Hi again folks. The days keep slipping away from me while I have been spending them mostly not at home. This week should be different so I’ll hopefully have time to play catch up and maybe even post more often. Last week I managed to declutter a few things. Actually, as you can probably tell from the mini missions this week, I decluttered a lot of things, however they weren’t from my house. So I have been very busy decluttering one way or another. I certainly have inspired my daughter-in-law. She got so into declutterin in her daughter’s room that I though the poor kids was going to have to run around naked. Well, that may be a bit of an exageration because she still has enough underpants and socks to sink a battle ship so purhaps only half naked. Needless to say the charities will be doing well out of that room alone. Which reminds me, all that stuff is in the trunk of my car so I had better drop it off today.

But back to my decluttering. as I said above it has been a struggle to find the time but I am constantly on the lookout. I found a shirt that I got secondhand, I think for free from a friend, that I was going to alter but have now decided that the colour is too drab so out it goes. I also emptied some more of those spice containers that don’t work well and will be giving them to my friends Wendy F. Then there was the second batch of Christmas cards for the season, which will not be replaced as I stil have an abundance. I’ve used the same photo as the first batch because I forgot to take one in my haste to get them in the post.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Actually I am not even sure what day I am up to with the Thing A Day mission. I have been so busy with grandparenting this week that I don’t know if I’m coming or going. So lets call it 12, 13 and 14 and I’ll go back and do the count when I get a spare minute. 

Here are the three items for those days and then I want to talk just a little about a non related subject to my items.

Now on that non related topic. The kitchen and all it’s clutter. So while grandparenting I have taken it upon myself to do some decluttering at my son and daughter-in-law’s house. And being that the baby is asleep a lot upstairs, the kitchen, which is downstairs, has been the centre of my attention. So far I have focused on pantry items and have thrown out a far quantity of out of date food stuffs and also began some use it up challenges on things that will expire soon if not eaten.

And once again it has come to my attention that not only are kitchens one of the most likely places for clutter in any home but they are also often so poorly designed. Clutter is bound to accumulate in cabinets of any kind that have deep shelves so why they have so many in the basic kitchen I will never know. This is why I have converted a lot of my shelves to weight bearing drawers. These can be slid out to reveal everything at a quick glance. Unfortunately the home the I am working on is even more poorly designed than most and doesn’t even have a proper pantry, has a very deep corner cupboard where plastic containers, pot and pans are kept and one very tiny thing deep cabinet in an odd shaped corner and way too many high cabinets that are hard to get at.

So I am going to try to come up with some cheap, simple solutions to try to alleviate some of the issues with the kitchen at hand in the hope of making it more functional . Meanwhile I have at least cleared some clutter and identified items that are good for some use it up challenges.

Take a long hard look at your kitchen and see what you can declutter, consider getting it better organised ,maybe reconsider how you stock it, or perhaps all three. Because inefficiency and waste is a hard pill to swallow.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

How many of you come to the end of the year with a bundle of paper you need to keep to prepare your taxes or because you have to be reimbursed for medical expenses or for who knows what reason?  How many of you just find that at the end of the year you have piles of Stuff you can’t remember having a reason to keep?  How many start the year with plans to do better and then it all falls apart?  Every year I find myself going through a large personal safe of paperwork.  I’ve been good about filing it away but I still have way more than I want or need.  I also find myself starting a new year with plans to create a better way to file things.  It never seems to work like I want.

This year I am recommending creating e-files for those papers that we need to keep.  I’m also recommending e-files for keeping things for the new year too.  Here is how I plan to do it.

The Old Year. 

For every tax file I need to keep I will create a year file under taxes in Dropbox.  As a year becomes redundant I will just delete the file.  I will keep no paper copies.  I can easily print them out if needed.

I will create a file for every other item of paperwork I need to retain.  Once I no longer need something I can delete it. Probably an end of year task. 

All paperwork no longer needed will be shredded and disposed of. 

The New Year

Create a Medical File that includes sub files for each doctor, hospital, ancillary office.  Mom sees an inordinate amount of doctors along with having numerous tests and procedures.  I need to keep track of the bills, results, etc.  I can match bills with payments, maintain a file of results of tests and procedures, and at the end of the year use it all to create the medical deduction if needed for taxes.

Create a Financial file. This will include a year’s worth of bank statements.  Again this will keep this information available for tax purposes. 

Create an Automobile file.  This file will contain copies of all work done on a vehicle, the insurance policy and any other pertinent paperwork for the car. 

Create a Home file.  This will contain the insurance policy, repair paperwork, etc. 

Just looking at these two lists creates a calmness in my heart because I know I can maintain all of this with a little work between the holidays.  I hope this gives you some ideas of ways to cut down on the paperwork clutter in your home. 

Does anyone else have files you would want to create?

It has been a busy week for me and I didn’t get around to writing a second post. So rather than leave you uninspired for the week I am republishing the following post from the archives. Enjoy!

* * * * * * *

Don’t Agonise Over Getting Rid Of Clutter

I had a reader back in the early days of my blog who seemed to have trouble letting go of her clutter. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep the stuff, or found it difficult to make the choices as to what to let go however she balked at getting on with the task. To me it was obvious that her problem was that she didn’t like seeing anything go to waste.

You see she was very eco friendly, to the point where it was a mission to throw nothing in the trash. And I think this noble goal interfered with her goal to rid her home of clutter. As you all know I am not a lover of waste myself and do what I can to refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle.  In a way I am pleased to say that 99.9% of what I have decluttered has been rehoused, reused, recycled or repurposed. Pleased, because I didn’t just have a house full of trash but sorry that I had so much useful-to-someone-else stuff sitting around unused for long periods of time.

And just because some things don’t work as they should doesn’t mean they aren’t useful to someone. Below are my suggestions on how to deal with such items.

The best way I found to pass on items that have faults is to list them on freecycle or local buy-swap-&-sell or similar web sites, utilise the curb side giveaway method or word of mouth. Explain the fault/s clearly and allow people to decide for themselves if they care or even possibly have the ability to repair them. Through the avenues mentioned above I decluttered all of the following items.

1. All the parts to my malfunctioning Kenwood mixer, then gave the mixer to the last guy who came along who was keen to dabble with it to see if he could get it working or use the parts.
2. The hutch section of a buffet and hutch to a guy who did cabinet making as a hobby. He had a use for the parts and wood while I had a use for the buffet. Everyone was happy. He even asked to let me know if I ever wanted to part with the matching coffee table. I eventually did and he paid me $40 for it.
3. I advertised a lamp, which was unwired, on freecycle and a lady took it with the hope that her electrician son would rewire it for her.
4. I put a trampoline on the street with a FREE sign on it. It needed some restitching but everything else about it was great. It disappeared quickly.
5. I gave an old vacuum cleaner, whose insulation was degrading and blowing out through the air vent, to a lady who was sure she could either clean it up or use the parts.
6. I sole an iRobot vacuum cleaner for parts on ebay.

And these were just the items I could remember in a hurry.

There is usually someone out there who can find a use for things, working or not. Should it not work out for them you will be non the wiser and be happy that you did your best to find a new home for the item. And the stuff that no one wants may just have to end up in the bin. Just remember it is just stuff after all and possibly not wise purchases in the first place. Let it go and learn from the experience. You will hopefully just be a bit more discerning about what to purchase in the future.  Some, on the other hand, are well used items that might just have come to the end of their usefulness and there is certainly no shame in throwing them away.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter your handbag so it is easy to find what you need in there when you need it.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

In a post a couple of weeks ago that asked a range of question about your clutter issues and my blog. One of the readers asked for more information on how to get rid of the clutter that has been set aside for removal. I do have a list of ideas on a page here at 365 called Recycling/Donating Guide that you can find here. However it is an unfinished page and may not yield the information you are looking for and also may not be relevant to your location. It is worth taking a look at none the less during those times when you have hit a brick wall.

As I just mentioned, access to ways to sell, donate and recycle your decluttered items is individual to your location. Sometimes you just have to get imaginative. However the more knowledge of general options you have, the easier it is to expand on that knowledge in tricky situations.

The original purpose of this post is to suggest ways to send on the items mentioned in this weeks missions. However together, in the comments, we can expand on that and bring new options to light that many readers may not have thought of before. Not only for the items of the missions but for other items. Just throw in your query or suggestions and see what comes of it.

Monday – Declutter something made from paper.

• Books ~ Donate to a library, mini local or pop up libraries or thrift shop, nursing home, hospital. Sell on-line or at a garage sale, market stall or secondhand bookshop. Give to friends.
• Magazines ~ Donate to all places mentioned for Books, also schools or doctor and dental surgeries for use in their waiting rooms. Put them in the recycling. Sell on-line or at a garage sale, market stall or secondhand bookshop. Give to friends.
• Old paperwork ~ Shred and recycle. Or if you are the crafty type you could make recycled paper from them yourself.
• Letters, diaries ~ Shred and recycle. If there are any pages you wish to reread but don’t want to keep digitise them prior to destroying them.
• Greeting cards ~ Donate to schools or craft groups for upcycling. Digitise if desired and recycle.

Tuesday – Declutter something made from wood.

• Small wooden items (trinkets, boxes, toys) Donate to a thrift shop.
• Lopped trees etc ~ Use up as firewood. Advertise as fire wood to sell or give away. Take to a local waste and recycling site where it might be chipped for garden mulch.
• Building supplies ~ Advertise to sell or give away, the internet sites like Freecycle, ebay or local buy-swap-sell sites on Facebook are good for this. Donate to a local mens shed or woodworking group/club.
• Furniture ~ Sell via the internet sites like Freecycle, ebay or local buy-swap-sell sites on Facebook etc. Sell to a secondhand dealer. Or donate to charity. Most charities will pick up so you don’t have to worry about transporting the items. If you live in an apartment building you could place an ad on the building bulletin board. I have given away small furniture items by placing them on the footpath in front of my house until someone takes them away. I never leave them out in the rain and I bring them in at night. They usually disappear before this is necessary though. You might want to check it this is legal in your area.

Wednesday – Declutter something made from fabric.

• Clothing ~ Sell through the internet (see above ideas) or local consignment clothing stores. Donate to thrift shops or local charities who send to those less fortunate overseas. Local churches often run or have insight to these charities. Hand clothing on to friends or family. If too far gone use them as rags. Anything beyond that probably just needs to go in the trash.
• Sheets, towels & blankets ~ Donate as above. Also sheets can be used as weed matting in the garden. Towels, blankets and pillows can sometimes be donated to pet shelters, veterinary surgeries, pet day care centres and the like.
• Fabric cuts and scraps for crafting. Use them up by making them into something useful. They can also be donated to thrift shops. Schools will appreciate them for arts and craft projects. Local quilting groups would, no doubt, also be happy to take them off your hands.

Thursday – Declutter something plastic.

• Kitchen ware ~ Sell, donate or give away using various methods already mentioned above. If broken many plastic items can be recycled.
• Children’s toys ~ Donate to thrift shop or other charity, day care centre, any place with a waiting room where children attend. Hand down to family or friends. Or sell using methods already mentioned.
• Pens ~ Donate to a school or perhaps even to your work place if you have way too many.
• Storage containers ~ Hopefully you might have empties a few of these by now and have vowed never to need them again. Ofter them to family or friends or donate them to a charity or thrift shop.

Friday – Declutter something made from an animal product eg. leather, bone, wool…

• Woollen clothing ~ (Sweater, socks, trousers, underwear, scarf…)
• Leather Accessories ~ (Handbags, wallet, purse, jewellery…)
• Leather Wearables ~ (Shoes, jacket, gloves, belt…)

Most, if not all, of these items can be donated to thrift shops or other charities. Or sold if in good condition to individuals or via a clothing consignment store.

Saturday – Declutter something metal. That could also be precious metal.

• Kitchen Items (Pots, Pans, cutlery…) ~ All can be sold or donated like any of the other items above.
• Scrap metal in the yard ~ Sold to metal merchant or taken to recycling facility.
• Jewellery ~ Donated or sold same as kitchen items. Passed down to another member of the family or friends. Sold to precious metal merchants as scrap (I’m not a lover of this method as you are usually paid a pittance.).

You can also accumulate your items and hold a garage sale or participate in a car boot sale. This is a quick and effective way of getting rid of a lot of stuff on one occasion. However it does mean having the stuff hang around until you have enough to make the event worth the effort and the season has to be right for some climates. Once the sale is over the leftovers can be disposed of by one of the other options mentioned. I actually do enjoy this method, although the last time I did this was in 2007. With eBay, Freecycle and other online and offline methods I managed to sell most of the items I wanted to without the problem of having somewhere to store them.

Usually a quick google search with yield information about local charities in your area, also where you might find a consignment store, scrap metal merchants or any of the outlets mentioned above. That includes searching for local events such as flea markets/car boot sales and identifying online buy swap & sell sites.

Word of mouth is also a very good way to get rid of items you either want to give away or sell. I have parted with many an item this way. Simply ask anyone you know who you think might be interested in an item. It they aren’t interested they might know someone who could be. Telling people in your workplace, family or friends are some of the most likely options for offloading stuff this way.

If you work within a large workforce instigate a “free box” in the staff room where small items can be put for giving away. Staff bulletin boards are also good for giving away or selling items.

Hopefully this has given you some good ideas on how to offload your unwanted stuff. Please make sure items are clean and in good condition when donating, selling or giving them away.

So now lets see what other wonderful idea my wonderful readers can add to this discussion.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something plastic.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Consider online magazine subscription rather than wasting paper.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

I received the following comment from Peggy on Friday and wanted to share it here so people, who don’t read the comments, might see it. It is comments like this that inspire me to keep on blogging. I am just lucky that I get them on a regular basis. So thank you Peggy and all those 365ers who write in to tell us similar stories. So without further adieu her is Peggy’s comment…

“When I think about the things I have managed to pass along or repurpose, I am amazed!  The dollhouse (sold), an unused medical test kit (returned to lab), unused Sephora gift bags (returned to store), foam roller, unused toiletries, and clothing to Goodwill, old eye glasses & unused Restasis to eye doctor office, organizing containers to work, old sheets, blankets, & towels to veterinarian, and lots more gone! Toiletries and cleaning supplies used up and not replaced.  Books donated to library and favorite coffee shop.  My husband has joined in little by little, parting with some old magazines, a cheap pocketknife, etc.  He “shopped” our elder daughters mountain of boxes for her old laptop.  Our younger daughter then fixed the old laptop up for him so that he can use the internet (win win).  He is going to “shop” these boxes again for an earphone cable, even though he could buy new for about $7… I suggested this, to avoid possible duplication.

These things are just remembered examples of the many things out the door and not replaced, or repurposed instead of purchasing new.  So many little pockets of space cleared!  It is much easier to see what IS needed because there is less excess.  We are in no way “finished” with our decluttering journey.  However, I am so grateful to be this far along and to have changed my thought processes with regard to stuff… I wonder all the time what our home must have looked like and how it functioned before I started to understand what you are teaching here.  I know that our home functions better the more we rid ourselves of the unused and unloved items.   🙂

Today’s Mini Mission

Do a quick perusal of your outdoor area and declutter a few things that won’t be used again after this season comes to a close.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Just follow Peggy’s example, on how to pass things on instead of throwing them in the trash, and that will be helpful to the state of the environment.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something for grooming.

I had a reader back in the early days of my blog who seemed to have trouble letting go of her clutter. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep the stuff, or found it difficult to make the choices as to what to let go however she balked at getting on with the task. To me it was obvious that her problem was that she didn’t like seeing anything go to waste.

You see she was very eco friendly, to the point where it was a mission to throw nothing in the trash. And I think this noble goal interfered with her goal to rid her home of clutter. As you all know I am not a lover of waste myself and do what I can to refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle.  In a way I am pleased to say that 99.9% of what I have decluttered has been rehoused, reused, recycled or repurposed. Pleased, because I didn’t just have a house full of trash but sorry that I had so much useful-to-someone-else stuff sitting around unused for long periods of time.

And just because some things don’t work as they should doesn’t mean they aren’t useful to someone. Below are my suggestions on how to deal with such items.

The best way I found to pass on items that have faults is to list them on freecycle or local buy-swap-&-sell or similar web sites, utilise the curb side giveaway method or word of mouth. Explain the fault/s clearly and allow people to decide for themselves if they care or even possibly have the ability to repair them. Through the avenues mentioned above I decluttered all of the following items.

1. All the parts to my malfunctioning Kenwood mixer, then gave the mixer to the last guy who came along who was keen to dabble with it to see if he could get it working or use the parts.
2. The hutch section of a buffet and hutch to a guy who did cabinet making as a hobby. He had a use for the parts and wood while I had a use for the buffet. Everyone was happy. He even asked to let me know if I ever wanted to part with the matching coffee table. I eventually did and he paid me $40 for it.
3. I advertised a lamp, which was unwired, on freecycle and a lady took it with the hope that her electrician son would rewire it for her.
4. I put a trampoline on the street with a FREE sign on it. It needed some restitching but everything else about it was great. It disappeared quickly.
5. I gave an old vacuum cleaner, whose insulation was degrading and blowing out through the air vent, to a lady who was sure she could either clean it up or use the parts.
6. I sole an iRobot vacuum cleaner for parts on ebay.

And these were just the items I could remember in a hurry.

There is usually someone out there who can find a use for things, working or not. Should it not work out for them you will be non the wiser and be happy that you did your best to find a new home for the item. And the stuff that no one wants may just have to end up in the bin. Just remember it is just stuff after all and possibly not wise purchases in the first place. Let it go and learn from the experience. You will hopefully just be a bit more discerning about what to purchase in the future.  Some, on the other hand, are well used items that might just have come to the end of their usefulness and there is certainly no shame in throwing them away.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter your handbag so it is easy to find what you need in there when you need it.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

My friend Wendy sent me a photo the other day of a box of magazines she was decluttering. Wendy is very practiced at decluttering, having been reading 365 Less Things for many years. It is how we met in fact. So I was a little surprised at how many magazines she had to declutter. She has been renovating for some time, which is now about finished, and these were home decor magazines for inspiration.  As it turned out she didn’t reference then at all for the reno so out they went while she was decluttering her bookcase.

I am glad she sent me the photo because it inspired me to write this post on my opinion of magazines in general and why I  feel they are such an insidious form of clutter.

My first thought on this subject, judging from past experience, is that magazines are expensive to purchase and usually contain more advertising than actual interesting articles. Once you also eliminate the articles you aren’t interested in, all you are left with is about one third of a magazine that you paid good money for. And then I doubt there is anything in that one third that you couldn’t have sourced free on the internet. And that advertising I mentioned is there to tempt you to acquire stuff that is likely to later end up on your declutter list

Then there is the futile exercise of saving magazines for those few articles that you might want to refer back to later on. Or cutting them out and filing then in plastic sleeves in a folder somewhere. My experience of this is, without proper, time consuming indexing, it is difficult to find those articles again when, or if, you ever do want to reference them. This is another form or aspirational clutter. And once again it is so much easier to find this information on the internet, with a few key words typed into your computers search bar.

I am speaking from experience here. I once used to save every issue of several paper crafting magazines and save clippings from catalogues etc. Now I find all the inspiration or information I need with the tap of a few keys. No, heavy lifting, no allergy issues from the dust when dragged out after long periods, no having to dust them in between times, no big bulky bookcase to store them in, no wasted money, no wasted trees, no frustrating advertising, no agonising over if and when to declutter them, and no constant aspiration of actually doing something with the information in those articles I once thought I couldn’t live without.

So tell me why is it that you buy and save magazines, though I doubt you will tempt me to return to my old habit.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter, by recycling, some old plastic containers you kept aside for storage but find they are building up over time and you now have too many. This used to be a mission I carried out on a regular basis but I don’t seem to buy as much takeout anymore so the containers get used until the wear out.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Think twice about buying paper products. Natural old growth forest is better for the environment than cutting them down to make way for fast growing trees for paper pulp. Even the recycling of paper is a water and power intensive process.  Mind you this tip is a bit hypocritical of me being as I am a paper crafter.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Since today’s mini mission is to analyse your clutter weakness I thought it would be good if I also made it the subject of the day. Perhaps in the comments you might like to admit your clutter weakness and see if you can get any advice about it.

My clutter weakness would be my craft supplies. It is one of the few areas where I still add items. Mostly cutting dies and embossing folders. However there is more going out than is coming in so I am happy with that. And these items are being used over and over again. I did also bring home fabric and lace from my mother and mother-in-law but I am already making inroads into using that up.

My previous clutter weakness was garage sales. I used to go to them every weekend in the Summer when I lived in Seattle. I love a great bargain. Now I could count on one hand the number of garage sales I have been to in the seven years I have been back in Australia. Lead me not into temptation I guess. I do like the thrift shop though but only for items I am trying to avoid buying new that I have an immediate use for. And the beauty of getting items cheap is I have no qualms about donating them back if they don’t get used within a short length of time.

On a related topic, Wendy F and I went picking through the bulk waste pick up piles on the side of the road yesterday. We had a wonderful time. I was searching for some organising items for the art space where I sell my cards, which I found. I also brought home a free standing hand towel rail for one of our bathrooms. My husband and I had had a discussion about this just the other day. For some weird reason they never fitted hand towel holders in our apartment when it was built. If this rail doesn’t work out I will either be use to hang my potted plants on or be donated to the thrift shop. I also brought home a handful of suction cups from an old desk. We are in need of these as replacements for ones the removal company lost from my dinning table during our recent move. I tried them out but they aren’t quite right so they will go in the bin. It was the try though.

During this outing Wendy and I also collected up a car load of items to be donated to the thrift shop. I suppose you could say that one of my weakness is that I just can’t bare to see perfectly good stuff go to waste. It angers me to see this stuff dumped on the side of the road when it could have been easily boxed up and taken to a thrift shop. Why are people so lazy and frivolous?

Recognising a weakness is the first step to overcoming it. So what is your clutter weakness and do you have it under control?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about what your particular clutter weakness is. Knowing this will help you avoid it in the future.

Eco Tip for the Day

If you see something going to waste, rescue it and donate it to someone in need or to a charity of your choice.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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