Last Thursday I got started on the Christmas decorating and I’ve got to tell you my heart wasn’t in it. Just the thought of cluttering up my living room sent chills up my spine. Mind you those chills didn’t last unfortunately because it was 7:30am and already 26ËšC  (79ËšF) outside. I was however determined to get this done so I could share my experience with you today in advance of those who will be performing the same task soon.

I have one large box of tree and table decorations, a large nativity scene and a 2m (6½ ft) tree. Not much in the big scheme of things but more than enough in my book. As I mentioned on Monday, earlier on in the year I had already ruthlessly culled. You can go back and see the photo of that decluttering effort on Monday’s post if you missed it.

The funny thing was then when I went to decorate the tree I had culled so many decorations that the tree looks a little sparsely covered this time. I am considering trying to swap for a smaller tree on Freecycle. Kind of weaning myself off if you like. The idea of having no tree at all just doesn’t sit well with me yet.

I managed to declutter even further while I performed the task of decorating. Just a few touches here and there was all I felt we needed. Below is a photo slide show of the entire process.

Here are some of my thoughts as I went through this process.

• The tree is too big for this house but I really don’t want to go treeless at this point and there is no way I am buying a new smaller tree. I’ll try doing a swap on freecycle.
• I love the look of the beautiful full-on Christmas decorating that you see in glossy magazines but it just isn’t sustainable or me.
• Christmas really lost its sparkle for me when I grew up and I could afford to buy things for myself. The sparkle returned to a certain degree when the children were little and especially when we experience our first winter Christmas but now the sparkle has gone again.
• Will there be grandchildren one day to bring back the Christmas sparkle and will I be sorry if I decluttered the tree altogether before then.
• When did Chirstmas become so much about the decorating and gifts and so little about the birth of Jesus.
• With that last thought in mind I feel inclined to keep my nativity scene out of respect even though I don’t have a good position for it.
• I like the festive feel of having some decorations around but I hate the space they take up in the garage for the other 330 or so days of the year.
• My husband made a comment that the corner was cluttered. Bah Humbug! He was right though.
• I like the idea of natural decorations but I am not going out of my way or to any expense to acquire them.
• Old habits die hard and although I want to keep it simple I still feel slightly like I am missing out on something.

Regardless of all my thoughts above my overriding desire is to enjoy a simplified Christmas without all the consumerism, fuss and bother. So long as I have my Christmas pudding, my hot lunch (even if it is 37Ëšc outside), a bowl or two of nuts and candy around and at least one person to share it with I will be happy.

If you aren’t sure what level you want to stop at when it comes to decorating take some time to think about what are your most favourite aspects of celebrating the holidays. Things that you wouldn’t what to do without and then consider what extras you really want on top of that. Don’t forget to consult the rest of you family.

Christmas comes but once a year and means something different to everyone and my advice is to celebrate it in whatever style suits you. If you feel inclined, declutter only what you feel comfortable with. And should you feel like going all out please try your best to be as sustainable as possible in the process.

Today’s Declutter Item

These are the items that were decluttered from my Christmas stash during my early pre-Christmas preparations last week. I will get them to the thrift store tomorrow so someone who is a keener decorator than I can find them and use them this year.

More Christmas items set aside for donating last week

Something I Am Grateful For Today

An unexpected call from a friend asking if I wanted to join her and another friend for lunch and coffee. I had already had lunch but I was keen to enjoy their company for an hour or two. Coffee ended up being a chocolate shot over caramelised fig gelato. What’s not to be grateful for in the combination.

“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

I believe strongly in storing things where you use them. I think that failure to store things where they are used leads to clutter, and it’s certainly less convenient. While your first thought may be “Of course I store things where I use them,” I bet you will be able to find examples in your house where this isn’t true, especially after we walk through my morning.

Let’s think of how you begin your day. You get up, probably make your bed, use the toilet, brush your teeth, take a shower, get dressed, and everything you need for those tasks is probably close at hand. Then you head to the kitchen. Are the coffee cups stored by the coffee or tea maker? Is the sweetener or creamer in easy reach? Mine are. The coffee pot is next to the refrigerator, and the coffee and little containers of sweetener are kept in the cabinet above, next to the tea bags and coffee. The mugs are in the cabinet right next door. All these frequently used items are on the lowest shelves, so I don’t have to stand on tip-toe to access them every morning.

The next thing I do is make breakfast and, simultaneously, pack my daughters’ lunches. My daughters take some medications and vitamins with their breakfast, which I store in a drawer that I frequently access during this procedure. Like a lot of parents, I am better at remembering my children’s needs than my own, so I moved my medication from my bathroom to the same drawer. Now I remember it every day.

The Medicine Drawer

I keep everything I need for lunches, which either three or four people take every day, in one drawer: lunch boxes, small storage containers, and sandwich containers are stored together. (Same drawer as the medications and vitamins.) Larger plastic containers are stored in a separate drawer. Although it might seem logical to keep all the containers together, I use the larger sizes only for leftovers after meals. I use the little ones only for lunches. They aren’t used at the same time and don’t need to be stored together. To keep the drawer from getting out of control, all the small containers are confined in a box. I also try to only have matching containers. Almost all the tops match almost all the bottoms. Over time, I’ve gotten a couple different sorts, but I don’t really like that. It’s easier if I can reach right in and grab any lid, knowing it will match the bottom.

Handy drawer for many uses

Because Clara has diabetes, a lot of her food needs to be weighed and measured. I keep all the measuring cups and spoons in the same drawer along with her scale, the list of food codes for the scale, and the carbohydrate book for anything the scale doesn’t cover. I can use the scale without even taking it out of the drawer. How handy is that? Initially, I stored it by the stove, but that wasn’t where it was used, so I ended up dragging it around the kitchen and often not putting it back. Instant clutter. What else is in this drawer? A pizza cutter and ice cream scoop. You might be thinking that I’ve lost my mind. Don’t they belong in the drawer with the wooden spoons, spatulas, and other similar tools under the cooktop? Nope. We frequently have ice cream for dessert. I can stand at this drawer, pivot 180 degrees, and grab the ice cream from the freezer. The ice cream bowls are close by too. (We use little bitty bowls for our ice cream. A serving, which is 47 grams (1/2 cup), looks like plenty in a little bowl, but it looks oh-so sad and lonely in a big cereal bowl.) It makes sense to keep the scooper right by the ice cream and the bowls. The same with the pizza cutter. We have pizza once a week – Sunday night is pizza and movie night. The pizza comes out of the oven and lands right here to be cut, so why not keep the cutter here too?

Most mornings, Clara tests her blood sugar for the first time at the kitchen island. Her extra supplies are in a cabinet just a few steps from the island, not in the bathroom. When she tests, she can check her supplies. Anything that need replenishing is just behind her.

Then it’s time to go. We grab our lunches and head toward the door. Backpacks, jackets, and instruments are stored on a bench by the front door. I keep a schedule for each girl on the wall by the bench, so we can quickly check and make sure that instruments or tennis shoes for PE (physical education) classes leave with the girls. Nothing that goes to school is stored in their rooms. That way it doesn’t get scattered about, and no one has to run back to her room. We grab them and head out.

My friend Holly’s daughters check and brush their hair before leaving the house. Rather than going back to the bathroom, or dragging hair brushes and hair ties with them from the bathroom to the front door, Holly keeps a basket of hair things by a mirror by the front door. Having the hair things at their point of use makes leaving the house easier, and it prevents clutter. Another friend lives in a unique three story house on a sharp cliff. Rather than having kids climbing back down three flights of stairs, one set of children’s toothbrushes are kept  small upstairs bathroom by the kitchen (top floor). They have another set downstairs in their bathroom closest to their bedrooms (lowest floor).

Anything that is kept where it is used prevents you from scurrying around to find it and lessens the risk that it will be left out of place, abandoned where ever you used it. Sometimes this means that you may have duplicate items. A hairbrush by the front door and one in the bathroom may make perfect sense, and that’s okay. As you go through your days this week, I encourage you to think about your routines. Notice when you backtrack to get something or observe that certain items always seem to be left out. These are probably the items that need a new home, by their point of use.

Today’s Declutter Item

It has taken me a while to decide to let this cabinet go. It is a great piece of furniture but the truth is I don’t use it any more. I don’t sew often enough to warrant the amount of space it takes up. I sold it on eBay on the weekend for $200. It made another young lady very happy and I am sure she is going to get a lot more use out of than I have of late.

Horn Sewing Cabinet

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Yesterday I got to have afternoon tea with a friend I mine that I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with. It was unexpected but very pleasant. My son enjoyed talking photography with her too.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Imagine a big city, a huge, bustling city with no advertising, anywhere. The Brazilian city of São Paulo turned this imagining into reality in 2007. According to the Major:

“The Clean City Law came from a necessity to combat pollution … pollution of water, sound, air, and the visual. We decided that we should start combating pollution with the most conspicuous sector – visual pollution.”

Visual pollution, considered equal in importance to the physical pollutants of water and air. Amazing.

A Brazilian reporter noted that with the advertisements down, all sorts of ills in the city were being seen, virtually for the first time, since they were literally covered up with advertising before.

This got me thinking about my own house and my own life. I know if there are too many sounds around me, especially multiple conversations or a conversation and the TV, I get confused and feel irritable. Many odors such as air fresheners, scented candles, lotion and cologne are malodorous as far as I’m concerned. (An old boyfriend called perfume “stink” and I have to agree.) I’m probably not even aware of the impact that a big pile of clutter, or even being surrounded by stuff, has on my mood.

I was looking for photos of houses that had a bit of visual clutter, but were not really messy or deeply cluttered. Not easy to find. I did find this prize website, UglyHousePhotos.com. Let me tell you what, if your refrigerator is still covered with magnets and papers, this website will show you the error of your ways.

The first photo is a kitchen that most people would feel proud of. It is clean. It is functional. But it has a refrigerator that looks like a box of magnets was thrown on it and then the box and all its friends went to live on top. The counter on the left side is cluttered, as is the area between the microwave and the refrigerator. Just the stuff of everyday life makes a messy look.

Photo Credit ~ www.uglyhousephotos.com

The second photo is eye-popping child’s bedroom. Look how neat the closet is! Look how organized the shelves are! Yet do you feel like you drank six cups of coffee with extra sugar when you look at it? I do! Organized, not decluttered, and aggressively visually cluttered.

Photo Credit ~ www.uglyhousephotos.com

Looking at the photos of São Paulo and then the photos on the Ugly House website, I was struck by two things. The first is that visual clutter is disturbing, jarring, off putting and insidious. The second is, as Colleen and I have said before, a photograph is worth 1000 words. Think your home is peaceful and clutter free? A photo will tell you whether you’re right, or whether you’re deceiving yourself.

You can read a great article on São Paulo’s advertising ban and see photos here. Be sure to read through the interview with newspaper reporter Vinicius Galvao.

Today’s Declutter Item

Today’s mini mission was to declutter and item of clothing that no longer fits someone in your home. This is my offering, another item of clothing that no longer fits my thinner husband.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Yesterday one of my readers, Snosie, had a scooter accident. I am grateful that she wasn’t seriously hurt. I hope your shoulder heals fast Snosie.

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

I personally feel that anticipating regrets, especially attached to objects, is a waste of time. It’s like clinging to old routines or traditions just because of their history, we put aside the fact that they are inconvenient or obsolete just because they are familiar.

To give you an example of that ~ Lets talk about Christmas. My mother loves for all of her children to come home and be together at Christmas and is disappointed nearly every year by the fact that this rarely happens. Two of us live no less than 900km away, one of which due to spouse’s work commitments only gets four weeks vacation time a year. While the other has the same situation as does their spouse and also have their children’s obligations to consider. Two others have their own businesses to run, which affords them even less flexibility with vacation time. Add the fact that the worse time to travel is during Christmas which carries the highest road toll (deaths by car accident) of any other time of the year and commercial travel is at its most expensive.  Meanwhile my parents have been retired for over 25 years and can pick up and travel whenever they please. Yet just because it is Christmas and a beautiful time to spend with family we should just ignore all the other issues and make the effort to get together.

What has this got to do with clutter you ask. Some people use the same kinds of self defeating reasoning when they look at their belongings. Regardless of how much they hate the clutter, no matter how impractical it is to store, clean, work around, move… they still find some kind of sentimental reasoning to keep it. So continuously they live with all these inconveniences in the unlikely event that some time in the future they may need to use this item or regard it fondly because of the memories it evokes.

I am not saying that everyone should get rid of everything impractical in their lives just for convenience sake. I am saying that if you are feeling suffocated by your clutter and that feeling is permanently invading you life then there is only two things to do…

1. Put up with that feeling and all the inconvenience due to the clutter.
2. Do something about it. Start eliminating the things that are not of real significance to you or are not being used.

I have not regretted a single thing I have gotten rid of yet. Every now and again a situation has arisen where I could have used an item I got rid of but those occasions are so rare and of no consequence. Having an uncluttered easy to care for home however is a treat that I get to enjoy every day and I am loving it.

Today’s Declutter Item

I took another look in my kitchen cupboard and came up with these two little pie plates. I can’t remember the last time I used them so I figured I didn’t really need them. They will accompany me to the thrift store next week.

Two Little Pie Plates

Something I Am Grateful For Today

My sleep was interrupted last night so I decided to sleep in this morning. Even with the extra hour lie in and a lazy start I still got all my housework done by 1pm. I love a small decluttered house. And now in the spirit of this weeks mini missions I am using up all of my leftover vegetables by making vegetable curry for dinner.

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

Last weekend we bought a new printer/copier/scanner/fax because the old one was returned to HP for a refund due to that fact that it was a lemon. But don’t get me started on that story! The minute my husband had it up and running he began scanning documents into the computer so he could throw away the old paperwork. You see, this new machine has a document feeder where as the old one (among other issues) had to have each item loaded manually one at a time. That one inconvenience caused a big hinderance to this process causing the task to come to a standstill.

For some months now I have been trying to produce an eBook about decluttering your kitchen. I am probably about three quarters of the way through. I have to use the big computer upstairs to write this eBook because my MacBook Pro doesn’t have Windows Word program due to the fact that our version only allows us to run three subscriptions and mine is the forth Apple in line. It is colder up stairs in the Winter and hotter in the summer and just inconvenient running that computer when I have a perfectly good one in my lap for most of the day. Hense it deters me from finishing this project. Small inconvenience yes but a road block for me nevertheless.

When it comes to decluttering, my small inconvenience is usually selling stuff. Sometimes it is just a lot of bother finding the right selling method. I usually get there in the end because I am determined to make some money back on the item or I am inspired by previous successes. Nevertheless there are still items taking up space in my home simply because I want to sell them and haven’t found the right method.

What is the inconvenience holding you back when it comes to decluttering. Is it really so insurmountable that you deprived yourself of the joys of living with less. Stop and think about this for a minute. Maybe you aren’t even sure what is holding you back. As an experiment why not spend one week ignoring that inconvenience and move forward anyway. Step out of your comfort zone just for one week and see what progress you make. Perhaps you will realise that the results are worth the effort or perhaps you will figure out what is holding you back and find a way to remove that hinderance. Keep analysing the situation as the week progresses and see if you can come up with some solutions.

Maybe you just haven’t figured out you best methods of disposal. Maybe you have trouble letting go. Maybe you don’t know where to begin. Maybe the solution is to begin with the easiest things, things that can go in the trash, items you have not personal attachment to, items that obviously need to go and you are happy to let go. Find your stickling point and push your way passed it, sometimes it is just the fear of the unknown. Once you conquer that fear there will be no holding you back.

Good luck and happy decluttering. And don’t forget, if you do work out what your road block is and you need advice on how to get around it, please leave a comment. If I don’t have the answer maybe the 365lessthings collective voice might. There is a lot of experience and knowledge to be shared between us all.

Today’s Declutter Item

This is another necklace among my craft items that I have chosen to liberate to the thrift store. I am comfortable with the idea that I will probably never deconstruct it and use the beads to make something else.

Shell Necklace

Something I Am Grateful For Today

The house is clean and tidy and the guest room is ready for visitors on the weekend. When I say ready I mean even the mattress has been vacuumed. It is good to be so decluttered and organised that there is time enough to leave no stone unturned when it comes to presenting a fresh, clean and comfortable place for my guests to lay their weary  heads.

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

It is so easy to throw your hands in the air and give up before you even begin decluttering due to the thought that you can’t possibly get the job done to your perfectionist standards. You might be interested to know that quite often hoarders are perfectionists that gave up trying.

If you get an image in your head about how you want things to be and then see the disparity of where you are now and your ultimate goal, the journey in between may appear insurmountable. Therefore you give up before you even begin.

Just yesterday I was lamenting the boxes of my daughters clutter that are still in my house that I really would like to see the back of. She isn’t settled in a way that really allows her to take her clutter away but it still drives me crazy storing it. After pulling down a few boxes and then changing my mind about reorganising it I really felt rather disinterested in tackling any other tasks that were awaiting me.

That feeling of defeat can soon permeate your whole being if you allow it. Instead of letting it affect my day I resisted the temptation to throw my hands in the air and give up. Instead decided to put on a load of washing and then declutter my sock drawer instead. In complete defiance of the give up attitude I followed up with doing the ironing, two more loads of washing, cleaned out the fridge and freezer and wrote this post.

I admit it, I am a perfectionist and I like to do a great job of whatever I decide to tackle but I also know when I have to settle for good enough. I know that I felt better about my day yesterday than I would have if I had sulked around for the entire day achieving nothing. I guess you could say that, for me, doing nothing is a far worse option than having to settle for less than perfect. So ignore your perfectionist side and just do something, anything that is progress.  If that idea is abhorrant to you, focus your perfectionism on one small attainable section of the overall task then move to another while wasting no time thinking about how far you have to go.

Today’s Declutter Item

One thing Bridget did allow me to declutter from her vast collection of things left behind was Blue Bear. It’s not much but every little thing counts.

Blue Bear

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Knowing that I can ignore the perfectionist side of me in preference for just making progress. A job worth doing is worth doing well but most of all it is just worth doing.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Today’s Declutter Item

Plastic Tray

Something I Am Grateful For Today

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

As I am going to be away visiting for a couple of weeks I have had to get my posts together in advance. This is not an easy task as I already have a post to write nearly every day plus my daily decluttering and then or course real life just keeps happening whether I have the time for it or not.

Therefore I decided to do a little digging in the archives to find some of my favourite blog posts and then elaborate as to how I am still feeling about what I wrote in said posts. Whether I have changed my way of thinking or if I still stand by what I thought at the time. So without further adieu here is the first of my reminiscences. This post was one in a series of 100 words or less posts I wrote back in December.

key #6 – Don’t over think it

Sometimes when we are faced with what seems like a mammoth task we tend to over think the situation. For my decluttering effort each day I just walk into a room take a look around, peek in a cupboard or too and just find something to declutter. Or I might just spy something on my daily meandering throughout the house. Over thinking can cause procrastination or worse scare you off the task altogether. If you find yourself hyperventilating at the mere thought of decluttering, STOP, and take 5 slow deep breaths clear your mind and start over the easy way.

* * * * * * *

Now that was short but straight to the point and I still stand by everything I have to say here. Being six months on from that point in my journey I have come to a stage where I am having to face some of the more complex decluttering if you like. However, I am still finding ways to break it down into bite size chunks that aren’t likely to induce the hyperventilation I mentioned above. A perfect example of that is the task of sorting and decluttering our old photographs. When I decided it was time to take on this task I soon found myself thinking “My God where do I begin?” and “How did this get in such a mess?” and “I don’t want to deal with this, it’s too hard!” but then I shook of these thoughts and wrote a blog post about how to go about the task. This helped me see how I can deal with it one step at a time and, I am now working on the task as it suits my time frame in a relaxed fashion and I am confident I will get the job done without having a nervous breakdown in the attempt. It’s not as thought there is a deadline.

The moral of this story is that there is usually a way to break down a large task into manageable steps. Once you have worked out your strategy just tackle one step at a time and the task won’t seem quite so intimidating.

Today’s Declutter Item

I came to the conclusion that we don’t need a special bowl to eat soup out of. Any old cereal bowl will do and they stack better than this bowl does. Of to the thrift store with you.

Something to be Grateful For

All the people who have passed through our lives, whether they are still with us or not, whether they were cherished or not there are always lessons to be learned, experiences to be remembered and sometimes love gifted to us by these relationships.

My darling husband has been playing around with the blog layout. So what do you think of it? As they say a change is as good as a holiday ~ that isn’t always the case but for now change is all that is on offer.

The design is a little more simple and uncluttered which is what we love here at 365 Less Things. I have also switched the gratitude list to a single gratitude item for the day. The list was a little hard to keep up at times but I didn’t want to eliminate it altogether so I just swapped quantity for quality.

This is just phase one of the changes so if you notice things looking different every now and again it is just hubby and I tweaking things. If you have any questions or suggestion please feel free to put them forward and if you have trouble finding anything on the site also let me know.

I can’t let you go without imparting some snippet of decluttering wisdom so here is a little advice for the day…

When decluttering your belongings there are only three categories of items, things you “can’t live without”, things you know you don’t want and things you are undecided on. Eliminate the things you don’t want, keep the things you do and everything else is potential clutter.

Today’s Declutter Item

This soup bowl is a Liam hand painted original that he no longer wants. I will send it off to the thrift store and when he is a rich and famous artist there will be someone out there with a very expensive soup bowl hiding in the back of there kitchen cupboard. Well it sounded like a good story anyway.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Some days start out badly and just get better as they go along and for that, today, I am truly grateful.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

I love a label. Love. Love. Love.

• My grocery store bags, children’s lunch boxes, our water bottles, coolers, and flashlights are labeled with our last name.
• All of my girls’ uniforms, sweaters and coats have their names in them.
• When they were littler and their feet closer to the same size, all of Audra’s socks were labeled on the bottom with a letter A to distinguish them from Clara’s socks.
• My canisters of food staples are labeled with their contents, even though you can easily see into the canisters.
• The girls and Dan and I have matching hairbrushes and matching nail clippers; matching, that is, except for the big “Mom and Dad” on the items that belong in my bathroom.
• All the leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer are labeled with the name and date.
• I label packages of food with the carbohydrate counts in large letters so they’re easier to find and read.
• My ipod, laptop, cell phone, and Clara’s insulin pump and supply bag are all clearly labeled with contact information on the outside.
• When I loan out a book, I slap a return address label on the inside cover.
• One lip balm is labeled “desk.” Another is labeled “bed.” Scissors are labeled “Mom,” “Dad,” and “Kitchen.”
• All of my garden tools are labeled on the handles – some so long ago that they bare my maiden name.
• All of my animals have name tags on their collars, the cats as well as the dogs.

These labels help keep me and the family organized, help items to come back to us if they’re lost or misplaced, cut down on waste, and prevent clutter.

Obviously, when many things are labeled, it makes it easier for everyone to find what they’re looking for and to put things back where they belong. Labels help to keep like with like. They help you to find what you want and prevent duplicate purchasing due to “I know it’s here…somewhere.”

Labels also help your lost or misplaced items to be returned to you. Recently Clara and I left her diabetes kit on the floor of a shoe store. (Dummy us!) Fortunately, Clara realized within a few minutes. We hurried back to the store, and the sales clerk was literally calling me as we arrived because the bag is plainly labeled “Diabetic Supplies” with my name and phone numbers.

Several times a year, we take many of our gardening tools to the girls’ school for big grounds clean up, and it is used by many different folks. Having everything labeled allows it all to get back to us, eliminating the need for replacement purchasing.

All these things are true, but I have to tell you what motivated this post. First a quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s) Stone by J.K. Rowling. Harry is looking over his school supplies list. First up are the required uniforms:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry name labels.

“Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry name labels.” Oh if reality only mimicked fiction.

I volunteered to take home all the lost and found from my daughters’ school. Not the uniforms that had made their way into the Lost and Found but everything else. I was flabbergasted by what awaited me. First off, let me add that the girls had sorted everything as an end-of-school clean-up chore and had already returned everything that was labeled with a name. I brought home more than 100 items that I had to check over, sort, clean, and donate. 100 items for a school of 120 girls and about a dozen teachers and staff. Currently in my house are a couple of seemingly brand-new swimsuits, a couple of beach towels, a dozen tote bags, at least fifteen refillable water bottles, a dozen books, five or six lunchboxes (one still complete with lunch and full water bottle), a whole host of non-uniform jackets and sweaters, and someone’s special stuffed dog along with her nice hairbrush.

All these items have to be looked for and replaced by their owners (owners’ parents). How much simpler would everyone’s day have been if the items had been labeled to begin with and could have been returned before it was too late?

Is there anything you could label at your house that would make your life easier, more organized, and less likely to create clutter?

* * * * * * *

Today’s Declutter Item

This camera case is no longer useful to us because we sold the damaged camera for parts on ebay.

Camera Case

Something I Am Grateful For Today

My son Liam handed in his last uni assignment in for the semester and all of last semesters unfinished work is also complete and handed in.. Now he can have a nice break for four weeks and return with a normal work load next semester. At last life post accident can return to normal. It is amazing how that time (9 months)has flown and how well he has recovered. Thanks again everyone for your well wishes during that frightening period in our lives, your support was a Godsend.

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