I have begun to look at a lot of things in my home through a filter of “does it bug me”?  It’s kind of the opposite of “does it spark joy”.  Like the embellished sweatshirt that I had loved for years.  One day I just realized out of the blue that things about it were bugging me!  So I took it off and threw it in the trash bin.

There is a pair of slippers that, while wearable and don’t look too ratty, I don’t especially enjoy wearing because they are hard to keep on my feet.  So they are in my sights…

Recently I found a half empty jar of jam in the fridge.  It didn’t look or smell bad but I remembered it came into the house several months ago so rather than worry about someone getting sick on it, I tossed it.  It bugged me that something potentially sickening was taking up room in the fridge.

Something I got rid of a while ago was a color photo of an old barn surrounded by fall foliage that we had had framed when we were first married (over 30 years ago).  I always loved that photo.   But it started to bug me because it had faded.  It hurt me to look at it like that, when it had been so vibrant.

We are using up and passing along extras of shampoos and lotions and the like because having so many around the bathtub bugs me.

There are some plates that were stored out of the way in our attic.  They were bugging me because I don’t need them or prefer them but they take up space.  I want our attic to be mostly cleared out because we will be too old before you know it to fetch things up there.  I am planning to offer them to our daughter who is getting married.  If she doesn’t want them & my husband doesn’t care, they will be donated.

I bought a deviled egg holder which itself was shaped like a large egg (Easter themed) years ago.  It was a cute idea but it bugged me because it never got used.  It’s outta here!

Several spice mixes found their way to the compost & recycle container recently.  It bugged me that I spent money on them but no one used them.  So, it made me feel bad every time I saw them, not like I was somehow saving money by keeping them.

Alright now you will all know that I’m crazy… I have a string of LED Christmas lights that have the “big color bulbs” like the old ones used to have.  I had them up on a beam between our living room and dining room for several years sort of as a night light (all year!).  I have loved them since I got them.  Right around Christmas 2015, I noticed that one of the “bulbs” was burnt out.  When I investigated, I found that it wasn’t fixable.  So, down came the lights.  They are currently lighting a window frame in my bedroom… They are not yet in full “bug me” mode but I see the day coming…

I feel like I am getting more in tune with my (bad) feelings about my stuff for some reason.  So, maybe you can “sniff around” your home for something that has been bugging you lately.  Some ideas:

 

Shoes that hurt your feet or back

Clothes that require constant tugging to hang properly on you

Underwear that isn’t “broken” but doesn’t fit right or help you look good

Socks that rub your toes or are too tight at the ankles, too loose, or have holes

Containers of any sort that are hard or unwieldy to open and/or close

Hair products or any hygiene product that you hate using

Cleaning products that you hate the smell of

Furniture that drags down the look of your home or is uncomfortable

Vacuum that forces you to go over the same spot multiple times

Blender that takes too long to blend

Frayed or stained linens

Pillows that hurt your neck

Throw pillows that annoy you

Anything that’s hard to clean

Décor that you’re tired of

Chipped or scratched plates and cookware

**************

Here are a couple of comments made by Peggy in the past so you can get to know here better.

A use it up challenge

A impromptu declutter 

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

How decluttering can improve your finances ~ by deanna ar USA

With contributions from her husband Randy

The last few years hubby and I have noticed an improvement in our finances because we were purchasing less, in order not to add items to our home, when we were in fact working to declutter it. It was easy to see that I had not  shopped Coldwater Creek (my favorite) in a couple of years. In fact I had not been compelled to shop anywhere because so many items were decluttered that we hadn’t needed anyway, i.e. household items, hubby’s hobby items, tools, etc. About the only place I was shopping was thrift shops and, of course, grocery stores. I’m still learning what clutter is.

We didn’t set out to actually focus our decluttering skills on finances, but we were aware that we wanted to reduce expenses. We had talked about it often but didn’t really take enough action. I do think that having been actively decluttering for awhile and learning to release things, it was easier to release some things in our financial world too…like DirecTV (subscribing to Netflix and Hulu instead)…over $100 savings monthly. We’re now hoping  to reduce homeowners and auto insurance. We’re going back to a mail order pharmacy, it’s much cheaper. Our prescriptions are all generic now. We’ve also reduced the number of times we eat out each week. And we generally drink wine only at home now, except for special occasions. We’re in the midst of these changes now, so we’re eager to see how much this is going to affect us monthly. Last month was great! But we are finding that, like most decluttering, this too is a process.

I was not raised to declutter. My mother saved everything. Even though I did it in spurts, I never considered that it was ok to let some things go. However, I’ve been decluttering clothes (mine and hubby’s) for several years. But we traveled halftime for hubby’s work so, not being home much, I just couldn’t get started on decluttering the house. It helped that I had been reading several minimalist blogs regularly. I already knew that if I wanted to clean out my closet, then I could read my favorite style blog to get motivated. When I found Colleen’s blog and started reading it, it quickly became my favorite. I was so taken with her style and how active many of the readers were. So I started reading her archives and learned a lot of things I’d never considered before and became so very motivated to get rid of stuff I wasn’t using or didn’t love (even when it involved finances and entertainment).

These are a few of the things that have helped along the way:

1. Natural progression…the more you declutter, the more you want to declutter.

2. It’s ok to destroy pictures (or pass them along to relatives), especially duplicates, unflattering pictures, people you don’t know…

3. I thought some things were off limits. But what about those who lose everything in floods, tornadoes, etc…instant decluttering!

4. I thought I knew myself well, but after reading about fantasy selves, I’m now questioning what part is fantasy and what part is the real me.

5. Decluttering is addictive, so is shopping.

6. Reducing finances is also decluttering. What an “aha” moment that was.

7. It’s ok to return a gift(s) that you no longer use, need or want. And it can sometimes be done without hurting anyone’s feelings, especially if you’re forthright about it. Or…you can regift.

8. I have decluttered things recently that I would never have considered before…like my baton, my mandolin, some favorite clothes that I no longer wore, and on and on.

9. The less “stuff” you have, the fewer decisions you have to make. I love that. When I’m decluttering, one criteria I use is, “Do I really want to have to make this decision again at a later date?”

10. The more careful I am with my criteria, the more hubby is willing to trust me…that I will not declutter his stuff without asking. And he’s been decluttering more on his own. Hurray!

#9 is my favorite. It’s amazing how excited and happy decluttering can make you, giving you that sense of freedom from stuff.

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

Each of us has a different day when we clean up all the decorations from the holidays.  One thing we all do though is repack and stash away everything.  This is a great time to declutter.  We have a great opportunity to look at each item and decide:

1. Did we use it this time?
2. Does it need repair or a toss into the trash?
3. Do we like it?
4. Do we want to change our style/color? 
5. Has our life changed in a way that requires our decorating to change?

Now is the time to declutter all of those holiday items you no longer need taking up space in your home.  Things like decorations, ornaments, decorative paper plates or napkins, towels, tablecloths, and duplicates of salt and pepper shakers or serving pieces.  I’m sure there are more items you can think of.  How about holiday books or magazines for: cooking, decorating, or crafts. 

This year we are going to be decluttering many things because we will be moving.  We will have two households but fewer places to display items.  Mom is not even sure she wants to decorate other than maybe a wreath on her door.  I will probably keep the small tree we have but not many other things.  If I could find a metal tree I really like I may get one to put the ornaments on because they are what I treasure.

Share with us your stories of decluttering as you clear away after the holiday season.

Looking for some last minute gift ideas?  Ideas which won’t clutter your friend’s and family’s home and will be happily received?  Here are a few consumable gift ideas from myself, Deb J and Idgy of the North.

Moni’s Lemon Honey (also known as Lemon Curd)
3 eggs
1 Teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Lemon Juice
50 grams butter

 Melt butter in a 2 litre microwave proof container.  Add rest of the ingredients and stir.  Microwave on high for 8 minutes.  Allow to cool then pour into hot dry jars.  Seal when cool.  Note: this recipe won’t work if doubled.

 Idgy’s Whipped Shortbread

1 cup butter (do not use margaine)
½ cup icing sugar
1½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar.  Add flour and beat for 10 minutes.  Drop from small spoon onto cookie sheet.  Decorate with maraschino cherry pieces if you wish.  Bake at 350 F for about 10-12 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned.  Makes about 3 dozen small cookies.  Note:  This recipe doubles well.

Deb J’s Mocha Truffles    (Yield: about 5 ½ dozen)

 3 ½ cups semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons of instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons water
1 pound of dark chocolate confectionery coating
 IN a microwave-safe bowl melt chocolate chips.  Add cream cheese, coffee and water; mix well.  Chill until firm enough to shape.  Shape into 1-in balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.  Chill for 1-2 hours or until firm.  Melt chocolate coating in microwave-safe bowl or double boiler.  Dip balls and place on waxed paper to harden.  Note 1: When shaping the balls, take only small amounts out of the refrigerator at a time so they will be easy to shape and not becoming warm and sticky.  Note 2: We melt small amounts of coating at a time because it hardens quickly.  We also take out a few of the mocha balls at a time because they are harder to cover with the coating when a little warm.  Note 3: Truffles can be frozen for several months before dipping in chocolate.  Thaw in the refrigerator before dipping.  They can also be frozen after dipping and thawed in the refrigerator.

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

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?

This blog post is by Moni Gilbert who is coordinating this series of posts.

As we enter the Silly Season I would like to kick off a series written by Deb J, Andréia and myself entitled “365-ing The Silly Season”.  So often women plan their holiday seasons to the nth degree with the goal of the ‘perfect’ day and while the home might look grand, the menu perfect and all the little details might be delightful, is there a tired, stressed out woman behind it all?   I would like to suggest the gift of going a little easier on yourselves.   Trust me, no one will notice the difference if you omit a few things.

I’d like to encourage you to decide what is actually important to you as far your preparations go, cull some not so important details and reduce your menu by an item or two.  I’d like folks to think about how their expectations and preparations would appear mapped out on the calendar.   If every single day in December has a huge to-do list on top of all the regular workload and commitments, add an escalated social whirl, its a recipe for stress.  Set yourself a limit of how many ‘extra’ chores you can realistically achieve in a day and stick to it.  It is realistic to have time to yourself to relax in the evening in the weeks leading up to the holidays.  Explain this new arrangement in advance to your family, they might have suggestions of what they’d be happy to forego or volunteer to do in your place.

What would you be prepared to forego this year?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that was really useful in the past but hasn’t been used in a long time. Maybe its time in done for you.

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

Hi folks, well after reading the heading of this post you are probably wondering what on earth I have written about. So lets get started.

My home isn’t clutter free. People probably think it is but it isn’t. After all I have never professed to be a minimalist and doubt I ever will aspire to that. The bulk of the clutter that I planned to get rid of is gone. And, as you all know, we achieved our goal of moving into a small apartment almost two years ago now. My wardrobe doesn’t hold a lot of clothes, my shoe selection is minimal compared to most, we have books but not a lot. We don’t have excess toiletries, linens, stationary supplies, paperwork or food supplies and the kitchen holds very few items  that don’t get used often.

However, there is still some clutter in our home. I have an abundance of craft supplies, despite my feverish crafting habits of late. We still haven’t finished culling photographs, which is one of the tasks I raved on about a lot back at the start of my decluttering. There is a variety of coffee making implements high up in one of the kitchen cupboards that don’t get used. And my wedding dress still wastes space in my wardrobe. Those last two things are ones I haven’t been given permission to dispose of yet or they would be gone. And the keepsake box probably holds some items that we probably don’t care much about but I haven’t taken it down to look through it for a while. Keepsakes are probably all clutter really but if we enjoy that little trip down memory lane every now and again then they aren’t clutter to us. And then there is the stuff that just isn’t mine to part with so I don’t touch it.

There are three reasons why there is still some clutter in our house. Clutter that has been lingering for a long time too. Reason one is that I believe that all parties who have any ownership of the clutter also has a say in whether it stays or goes. Reason two is that, there are some decluttering tasks that I am still happy to put off until I feel inclined to deal with them, such as photographs. And reason three is that, like the less loved keepsakes, I really don’t care if they remain because they don’t take up much space.

All in all I am very happy with the clutter level in our home. And yes I do still declutter items every now and again. And yes the craft clutter in general is lessening despite the fact that I add to it for certain projects. And yes there are still items I would be happy to part with. And the one thing that keeps the level of clutter down is the fact that we don’t buy much in the way of material things these day.

So what clutter do you still have in your home that you don’t mind being there or just don’t care to deal with yet? Or perhaps you need some advice on why and how to get rid of some things that really do irritate you. Share your thoughts with us and we will give you our advice or opinions.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you keep just because most people have one. I decluttered out BBQ soon after I began by declutter journey. It is almost sacrilegious to not own a BBQ in Australia but we just never used ours so out it went. Five years latter and we have never replaced it or missed it for that matter.

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

In response to a comment on Monday I mentioned the idea that if there is a lack of ways to donate your stuff in the area where you live then why not have a free garage sale. Yes you read that correctly, a garage sale to give your unwanted stuff away. Or a yard sale if you like. 

It would be easier than a normal garage sale, because you wouldn’t need to agonise over or make the effort to price everything. Just stick all your unwanted stuff out in the garage or lawn and allow those who come along to take what they please. The lawn sale seems like the safer approach because with a garage sale you would have to cover and or label everything that you aren’t giving away that is usually stored in your garage.

This idea was inspired by a memory of a reader some time ago who lived in France. She said that there were no thrift shops where she lived. So I told her to fill her car trunk up with the stuff she didn’t want and drive to a poorer neighbourhood and let people take what they want. I guess you could call that a free car boot sale. Just to clarify we call a car trunk a car boot here in Australia. I don’t know if she ever tried it, but so long as one steered clean of dangerous neighbourhoods then it would be safe enough to do.

I have to confess that at the time it made me think that it was just easier for some people to throw things away rather than make the effort to come up with a plan to donate it. I stick with what I state in the blog post last week, that people shouldn’t agonise over how to get rid of their stuff. However, in my opinion, they are obliged, for environmental and humanitarian reasons,  to at least make an effort to send it on to someone who can make use of it. And the free garage sale seem to me to be a simple, fast and effective way to go about that.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from your bathroom.

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

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

A guest post by: Nicole V

Do you know the word game in which a player begins with a word in a particular category (countries or cities, for instance), with subsequent players taking turns to say a new word that begins with the final letter of the previous word? Once a word has been given, it cannot be repeated and any player who is unable to come up with a word is out of the game. It is usually referred to as the ‘Last and First’, ‘Last Letter Game’ or ‘Last Letter Word Chain’ although I’m sure there must be other names for it. Well, I was thinking that it might be fun for us 365ers to try out something similar while decluttering, but I wanted to make it a more challenging game, one involving quick thinking and action and one in which anyone can come in at any time and make a quick play in real-time. I decided to throw down the decluttering gauntlet and wait to see who is the fastest 365er to take up the challenge. Here’s what I came up with:

1. I begin by decluttering three forks from a drawer.

2. Whoever is fast enough then continues the game by quickly thinking of and finding an item to declutter from any one category – either number or item or place – to play in. This could be either three items (but not forks) or an item beginning with the letter ‘k’ or ‘s’ (the second last or last letter of forks*) or any number of anything (that is not a fork) from any drawer. If you select the number category, you have to declutter identical items. So, if Colleen is the quickest player who is able to continue the game, she could then either declutter three bowls or one (or any number) kettle or spoon or a non-fork item from any drawer in her home. She will then update the rest of us in the online comment thread.

*In the case of plural nouns, you can use either the last or second last letter of the word to continue under the item category – in the case of the forks, this would mean that the next item can begin with the letter ‘s’ or ‘k’. Thank you, Colleen, for your input regarding this.

3. The game continues with any 365er who is quick to identify something to declutter and comment about. There is no need for the item to leave your home immediately, you just need to identify it and earmark it for decluttering (whether you donate, recycle, shred, etc) as soon as possible. But you have to be quick on the draw as the categories will keep changing depending on how fast another 365er declutters something and updates the rest of us about it. If another 365er has read the latest update and quickly decluttered something and updated the online comment thread before you were able to list your item, you’ll have to either:

(a) Recategorize your item under one of the other two categories, if possible, or

(b) Keep that item and jump in on another round or

(c) Quickly look for another suitable item that relates to the current round and play it before someone else does.

4. To keep it interesting, items cannot be repeated in consecutive turns – if someone declutters shoes, the next person cannot declutter shoes as well (and must find another item that begins with the letter ‘e’ or ‘s’) but the person after that can. The number of items decluttered and the place or room that the item was decluttered from can, of course, be repeated in consecutive turns.

5. Be as creative and imaginative as you can possibly be (or get away with!) regarding the categories and have fun!

So, with apologies to Effie Trinket, all that’s left is for me to say: “Happy Decluttering Games and may the odds be ever in your favour!”

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something beginning with the letter T.

“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

If you use a printer in your workplace, only print what really needs printing and print double sided if you can.

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