Have you ever had a craft/hobby that got completely out of control. Not so much the making of items but the accumulation of crafting supplies. I most certainly have. Through that experience I have learned a few things and here is my advice on avoiding this problem.

Always supply your craft hobby as though you are a beginner.

Any wise person who starts a new hobby generally begins with the minimum of supplies in order to try it out to see if they are really going to enjoy it. They buy or better still borrow the basic equipment or perhaps even take a class where the equipment is provided. Then they buy only the materials that they need for the project and give it a try.

Sometimes this hobby goes nowhere because they discover they didn’t enjoy it or didn’t have the aptitude necessary. Nothing lost here because they only bought the minimum of supplies. On the other hand sometimes the person finds they really enjoy the hobby and delve in enthusiastically. Hobbies can be so satisfying and are a wonderful way to reduce stress and fill your time doing something better than just sitting around watching TV in your spare time.

Where we then go wrong is to become overenthusiastic about buying up materials for our hobbies. Seeking out and buying materials in advance of even having a project in mine. This is so easy to do when you see that cute piece of fabric, that gorgeous piece of paper, that lusciously grained piece of timber… . You must have it now because you may never see anything like it again. Sound familiar? It certainly does to me. Then of course there are tempting sales and hobby show that also draw you in. Temptation is everywhere.

So I repeat again ~ Always supply your hobby as though you are a beginner. Only buy materials for the project you are doing this moment. Only buy the tools that you a sure you will use over and over again and always finish one project before you begin the next. This comment sense approach will ensure your hobby supplies don’t get out of hand and you end up giving away hundreds of dollars worth of supplies should the time come that you tire of it.

Today’s Mini Mission

Choose a few items to declutter prior to tomorrows mission that is delivering your donations to the thrift store.

Eco Tip for the Day

Share and borrow between friends and family rather than everyone owning/buying everything.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Deb J

A quick apology to Deb J and the readers who wondered why her 4th Thursday post wasn’t published last week. Silly me! I forgot. Goodness only knows why because Deb’s posts give me a day off each month and you would think I would look forward to that. 

I’d had this soft, cuddly Ground Hog Beanie Baby since 2002. On Ground Hog day that year I had a new job and the company had a celebration because we had supposedly survived the “go live” of four new programs as well as new phones. One of the people I worked with had given all of us in management one of these little toys.

I had a small cloth rabbit that was the start of a rabbit collection I didn’t want. It was from a very close friend and I really liked the rabbit when I first received it. I just didn’t want a collection of rabbits. I’d had it for many years. I never see the friend anymore because we live far apart but she will always have meaning in my life.

I had this cute rabbit sitting on a chair that another friend had given me. I received it several years ago and it had meaning because at the time this friend was a rabbit collector herself. She’s still my best friend but one of the few people I know who is just as much a declutterer as I am.

I had a small quilted rectangle with scripture on it. I had made it many years ago and then made more to give to friends. It was very special at the time because of the circumstances in our lives back then. It was old and worn.

The day I wrote this post I took pictures of all of these items. As I was looking over items with the idea of decluttering them I realized that while they had meaning they didn’t really need to be kept. Having a picture of them would remind me of the person or occasion they were from and the object itself could be passed on or trashed. They just sat on a shelf collecting dust. The ONLY time I looked at them was when I was dusting them or when I had to move them to get to the books behind them.

I’m not sure I even need the pictures. But since they are just taking up a small bit of space on my hard drive right now, I can take some time to think about them. It’s easy to pull up a picture and decide if I need it. I do that about once a month. If I decide to keep it then it goes into one of the files I have on my computer for pictures. If not, it gets deleted. Simple. Easy. I’ve been doing a lot of this lately—taking pictures, holding them a while and most being deleted. I don’t need an item to remember people who are/were special to me. I’ve got a good memory for things like that.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter electric garage or craft tools that aren’t useful enough to warrant keeping. I won’t make a list of these as they are so many and varied.

Eco Tip for the Day

Let your fingers do the driving. When there is something you need to shop for, phone ahead to make sure the store has what you are after rather than making a wasted trip. Every small amount of petroleum product saved is a good thing.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Cindy

I have been thinking a lot about efficiency recently. We are constantly told by ourselves, our friends, and the media that we don’t have enough time. Is this true, or are we just deeply inefficient and distracted?

In my house, during down times, I have notices that all four of us have our “go to” strategies, none of which are very productive: I check my email and Facebook for the millionth time; Clara listens to music and plays solitaire; Audra watches TV; Dan fools around on his computer.

All electronic, all non-productive.

My girlfriend Sherri addressed this on Facebook recently. (Okay, I realize that does seem a bit ironic.)  “No thank you “Yammer” I do not need an app to help me get things done FASTER. I need an app to slow things down. Oh wait, I have that! It’s called my frontal lobe! I can use it to make decisions about what is important, decide to turn off the gadgets, and tune in to my family, friends, God and nature! All with no monthly fees or penalties! Count me in!”

I have been trying, very consciously, to do two things: Sit around less and fill the small gaps in time.

Sitting around fooling around on the computer – what a waste of my life’s most valuable resource – time. Now when I truly have business to do that involves the computer, I sit at the dining room table. It turns out that our dining room chairs, which have rattan seats, really aren’t that comfortable for extended sitting and having that rattan pattern pressing uncomfortably into my thighs keeps me focused on plowing through the business that I need to attend to, rather than drifting off into the No Man’s Land that the Internet can be.

The other thing I’ve been trying to do is to fill small amounts of time. It’s like me to pace around feeling aggravated while waiting for someone to brush their teeth before we can leave. Now, I try to fill that time by doing something: wiping the kitchen counter, putting away some laundry, loading the dishwasher. I’m still by the door ready to leave, but I’m not just pacing and feeling irritable.

Yesterday it was ridiculously hot. Even in the house, I felt hot. I was sitting (just sitting) in my favorite chair feeling hot. After 15 minutes, I consciously decided that I was wasting my time, and that I could be hot and get something accomplished, or I could just be hot. I got up and got some things done. In fact, I probably cooled myself a bit because part of what I did involved wiping the kitchen counters, and the cool water felt nice.

Consciously trying to be more efficient can apply to any task you want to accomplish. Often we wait for a big block of time before we tackle a project. As Colleen has often said, decluttering a thing a day only takes 10 minutes, although frankly, I think it only has to take about 2.

What could you get done if you decided to be more efficient today?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter electric kitchen tools that aren’t that useful to you. Suggestions ~ Grater,food processor, blender, mixer, juicer, coffee machine, coffee grinder, can opener, pepper grinder, bread machine, ice-cream maker, donut cooker, popcorn machine, panini press… this list could go on forever. After going through my kitchen last week I have found that I have the usual suspects ~ toaster and kettle ~ plus I also have a hand blender with one accessory, a coffee grinder and a panini press. All these items are used regularly enough to be safe from decluttering for now. 

Eco Tip For The Day

When buying bars of soap, by ones without wrappers or multipacks that come in a simple cardboard box. Every little bit of plastic saved from landfill counts.

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

Cindy

We’ve had many discussions on 365 Less Things about Selling v. Giving Away. At various times, I’ve come down on both sides of the argument.  I’ve agreed that selling recoups some of your investments. I’ve argued that giving away shares your blessings with others and relieves you of your clutter with less work and fuss. In general, I sell my larger or more costly items and give away my smaller or less costly ones. However, I’ve sold things on Craigslist as cheaply as $5, and given away things I could get $50 or more for.

In general, I don’t consider selling to be too much of a hassle, and now I have verification. Since 2011, I started putting all the money I made from Craigslist and Ebay directly to my mortgage. In that time, I have paid down almost $2000; $1000 a year. That’s not an insignificant amount of money!

Having a specific goal for my extra cash definitely adds motivation. Experience helps too. I’ve been Ebaying since 1999, when I bought a Baby Bjorn baby carrier for my now 13 year old. Back then, there was no Paypal, and you sent a check (!) to the seller then waited for the merchandise. Today, you can “buy it now,” transfer the money via Paypal, and request overnight shipping. How things have changed.

What hasn’t changed is the eagerness of the marketplace to buy and exchange goods. If you haven’t given Ebay or Craigslist a try, use these previous posts to help you on your way.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something plastic in your home. Last week I gave to my daughter two measuring jugs and a large Tupperware container which I no longer use. She was happy to take them and I was happy to be rid of them. I have also emptied and set aside a three tiered set of plastic drawers which she specifically asked if I had any of that I wanted to declutter. I rearranged a few things under my kitchen sink to free up one and she will pick it up this week.

Eco Tip For The Day

Try growing plants from seeds or clippings rather than buying seedling in plastic pots at the nursery.

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

I was digging in the archives of 365 yesterday looking for another post when I came upon this little gem. I decided to share it with you again because this strategy has proven useful, at times, in convincing my loved ones to declutter some things. I hope it will work for you.

Recently I was let in on a strategy on how to state a case or perhaps even get another person to come around to your way of thinking without their sensibilities being offended. The idea is to get people to think rationally about a subject without them realising that you are leading them in a direction they may not have considered.

The trick is to broach the topic in the form of a question that you quite likely have the same opinion on. Once you are in agreement you steer the conversation, maybe even in the form of another question, in the direction in which you want it to go. Successfully bypassing any undesirable emotional response while leading them hopefully to conforms to your way of thinking.

Making a request to grandparents that they don’t overindulge your children with excessive gifts of toys at Christmas and birthdays is a good example of how this ploy might work. Please see below for the scenario I have created to demonstrate this strategy.

While enjoying a normal conversation you bring up your topic by asking ~ “Did you have many toys to play with when you were growing up?”Hopefully they will say “Oh no!…” And they will regale you with some stories of the toys they do remember and how excited they were to receive them at the time.

Then comes the next question ~ “Did you feel deprived because you didn’t receive many or did you have fun regardless?” In this case you will hope the answer is “No we made our own fun. Children these days have no imagination…”

Then comes the $100 question “Do you think children these days have far too many toys?” I have never encountered an adult of my generation or above who ever answered no to this. They all think the current generation is spoiled rotten.

At this point you go in for the kill or should I say you come to the point of your conversation, while you have the upper hand, by saying “I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Don’t you think it would be a good idea if perhaps instead of giving lots of things to the children we all limit ourselves to giving one material gift and perhaps put some money in a bank account for them….”

What has occurred here is that the parent has extracted a true and logical opinion from the grandparent about how overindulged children are these days. Once they have showed their hand you then play your trump card by suggesting your idea of reducing this overindulgence for your own children (their grandchildren). By this point how could they not think that this is a good idea. And even if they do realise that they have been lead to this point, what can they do without losing face but agree your idea is sound.

I have to say I have been at the receiving end of this strategy more than once. Lead there by a certain person in particular who shall remain nameless. I nearly always twig as to what he is up to, but by then he has me caught hook line and sinker. I have to tell you that I am usually glad to be caught. Why, you might ask. Because I have a tendency to allow my emotions to rule my head far too much and his logic is much easier to swallow. With his clever manoeuvring I can then justify what for me may otherwise be a difficult emotional decision. I know my weakness well enough to be grateful to him for steering me away from that frightening abyss.

The beauty of this approach is that if the answers to the questions you are posing are not the ones that cement your case you can abort the mission at any time. No one ever need be the wiser that you were attempting to achieve an objective in the first place.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you have been procrastinating about getting rid of for a while.

Eco Tip of the Day

Turn off lights when leaving the room no matter how long you are gone for. It really doesn’t take much effort but in the long term all the energy savings do add up.

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

Succeeding at living with less isn’t always just about getting rid of things. Sometimes it is about sharing, borrowing and repurposing. I shall give you an example from recent events in my life.

I found out six days prior that my parents would be arriving for a short visit this Saturday just gone. As you know my children have both recently left home so space certainly wasn’t an issue. The issue was that both children had taken the duvets (doonas) and pillows from their beds when, or shortly after, they left. I didn’t mind because they are young and not so financially established as their parents and if they weren’t returned I am better able to afford to replace them. Which I hadn’t done for various reasons which I will explain.

We intend to give our daughter her queen size bed, as her spare, and my son is undecided as to whether or not he and his partner wish to swap his newish double bed, with scrumptiously comfortable mattress at our house, for the queen one she owned prior to his moving in. This means that some bedding doesn’t need replacing while at the same time I don’t know what size bedding I will need for the spare bed we end up with. So back to the story…

My parents were coming for a week and along with them and old family friend would also be staying for the night and I didn’t have enough warm blankets, pillows and bed covers to accommodate them. But never fear, being the frugal and environmentally friendly person I am, I decided not to rush out and buy stuff in a big panic, possibly ending up with items that might later become excess to my needs or not what I really need. Instead I improvised.

First off I took a look in my camphor wood chest to see what bedding items I had left after all my ruthless decluttering. I had a single bed duvet and several spare throw rugs. As there was only one person sleeping in the double bed this was enough to make up that bed and have some throw rugs spare for sitting about chatting or watching TV.

Then I asked my daughter, now that she is fully unpacked and settled into her new home, if she had enough blankets etc. that I could briefly borrow back the ones she took from me. She had a duvet and a blanket spare to loan me.  This was enough to kit out the second bed minus a couple of pillows.

Since pillows need replacing on a reasonably regular basis my first instinct was, since the kids had taken the pick of the bunch, that I would by two new ones. Then possibly donate the oldest ones to an animal shelter when the guests had gone. However, in my travels throughout the house preparing the beds I spied something that had somehow, so far, escaped my decluttering efforts. I am not sure how, because this thing was taking up an enormous amount of space in one of the spare room closets. It was a body pillow. Same width as a regular pillow but twice as long. In an instant a clever idea popped into my head. I would cut this pillow in half and make two regular pillows and solve the pillow shortage crisis. Which I did. Bedding problem solved.

So not only did I manage to save my children from wasting money initially by sharing my stuff, I then was able to borrow stuff back from one to save me buying new. While at the same time I used a little ingenuity to repurpose something, effectively decluttering it buy changing it into something more useful to me.

When I know what my long term needs on the bedding front are, I will then address that problem but for now my extended family and I can work as a team.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that you have too many spares of.

Eco Tip for the Day

Challenge yourself to put every piece of recyclable material in the recycling bin no matter how small.. It is easy to be blasé about small pieces of paper or plastic but so long as they can be recycled they are best kept out of landfill.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

One of the methods that really helps me get ruthless with my decluttering is making a decision to allocate a certain amount of space to a category of items. Take my craft space for example. After decluttering quite a lot of stuff from that space I eventually made a decision that ultimately all my craft items must fit into the ten specially made craft cubes I had bought to house it all in years ago. It took a while but I finally achieved that goal. That decision certainly did spur me on to declutter lots of stuff I otherwise would have clung on to.

I made a similar decision with my linen closet ~ one shelf only for towels and one shelf only for sheets, throw rugs and small miscellaneous linen. In my kitchen I decided that one set of double door cupboards should be enough to house all the dinner ware, mugs and drinking glasses, one shelf for the baking trays, two shelves for canisters etc etc. Our clothes were to fit only in our wardrobe and not spill over into the guest room. Which isn’t so easy when married to a man in uniform (cams, blues, mess kits, flying suits, etc etc).

My most recent “space allocation” method of decluttering is taking place in my garage. My goal is to finally declutter enough items so that everything stored on two existing shelving units and a small single door pantry unit should eventually fit onto only one shelving unit. The notion of “I might need it someday” soon is ignored when the desire for space limitation comes into play.

I have to say that I find this method of decluttering very motivating and effective for me. Perhaps it would work just as well for you.

Today’s Mini Mission

Do you have any things lingering around your home that your kids no longer want. Seek out one or two and send them on their way.

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t use one use throw away cleaning wipes. They are available for cleaning wood, kitchen spills, television screens, make-up removal etc etc. They are usually made from manmade fibres, soaked in chemicals and sold in plastic containers, all of which are bad for the environment. You can do all these jobs with a little water and a microfibre cloth that can be washed and used over and over again.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

This comment by Jo H and the mention of Feng Shui last week got me thinking about the aesthetics of a home. We all have our own tastes when it comes to the kinds of things we like, fabric choices, art works, furniture styles, knick knacks etc etc. However as Jo pointed out in her comment the beauty of these objects have a better chance of shining out when they aren’t so plentiful that they get lost in the clutter.

Although I only have a vague understanding of Feng Shui, and  am sure some people think it is a lot of hocus pocus, I would suggest that it is worth investigating. I feel that some of the basic principals such as de-clutter every room, position furniture correctly, keep work and rest areas separate and make repairs promptly, will make any home more pleasant to live in. Homes have a feel about them whether you believe in chi (the flow of positive energy) or not. Have you ever had an area of your home that just doesn’t feel right to you and can’t put your finger on why. To another person the problem may be obvious but, because you have emotional attachment to the stuff in the room, your ability to see the problem is obscured.

I happened to visit a local antique shop this last weekend. This shop is large and jam packed with all manner of old and interesting things. So jam packed that you couldn’t possibly see even one tenth of what it has to offer in a single visit. I had come to show my husband one particular item which was right at the front door and took seconds to accomplish, however these places are so intriguing that it is fun to have a look around. The decision then had to be made whether to glance over the entire store or choose a couple of areas to look through closely. No matter what choice one makes in this situation one is always left with the feeling of missing out on something. What treasures could be hiding amongst all the clutter. Where do I look first, what might I be missing if I make the wrong choice of where to look. Even though I didn’t even wish to purchase anything I find this feeling oppressive.

Now imagine living in your home with a similar feeling every day. You believe you love and need every item in it, you wouldn’t want to part with anything because you might miss it or need it someday. However you know something about your home is making you feel on edge and you can’t put your finger on it. My guess is your need and love for all your stuff has your eyes closed to the fact that you can’t deal with it all. You spend so much time maintaining it. Or you feel guilty if you don’t. You encounter inconveniences everyday manoeuvring around and through your stuff. Be open to the idea convenience might just be worth parting with some stuff.

As always I would suggest you start decluttering the items, among the multitudes, that you love the least. But if you would like to immediately experience what it would be like with less stuff, why not do a trial separation. A practice run so to speak. You can test how much you really would miss some items when they are gone. At the same time experience how much easier maintenance can be with less stuff. Then weigh up what is really more important to you.

Find a place in your home where you can store some boxes of stuff for a while. Choose an area of your home that feels the most cluttered. Box up the items you least use and/or love and take a break from them. Leave the items in the boxes for at least a month, two or three would really give a good indication of whether you really miss them or not. At the end of the time you can either sort through the boxes to retrieve what you have decided you want or just send them as is straight to the thrift shop. If you do decide to go through the boxes don’t allow the novelty of seeing your items again cloud your judgement and have you forget the benefits of having less stuff to maintain and live with.

Today’s Mini Mission

If you have a bunch of fancy, rarely used utensils getting in the way of  the useful stuff why not pare down a little.

Eco Tip for the Day

Just like yesterdays eco tip on saving fuel not idling the car, you can also practice this with your vacuum cleaner. When you are vacuuming and get sidetracked by another task turn off the vacuum, even if the other task takes little more than a few seconds. Every little bit of electricity you save is good for the environment and your energy costs.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

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

Cindy

This morning, I heard an interesting article on time use and efficiency on the local public radio station. You can read the article here. The gist of it was that of the 8 hours most Americans are at work each day, only 5 of it is spend in productive work. Various guests had different solutions for this perceived problem. My favorite was from Teresa Amabile, a Harvard Business School professor. She said that “documenting progress on work, no matter how minor, is by far the most effective tool [to increase productivity].” Just staying motivated, she says, is still the best way to get work done.

Of course, I tried to imagine how this information could be applied to decluttering.

It seems to me that those of you who keep lists of the things you are decluttering, which I did for the first two years, are off to a great start. Every day when you record what you’ve decluttered, you are documenting your progress.

Also I find that making a list of what I want to accomplish each day keeps me focused on those tasks. Crossing off after a job is done is another documentation of progress.

Taking before and after photographs of a cluttered, then uncluttered, space definitely creates motivation and documents progress.

Successfully selling your decluttered items and keeping a record of the money you’ve earned is another doubly positive form of documentation.

Is there some way that you document your progress so that you stay motivated?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter an unwanted gift ~ No explanation necessary, sell, donate or regift it.

Eco Tip For The Day

Eat at home more often. The food has to be cooked either way but going out to eat usually required driving which wastes fuel.

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

Not everyone is aware of the resources available in way of guides here at 365 Less Things. Although they are quite helpful I don’t often refer to them. Today I would like to bring your attention to my Declutter Decision Making Guide. I hope that both those who have not seen it before and also those who could do with a refresher find in useful.

Questions to ask yourself when you are deciding what stays and what goes when decluttering

• How long since I last used this:- If you are keeping an item just because maybe you might need it some day then it is probably clutter.
  
• Is it still useful to me:- Do I still use this item or even participate in the activity that this item is used for if not then it’s clutter.
  
• Is it in working condition:- If an item is broken and you do not have the expertise to repair it or you are not prepared to pay the price to have it fixed then it is clutter.
  
• How many do I have and how many do I need:- If you have multiples of a certain item but only ever need one then it is most likely clutter.
• Do I need this item for the information it contains:- So much information is right at your finger tips these days on your computer and it is constantly updated do you really need to keep a library of books whose information may or may not stand the test of time.
• Do I like it:– If you are keeping something that was given to you even though you do not like it, it is definitely clutter.
• Do I really need this item in order to remember good times or lost loves:- If it is an item that has purely sentimental value yet you never get it out and look at it then there is a good chance you don’t need it to remind you of the good times you had and the wonderful people you have known. If it means so much to you put it out where you can see it if not let it go.
• Am I keeping this item out of guilt:- I paid a lot of money for this so I hope one day I will get my money’s worth out of it (old hobbies, sporting equipment, expensive clothing all fall into this category). These are the items you need to cash in on now and sell while they are still useful to someone else.
• Do I want to clean it:- Any item out on display will require dusting at least.
  
• Do I want to store it:-Do you have the space to store this item or is it just taking up precious space you can’t afford. 
  
• Do I want to move it out of the way when looking for something else:- The more items you have taking up space in your home the more likely they are going to get in the way of each other forcing you to have to shuffle things around when you do have cause to use them.
  
• Does it have a real purpose other than looking pretty:-This one speaks for itself. Although I like to have some nice objects to enjoy just for their appearance there is a limit to how many if any I can accommodate or justify.
  
• Will I be tired of it in six months:- This is a good question to ask before even acquiring an item in the first place.
  
• Do I want to pack and unpack this item when we move in a couple years:- This is a critical question for anyone who tends to move location on a reasonably regular basis due to work commitments for example.
• If this item had been taken from you and sold to a pawn shop (by a junkie friend or an evil in-law, whatever) would you buy it back? :- I bet there will be a lot of items that you wouldn’t waste your money on,  however low the cost. These are the things that need to go! (Thanks Gogol for this tip) The same could be said for an item were it to break would you replace it or be secretly relieved that is is gone and you didn’t have to make the decision to declutter it.
• “What the heck are you and what on earth is your purpose?:- If you find you need to ask this question of an object then it could very well be clutter but I advise checking with every member of the family first because it could very well be an important part to something. Chances are thought it is rubbish. (Thanks go to Toffee for this addition to the list)

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a guilt item ~ Don’t feel obliged to keep something just because you shouldn’t have wasted the money on it in the first place. Try to sell it to recoup some money or just find a way to pass it on. Forgive yourself and move on.

Eco Tip for the Day

In cooler weather wear clothes more than once. The less washing the less wasted water and electricity.

Check out more eco tips here.

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