Declutter a couple of old shabby shoes that you no long choose to use.

Declutter your fridge of out of date items or by using up as much as possible before adding more. With the holiday season here you will likely need every inch of spare space.

Declutter by recycling some items. That mound ofused takeout containers, old newspapers and magazines, paperwork that needs shredding, glass jars you set aside in case you have a use for them but never have…

Start a trial separation on an item or two that you are on the fence about letting go. Put this/these items in a out of the way place where you won’t encounter them on a daily basis and wait to see if you seek them out. If they haven’t been used or missed in a few months then I think it would be safe to say it is time to let them go.

As you may have guessed, due to the lack of them, I struggle to come up with new posts these days, mostly because I declutter much less now, therefore the inspiration for posts isn’t constantly forthcoming. Today it occurred to me that I have been blogging about this subject for over six years now, so why not repost some of my old articles. They are still as relevant as they ever were, not everyone has read through all the archives and we could all do with a refresher of information previously disseminated. So without further adieu here is todays revisited post.

Take a look around your home to find items that you have been using constantly for many years. Items that you would never part with although maybe are outdated, getting a little shabby or just aren’t particularly aesthetically pleasing in any way. These items will likely have to reach natural attrition before they leave your home. Of course they don’t have to be shabby, they may be standing the test of time amazingly well. And thank goodness for that if they are items that are useful and/or beautiful to you. Think about what is unique about this item that causes you to appreciate it so much.

Think about what led you to acquire these items in the first place. Perhaps it was that you had a need for the items. Perhaps the beauty of the object was what attracted you to it. Perhaps you searched and bided your time until just the right items came along to suit your need or desire. Perhaps it was a combination of all three. Maybe someone you knew had one similar and you decided it was so useful or beautiful that you wanted one for yourself. Or maybe it was sheer fluke that brought you and the object together.

I know I certainly have objects in my home that fit my needs so well that I have owned them for many many years. Among them are items that fit all of the reasons for acquiring them that I stated above. But one thing that is similar in each case is my appreciation for these objects. Every time I see them or use them I feel pleased not only with the objects but for my “clever’ choice of them in the first place.

Now take a look around your home and identify other objects that you neither use nor find aesthetically pleasing. Ask yourself why do you keep each items. Was it an unwanted gift? Can you not afford to replace it? Do you feel guilty for wasting your hard earned cash on it, so are determined to get some use out of it? It is a family heirloom that you don’t really wish to be the caretaker of? Perhaps these items cause too much upkeep. Or worse still you have given up maintaining them and they are sitting idle and dusty. Whatever the reason, if an item brings forth negative feelings when you encounter it then this a something you should consider decluttering.

Your home is your fortress, your place of tranquility, or at least it should be. There are many thing that lower the level of tranquility in a person’s home. One of them is being surrounded by objects that evoke negativity. Another is the feeling of obligation to keep stuff the causes you work. There are only so many hours in the day, house that are better spent doing things you enjoy with people that you love. It is a shame to waste that time taking care of stuff.

So as you encounter these items that cause negativity ask yourself what is more important to you..

• The compulsion to keep them regardless or..
• To heighten the level of tranquility in your home.

Share a story about such an item you encounter in the comments below. Tell us what your decision is for keeping it or letting it go.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

I felt the need to write this post because I am continually confronted with examples of what I am about to write here. And that is homes crammed with abundance while suffering from neglect. It saddens me that such situations can cause so much stress to those involved. And, even more sadly, the cure people turn to alleviate this stress is to treat themselves to yet more stuff.

Sometimes the neglect comes in the form of money being spend indulging in some sort of abundance, often causing clutter,  while other more important regular financial necessities are barely if at all budgeted for. Things like the power and water bills, health insurance, vehicle maintenance etc.

Another example is a home full of abundance while the house’s physical maintenance is being neglected and is slowly crumbling around the occupants and their stuff. And, as any home owner knows, one seemingly small maintenance issue can turn into a major expense when neglected causing collateral damage.

And of course there is the time spent acquiring abundance while the housework is neglected. Any sort of shopping requires time to achieve, whether that be time spend searching and buying the best deal one can find on-line, or time spend scouring the stores for the same. This could be time better spent taking care of ones home.

Of course clutter can just be an accumulation of stuff over many years and does not reflect the true financial expenditures at any given time, however I am not referring to those situations here. So if you can identify yourself in any of these situations stop and think about what you are doing. Buying stuff will never give you peace of mind, the novelty wears off almost as fact as the act of acquiring.

Instead,  cut back on the acquiring and put some money aside for a time when you might need it. Or use the money to fix something that has been waiting to be repaired. And instead of wasting time shopping take some time to sell off some of the excess you have and put that money away for a rainy day or use it now on home maintenance.

Clutter isn’t about the stuff it is about our desire for stuff, often at the neglect of other more important things. Decluttering your home should then be about questioning your desire for stuff and breaking the bond it has on you. Especially if, as mentioned above, your home and peace of mind is suffering due to such a poor relationship.

Today’s Mini Mission

Work on using up all the leftover food of the holiday season. Condiments, spices, frozen leftovers etc. Oh and of course wine and beer. 

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” — Unknown

Eco Tip for the Day

Instead of buying stuff you don’t need, that adds to the stresses on nature, put the money aside for a rainy day.

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

I have been receiving and reading some good post by other bloggers lately that I feel the need to share with you. Here is a great one that Cindy sent through to me…

www.inc.com ~Want to be truly productive? End each day like this. By Kevin Daum

Please read it before reading on.

I particularly liked his first suggestion…

“1. Finish one “organizing” project. Busy people always have some organizing project they have yet to get accomplished. It might be cleaning out an old file drawer or clearing your email. Whatever it is, schedule 20 minutes at the end of the day and tackle it.  Even if you get partway done you’ll feel like you started to accomplish something.  Within a week at most the task will be done and you’ll feel lighter inside.”

Why not consider what you want to declutter during the day then take those 10 minutes at the end of the day to physically remove it to your transition point. This idea is in line with yesterdays post of separating deciding from doing. Take your time to make the decision during the day then do the task and enjoy the satisfaction right before relaxing and turning in for the night.

Quite often, even if you have no decluttering item in mind when the day starts out, you will encounter objects during the day that will come under scrutiny. Give yourself the rest of the day to make the decision as to whether an item can stay or go.

Also, as Kevin suggests, doing a small portion of a large task will give you satisfaction and inspiration to continue, if only in increments. Doing a big task in small chunks can be far less gruelling than trying to tackle it all at once.

You can then rest well in the satisfaction that you have accomplished another step in your decluttering journey.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter old videos, DVDs, records or CDs you no longer watch or listen to.

Eco Tip for the Day

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

I am Australian and my give-away for today is a barbecue. If you are from another country you may wonder what is unusual about being Australian and giving away a BBQ, so I will explain.

Just about  every household in Australia has a BBQ, because of our climate we are a very outdoorsy kind of people. When friends come around for a meal the normal procedure is to “chuck a steak on the barby”. Personally though I would rather cook a nice roast dinner, a spicy curry or maybe make gourmet pizza and as a result our BBQ has not been used for the last three years since we took it our of storage after an extended period of living overseas.

The moral of this story is, just because everyone else seems to have one doesn’t mean you have to. There are people out there who don’t have cell phones, computers, bicycles, cars or even televisions and they survive very well.

So no matter what it is, if you aren’t using it now, you probably never will so pass it on to someone who might get some use out of it.

So today I am going to wheel my BBQ out to the street (I live a a fairly busy road) and I am sure it will probably be gone within an hour. I will update this post to let you know how long it took to disappear.

I put the BBQ out at 9:00am and it rained for about an hour. I went out at about 10:00am to see if it was still there, a car was parted nearby and a man was looking at the BBQ. I went out again at 11:30 and it was gone.

I heard somewhere recently that it only take two weeks to start breaking out of old habits. The idea being, if you can persevere and ignore the cravings to continue in your old habit for two weeks, you will start to notice physically and mentally the change in your behaviour at this point and start to realise you can cope with the changes.

Hoarding is a bad habit that most of us have an addiction to to some degree. A bad habit that for the sake of a neat and clutter free environment we need to break.

According to the two week rule mentioned above once we set our mind to de-cluttering instead of hoarding we should be able to break the habit in a very short time. So ignore the craving to collect and push ahead with the process of ridding your home of unnecessary stuff and before you know it you will be cured.

I must say after 87 days of my resolution to de-clutter I am surely cured and can’t wait to find the next thing in my home to give away, throw away or sell off.

Just to prove my point today I have sorted through my scrapbook magazines with a little more ruthlessness this time and found another pile I am willing to part with that I wasn’t so sure of only two days ago.

It can be very helpful to read about other peoples experiences with de-cluttering their homes. There are so many helpful tips out there on the big Wide World Web and I will explore more of them and add some more links on my page as I find time.

I have noticed while reading a few over the last couple of days that the biggest mistake for most people is setting to0 high goals. I believe, one day at a time, one room at a time, one drawer at a time are often goals easier reached and less daunting to consider.

Do what works for you and if something looks too much to handle move to another area that you feel more comfortable with. Some days you will be keener than others tackle the big jobs then.

Today while writing my blog I scanned my craft area knowing that there must be something there that could go. I found an old binder  with school photos in. I have three perfectly good photo archive boxes that these photos could easily fit in, so I moved the photos to there and have put the binder in the donation box. Now I have a nice space where I can put the birthday card file that has been crammed somewhere else untidily for months.