Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

I revisted the archives from September 1, 2010 for this post. It was titled “Cindy’s Take on Avoiding Recluttering.” This time I have published it with gift buying in mind. As appropriate, insert “the gift recipient” in place of “I”

It’s bound to happen sometime; you’re going to have to break down and buy something. Before you do, consider these factors:

1. Do I need it?
2. Do I want it?
3. Did I come into the store looking for this item, or did it just catch my eye?
4. Would I be criticized if my spouse or family members knew that I had purchased this?
5. Can I afford it? If I cannot pay for it now, should I buy it?
6. Can I wait a week and see if I still believe I need to buy this?
7. I am buying it “just to try it”? If I am, is there some other way that I could try it first?
8. Can I borrow it or rent it instead?
9. Can I buy it used?
10. Can I share the purchase of this item with someone else? (Lawn tools, exercise equipment, a bicycle, or magazine subscriptions all fall into this category.)
11. Have I researched this purchase? Is this item durable and does it do the things I want?
12. Will this item be easy use, maintain, and keep organized? Does this item perform more than one function?
13. Do I have something at home that will perform the same function? Will it replace one or more other things that I already have? Am I willing to move those other things along? Do I truly need to replace those things?
14. Do I have a place to store this item? Do I know that it fits?
15. Is it in a color or style that I will continue to enjoy? Does it fit with my décor or the other things in my wardrobe?
16. What is it made of? Where was it made? Are the components healthy for me and the environment? Is it labeled for recycling? Is it made of recycled parts?
17. Can I sell it when I no longer want it?

Today’s Mini Mission

Roundup all pens and pencils that are scattered throughout your home. Once together declutter any excess.

Today’s Declutter Item

One has to wonder why we still have a snowboard even though we have been back in Australia for over five years now and the person this was once the right size for is now no doubt too big for it.

Snowboard

Eco Tip for the Day

Consider donating excess pens and pencils in your home to a local school or take them to be used in your workplace. This will reduce the need for these places to purchase new ones while decluttering excess from your home. They are likely to dry up and become useless before they are ever used otherwise. I wonder how many pens succumb to this fate every year. Also try to remember not to accidentally acquire more. I almost walked off with a pen from the post office last week after address a parcel I was sending. I can assure you I didn’t need any more pens. In fact I will follow my own advice here and declutter yet more from my house. Perhaps I will take them to the post office. If you set aside a place in your house to store such items you won’t fall into the trap of buying more that you don’t need.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

Have you ever decluttered when you didn’t really mean to? I have, and I’m here to encourage you to embrace these accidental declutterings, no matter how annoying they are at the time.

What do I mean? Here are some times I got roped / fell into decluttering when I had absolutely no intention of doing so.

Audra recently opened the door to the craft closet, sat down right in the doorway, and started crafting. Eventually, she had every sticker that we own in a heap in front of her. I kept trying to ignore the mess, hoping that she’s just scoop it all back up and cram it back into the drawer from whence it came. But no. Eventually I heard, “Momma, will you help me pick up?” Of course, I had no interest in this project and felt a bit resentful that she’d made a big mess and wanted me to help clean it up. Eventually, I sat down next to her and started sorting the stickers: Ones I might use; ones no one will use; sheets with no stickers on them at all. In the end, there was a much smaller pile to go back into the drawer plus a smallish pile to take to school for the younger grades that have craft corners.

Another time I decluttered without intending to was about a month ago when I washed all the window screens on the enclosed porch and got water all over the porch as well. While I don’t have a lot of clutter on the porch, there were a few things. Things that are now elsewhere. As I sweep the porch clean of water, I decluttered too. Those two air mattress that I’ve been meaning to try (and try again) to find the leaks, they were aspirational clutter that was never going to happen and they went into the trash. The “box of fun” (outdoor toys) got reduced so that what was left actually fit into the box with the lid closed. I got the go ahead from Audra to sell the gymnastics mat that’s been living on the porch, and I pressed my mother about whether she really, truly was ever going to use the folding chairs on my porch. Since the answer was, “I guess not really,” off they went to the thrift store. Between the decluttering, the clean screens, and the scrubbed floor, it looks much better out there!

My last example is not my own. When you have friends coming for the holiday or weekend, I know you’re going to clean, I know you’re going to bake and cook, I know it’s likely that you’ll even take off work for a few days. Do yourself and your friends a favor, and declutter the space they’ll be using too. It’s so nice when you visit to be able to use the closet or drawers. Decluttering them now will help your friends feel more comfortable and welcome later. (A shout out here to my cousin Rilee who does an excellent job of prepping her guest room so that everyone is happy and has what they need. Hi Rilee!)

When you stumble into that quagmire that is an unexpected decluttering opportunity, don’t curse it! Embrace it!

Today’s Mini Mission

Have the, perhaps dreaded, conversation with the grandparents about giving gifts of experiences or at least not so many material gifts to your children so your home isn’t overrun with toys.

Today’s Declutter Item

Basketball Collectable

Eco Tip for the Day

Dress appropriately to lower or even avoid the need for artificial climate control. In the winter wear comfortable warm clothing inside and at least lower the thermostat. In the summer dress in light natural fibre clothes and at least raise the thermostat.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. That’s a saying we’ve all heard and probably have said. I first truly appreciated the saying at the first garage sale I ever held as an adult. As we raised the garage door at 8:00 am, shoppers began ducking under the rising door, eager to be the first inside. The very first thing that sold was a men’s electric razor for $5. The next thing to sell was a rusted kitchen knife for 10 cents. That’s when I first came to believe that you really can sell anything.

But, of course, decluttering doesn’t have to be about selling, as we have discussed many times on this blog.

I think there are two things you need in order to make any trash to treasure (T2T) work. 1) a place for your “trash” to go and 2) and more importantly, a willingness to find that place.

Let’s start with the easiest examples.

Have Trash: your old clothes. Make Treasure: donate them to the thrift store. That’s how you turn clothing T2T.

Okay, duh Cindy, that’s obvious, but no one would want my XX. You think not? Let’s recall some of the tougher items I’ve decluttered.

Have Trash: 3 pounds of sour cream with about 1/2 C missing and a bottle of salad dressing with one salad’s worth missing. To make this into treasure, you are probably the biggest obstacle. Your embarrassment about offering slightly used food to others is holding you back from making this into treasure. I took a deep breath and offered these two things on my neighborhood list serve. Both had multiple people willing to take them off my hands. The person who took the sour cream just happened to be having a party that weekend and was pleased to have a base for various dips. She made a sour cream cake with the rest.

Have trash: Things which can be recycled, but it’s inconvenient. To make treasure: It’s your responsibility to dispose to things responsibly and in the best way your community demands. Batteries can be saved up and returned to the battery store, Home Depot or Lowes, and probably your community recycling center. The same with Compact Florescent Lightbulbs (except they go back to the lightbulb store, not the battery store). Try this mindset: You were perfectly willing to drive all over town to acquire these items. You should put at least this much effort into recycling them. (Or you can make battery art, like this creative soul.)

Have trash: Sentimental item you dislike. Make treasure: Again, you’re the obstacle here. You have to know that it’s not your responsibility to hang onto other people’s memories, stuff from the dead, or gifts you hate. Make treasure: As we occasionally say in our house, You gotta put your big girl pants on. Be okay with the fact that you don’t want these things. Then ask among the relatives (and don’t listen to their silly attempts to guilt-trip you into keeping the item), donate to a historical society (if appropriate), give to the thrift store, sell on EBay, donate on Craigslist or Freecycle. Recently my cousin has had great luck selling on Facebook classified ads, which I don’t know anything about. She lives in the country. Her rural location does not stop her from selling and buying used, and it shouldn’t stop you either.

Have trash: A wierd, awkward, or very one-of-a-kind item. Make treasure: These things are perfect for Freecycle or the free column on Craigslist. I have Freecycled battered used wooden fencing – twice (once it was used to make a goat pen and once it was used to make rustic mailboxes), and we let people pick through our construction dumpster for a single piece of wood they needed. A broken antique mirror frame with no mirror went to a furniture refinisher. Either he’ll fix it when he’s got time or he’ll use the pieces to fix up something else. A huge box of old cassette tapes were happily snapped up by a fellow driving a really old pick up truck – no CD player in that thing. All of our pencils that had been used until they were really short, and all the pens that worked but we didn’t like for some reason went to our daughters’ school. “Pencils of shame” we call them, because they were saved for girls who forgot to bring their pencils to class.

Have trash: Dirty, torn or stained clothing. Make treasure: Call around to your local thrift stores; it is likely that at least one of them is also in the fiber business. I had a hard time finding this information in my community, but it turns out that both the Salvation Army and Goodwill take items for fiber. I just need to label the bag clearly with “For Fiber. Do Not Sort.” and drop at any Salvation Army or Goodwill location. How easy is that? Now in addition to the bag I always have for items to donate to the thrift store, I have a bag for fiber too. Make treasure, part 2: In addition, when I converted my entire lawn to garden, I smothered the grass with layers of old clothing, sheets, and blankets that I have saved over the years. It made as good of layer as the cardboard I also used. Occasionally I dig up a button or a string of elastic from the garden from the fibers that have now decomposed.

What’s your hardest thing that you think you can’t find a good second life for? Let’s work together and see what we can come up with.

For more great tips on recycling your stuff check out 365’s Recycle Guide

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter one dust collecting ornament.

Today’s Declutter Item

I performed only one task with this mug, a task that could be performed by something else that had multiple uses. Hence this item was just wasting space in my kitchen.

Enamel Mug

Eco Tip for the Day

When doing your weekly shop put a shopping basket in your shopping cart to put your fruit and vegetables in rather than bag everything up separately in plastic bags. I have been doing this for years and only once has the checkout person given me grief about having to weigh it this way.

“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

We live in a world ruled by excessive consumerism.

Everyday we receive hundreds of messages that try to make us feel incomplete. They try to sell us the idea that we don’t have enough stuff, so that we go buy more stuff to fill the void and be happy.

These messages use the influence of scarcity to trigger your pains and fears.

The question is: how can you protect yourself from the negative influence of the scarcity mentality.

The answer lies in your ability to sacrifice.

When you make a small sacrifice by getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter, by eliminating the unnecessary and by decluttering your environment, only then simplicity will take over and you’ll experience a major difference in your life.

When you let go of the clutter, you realize that you already have enough and that your soul enjoys more and breathes freely in the new open space you’ve created.

The belief that you already have enough is the essence of minimalism.

“Minimalism is realizing that what I already have is enough, and that adding clutter to the pile won’t make it any better. And chasing a dream of more minimalism is, ironically, not what I’m after either.” – Sarah Peck

When you sacrifice the things you think you need, but never actually use, you will discover and connect with what you truly need, use and like.

There is a very interesting experiment that I’m currently doing and would like to invite you to do it with me. I call it The One Week Closet Experiment. I learned about the idea from Dave Bruno’s book The 100 Thing Challenge.

Here’s how to do this experiment:

1. Open your closet and pick up enough clothes for one week.
2. Store these one week clothes in a separate section in your closet.
3. Over the next week or two, only wear from the items in this section.
4. Share your conclusions in the comments below.

I promise you’ll be hugely surprised by what you’re going to do with the rest of your clothes!

If you’re joining this experiment, please leave a comment now to let me know you’re in.

“I think we have to be not so afraid of scarcity. We have to be willing to give away all things.” – Sharon Stone

Bio: In his blog,  Midway Simplicity, Mohamed Tohami shares mainstream simple living ideas that are not too harsh for your lifestyle.Visit his blog now to grab your free copy of “The 30-Day Simplicity Challenge” ebook.

Today’s Mini Mission

There is usually at least one make-up item among the others that we once thought suited our pearticular kind of beauty but now wonder where we got that idea. If you have such an item but haven’t had the sense to throw it away yet, today is the day.

Today’s Declutter Item

One more kitchen item that wasn’t much loved or much used.

Cane Basket

Eco Tip Of The Day

If you have take-away coffee on a daily or regular basis take your own reusable cup.

“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

Today’s Declutter Item ~ Make-up Mirror Cord

The inspiration for this week’s mini missions is today’s declutter item (see photo at left). This electrical cord from my magnifying make-up mirror has been a source of annoyance for some time. It gets in the way when I dust the space the mirror occupies and when I move the  mirror to use it elsewhere. It is a fine example of the kind of clutter that is right under your nose yet you do nothing about it and perhaps don’t even recognise it as such.

The mirror was bought when I lived in America so is made for use with 120v power supply not 240v like we have here in Australia. The thing is I never use the light feature of this mirror anyway, not now nor in the US because I don’t like the brightness of it for applying make-up.

So the question is why did it not occur to me years ago to just cut the cord off it and save myself a lot of bother. This sudden spark of brilliance only came to me a week or two ago at which time I immediately fetched  the wire cutters from the garage and took care of the situation.

One would think I’d have had this brain wave some time back when I read this post from Cindy about her reluctance to separating items that belong together as a set. I remember thinking at the time how I had no qualms about separating such things, like the extra attachments I was trying to find a home for that came with my new immersion blender. And the top section of a buffet and hutch set that I gave away on freecycle (I kept the bottom section to use as our TV unit. But separating a segment of one single object just didn’t enter my mind.

The point of this post is that not all clutter is obvious even though it is right under your nose. Also adapting something to better suit your needs regardless of how unorthodox that may be is not only acceptable but sensible. It never occurred to me that this small yet annoying part of an otherwise useful functioning object was clutter I could easily remove to improve its suitability to me.

So what do you have hiding right under your nose that could do with decluttering or, like my item, separating from it’s whole and decluttering the unnecessary piece.

Today’s Mini Mission

Remove any clutter on and in your TV cabinet or entertainment unit.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Getting a visit from one of my Newcastle readers yesterday. Thanks Wendy F it was a pleasure to meet you.

“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

Like the title says ~ A picture paints a thousand words ~ so I will keep the text brief on this post and let the photos tell the story. This series of photos show the transformation of my craft space. It has been years in the making but I think I am finally at the point where I am happy to just let natural progression decluttering take over from here. That is, things will now leave as I use them up and not be replaced. So without further adieu please enjoy the photos.

These photos show, more or less, the original state of my craft area

These photos show my craft area after some amount of decluttering

These photos show some decluttering in action. I usually don't make this kind of mess while decluttering but the area needed some serious reshuffling so that is what is happening here.

And this is the end result of years of progressive decluttering. What do you think of that?

And here is a side by side comparison of the before and after of the same space. Even I am stunned at the difference and I have lived through the changes.

Today’s Mini Mission

Do you have too many accessories ~ Belts, bags, scarves, hats, hair adornments…? If so now is the time to weed out a few.

Today’s Declutter Item

Today I am decluttering a bunch of scarves. Quite often one doesn’t know how items will suit until they are worn for a while. These scarves, some made by my loving, caring mother, made me itch and/or sneeze or moulted all over my jackets so they are off to the thrift shop. I will know better next time.

A bunch of scarves

Something I Am Grateful For Today

 Hot cups of tea on cold days. Actually I love hot cups on tea any day but especially on cold ones.

“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

Cindy

I’ve been decluttering at work recently. We transformed a short hallway that went nowhere into a storage closet, and I started working my magic on it. I told Colleen, and she said, “They must be really grateful.”

I’m not so sure.

I work for two attorneys, whom I am going to call HE and SHE. They are very different. HE doesn’t seem to think much about his surroundings, and SHE could become a decorator. SHE loves moving the furniture and paintings, putting out pretty boxes for functional items like paper clips, and SHE like a somewhat crowded decorating style. SHE also saves things, like furniture and bedding, in a storage unit so that SHE can rotate items when the whim strikes her.

When I ask HIM about getting rid of something, HE generally either tells me to get rid of it, or HE tells me that he’ll think about it later. HE has about a 3 minute tolerance for decluttering tasks.

SHE gives great consideration to all the questions: Can we use it somewhere else? Will we need it some day? Could I use it at home instead, etc. As I said, SHE likes to keep things.

Then there’s ME. I like to organize things and get rid of what’s not needed, and I take a pretty hard line on what those unneeded items are.  The woman who ordered supplies before me believed that nothing exceeded like excess. I estimate that I won’t buy another paperclip – ever. We have 13 boxes, and I don’t think a single one of them has been opened in the past 17 months. We use lots of them, but we get lots in the mail too. There’s a sea of ever-circulating paperclips among lawyers. None of us ever need buy them again! We have several dozen markers for dry erase boards. I worry that by the time we get around to using the last box, dry is what they’ll be. Same with highlighters. I could go on, but you’ve got the idea. All of these things are difficult for HE and SHE to part with because they do have an intrinsic worth, just not one that we are going to capitalize on. (Ok, the paperclips I’m keeping. They’ll probably still be good in 100 years.)

I’ve gotten rid of about 150 hanging file folders (I think we’re safe with the 150 empty ones we have left plus the 400 or so that we have in current use), a box of boxes (arrived at our office June 2010 and never even opened), a bulletin board (last used???), old legal exhibits (once the case is over, they’re junk unless it goes to appeal), and a dozen three ring binders. Yes, there’s more I’d like to get rid of but in getting rid of what I did – decluttering and organizing the new closet – we have been able to eliminate the need for 2 tall storage units and a 36″ lateral filing cabinet.

Yes, HE and SHE may be uncomfortable with my approach to consolidating office supplies sometimes, but they sure like the results.

Today’s Mini Mission

Do you have too many stationery items ~ Folders, papers, pens, clips, staplers…? If so now is the time to weed out a few. I don’t know if this mission gave Cindy ideas for today’s post or whether it was a sheer coincidence but it sure has worked to promote a consistent theme throughout the entire post today.

Today’s Declutter Item

These items were relinquished during some recent decluttering in my craft room. Stay tuned for tomorrows post of the big craft room reveal.

Folders, notebooks and loose leaf paper.

Something to be grateful for today

I sent my car in for a six month extended warranty check today. It turned out I needed new brake pads and discs on the front and I have been having a stalling problem that they fixed as well. About $700 later I will get my care back. What is there to be grateful in that you might ask. Being able to afford mechanical repairs on my car when they are needed even if they are unexpected. Thank you my darling husband for being such a good provider, we are a great team.

“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

Cindy

My thrift-store shopping girlfriends, Holly, Natalie, and I hit The Goodwill Outlet last month. Goodwill, I believe, is the most common thrift store in the United States. In Austin, the Outlet is where everything not sold at the neighborhood stores goes to die (at least that’s how I think of it). It’s a massive, one room warehouse with another massive room for processing goods, and a separate area for the local offices of Goodwill – in total, a 124,200-square-foot (11,538 square meters) building.

There’s definitely a “last chance” quality to the store. Everything is put in waist-high, shallow big blue bins that are probably 4 foot by 5 foot. The merchandise is divided into clothes (probably half of the merchandise), books, and housewares. Everything is sold for $1.39 a pound. You literally push your cart onto a floor scale, and it gets weighed.

The blue bins are exchanged on a regular basis. I’m guessing that each bin is out for only about 3 hours before it is rolled away, and that’s it. Get it now, or it’s gone.

While some of the items are still in great condition, much of the merchandise has a slightly pick over quality to it; after all, it’s already been at a regular Goodwill store for a month or so, and it made me sad to watch the bins of housewares literally being dumped, sometimes accompanied with the sounds of glass breaking. There are clearly people there who are shopping professionally – one carts was filled with just VHS tapes, another filled with just books, plus plenty of folks who are either stocking up on clothing for selling at flea markets or in the used clothing markets in Mexico.

One disadvantage of the pricing system is that some of the housewares, which can be quite heavy, might now be more expensive than they were originally priced at the Goodwill. I considered buying a large set of Thomas the Train items, but because they’re wooden, they’re heavy, and the price was $40. That’s too much to risk on reselling.

Besides just being boggled by the amount of stuff, the strongest impression I left with was a desire to do more to place my no-longer-needed items into loving home, rather than sending them to the thrift store. I’m sure the person who donated the Thomas the Train set or the never used set of napkins never imagined they’d end up in the “last call” bin, and after 3 hours, they’re gone for good.

Today’s Declutter Item

Not long into my first year of decluttering I sold all of my kids ski gear on ebay, or at least I thought I did. I somehow managed to miss this jacket it must have been hiding in a different closet. Well it is sold now. Hopefully I also have a buyer for my husband’s and my ski gear too. Fingers crossed.

My Daughter's Ski Jacket

“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

Read this comment from Sue D as it was the catalyst for today’s post.

I find it interesting that linen is Sue D’s nemesis when it comes to decluttering yet I am not surprised. The thing with items such as linen is that eventually you are going to need some of them and that makes them hard to part with. Although I have decluttered my linen storage spaces on more than one occasion over the last two years, and am satisfied with its current state, there are still more things in there than are really necessary.

I have…

• 5 sets of queen bed sheets for two queen beds in the house. Three sets should be enough considering one bed is the guest bed that doesn’t even have sheets on most of the time. One set is still in the package I bought them in. I won’t be decluttering any of these for now.
• 6 sets of bath towels (12 total) with matching hand towels for only two adults and the occasional guests. I stocked up when living in America because they were so much cheaper to buy there. But really towels last a very long time and 4 sets would be more than enough.
• 4 beach towels. I have to admit these are rarely ever all required at once. Even though we have beautiful beaches here in Newcastle I am not a sun worshiper and usually only go to the beach for the view not for swimming or playing in the sand. Liam uses the these towels occasionally though.
• There are a couple of ratty old towels as well for spills or messy jobs I wouldn’t like to use my good towels for.
• 1 spare queen duvet cover. Not necessary as both queen beds have a cover and the spare is a dark aubergine colour which makes our now smaller bedroom feel even smaller and dark. And managing without a cover isn’t a problem should one not make it off the clothes line  in time.
• 2 sets of double bed sheet for my son’s bed. This is fine. But I just realised there are also two extra double bed fitted sheets so they can go.
• Another 8 towels in the downstairs bathroom. These were purchased when I  had a teenage girl at home so 8 really wasn’t too many then. They don’t take up much space so I will declutter these as they become shabby and or send some of them off with my son if/when he leaves home. There are also 4 hand towels and 6 face washers.
• 1 table cloth which has only rarely ever been used and on reflection is a bit silly keeping it because it is a huge oblong and we now have a small round table. Perhaps I could cut it down to fit. I don’t even like table clothes really so why bother. We don’t stand on ceremony when it comes to dining, in our house it is all very casual and that’s the way I like it. So I think the thrift shop will be receiving a nice maroon table cloth this week.
• There are a few spare pillow slips but some of them can go as the spares from the extra sheet sets will suffice should we suddenly end up with lots of guests. And even that is unlikely.
• In the camphor wood chest there is a spare queen and a spare single duvet (doona) also in case we get extra guests. Those guest would have to be young people who don’t care where they sleep because we only have the three beds.

You will be able to see from the photos below that although the list above seems long and more than adequate the items themselves don’t take up all that much space. Granted one set of queen bed sheets are on the spare bed while my daughter is staying and she is using two towels out of the cupboard under the bathroom basin. But even if those items are put back the space taken up is still minimal. So I  think that most of the stuff will be staying except the items I pointed out which are now out of the closet and photographed as my declutter item for the day.

Up Stairs Linen Closet

The Down Stairs Linen Supplies

To some it up, when it comes to linen one needs to carry spares but there is not need to have excess beyond the spares. Does it make sense to declutter perfectly good items that will one day become necessary due to natural progression? That depends on whether you are prepared to house them and for how long. Some up your space situation, your tastes and preferences and the actual necessity for items that are rarely used and make your decisions based on that information.

Even as I end this post I am thinking do I care if I end up at the beach one day with a bath towel and the answer is no. So I suppose two of those beach towels could probably go after all.

Today’s Declutter Item

The linen that didn't make the cut. 1 Duvet cover, 1 large table cloth, 2 double bed fitted sheets and 2 pillow slips.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I had fun with the kids. B and I hired a bike each while Liam used his and we rode down the Fernleigh Track to Whitebridge and back again.

“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 discovered a new way to invigorate the desire to declutter. It is unconventional but it sure got me taking another look in what I thought were my fairly decluttered cupboards.

I have mentioned before that when my husband retires we intend to downsize to a smaller townhouse or apartment. Just recently we have been toying with the idea of doing it sooner rather than later. In fact for some time now hubby has been constantly looking at on line real estate sites and showing me properties but we never actually do anything about it.

Well, last week we finally phoned an agent and arranged to inspect a property. A nice little two bedroom, 1 study, 1 bathroom apartment in a refurbished old building. We were pleasantly surprised at how spacious it seemed even though it was smaller than our existing dwelling.

It occurred to me partway through the viewing that the ample floor space had a lot to do with the reduction in storage space. Which got me thinking that I have a ways to go yet before I am decluttered enough to feel uncluttered in a smaller place. I am up for the challenge though and feel a sudden invigoration in my attitude to decluttering.

Today’s Declutter Item

This is one of those foolish stock up while they are cheap purchases. Having a son doing high school fine arts at the time it seemed like a sensible purchase. Once he entered uni and his major soon changed to photography canvases were no longer required. Luckily art students know other art student so I gave them to a friend of his. She was very happy with the windfall and I was glad to reclaim a huge chunk of closet space. One more step towards fitting into a smaller home.

Artist Canvases

Something to me grateful for

I was particularly tickled when my son came out the day after viewing the property mentioned above and said if we were to move into that place he would need to declutter more of his stuff. He than began to point out what he would be happy to let go of.  I feel grateful and pleased that he understands the point of all this. He even happily complies with my ways of reducing waste in our home. I feels good to think that I may be successfully raising a non-materialist young man.

“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