Clutter is often the result of buying now rather than wisely. This can apply to all sorts of products for various reasons. Here are two common reasons for purchasing this way. The first being that the item has bargain price you’d would be mad to pass it up. And second, the item may not be available later so you would be mad not to grab it now while you have the chance, avoiding future regret. Sound familiar?

Here are some examples…

Scenario ~ Sally was at the thrift store and saw a microwave oven plate that exactly matched the one for her oven and it was only $2. She had recently broken her plate and it had cost $25 to replace. She would be mad not to buy this one now at such a bargain price just in case the same misfortune reoccured.

Argument ~ Sally is thinking only of the pain of having just spend $25 on the replacement she bought while this plate is only $2. She is not taking into account that this is the first time she has broken a plate in 25 years of owning and using a microwave oven. Don’t buy it Sally or it could be cluttering up your kitchen for the next 10 years and that would be mad.

Scenario ~ When my family was leaving America to return to Australia our daughter was to be going off to college in another city soon after our return. Because we assumed household items were less expensive in the US we bought a selection of items for her to take when she moved out. We would have been mad to pay Australian prices right?

Argument ~ She moved to another city alright but lived with her grandparents because it made economical sense. She is still with her grandparents almost five years later. Meanwhile I am still storing two large plastic containers of household items in my garage. I am sure I could buy the same items at much the same prices now right here is Australia and not have wasted space in my garage for years.

Scenario ~ I used to do a lot of papercraft and I worked in a large craft store. It was so easy to stay up to date with all the latest trends and I got to see all the new stock as it arrived at the store. Paper in particular was hard to resist as the patterns changed all the time and it would have been crazy not to purchase the ones I liked while they were available, right?

Argument ~ Wrong! I was mad to stock up so much on supplies when I had no idea how life would change down the line and leave me with less time and less enthusiasm for the craft. Especially since I have a track record of switching from one interest to another. Not to mention all the storage systems I had to purchase to organise it all that I am now also decluttering.

Scenario ~ At the end of the season you would be mad not to stock up on clothing the next size up for your child for the coming year. At 50 – 75% off it is a bargain too good to refuse.

Argument ~ What if ~ 1. Your child has an unusual growth spurt and is too big for the clothes when next year comes around. 2. Your child’s growth pattern slows and is too small for the clothes when next year comes around and then too big the year after. That’s two years of storing these clothes for nothing. 3. Fashion trends change and the clothes would have your child looking and feeling out of place. 4. The child develops their own style and refuses to where the clothes you chose. 5. Next year you could have had an unexpected move to a different climate zone and then the clothes may not fit when needed. I will leave it at that although there are many more reasons why this could be a bad idea.

The potential for future clutter also exists when you purchase something on sale you only think you might enjoy or get use out of. I have photographic proof of endless garage sale bargains, over enthusiastic craft purchases, use it up decluttering missions on toiletry items, must have half price gadgets and regretful purchases of substitute items that were almost right but a lot cheaper than the items I really needed…for all to see here on my blog. So trust me, I speak from experience. Luckily I have also learned from the experience

The one thing I have discovered over the years is there is always another bargain around the corner so if you don’t need the item now it will probably be on sale again by the time you actually need to make the purchase. So stop cluttering up your cupboards with backups, regrets and wasted money and only purchase what is necessary when it is necessary. Thats not to say you can’t enjoy a frivolous purchase every now and again just not every time you see something you think you would be mad not to snap up.

Today’s Declutter Item

Here is a perfect example of buying in advance because they were a bargain too good to refuse. Of course I thought at the time “I will use them one day” and at 75% off what did I have to lose? I’ll tell you, about $6 and space in my craft room for five years. I am giving them away to an artist friend of my son.

Spiral Scrapbooks

Something I Am Grateful For Today

No less than six of the items I donated to the thrift store yesterday were sold before my shift there was done. I love that I have decluttered, the store has made money and the customer is happy. Although I do wonder if they have just fallen for one of the scenarios I have mentioned above.

“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

It has been some time since I dedicated a post to consumerism and how that affects our clutter situations. The generation of items that become redundant in our home is near to unavoidable especially if you have a growing family. Children outgrow everything, clothes, shoes, beds, toys, books… even us parents eventually, ‘hopefully”. Therefore so long as there are kids around there will always be maintenance decluttering to keep up with the things they grow out of.

As for us adults, all going well, we will wear our clothes out rather than grow out of them. Other things we use will also become old and need replacing like shoes, furnishings, grooming tools, eye-glasses, linen… There are also items that due to the advances in technology will also become redundant such as, computers, televisions, phones, cameras… Then there are the things that get used up like make-up, toiletries, food, stationary, cleaners and once again the list goes on.

Needless to say there is a lot of natural progression decluttering that goes on in a lifetime. Things need replacing simply because they are outgrown, worn out or don’t work efficiently any more. The key is to keep up with the decluttering as these things become redundant that way they don’t build up over time.

And then there is consumerism where we buy things, replace things and update things whether we need them or not. Don’t get me wrong I am not a complete kill joy but I am sure we can all admit to getting somewhat carried away in the past when it comes to recreational shopping. I also don’t begrudge anyone from treating themselves every now and again to a something totally indulgent but to just buy for the sake of buying on a constant basis is what causes a home to become weighed down with clutter.

I am not going to go into specifics here we all know what I am talking about, spoiling the children with a treat every time you hit the mall, buying more clothes than you could ever wear out in a lifetime, getting a new cell phone every time a new model comes onto the market. This kind of constant indulgence, in a lot of cases, is cause for serious credit card debt, the supply and demand ramification are destroying the environment and the guilt, obligation and aspiration clutter it generates is not good for your mental health.

So how do we resist the temptation to continue buying what we don’t need?

• First of all stop looking. If you don’t know what is out there you don’t know what you are missing. Don’t read the sales catalogues, don’t pay attention to advertisements on TV, in magazine or newspapers, or on the radio. These ad campaigns are designed to make you think you can’t live without whatever it is they are selling.
• My second suggestion is to stay away from the shops for the same reason as above. There are so many other things you can be doing other than shopping for entertainment. There is a list of alternatives to shopping back on Day 157.
• Don’t kill time browsing internet stores either, they are even more insidious than the shopping mall because they are right in your home.
• Make it a fun challenge to see how long you can make something last and only replace it when it is worn out or used up. Don’t just replace things because you see something, bigger, brighter, faster, newer, prettier… No sooner will you get it home but there will be something else on sales that is bigger, brighter, faster, newer, prettier… than the one you just bought. It is kind of like fighting a loosing battle.
• Cut back by treating yourself once a month rather than once and week or once a week rather than every day whatever the case my be for you. Keep cutting back until you are living a more sustainable lifestyle.
• Stop trying to keep up with the Jones’s they are probably miserable anyway, bogged down in credit card debt and having to move into bigger homes to hold all the stuff they own and still they want more. Sounds like a sad way to live to me.
• Don’t be lured in by low prices. Remember that bargains, freebies, two for one deals and secondhand stuff might be cheep but are still potential clutter items if you don’t really need them.

I and Cindy have written many blogs in the past about this subject which I have listed some below or you can click on Retail Assault or Resist in the Tag Cloud to find many more

Do you shop to fill a void

Recreational Shopping

Day 214 – Supply and Demand

Day 328 – Black Friday

Day 135 – Resistance is not futile against retail assault

So how we are all doing with resisting shopping temptations. Send in your comments and let us now how you have evolved in this aspect of your declutter mission. Let us know if you are still having trouble resisting and maybe we can help encourage you to be more with less.

Today’s Declutter Item

These little drawers came in mighty handy in my craft room for years but now that I have decluttered my supplies I no longer need them. They were a freebie at a garage sale I went to once in Seattle. I must say I did get good use out of them and now my friends son-in-law is finding them useful. Now that is what I call reuse and recycle.

Storage System

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ My children and their love affair with their father’s moustache.
• Something Awesome ~ Honeycomb Crush TimTams
• Something to be grateful for ~ A free bus ride. I didn’t have the exact change so the driver let me ride for free.
• Something that made me happy ~ Getting to the bottom of my to-do list again today and hopefully I won’t have one for tomorrow.
• Something I found enjoyable ~ Sunshine ~ We have had nothing but rain all week but today there were breaks in the clouds to let the sunshine in. It was lovely.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

I hate to be a cynic, but I think I might be becoming one when it come to this oxymoron* ~ Useful gifts. More specifically, useful generic gifts. My mother gave me a drip irrigation system for Christmas. Let me tell you, that’s a useful gift, and I am so appreciative. (Thanks Mom!) But what about these “useful” gifts that have recently come into my home:

• water bottles and bandannas from a child’s birthday party.
• water bottles as a “finisher’s prize” for a book reading contest
• water bottles given to the kids when they went to camp for a day
• bandannas as a party favor at an adult party
• cheap backpacks given as a promotion for Lemonaid Day (a fundraising event for kids)
• expensive backpack given to my daughter when she was in the hospital
• expensive backpacks given to my husband annually when he attends a conference
• tote bags given at conferences and as promotions in stores
• soap, lotions and other toiletries
• and let’s not forget T-shirts for registering or participating in nearly any event

Sure, on their own, each one of these items can be useful. I’m not going to argue with that. A water bottle, a bandanna, a back pack, a tote bag, a t-shirt – all these items can be useful. But I went from having a just-right number of water bottles to having an explosion of them. My kids have backpacks, and each one lasts for two school years. I’ve already decluttered a half dozen bandannas; now I have more. As for t-shirts, let me just say that when I started decluttering, my husband had 100.

What’s a declutterer to do? First off, I try to leave these things behind when they are offered to me. Yes, you might have to step out of your comfort zone to say “no thanks” rather than just accepting what’s handed to you. This helps with clutter, but unfortunately, there is still the larger environmental impact of that item’s existence. We don’t need these things (or even want them), and the fact that they exist means that the raw materials have been gathered, and they have been manufactured, transported, etc. – a waste of perfectly good energy.

To make my small impact on these larger issues, I have resisted gifts more and more. (As Colleen once wrote, Don’t the very words “stocking stuffer” = “unnecessary item”.) If it’s not truly a want or need of someone in the family, we don’t buy it. We make gifts. I shop at the thrift stores, Craiglist, and Ebay first; local stores next; the mall last. This year I vowed to give no material gifts to my children’s friends. For my own friends, with whom I rarely exchange gifts anyway, I give something very practical, like a homemade frozen meal. (Way more appreciated at Christmas time than more candy or a Santa trinket, I guarantee you!) If there’s nothing I really want, I ask for a gift certificate to my favorite online store, Amazon.com, where I can buy practically anything when the need does arise.

When did “I love you and value your friendship” start to equal “so I’ll give you some cheap crap to show it”? Or “I’m so grateful that you came to my conference that I’ll load you up on items you can’t possibly use” become a standard business practice? Only by becoming conscious of choices in all areas of our lives can we start to change and to change the people around us. I know I’ve had an influence on my friends and on you, our readers, and I know you have too. Let’s be like water on a pond sending ripples of wisdom outward instead of thoughtless consumers of more, more, and more.

*For those of you who are not native English speakers, an oxymoron is a figure of speech where two apparently opposite ideas are paired.

Today’s Declutter Item

I have looked forward to this day from the very beginning of my declutter mission and it has finally arrived. This is the hutch section of an entertainment unit that is no longer suitable to fit the TV into. It is big and dark and bulky and held a lot of stuff I never really used or loved. By slowly decluttering spaces in the bottom section of this unit, in the kitchen cupboards and the bookcase it is finally empty and a man named Brian will be recycling it to create other pieces of furniture. It was picked up today by Brian and his brother Bob and I am glad to see it go.

Display Cabinet

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ My husband poking fun at our daughter because her favourite baseball team lost again today. It is an ongoing love hate relationship between them during the baseball season, mostly love though of course.
• Something Awesome ~ Learning to say no when you really don’t want to do something.
• Something to be grateful for ~ The three people who picked up Freecycle items from me today.
• Something that made me happy ~ How light and airy my living room looks without the big display cabinet.
• Something I found fascinating ~ Watching the big storm front build up to the north today. It is now rumbling overhead. Weather is interesting and so different here than it was in Seattle.

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

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

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

Then there are the counterarguments…

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

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

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

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

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

Today’s Declutter Item

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

Drawer Oganiser

My Gratitude List

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

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

1. Start with the easy stuff then graduate emotionally into the things you may find harder to part with. The enthusiasm gained from purging the easy stuff should spur you on.
2. Don’t reclutter while you declutter.
3. Learn from your clutter. Don’t just get rid of it learn from you previous mistakes of acquiring stuff. If you don’t take the time to analyse your mistakes in this area you will soon have a repeat performance and be back to square one.
4. KISS ~ Keep it simple stupid. There is no need to disrupt your entire house during the process of decluttering. Just select one small area at a time and then move on to another. There is nothing like a trail of disaster to put you off the task altogether. Don’t even think of it as one big mammoth task just think of it as a bunch of little tasks and only concentrate on one at a time.
5. Do your research and have your strategy planned for how you are going to dispose of your items.
   • Where or how you can donate. (Drop off, pick up, other)
   • Your options for selling (eBay, garage sale, flea market etc)
   • The how, what and where of recycling in your area.
   • Your options for large trash that won’t fit in your curb side bin.
6. Decide ahead of time where your departure points are going to be so you can quickly transfer the things you are decluttering to these areas and get them out of the way. The more organised the area is that you are working in the less likely you are to get stress out, throw your hands in the air and give up.
7. Don’t feel obligated to keep things just because someone gave them to you either as a gift, in remembrance or an heirloom. It is your home and you have the right to decide what stays and what goes.
8. If you can spend hours watching TV, logged on to your computer reading blogs etc, talking on the phone, reading book, magazines or newspapers… then you can surely put aside at least 1 ten minutes a day to declutter. Find a space in your day for that ten minutes and make it a routine.
9. Have an open mind. If you even think an item may need decluttering it is worth consideration. Sometimes an item appears in our declutter radar but we reject the idea because of one reason or another. Maybe this is because the item has been very useful over the years, maybe because at one point you loved this item, maybe because it holds sentimental value. There is usually a reason it appeared in your radar in the first place so give it some second thought, maybe the time has past when it was useful, loved or held sentiment and now you are just keeping it out of habit.
10. Unless you have true hoarding tendencies and need to enlist outside help to assist you in making the decision about what is a reasonable level of stuff I would suggest that you decide for yourself what level of possessions is right for you. The only guide you should use to decided when enough decluttering is enough is your own comfort level. There are many variables at play here and only you know what is right for you and you shouldn’t be railroaded into what is reasonable and what isn’t by someone else’s standards.

Today’s Declutter Item

Once again today’s declutter item is in line with the mini missions set for this week. I made this bracelet but have only worn it once or twice.

My Gratitude List

• Something that made be laugh ~ My husbands silly jokes.
• Something Awesome ~ Miniscule
• Something to be grateful for ~ My balcony is finally repaired so no more tradesmen waltzing through my house.
• Something that made me happy ~ Taking it easy today. It only means I will have to do more tomorrow but I am satisfied with that.
• Something I found fascinating ~ My friend’s grandson’s Lego creations.

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

Key #4 Don’t reclutter while you declutter

Decluttering is a complete waste of time if there is as much stuff entering your house as there is going out. Limit your purchases to the things you really have put a lot of thought into whether you will get good use out of it or if it really suits your needs. Don’t wonder aimlessly through the stores looking for stuff you didn’t know you wanted. And try to convince your friends and family not to buy you gifts unless they are consumable in some way.- Fresh flowers, chocolates, beauty treatments and the like.

Item 360 of 365 less things

My mother-in-law probably will think I have gone too far now but as cute as this bear is Liam gave it to me to declutter. It was a nice thought at the time but he is all better now.

5 Reflections of gratitude from the most frightening time of this year

1. All the family and friends that kept in touch when Liam was hurt.
2. Modern medicine- Something we often take for granted but makes a big difference to a lot of lives.
3. All the health professionals who cared for Liam, aided and are still assisting in his full recovery.
4. All of the prayers and well wishes of my readers and their families, friends and church groups during that awful time.
5. Both my husband and I being able to give Liam our full attention during his entire recovery time – that is truly a privilege in this day and age. Planning for a rainy day really is a good idea.
   

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

Written by:- Cindy Bogard

If you’re in a big hurry, just read this: 

Resist!

If you’re not in such a hurry, feel free to read on.

In the United States, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, which is on Thursday this week. Sadly, the website Answers.com defines Black Friday as “an unofficial American holiday”. Sad, not because the rest of you are missing out; sad because a day of shopping insanity has somehow become “an unofficial American holiday”.

So what is Black Friday? As I said, it’s the day after Thanksgiving and the official start to what’s called the holiday shopping season. (Spring, Summer, Fall, Holiday Shopping, Winter?) It’s called black because of traditional accounting notations: While debt is noted in red, profit is noted in black. Some businesses run “in the red” all year and don’t go “into the black” until the shopping mayhem begins the day after Thanksgiving.

Black Friday is a day of amazing sales and deep discounts. Some stores open as early as 4:00 am, with people staying up all night in the parking lot so they can be the first in the door, as the very best sales (aptly named “doorbusters”) are only available in limited quantities. In 2008, a worker at Wal-Mart was trampled to death in the frenzied crush of Black Friday.

Recently, a friend forwarded to me a website devoted to Black Friday (www.Black-Friday.net). They’re posting the circulars (advertisements) in advance on their site and boast over 100,000 fans on Facebook. They report that Kmart’s Black Friday circular is 44 pages and that  “We can’t stress enough how much we love this ad (Wal-Mart). There are tons of excellent deals and we think you will be very happy with it.”

Oh my. What’s a decluttering gal to think?

Resist!

If you really feel that you need or want a 47″ flat screen TV or a new laptop, don’t let a sale ad make the decision for you. Research your purchase. Think through your decision making. Don’t buy in haste. The same rules apply to shopping on Black Friday as to every other day. If you see what you want at an excellent price, and you can tolerate the bedlam (which I can’t), then fill up your thermos with coffee, stand in line all night long, and get your doorbuster deal, but don’t buy out the place just because there are sale ads plastered on every item in the store. Remember, the stores are desperate for you to buy; that doesn’t mean you need to be desperate to purchase.

Happy Thanksgiving

to all our American readers

May your Friday not be Black

Item 328 o9f 365 less things

A sentimental item for sure. An old cap from my husbands years in Malaysia. I have heard all the old stories so many times I am almost convinced I lived there too because they are so familiar.

5 Things I am grateful for today

1. My hay fever seems to be going away at last.
2. Puzzles – they kept both Liam and I amused over the last month.
3. Watching a movie together – These nothing like a little family time.
4. Cindy agreeing to take on a weekly post spot. – Her post will appear on Wednesday in Australia which is Tuesdays in the US and somewhere in between for everyone else. Thanks Cindy!
5. Laughter – It is so much fun sharing the stories with Liam about the antics he got up to in the hospital. Like when he tried to order a cheese pizza from the florist kiosk.

There is an election going on at the moment here in Australia. The politicians often jump on the environmental bandwagon to win votes. The issues they promise they are going to address when they win are just a drop in the bucket to what really needs doing.

In fact they aren’t prepared to do much at all when it comes to the manufacturing of pointless garbage like…

• the free toys in kids meals and other promotional products
• wasteful single use gadgets
• shoddy appliances that don’t last and can’t be repaired
• Disposable cutlery & plates
• Cheap souvenirs
• The sheer quantity of seasonal decorations
• Gas guzzling cars
• And the over-packaging of most of the above

just to name a few.

Generating manufacturing creates economic wealth and employment regardless of how unnecessary the end resulting items are.  So no politician is going to put a stop to any of that. So we will just keep on causing massive pollution until the supply and demand of these products are eliminated. The only thing that is going to have an effect on this is you the consumer.

Supply and demand is just that. If we stop demanding (buying) it they will stop supplying it. It is really that simple. No manufacturer is going to make something that no one is buying. Supply will always be limited to demand and even if that just reduces the quantities supplied it would be a great improvement for the environment.

Think twice about what you are doing with your money and your actions.

• Don’t accept free useless stuff just because it is free
• Avoid using plastic utensils when you are eating out.
• Take a carry bag with you when you go shopping so you don’t have to accept plastic bags
• When buying a new car buy what you need not some gas guzzling monstrosity just because it looks cool
• Use the same decorations year in year out. It is possible to celebrate an occasion without polluting the planet.
• You can julienne vegetables, crush garlic, chop an onion, dice an apple, slice potatoes… with just one gadget, a knife. Sure it might take longer but unless you are running a restaurant kitchen will the time saved really make that much difference.

See what you can do this week to reduce supply and demand. I will keep a track of my efforts and let you know next Sunday how I went.

ITEM 214 OF 365 LESS THINGS

You can sell just about anything on ebay. This item made a nice $14.00.

I  had one of those days yesterday where things just weren’t going my way. I won’t go into the details but needless to say I achieved little and that was interspersed with unwanted interruptions and issues.

Last night I spent so much time trying to sensitively answer the comments to yesterday’s post that I really didn’t have much time to write a post for today. So I am going to share with you all a little story relayed from Cindy (one on my readers) to myself through emails yesterday that warmed my frazzled heart.

She went to Chucky Cheese yesterday with her girls. I have added the link in case people don’t know what Chucky Cheese is but to be brief it is a kids game/restaurant where the kids can play carnival type games and win tickets which they can exchange for prizes. Now Cindy’s girls have been involved in the decluttering process in their home and are really on board with the process. When they had finished playing the games and were ready to cash in their tickets for prizes they both couldn’t find anything they really wanted. When Cindy pointed out that they really didn’t need to bring something home they didn’t want they happily left empty handed.

How proud I would have been if I was their mother. Cindy you are doing a great job of raising those kids, congratulation.

ITEM 190 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Here are some items my darling daughter was willing to part with recently there is more to come on that subject but I will get to that in another post soon

One of the most important lessons I have learned since taking on this challenge of 365 less things is that resisting the temptation from retail assault is not a futile exercise, it can be done. As I have mentioned before I hardly ever go shopping anymore except to buy my groceries and I am fine with that in fact I feel that I have the upper hand in some kind of battle of wills.

I did have a little head start or incentive if you like before I made the conscious decision stop spending on things that might ultimately become clutter. After living in the United States for seven years, I just couldn’t bring myself to pay the prices that the same products command here in Australia so I had already cut back.

When we took on the decluttering challenge one of the rules we made for ourselves was that if something new came into the house something else had to leave.  Since we are already busy picking and choosing what stays and what goes we really don’t want to make any more work for ourselves.

We have however upgraded our computer (a half tower for a mac mini) replaced a big stereo system with a new iPod docking station and bought an iPod touch so we don’t have to lug a laptop around with us on our next vacation but that is about it for the shopping this year. Even though this sounds like a big outlay the purpose behind these purchases aside from keeping up with technology, was to downsize the amount of space the old items were taking up in our home or our backpacks.

I have not bought any clothes,  accessory items, books, useless knick knacks, craft supplies, even birthday cards (I am using up my stocks or making them myself) or numerous other things that I used to buy that I have already forgotten I ever wanted.  It is amazing to realize how easy the transition was and although my friends might all think I am a scrooge I am very happy with the situation and don’t plan on changing back (I will not be assimilated).

ITEM 135 OF 365 LESS THINGS

Another pair of ski pants sold on eBay for $19.50