My stuff at the back and Hubby's to the left
My wardrobe at floor level
The one item I decluttered
I have a question for you all to comment on…
How has your attitude to possessions and your desire to acquire things changed as you progress on your journey to declutter your homes?
Here is my answer to this question…
If something is of no personal or functional value to me there is a good chance it will find itself featured as the Declutter Item of the Day. I am finding that cutting the ties with objects is getting easier and easier as the time goes on.
I find I have no desire to acquire anything that adds to my possessions unless I am sure it will be well used. I have spent money recently on replacing items of furniture in my home in a bid to streamline the functionality of my surroundings but aside from that I tend to spend my money on non-material things. I spend money on outings with friends and family, I like to travel and once or twice a week I enjoy food that I don’t have to prepare myself. I spend less than I can afford in order to set money aside to provide the finances to continue to enjoy these things in the future. I never feel like I am missing out on anything and I never feel inclined to buy things to show off to others around me.
The one drawback I can think of is that when I do need to make a purchase when something requires replacing I procrastinate forever over the purchase. I find I am a little obsessed with making the right choice that I will be satisfied with for a long time to come. Unfortunately this doesn’t always guarantee that the product will live up to my expectations or it’s promises but that is life I guess.
Send me a comment on how you are progressing when it comes to breaking ties with your things and resisting the urge to bring new items into your home.
I ran into a friend at the grocery store a week ago and we had a little chat. She was searching for some containers to hold clean and used plastic teaspoons that she washes and reuses in her work space. She works in a training environment and as usual coffee and tea is provided as refreshment. In order to do the right thing by the environment she encourages people to leave the plastic spoon to be washed and reused. Of course not everyone conforms to this ideal so the spoons constantly need restocking.
I offered to find her some proper metal teaspoons at the thrift store where I volunteer making it more likely that people would leave then where they use them. This should eliminate the use of plastic altogether and the spoons are secondhand so buying them doesn’t add to the supply and demand for new product.
I managed to pick up 20 silver plated teaspoons for only $4 and delivered them to her. She was very pleased and I was happy to help. Not only did we achieve something for the environment but the sale of the spoons provides cash for a charity that helps people in need. To top it off, my donation of the spoons to the organisation she works for saved them the expense of buying new ones. Win Win Win!
My Silver Spoon Donation
You all had so much fun with the last What am I that I thought I would entertain you with another one. This time there won’t for any clues to be found in my responses to your guesses because I am going to keep quiet until Monday. It is quite an odd little thing again so good luck trying to work it out. There will degrees of correct on this one I think. The answer will be revealed as the Declutter Item of the Day on Monday’s post.
Media blitz might be a bit of an exaggeration but it is more media attention than I thought I would ever receive. After the first nervous attempts I have become more comfortable with it. My favourite piece so far is the one below which I wouldn’t have even known about except for one of my neighbours telling me. I got quite a laugh when I saw it.
Media LinksABC Radio interview ~Â Tony Delroys Nightlife 27 July 2011
Newspaper Article ~Â Newcastle Herald 28 July 2011
Multimedia Slice Show ~Â Newcastle Herald 28 July 2011
Another newspaper mention ~ Newcastle Herald 1 Aug 2011
I am not sure why The Newcastle Herald chose all the photos of me laughing. I look a bit like a crazy lady but I suppose I make it look like decluttering can be fun. It did also concern me that they kept saying I threw away 365 things. Nothing could be further from the truth as only 67 of the 365 things ended up going into the recycling or garbage bin.
Don’t worry readers the attention hasn’t gone to my head. I am still the same crazy Aussie who will be nagging you again next week to get rid of your stuff. I’m not letting you off that easy. 😉
Hi Readers, today for Simple Saturday I have decided to give you a little puzzle to solve. Your mission is to guess, from the photo provided below, what my declutter item is going to be for Monday. I have given you a small fragment of the larger photo of this item and it is up to you to guess what it is. Just leave me a comment if you think you know. The answer will be revealed in Today’s Declutter Item on Monday.
I am sure you all know what it is like. You buy one electronic gadget and then it dies or becomes out of date. A new one takes it’s place but all those cables look so useful and you never know, you might need them some day. Before you know it there is more than one drawer or box in your home that looks like a snake pit. Of couse these snakes (cables) are all in hibernation just waiting for the right time to imerge into life.
Photo credit Offbeat Earth
Well, guess what? 99% of the time you will never use them again. My husband decided to take the chance that this is right and did the big cable round up in our house. and here is the result.
The round up in progress
The cables that got the chop and were sent to the thrift store.
Today I share with you some photographs of things that have been used in my mothers kitchen for as long as I can remember. Don’t you just love the items like this in your home, the ones that aren’t anything special but are just so useful and long wearing that they have realised their value over and over and over.
Top Left: Dry Ingredient Sifter ~ I think my mum has had this item for the entire 51 years of marriage.
Middle: Airing Rack ~ I know that she has used the same ones for at least as long as I can remember (40years+).
Top Right: Orange Canister ~ These have been around since the big kitchen renovation in the mid seventies.
Bottom Left: Spotted Jug ~ I remember using this when the milk was delivered in billy cans. Mum also still has some of the lace beaded doilies that we draped over the top (probably to keep the flies out when it sat on the table).
Bottom Right: Icing piping syringe ~ I think this item has been around at least since the eighties but the poor old thing is starting to fall appart. Who knows how many birthday cakes it has decorated in its time. Here it is decorating Mum’s great-grandson’s 5th birthday cake.
It’s the big reveal, not of a completely decluttered craft room but more of the extent to the amount of craft supplies I actually had in the first place. Also as the heading today implies I really only am in mid-declutter of this area. I intend to continue in my usual gradual manner until I am content that I have the situation under control. The process of taking the photos opened my mind even further to how much area this takes up in ratio to how little time I spend actually being creative in it. If you are even in doubt about what needs clearing out in an area I suggest you take a look at it through a camera lens. That will really focus you view!
I would just like to point out at this point that the brown sewing cabinet in the photo is now empty and I will be putting it up for sale when I return from vacation so that will really make a difference to the appearance of the space. As I said this area is a work in progress and I will update you again sometime in the near future.
Family Car Stickers
I realise that these Family Car Decals have been very popular for some time in the USA, I remember seeing them when I lived there and I have to say I never was a fan. They always had a bit of an obnoxious status symbol quality about them for me, one degree less sickening than the My Daughter is a 4.0 student type bumper stickers. Some people even get so irresponsible as to put the family members names on them.  God forbid some pedophile driving the streets might see this and follow you home. Oddly enough that is not what I find the most annoying about these stickers…
These family-status-stickers have now become popular in Australia. Yes, unfortunately we caught on to the trend eventually. The most irritating result of this is that literally every second car I see adorned with these decals has the mother figure depicted as in the picture above. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Sadly, that must be the way they see themselves, their greatest talent or favourite pastime is shopping. Quite frankly I would rather see her depicted as a pole dancer. Actually that would be quite funny and I would probably enjoy a good laugh at that. Which got me thinking about the other amusing possibilities that should be available. That was when I found this little Gem…
I like this one.
I know I am naughty but at least the mother is “smart” in this one and her full name is more in keeping with my personality. 😉
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