Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Books are a collecting weakness of many people. I know that in my early 20s I dreamed of having a library – ideally one with a rolling ladder. Then I moved every year for four or five years and put that foolish idea behind me. Books are heavy!

Photo credit www.atticmag.com

I’ve been a library user my whole life. I remember when I was a girl going to a particularly library that kept the Nancy Drew novels separate from the rest of the books – heaven! And I have clear memories of Library Period in elementary school. Back then, I read biographies of famous females. Annie Oakley, Mary Todd Lincoln, Abigail Adams, Florence Nightingale, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curry – These were the ladies (along with my mother) who showed me what a smart, determined female could accomplish in this world. I even have a library card for the Wyoming, Iowa library (population: not a lot) where my extended family is based.

Why even buy books, especially new books? I’ve got to tell you, that’s a question that I reflect on frequently, as I am far from the only reader in my circle of friends and acquaintances. I am, however, one of the heaviest library users. I buy books, sometimes new and often used, for my daughters, especially the eldest one, because she is a voracious reader and reads and re-reads whatever is on her shelf. She has several series that she enjoys, and we have the whole sets of these (Ranger’s Apprentice, Gregor the Overlander, Harry Potter, Warrior Cats, Persey Jackson, etc.)

As for myself, the books I own fall into a couple of categories: medical (espeically diabetes), dictionaries and reference books, Spanish and German language books, gardening and the natural world, religion, and novels that I enjoyed enough that I wanted to own then and knew I would reread them. (Almost all of these were first read as library books, and I decided they were so terrific, I had to own them.) Dan has a lot of computer, science, and programming, which are stored in his office. These are tough because most of them cannot be checked out of the library and are fairly expensive because of their low print runs, but their usefulness passes quickly as technology rapidly changes. Dan tries to think hard before he makes a purchase. I think he’s only bought two books this year. (He also subscribes to a number of science magazines. These are passed to a science-minded friend when Dan is done. When the friend has read them, they go to the free magazine exchange shelf at the library.)

Nonetheless, whether you own lots of books or few, you undoubtedly own some, and there are various ways of storing them, which might be more and less useful to you.

Subject

First up is my system. I mentioned the various categories of books that I own above. They are stored, like with like, on the shelves. The left hand book shelf is all non-fiction. The right hand shelf is fiction. The bottom two shelves are the kids’ overflow books, primarily series, the third shelf is my books, and the top one is Dan’s small science fiction and fantasy collection. When I buy a book, it has to fit onto the shelf with its peers. If there isn’t room, then someone’s got to go. My system isn’t necessarily one in, one out, but there has to be room.

Cindy's Library

By Color

Colour coordinated book storing system

My friend Corinna has a beautiful and artistically decorated house that includes a shelf of books organized by color. I found this so fascinating that Simple Saturday’s post will be dedicates to what Corinna told me about the whys and hows of a color-coordinated organization system.

Other systems

Alphbatically by author

From most to least liked (This was my eldest daughter’s idea, and she’s sure she could do it on her shelves. I know I could not on mine.)

Chronologically from childhood favorites to books on menopause and carrying for aging parents

Using Library Thing or other on-line software, although this is more geared to helping to keep track of what you own rather than how it is organized on the shelf.

A Kindle Instead?

Do not flame me! I don’t get Kindles. Ok, I know what they’re about (download lots of books, portable, easy to read screens, long battery life, some libraries now have Kindle downloads), but I don’t understand why they’re needed, except possibly by those who travel extensively and for long periods of time. Perhaps it’s because I don’t buy books to begin with, so buying them instantly on the Kindle is no advantage to me.

I wondered if e-readers were more eco-friendly than traditional books. I suspected not. Kindle owners claim that they just bought the Kindle and now they’re buying downloads. Yeah, but do you know how much energy goes into making one of those (and all the electronics we love)? I heard on NPR last week that half the energy involved in the World Wide Web is devoted to the making of the equipment. And I know that people will be replacing their Kindle every few years. Electronics come and go in fashion and utility, and Amazon is certainly invested in making a better Kindle so you’ll want to trade your old one in.

On the other hand, the manufacturing of paper is a dirty business, and books are heavy to ship. Turns out that there is no clear answer to this question, and if you want to read all about it, I recommend you explore the website Eco Libris.

My personal bottom line on a Kindle? Any tool that only does one thing is not as good as a tool that does sevearl things. I’d buy an iPad or similar devise. Tech Crunch outlines your choices.

My personal bottom line? Visit your local library and if you must own it, buy it used at your local book reseller or from Amazon.com.

Today’s Declutter Item

Since we are on the subject of books why not make today’s declutter item this ear mounted reading light. I never wake up in the middle of the night hankering for a good read. Usually it is the bathroom I’m needing and then I just go back to sleep. So I don’t really need this light cluttering up the bedside drawer. Off to the thrift store with you little light.

Ear mounted reading light

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Today I am grateful that my house is clean and tidy and all my other chores are out of the way, even the ironing. Now I can devote the next five days to enjoying my parents visit. 

“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

Sometimes when you visualise the declutter task ahead it is easy to focus just on the sheer size of the task. How much there is to move, the logistics involved in disposing of it responsibly and how on earth you are going to find the time to deal with it. These would have been my thoughts too had the brilliant plan of tackling it slowly but surely not popped into my head on the third of January 2010.

Admittedly I wasn’t overrun with clutter but it was there hiding in every storage space in the house. To begin with, in 2007, when we moved into this house it was stacked two packing cartons high four long and three deep in the living room but I’d rather not remember that. And that was after we had already filled all of the available cupboard space.

Anyhow, I had no idea how simple this task was really going to be even though I knew my plan was cunning in it’s simplicity. The key to it all is looking at every item in a positive way.

To stay positive from the start, begin by decluttering the easy things. Items that have seen better days from being well used, outgrown or no longer suited to your lifestyle. Enjoy there departure by celebrating every square inch you reclaim. As you begin to identify other objects that you are willing to let go of pay attention to your feelings about the object. Perhaps there is some guilt involved in the financial waste this object was. Don’t feel sad just be glad that you are learning from your past mistakes and moving on to a better future.

Be grateful for the service that each and every item has performed for you over time even if that was short lived. If these items are still in good condition be glad that they are being sent out into the world to be helpful to someone else. Someone, maybe, who is less fortunate than you who would not be able to acquire the same item new.

Rejoice in your ability to now be able to release items you once thought you would be not be able to let go of. Items such as sentimental clutter that you now realise you don’t need to hang on to in order to remember good times and loved one past and present. Enjoy the memories they evoke as you let them go and he happy you are moving on to a bright decluttered future.

Be happy in relieving yourself of aspirational clutter. Be grateful you can now let go of the strings that bind you to expectations that are now in the past so you can focus on the activities you really love right here right now. Learn the lesson of not overcatering to hobbies that may not last. In the future only buy what you need when you need it for the activities you enjoy.

Approach every piece of clutter with a positive attitude, accept what it has to teach you and then move on to the next. This way you will not only make steady progress on your task but you are equipping yourself with the knowledge and attitude never to allow yourself to get into this situation again.

Today’s Declutter Item

This item was a gift I bought for my husband some time ago after the one his grandma gave him because old and worn out. He came to the conclusion that he really only uses the nail clippers and doesn’t need this whole case of implements. I am glad he didn’t feel he needed to keep it just because I gave it to him. The funny part is the the nail clippers from the set broke soon after receiving it. The rest of it will go to the thrift store this week.

Gift Clutter

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Having the right size boxes in the garage to pack up my ebay sale items. Being as my supplies are getting low it was lucky that the ones I did have were perfect for the task. I look forward to the day when I have nothing left to sell.

“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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Except for the garage, my home is mostly decluttered. Well, except for the garage and those few scary areas too intimidating to attack. One of these areas consists of several boxes of photographs and memorabilia. Another is the picnic basket I brought back from my Grandparents’ house after my Grandfather’s death. It is filled with photos and mementos that I had to have but have conveniently stored on the floor of my closet for the past seven years. Last, I have a deep drawer full of art, most of it framed, and some of it quite expensive. It was taken off the wall for the remodel and never rehung.

What happens when I try to approach these areas? In the case of the photos and the basket from my Grandparents, I just swerve around that area like it’s not even there and keep going on my merry way. In the case of the art work, I have twice taken it all out, stacked it all around the room so I could see it all at once, got the feeling of jelly legs, stacked it all back up, and returned it to the drawer. Two other times I have opened the drawer with the sincere desire to tackle it once and for all, squeaked in panic, and slammed it back shut.

Clearly, I am intimidated.

Since it’s been well over 100 degrees (35 C) for more than 70 days, there is no way I am going to work on the garage. I’m going to have to tackle these intimidating areas if I’m going to continue making decluttering progress.

I know how to handle the photos and memorabilia. It’s really the same way I handle everything else: one thing at a time, one decision at a time. I think it can be too hard to make every decision the first time through. On my first pass, I’ll get rid of duplicates (triplicates) of the same event, the same child doing the same thing, people I can’t even remember. If that hasn’t winnowed down the photos enough, then I’ll make a second pass and reevaluate. After that I’ll have to decide how I’m going to store them. Everything doesn’t have to be in a coffee-table worthy scrapbook. Sometimes a well labeled envelope in a box is good enough.

For the artwork, I have decided to get the girls to help me. My plan is to pull out one piece of art per day and with their help, decide 1) if we’re going to keep it and 2) where we’re going to hang it. Having their help and the weight of their often-strong opinions should help bring the fear factor down to a manageable level.

What’s intimidating you, and how do you plan to tackle it?

Today’s Declutter Item

Some more fabric gone to the thrift shop. It is good to be honest with yourself that you aren’t likely to use something and just send it on it’s way. One less thing cluttering up  the place and your mind for that matter.

More Fabric (Aspiration Clutter)

Something I Am Grateful For Today

Some days it is just good to have a day that is just ordinary. Nothing spectacular happening just calm and simple. Yesterday was one of those days and I am grateful for that. It was also a good day for blog comments, that kept me busy most of the day. Lucky Cindy does today’s post or it may not have happened. 😉

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

Have you ever considered the cost of the things you buy and own in comparison to the value they actually realise for you. Which example below represents good value for money to you?

1. You bought a new dress to go to an event and it cost you $100. Yes, you had plenty of other dresses you could wear but you wanted a new one. The dress has now been sitting in your closet for six months and you have only worn it on that one occasion.
2. You bought a secondhand bicycle in order to cut down on using the car for short trips. You only paid $50 for it but use it all the time and the added bonus is your fitness levels have improved incredibly.

It is plain to see that the value, to you, of the $50 bicycle far out weighs to more expensive dress that is rarely used.

The above examples raise yet more cost v value issues as there is more to cost and value than meets the eye. The monetary cost of the dress was $100 but the value so far in return has been very little. The dress is actually costing you more than just the money you spent on it. Knowing you should not have wasted your money on it in the first place is costing you emotionally. Guilt is causing you to keep the item in the hope that you will get more value out of it and that is costing you wasted space in your closet.

Do you see where I am going with this.

Now how about the bicycle. It cost you $50 and over time it will pay itself off in fuel savings which means it is of more value in dollars than it actually cost. But not only that, you are getting fit riding it so it has an added health value. Plus all of these things make you feel good about yourself which raises your self-esteem adding more value to the bike. Yes, it also takes up space in your garage but it is worth every inch it occupies.

Here is one more example for you. Say you own two beautiful dinner sets. You display one set because you love it visually and you use it whenever you have company over for dinner. The other one you aren’t so enamoured with and it is taking up valuable space in the back of a cupboard where you never look at it or use it for that matter. Even though they both cost much the same to buy one is obviously of more value to you than the other. Perhaps if you are keen to declutter you should keep your favourite and sell or give away the other.

As you can see the cost of an object means nothing if it is of no value to you. While at the same time something of relatively little cost may be of infinite value if it is useful to you in some way. The more useful and/or the more enjoyed the item is the more value it is to you.

This is a good way to evaluate your clutter. It is also a good way to look at items before you decide to purchase them. If you can be honest with yourself about how much value you are likely get out of an item before buying it you could save yourself a whole lot of money. You can also avoid a whole lot of grief, effort and waste of space in the long term.

Today’s Declutter Item

These rubber stamps are of no value to me. They probably cost me very little but I never use them so now they are just wasting valuable space in my already cluttered craft area. 

Rubber Stamps

Something I Am Grateful For Today

In keeping with today’s theme I must say I am grateful for my laptop. I bought a new one earlier this year because my old one really wasn’t keeping up with technology. Although it was an expensive outlay it realises it’s worth everyday when I write my posts and answer all my readers comments. My old one also served me well and was worth every cent I spent on it some six or more years ago. 

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

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This weeks mini missions are designed to help you plan to declutter. For those of you who just can’t seem to find the time, don’t know what to do when you have the time or just forget what it was you thought about doing when the time is available. Now you might be thinking “what a pile of gobbledy gook that was” but trust me I have fallen into this trap many a time myself. Here’s what I mean.

Lets say you are cleaning the house on Monday and notice an area that needs a little delcuttering but the mission for that day is to clean house and not be distracted by other tasks. So you continue on in your quest to have a clean home. Tuesday arrives and you have a little time up your sleeve and you think “Now what was that declutter task I was meaning to do that I discovered yesterday?”. The next thing you know your spare time has evaporated into thin air and you haven’t achieved anything because you couldn’t remember what it was you meant to do.

Just as easily you can be cruising along in your day and find a small pocket of time to declutter but you can’t think of a little declutter job just right for the amount of time you have to do it in. You can think of big tasks but you don’t have enough time for that right now, nor do you have enough time to plan how you can tackle that big tast in smaller steps. So as a result of this confusion, again, nothing gets done.

Never fear I have a solution and that is to plan ahead. This weeks mini missions are a set of steps to teach you how to do just that. So lets get started.

Monday – Get yourself a note pad, preferably one that is sitting around unused in your home. Go for a wonder around the house and find a few areas, big and small, that need decluttering and write them down in your trusty note book.

Tuesday – Now choose one of the larger items on your list and break it down into smaller sections that are doable in ten minutes. For example, perhaps you want to clean out your closet ~ maybe you will break it down into 1. Sort unwanted items from hanging clothes (or a fraction there of). 2. Sort through one drawer. 3. Sort another drawer. 4 Pull out items from closet floor, sort & return keepers (maybe you will even break this step down into more than one session)…

Wednesday – When you find you have a pocket of free time get started on the first part of each task you have set for yourself. The object of the task is to be able to walk away with the area not being a complete shambles with the decluttered items neatly paced in their donate and sell piles or thrown in the trash depending on their condition.

Thursday – Once again, when you have a pocket of time, carry on with where you left off the day before.

Friday – Today you might have a larger amount of time and can tackle a complete smaller task or else continue on with the one you have begun.

Saturday – By now you will be able to appreciate the steady progress you are making and the fact that just small pockets of time each day can make a difference and propel you in the direction of a decluttered home. The week-end is a good time to discuss, with the other members of your household, what is to be done with items that have surfaced that do not belong to you but you feel may need decluttering. Remember only your clutter is yours to do with what you will, others should be able to have the last say about their clutter. Do this today if you have found any such items during your daily missions.

Sunday – Break down the other big tasks on your list for when you run out of the small tasks you have already planned. Keep your notebook handy at all times so that from now on, when you come across and area or a thing that needs decluttering, you will be able to make a note of it for the next time you have ten minutes up your sleeve.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item 

Last week while taking photos of an item I was decluttering, Liam brought out to me a bunch of old T-shirts he had just decluttered from his closet. Liam has his own distinct style and there is really no point in me or anyone else thinking they can buy him an item of clothing that will suit that style. As a result most of the T-shirts in this pile are ones he has never worn. It is a shame but it is a lesson I have learned and won’t make the same mistake again. These will go to the thrift shop and no doubt will be snapped up very quickly.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

A day of sunshine at last. I was starting to get webbed feet and cabin fever. We had a lovely walk on the hills above the ocean followed by a cup of coffee at our favourite independent cafe.

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

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

While we advocate slow and steady decluttering at 365lessthings, sometimes that’s just not what happens. Sometimes the Big Power Cleaning is in order. You have the help of your husband, friend, child, or you’re just sick and tired of being sick and tired. It is time to get it done! But how to best proceed?

1. DO NOT BUY ANY CONTAINERS BEFORE YOU BEGIN. You do not start a decluttering process by bringing anything extra into your home.
2. Get several large boxes or trash bags and label them: Trash, recycling, thrift store, sell (maybe), other (these will be things you find that belong to other people, the library, etc.), and elsewhere (in the house that is). Frankly, I just make a couple piles on the ground for these last two categories.
3. Get your label maker or masking tape, a stack of post-it notes, a marker, dust rag, broom, dust pan, scrap paper, a marker and pen. Bring a drink with you and gloves if the job is in a dirty location. Do not bring your phone; that’s what answering machines are for.
4. Get ready, get set, begin!
5. Drawers – I usually unload these, but only one at a time. Shelves – I shove everything over to one side to begin and move the items to the other side as I proceed. Hanging clothes – I examine these one at a time without taking them out. But, my closet isn’t overly stuffed. If you can barely move your clothes, then pull them out and put them on the bed. If you have a really full warbrode, then maybe you should tackle your clothes one type at a time – pants, t-shirts, etc. Folded clothes – I unload the drawer onto the bed. A room full for junk, or a shed, garage, attic, or basement – Take the first box, stack, or item that you can reach. You’re going to have to process these things one at a time.
6. Examine each item one at a time and decide what to do with it – keep, recycle, thrift store, Ebay, belongs to someone else, belongs somewhere else in the house. Put it in its appropriate stack. If necessary, label it (e.g. office). Do not leave the room; do not take anything away.
7. If you have multiples of the same sort of items, put like with like.
8. When you finish the first drawer, shelf or bin, think about whether keeping these items together and in this container is the best use of your storage and the best way to organize these items. Make a note (using the supplies you brought with you) about what you might need to buy or find to make this area work better for you – book ends, a container, more hangers, etc. Again, you will not be abandoning this project to rush to the store. Hopefully, by reducing your belongings and rearranging things, some of the storage devices that you need will be freed up.
9. Dust the drawer or shelf. Sweep the floor.
10. Go ahead and reload your items, dusting, neatly folding, etc. as you go. If you’re putting them into a closed container or drawer, label if necessary. When you come across duplicates, decide which you are keeping and which can go.
11. Check the time. If you can, move onto the next section. You want to keep an eye on the clock so that you don’t end up with too many things out at once. You don’t want to abandon your project and leave a bigger mess than you started with.
12. Repeat as many times as you are able but before you run out of energy or time, STOP. Your project isn’t done until everything you’ve pulled out, piled around, and labeled for elsewhere has been put away.
13. Return the items in your home to their true locations. Don’t know where that is? Well today isn’t the day to declutter the new location, just put like with like and know that’s a project for another day.
14. Decide where your selling items should be kept. I think there are two main strategies for this. The obvious one is having a pile somewhere. The less obvious strategy is to keep the item where it lived before (a toy on your child’s shelf, a handbag in the closet), and make yourself a list of what you want to sell. Be realistic: Will you really sell this, and is it really worth selling?
15. Once the only piles left are the ones that have to leave the house, load your car. If you know that actually taking items to the thrift store is a weak area of yours, then do it now, as a last step of your project. If you have items that belong to other people, think about exactly how and when you will return these items. Should you just take them now? Maybe it would be best for you to make a circuit delivering items to their owners rather than trying to coordinate the delivery of each with a social visit.
16. All done, all cleaned up, all finished. Take a good look at what you’ve done. Celebrate it on Facebook. Call your best friend to cheer. Aren’t you proud of yourself? You should be!

Today’s Declutter Item

I love the local bulk waste pick up days our local council puts on every six months or so. It is a great time to get rid of stuff that is just junk but too big to put in the wheelie bin. I also love that people come along and sort through the junk and sometimes take pieces to be recycled. This time around Liam cleaned out a bunch of his old art stuff from the garage.

Liam's junk on bulk collection day.

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I am grateful that the sun shone long enough yesterday to get my washing mostly dry. It started to get a little overcast as the afternoon wore on but it did it stayed dry and I only had to put a few things in the drying for a short tumble. 

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

A Quick Message

Before we get started I just wanted to mention that one of my readers emailed recently saying she was having problems leaving comments. She wrote…

…I have no difficulty getting your current post but when I go to the comments my system freezes. Just went back to try one of the postings in the archives and the same thing happened…

If anyone else is having difficulties please let me know and I will get my tech guy on to it. I would hate to think that my readers have something great to share but can’t get through. Please contact me through my contact page if you are having similar difficulties.

Today’s Post

Today, while the procedure is fresh in my mind, I just wanted to share with you the steps I take when listing items on eBay. The whole process goes a lot more smoothly if you have a system to follow before you begin. I will also share any extra tips I can think of that will help with the process.

The System I Follow

1. I choose the items I intend to list, being realistic about whether it is worth the effort. I don’t see the point in listing anything under five dollars although I am trialling a 99c (fee free) starting price with one of the items I have recently listed. Personally I don’t feel it is worth the effort or the listing fee if you aren’t likely to make at least $5 on the deal. Even then I wouldn’t bother if I didn’t have numerous items to list at the same time.
2. Make sure the items are in good order and condition and that all the parts are pressent. Make any repairs or clean-ups required to get them up to selling condition. You don’t want to ruin your seller reputation by delivering poor quality items.
3. While you are carrying out the above step write down a description of each item. Size, colour, condition, items included, volage, capacity, materials constructed from etc etc. This all depends on the item/s involved of course. Tip: The more information you give the less emails you will receive asking for more details on the item.
4. With all this information in mind decide on a starting price and add that to the notes about each item. Tip: Check out the listing fee in relation to the starting price. A $20.00 starting price will cost you a fee of 75c while a $19.99 will only cost a fee of 50c. Needless to say the more profit you make the better so save where you can on fees.
5. Weight each item so as to make it easy to calculate the transport cost when listing the item. Measure the items if necessary to estimate the size of the overall package. Once again add this to your notes about each item so the information is all there when you begin the listing process. Tip: I try to use all recycled materials to post my items once again minimising my costs therefore increasing my profit margin.
6. Photograph each item. Some will require multiple photos while others will only require one good shot. Tip: Best to overdo it here than take too few pics as each picture will take some time to set up, some more than others. It is easier to eliminate shots than have to drag everything out and do it all over again.
7. Download your photos and do any editing required to make them the best they can be to sell you items. Tip: Don’t forget to minimise the kilobyte size of you photos as this will make them quicker to upload.
8. Sign in to eBay and get started listing.
9. Take your time and carefully work your way through the Create Your Listing template, being sure not to miss any details. You can save templates as you go along so listing similar items is simplified.
10. I always preview each listing before hitting the list button to make sure I have all the details correct. It is too late to realise you underestimated the postage cost once someone has placed a bid on an item although changes can be made if no bid has been placed.

From here on it is just a matter of waiting to see how the auction unfolds. I have to confess that I can’t help myself but check on how my auctions a doing several times a day once they are underway. It is a bit like gambling really except that you haven’t got much to loose except a small listing fee.

Next week when my current auctions are over I will run you through the checkout and posting process. Hopefully I will be able to brag to you about how well my auctions went. What doesn’t sell will be going to charity, either way I will be glad to have it all leave my house.

Today’s Declutter Item

These Christmas crackers have been lingering in my kitchen cupboards since before we returned to Australia if they haven’t been used yet then they are probably never going to be so off to the thrift store they go. Now if I can just figure out where the thrift store went I will take another load of donations there. 😕

Christmas Crackers (Bonbons)

Something I Am Grateful For Today

I was grateful to have the car today as I had some errands to run and that was much to accomplish with a convenient mode of transport. I just hope it doesn’t rain on my husband on his journey home from work on his motorbike. 

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

I received this comment from Janetta on June 3rd:

I have a question: I am a quilter and when I left South Africa in 2004 (to travel for two years and then settle in New Zealand) the little group I met up with every week gave me a lovely gift of a miniature quilt (A4 size) from each of them and a group one wishing me all the best. The work is lovely and very reminiscent of them and I have stored them in plastic sleeves in a folder. I practically never look at them and although I am very pleased to have been given them, I don’t really want them any more. I could take pics of them, but what would I do with them. They are so personal I can’t imagine anyone else wanting them. Any ideas?

And my my response was:

I would suggest that you go to a quilting shop near your home and ask for their advice. There is always the possibility that they may want to display them in the store or one of their customers might want them. It would be a shame to just throw them away. If this doesn’t work for you why not try advertising them on Freecycle where you would have a wide audience of people and maybe just one person among those would be happy to take these off your hands.

Then yesterday I got this comment fro Janetta:

Success! I took my mini quilts to our local quilt shop and Alison, the owner, was very pleased to take them, she said they are a perfect size for decorating and filling in corners in the shop!

I also donated the wooden file they were given to me in (I think intended for decoupage) and donated it to an opshop (together with 35 other items), so I am feeling very satisfied with the solution to the problem. Thanks for your advice.

I was so pleased for Janetta being able to pass on some items that she would have felt bad to throw away. Instead they are now being appreciated all over again. Her situation just goes to prove, that if you can identify your target audience you should have no problem handing your clutter on to someone who will get as much enjoyment out of them as you once did. No matter what it is you are getting rid of, if it is still useful in some way there will be someone happy to claim it. I have had success with this many times over the last eighteen months of my declutter mission…

• Craft items ~ Arranged a sale with a local craft group.
• Broken Amplifier ~ Freecycled to a man who likes to tinker with that sort of thing.
• Non functioning Kenwood mixer ~ I sold the accessories on ebay and when one man came to pick up his item I offered him the mixer as well and he was happy to take it.
• Excess Stationary & scrapbook paper~ Donated to the school up the street.
• Lamp that needed rewiring ~ Offered on freecycle and a lady whose son was an electrician was glad to take it from me. I am not so sure her son would have been so pleased but that’s not my problem. 😉

As you can see, with a little imagination it is possible to find home for all sorts of things. You may be thinking that Freecycle doesn’t target a specific audience but in a way it does because there are a lot of handy people browsing the offers looking for things they can repair, recycle or repurpose. Like the man that took the top of my entertainment unit. It would have been useless to a thrift store but the man that took it was a retired carpenter who was excited to reuse the leadlight doors and recycle the timber for other projects.

Below are some examples of specific items and who may want them:

• Perhaps you are no longer interested in camping and you have an old tent you no longer want. Why not offer it to a local Scout Troop, I am sure they would get great use out of it.
• Maybe your beloved dog passed away and you do not plan get another so you are free to travel in the future. I am sure a kennel or your local animal shelter would appreciate any equipment you have to offer like leads, kennel, beds, toys, bowls etc.
• You might have fishing gear that you no longer use, try offering them for sale or donate them to a local fishing club if you have such a thing in your area.

The variety of enthusiast, non-profit, sporting, craft… groups out there is almost limitless so use your imagination and I am sure you will find someone who would just love your stuff. Even google ~ the word donate and your item ~ and see what pops up on your screen, it may not give you the exact answer you are looking for but it will stimulate your imagination.

Today’s Declutter Item

I hate it when an item doesn’t work as well as it should. This thermal mug was hard to open and close and even harder to pull apart to clean. Needless to say it ended up in the back of a cupboard unused and unloved. Maybe a thrift store customer may have more patience for it than I did.

Thermal Mug

My Gratitude List

• Something that I appreciate ~ How fortunate I have been in the game of life so far.
• Something Awesome ~ Hot beef stew with veggies and dumplings for dinner on a cold windy day.
• Something to be grateful for ~ My warm woolly slippers. I love to have warm toes.
• Something that made me happy ~ Spending the day with a friend and getting out of the house for a while.
• Something I found fascinating ~ How many kitchen gadgets there are out there to choose from. My friend and I had coffee at a kitchen store yesterday and the range of products was insane.

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

I don’t know about you but in our home there a hundreds if not thousands of photos dating back to my husbands and my late teens and every year since. Some are in albums, some are in photo boxes, some are still in the envelope they came in when they were picked up from the store. Needless to say they are mostly in one area of the house but when it comes to organisation there is very little of that going on.

Of course we are talking about printed photos here, lets face it sorting digital photos is child’s play. Actually, sorting printed photos would have been child’s play too had we been diligent all along and not just chucked them in on top of each other with far less respect than they deserved. Now we have a huge task ahead of us to sort through them and add some semblance of order to our lives in picture.

I am going to give you some guide lines as to how to sort through this mess in the most logical fashion. Even though there are many ways to sort your photos it is usually best to sort them chronologically. If you were to go in search for a photo of say your cousins wedding the most obvious place to start is by the date that this occasion took place. The same goes for a birthday party, vacation snaps even a baby’s first tooth photos if you had such a thing because it is easy enough to pin point around about when the event happened.

If chronological order is the most logical way to find a photo then it is also the most logical way to sort photos in the first place. Even when you start sorting through the disorganised piles of photos you have you will likely recognise the event in the batch of photos and remember roughly when that event occurred. So even if your collection is as big a jumbled mess as mine you will soon start to set it to order once you muster up the courage to begin. I am actually giving myself confidence that I can handle the task as I write this post.

I have made a list below of some items that will be of assistance in making this task as painless as possible:

• 5 x 7 or 4 x 6 index cards
• Photo storage boxes
• Photo safe pen
• Archival Sleeves (Acid Free Page protectors) for larger photos
• Negative holders
• And of course, gather up all the photos from wherever they are throughout the house.

Before you begin: You amy want to read through the list of steps before you get started so you know exactly what the process is before you begin. Seeing the big picture may help with the sorting process as you go along. You may also want to weed out “bad” photos as you go or get the sorting squared away before you start this process. With loose photos like this (not in albums) I would sort first and weed later, that way they are never out of their protective environment for too long. Once sorted you can weed at your leisure, one batch at a time.

Step 1 ~ Guess how many years of photos you have to sort through and mark one index card for every  year (1979, 1980, 1981…) you have to sort.

Step 2 ~ If you ar like me and have photos that have been given to you by other people and loose photos that have somehow become separating from other photos of an event just set them aside until you have the bulk of the photos sorted. It will become easier to sort these once their fellow group of photos are in place.

Step 3 ~ Start sorting the bulk of the photos into their appropriate years. There is no need to be too precise about what month they belong in, for now a rough guess will do. If you also have the negatives that relate to each group it is best to keep them together throughout the process then once the photos are identified you can also mark the negatives and file them away appropriately.

Step 4 ~ Once they are sorted by year go back through each year and identify as best you can what month/date each event occurred on. At this point we are trying to be precise about chronological order. Make an index card for each month that you have photos for and then separate those with an index card marking the name of the event.

Step 5 ~ For history sake you may want to mark the back of one or two photos from each group identifying the people in the photo and the event they relate to. Ideally every photo should be marked this way but I think I would go insane at the very thought of going to that much trouble. My advice is do whatever feels right to you.

Step 6 ~ Now it is time to identify the negaties and file them together with the photos or in a separate negative file. Remember it is not so easy to view the negatives so it is best that you identify them clearly before you files them away. My husband recently sent our negatives to a professional to be scanned so we now have digital copies just in case the originals deteriorate over time. In fact it was already too late for some.

Step 7 ~ If you have large photos of special events like weddings and school photos it is best to store these in archival sleeves in a hard cover folder. Or course you will also identify the event and date for each of these photos as you place them in the folder.

Step 8 ~ Grab that pile of miscellaneous photos I mentioned in step two and start sorting them into order with the other photos. Hopefully they will be easier to identify and sort because you have come across matching photos in the first part of this process. There may be some photos that will remain single, it is best to identify the back of these photos and make a miscellaneous index card and file these singles together at the back of the appropriate month/year to which they most likely belong.

Step 9 ~ If you are like me and also have some random heritage photos, make a special file/album for these and of course identify the people, event (if any) and approximate date. It is likely that future generations will have no idea who these people are if they are not clearly identified by someone who knows the history behind the photo.

I hope I have covered everything and that you will find this guide useful when or if you find it necessary to sort your photo collection. I would love to find the time to sort through my parents photo collection as they won’t be around forever to identify the people in the photos but for now I will deal with mine and then maybe one day not too far away I will tackle that task.

Good luck and happy sorting.

Today’s Declutter Item

This item belonged to my daughter. I often send her text messages or ambush her when she comes to visit to find out if I can delutter her clutter.

Dolphin Trinket

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ Listening to my children in fits of laughter while talking to each other on the internet. Liam was showing his sister some funny photos I had found of him when he was little.
• Something Awesome ~ Driving in the rain when you have just replaced your windscreen wipers.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Liam’s university semester is almost over and he can take a break and regroup for a while. It has been a hard slog trying to finish last years work (due to his accident) and this semester’s work all at once.
• Something that made me happy ~ Escaping the house this afternoon to have coffee with a friend after doing housework non-stop for the rest of the day.
• Something I am grateful I learned in my past ~ How to track down what appliance in the house is causing the master fuse to trip. This comes in handy when the power goes out to your refrigerator in the middle of the night.

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

Today I am going to keep my post short and simple if it brings up questions for you please feel free to leave a comment and I will attempt to answer it for you but for now I wish to be uncomplicated.

I received a comment from Chelle yesterday and the following words were amongst what she wrote:-

“This is so overwhelming, but I am slowly going through things and chucking stuff that is just taking up space, donating, and getting rid of. It feels good, but I keep realizing how much I still need to do!”

* * * * * *

Before I came up my brilliant plan to declutter one thing a day for 365days I am sure the thoughts conveyed here by Chelle had run through my head more than once. Especially when we first moved back to Australia from the USA and lived among packing cases for weeks because there was simply nowhere to put all the stuff. My advice to this attitude is…

Don’t worry be happy!

Don’t worry about how much stuff you still have to declutter just be happy you are making progress.

Do the easy stuff first and let momentum carry you on to the next thing and be satisfied with that. I am sure I wasn’t worrying about how the stuff was accumulating when I was buying it so now I am not worrying about how slowly I am eliminating it. I have to say that although there were items I procrastinated about along my declutter journey it did not trouble me simply because I was true to my goal of one thing a day and everyday was an improvement on the last. Sure I need to go through the photograph albums and the keepsake boxes and my scrapbook supplies and the bookcase and the garage again and probably other areas too but so what everyday I become one thing lighter and that is all that matters. I don’t bring unnecessary stuff into the house so I am not going backwards as I go forwards and I will reach my ultimate goal of a decluttered home in the end. I am happy today with how great my house looks and I will be even happier tomorrow. I am satisfied and I hope you can be too.

Today’s Declutter Item

At some point in the distant past my husband bought this duffle bag to bring shopping home from a business trip. Those were the days when shopping was a pastime and there were lots of things we just couldn’t live without but not anymore.

Duffle Bag

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ Listening to the staff in a department store today trying to convince a male customer that he would benefit from their loyalty scheme. I couldn’t help but put in my 10c worth.
• Something Awesome ~ Having ten different places to be in a day but never having to backtrack.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Being satisfied with my progress.
• Something that made me happy ~ Someone whose opinion I trust confirming my choice.
• Something I find satisfying ~ Lately, every time I feel resistance within myself to tackle a certain task I resist the urge and through myself straight into it. I am never sorry that I have the task over and done with and doing it is never as painful as procrastination over it.

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