash diet. The difference is that you change the way you eat on a permanent basis. Cut back on unhealthily foods, create a meal plan that is enjoyable yet healthy that leaves a little wriggle room for a treat occasionally that makes you feel like you aren’t depriving yourself.

My husband has done this and gradually lost about 15kg (about 33 lbs) and has kept it off for eight months without feeling like he is depriving himself. He sure feels and looks great.

What has this got to do with decluttering you might ask. Well that’s simple. People often perform this same futile cycle on their homes as well. They get to a point where they are frustrated with all the clutter build up, put their homes on a crash diet by having a mass declutter then return to their old ways of shopping and bringing stuff in until they are back to square one. Then repeat the process again and again.

What is required to maintain a more minimalist household and enjoy the freedom from clutter buildup is to change your lifestyle. Firstly change your shopping habits by being more selective about what you bring into your home. Then slowly but surely release the clutter that is already there. Like I said in Tuesday’s post, pay attention to what you are decluttering so you learn the lessons you need to learn in order to resist the temptation to full back into old habits. When you do need to make a purchase you will enjoy it all the more because you know that it will be something that you will get value for money from because you have chosen wisely.

Now you have broken the declutter, reclutter cycle and you can enjoy your new lifestyle.

One last thing. About the only thing I know of where crash diets actually work on is your bank account. Waste all the money in your bank account buying stuff you don’t need then try putting weight back on in a hurry there and you will soon see how difficult that is. This won’t be a problem for you now because with your new conscious consumer lifestyle you should have more dollars in the bank than you ever did.

Today’s Declutter Item

I had never considered these caps for decluttering before because they were in a box in the bottom of the linen closet and I didn’t know they were inside. I knew the box had hats in it but I thought they were all my husbands. So they are not only an impulsive declutter but they were an easy declutter because I knew instantly that I didn’t want them.

My old softball uniform caps

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Watching the pieces of jewellery sell that I repair for the thrift store. It is gratifying that little repairs that costs me next to nothing not only brings money into the thrift store but rescues the items from the bin in the first place.

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

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

I have just started reading a book called ~ A complaint Free World by Will Bowen ~ How to stop complaining and start enjoying the life you always wanted. I haven’t got far in to the book but the story goes something like this. Will Bowen is a church minister who has started a movement to get people to stop complaining, criticising and gossiping. The idea is to use the 21 days to a better habit principal to stop yourself from participating in these futile negative behaviours.  He offers free purple bracelets to people who want to participate and whenever you find yourself complaining… you must move the bracelet from one wrist to the other and start the twenty-one day period all over again.

Of course this has got me thinking about other negative habits not the least of all being ~ Forever desiring things you don’t have and clinging to physical possessions that in the end is really just stuff. After reading the comments that came on last Saturday from people sharing their stories about letting go of these habits I think we have proof that this is possible. The only thing holding you back is your own mindset. Over time and with a little practice mindsets can be changed.

In the first few months of my declutter mission I very quickly figured out the the mistake I had made in the past was to declutter then reclutter with new items whose novelty or tenuous usefulness would eventually wear off. Then of course it is back to square one, a house full of clutter and the arduous task ahead for me to unclutter it again. Although blissfully ignorant for some time I am however not stupid. So once my mind was focused on permanently decluttering or minimising it didn’t take rocket science to figure out the solution to ending this cycle.

I was amazed how quickly I changed my mindset from shopping for what I wanted to mostly only shopping for what I needed. The thought of not adding any more clutter to my house was enough to convince me to change my ways. The fact that I was decluttering slowly this time had the unintended side effect of making me continuously aware of staying uncluttered. Had I decluttered quickly like I had in the past I dare say that old vicious cycle would still be in place.

If I can do it you can do it too.  If any of my readers out there are having trouble getting their head around this idea here is your chance to give it a go. Why no pledge to Buy Nothing New in October.

Buy Nothing New…

…is not about going without, nor is it Buy Nothing New Never. It’s about taking October to reassess what we really need, think about where the stuff we buy comes from (finite resources), where it goes (landfill), and what our alternatives are. It is about conscientious consumption and by not spending on stuff we don’t need, increasing our savings for the things we do need. Pledge to Buy Nothing New during October and challenge over consumption. You’ll have more time on your hands and money in your pockets.

There is also a competition to win $5k see details at this link www.buynothingnew.com.au/competition/

It is only 31 days and as they say it only takes 21 days to form a new habit. So give it a go and you might find you will break the cycle of recreational shopping for good. How much easier will it be to keep your home decluttered then?

Today’s Declutter Item

I have a set of boring brown glass mugs that were given to me as an engagement present form an appreciative customer 25 years ago. My mother-in-law hates these ugly cups (sorry Barb) but I like them. She has bought me “nicer cups” over the years that have come and gone but the ugly brown ones still remain. My declutter item today is one of the mugs she bought me that now is a loaner because it’s partner got broken. It only ever gets used when all the others are either dirty or in the dishwasher waiting to be put away. My dominant tidy side thinks that it just makes the cupboard look untidy so off to the thrift shop it goes. I will continue to use my trusty brown cups of which I still have five of the six I began my marriage with over 24 years ago now. Thank you Margaret Muller if you are still out there I am still using your cups.

One cup too many

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I love that I can find silly ways to amuse myself. I was walking home from a friends house yesterday and saw a magpie in the grass with a big juicy law grub in its mouth. Meanwhile this bird is still singing away and I couldn’t help but thinking, “Stop talking with your mouth full you naughty bird!” and went off chuckling to myself up the street.

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

Cindy

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

As if for the first time, last week I noticed that there is a large bulletin board partially tucked between the wall and my dresser. What’s it doing there? Well, I think it’s been for for two years, since we remodeled and it needed a new “temporary” home. That made me wonder what other pockets of cluttered I had squirrel away. For your edification and mine, I grabbed my camera and wandered the house. I found two more areas, and what makes these pockets special is that I had no idea they were there until I went looking for them.

The first pocket, as I said, was my bulletin board. It has greeting cards and photos on it, not things like memos from my daughters’ school or important reminders. I no longer have my own office area and the laundry room doesn’t have wall space, so I don’t know where to put it. Do I really need it? It does have favorite pictures and greeting cards, but really only two of them are truly, truly dear to me. One is a card from my husband of two cats and the inscription “I will love you my whole life, times nine” and the other is a homemade card from a friend who took my full name and wrote a compliment for each letter: C is for Confident, I is for Inquisitive, etc.  (Julia, I’ve had the card for 8 years now, and I still love it. Thank you.) I’m still coming up with a plan for this pocket of clutter.

The next is an area on the front porch. Two cans of stain, a unusable fire extinguisher, a sample of soapstone (remodel remnant again), a piece of wood, a couple of bricks, and a whole lot of leaves. What are they doing there? How did they get there? Again, I bet they’ve been there for at least a year. This morning the weather was fine, rather than the same temperature as the surface of the sun, as it has been for the past two months. I swept the porch and sidewalk and  put everything that was cluttering that corner in its proper place.

The last area was a small pile of photos, a little picture in a frame, and a newspaper clipping that had come to rest half tucked behind the music player on the counter. Except to recycle the newspaper clipping (free summer movies for the kids – didn’t see one and the summer is over), that pile is still there. It’s a random collection of photos, the sort that is the hardest to deal with because the photos are not one theme or event.

How did these pockets of clutter come to be, and why did they stick around for so long? The most recent pocket, the random photo pile, has been there for 3 or 4 months. The other two are probably several years old. In each case, the clutter was “out of sight, out of mind.” The porch clutter was in the far corner, the bulletin board is wedged by my dresser, and the photo pile was half hidden by the music player. If I hadn’t gone looking for them, when would I have noticed them? Next week? Next year? Never?

My challenge for you today is to look through your house in search of pockets of clutter. Like dust bunnies, they’re hiding in the corners or under the furniture. I’ll be curious to know what you find on your search.

Today’s Declutter Item

This is not a pocket of clutter I had overlooked, it is something that has been on my possible declutter list for some time. I store my hand towels under the kitchen sink where they are most handy to where they are used. There are too many to really store there but I have been cramming them all in anyway. I have decided to let this half of them go to the thrift shop because at their rate of wear it could be another ten years before any of them wear out. Someone can buy them secondhand now to save them from buying new and I will just replace mine later when they are too old and shabby to use.

Seven Hand Towels

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Leftover lemon meringue pie. I made it for my husband because it was Father’s Day in Australia on Sunday and it is one of his favourites. My son doesn’t eat it and my husband doesn’t eat sweets during the week. It is not something that can be frozen well so to save it from going to waste I am just going to have to finish it off myself. Life is good!

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.

Today we are not going to concentrate on getting rid of stuff but tidying up clutter that is simply out of place. After all, according to most of the online dictionaries I have looked at, clutter is never referred to as, excessive possessions but as a disorderly array of stuff or noise. So this week we will concentrate on putting in order some stuff we have no intension, at least for the moment, of getting rid of. As per the intent of “Mini Mission Mondays” we will concentrate on one area and break the task down into simple steps that will not only make the task more bearable but make you think about why this area constantly gets disorderly and how to stop the cycle.

Monday – Pick an area of your house that you are in control of that you use every day. What I mean by that is an area that is disorderly and you are mostly responsible for that. So we aren’t talking about a child’s bedroom or the garage or a shared shoe closet. Maybe your sock drawer, your car, your side of the bathroom cabinet or maybe  your closet would be a good target. This will be an easier choice if you live alone of course. Try to choose and area that isn’t too big a task for this exercise because we want to keep it relatively simple and stress free. Today I just want you to observe that area for ten minutes or so and try to analyze what you think the cause fo the disarray might be.

Tuesday – Today I would like you to spend ten minutes tidying in this area and returning things to their proper homes elsewhere, should that be necessary. Hopefully ten minutes will just about whip it into shape, if not spend another ten minutes tomorrow.

Wednesday – Finish tidying this area if you haven’t already done so and then continue to use it as usual.

Thursday – Go back to your chosen area and see if it is still as tidy as you left it yesterday. If it isn’t stop and observe what is out of place and why you think it has gotten that way. Tidy the area again but this time utilise what ever you have on hand in the home that will help keep the area tidier (Think outside the box if you have to). Perhaps the problem isn’t that the area is not organised properly but that you are not making the effort to put things away properly as you go. Think about this and consider what you need to do to improve the situation and start acting on that.

Friday – Once again just use the area as normal but be always observing the practicality of the space and the set up. Make any adjustment you think may improve the system already in place.

Saturday – Are you seeing an improvement on the way this area is shaping up each day. If so stop and think has it really taken that much extra effort or has it just been a matter of making the right choices in arrangement and or behaviour.

Sunday - Keep tweaking and observing and analysing your habits. Studies show that it takes about twenty one days to form a new behaviour or start to break an old one so keep focusing on this area until you feel sure you have broken your bad habits and replaced them with new more organised ones. If you feel successful with this area of your home maybe once the twenty one days are up you may want to begin to work on a new area.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

This is a group of sewing things that have been sitting in a drawer not being used and if they aren’t being used I don’t need to keep them. One more donation off to the thrift shop.

Sewing Stuff

Something I Am Grateful For Today

What isn’t there to be grateful for today. It is Sunday so I got up leisurely, only did what I felt like doing, spent the afternoon with a friend and had a bottle of wine with a dinner that was delicious but took minimal effort. If my husband was here the day would be perfect but close to perfect is good enough for me.

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

When we get to a point where we are shopping to fill a void in our lives then it is time to stop and think ~

• What is happening here? ~ Instead of facing reality and doing something to improve whatever unsatisfactory situation you find yourself in, you turn to your drug of choice, shopping, to give you that little pick-me-up that you are craving for.
• Why do I do this? ~ In this day and age we behave this way because we are conditioned to it. In the modern consumer society we have become accustomed to the idea that shopping is a feel good activity and if we want to feel good what simpler thing is there to do.
• Is that what I am doing? ~ Quite often we don’t realise that we are shopping to fill a void we just think we like shopping but even if you aren’t aware of it doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist.
• How did it come to this? Self preservation  is a natural instinct whether that be physical or emotional nobody wants to feel pain, so we do what we can to drown it out. Emotional pain manifests itself in many ways, loneliness, boredom, helplessness, frustration, weariness, sadness… and who wouldn’t want to avoid those things even just for a little while.

Then there are the counterarguments…

• What harm is it doing? ~ Environmentally alone, it is doing more harm than you could possibly even think of. If you have children it is setting a bad example for them, not just because of the lack of concern for the environment but it teaches them the same bad habits.
• It’s my money why can’t I spend it how I like? Sure it is your money although in some cases it is the banks money and people rack up credit card debt that only makes their situation worse. Lets say it is your money and you are shopping within your budget. Do you find yourself surrounded by clutter that you are reluctant to get rid of because you wasted good money on it. Could the money go to better use like your children future education, paying down the home load, eating healthier food…

Lets face it, if we have come to the point where we are shopping as an activity for fulfillment then there has to be something lacking in our lives. If we don’t know what the thing is then we haven’t got anything to lose by taking the opportunity to try new things. Sometimes we dismiss activities without even giving them a go because we don’t think we will enjoy them. This can be a big mistake because when we do this we can be closing ourselves off to great possibilities. Below I have listed some activities to try to give yourself something fullfilling in your life…

• Try a new sport ~ Not only enjoyable but healthy as well.
• Volunteer in your community ~ this can be amazingly rewarding for both you and the recipient of your time and skills.
• Increase activities with friends and family ~ go walking, cycling, hiking, dining out, fishing, visit the art gallery…
• Do something educational ~ cooking or art classes, learn a language, take a computer class…
• Explore your community ~ visit your local information centre and get to know the area around where you live. This knowledge comes in handy when you get visitors from out of town or maybe you could become so proficient you could become a local tour guide. Who knows!!
• Take up a new hobby ~ just don’t get carried away buying supplies.
• Gardening ~ grow your own herbs and vegetables, this can very rewarding, therapeutically and monetarily.

This are just a few ways to fill in your time , give you a boost and keep away from the shops. I am sure you can think of many more. Like anything sometimes the hardest part is getting started but can be so rewarding once you find that one thing that floats your boat.

Just remember that if all else fails don’t dismiss the idea of seeking counselling. If we live in denial that there is a problem these situations can escalate out of control. Not admitting there is a problem doesn’t make it go away so please be kind to yourself and seek help when needed.

Today’s Declutter Item

This drawer divider used to hold all sorts of stationary goodies but now they are all decluttered and what is left doesn’t require such a large storage container. So it’s off to the thrift store with this item.

Drawer Oganiser

My Gratitude List

• Something that makes me laugh ~ Tickling babies and making them laugh.
• Something Awesome ~ Checking your lottery ticket and finding you won something.
• Something to be grateful for ~ That fact that no matter where I have lived I have had no shortage of friends.
• Something that makes me happy ~ Going to breakfast every Saturday with my husband ~ sometimes Liam comes along too.
• Something I find fascinating ~ That if you try hard enough you can find a good side to almost anything.

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