For, I don’t how many, years now there has been a minor irritation in my life in the way of an item that needs a little repair. This items is a small picture frame whose stand falls off every time I lift it to dust underneath. Now you are probably thinking I have finally decided to declutter it and save myself from this grief but no that is not an option. This item is precious to someone else in the family so it is staying.
What I did do today was fix the stupid thing. Now I am sure you are wondering ~ Why didn’t I do this years ago instead of allowing it to irritate me on a weekly basis for so long? And the answer would be ~ Heaven only knows! I suppose that once dusted I continued on with my cleaning process and forgot about it until the next time I lifted it.
The question now is why do we do the same things with clutter items, allowing them to languish in our homes being an irritation to us when one small action will free us from the grief. You may be thinking ~ “Because there is far more than one of them and it is going to take more than one small action to solve the problem.” Well I would suggest in response that the  greater quantity makes it even more important to get started on the task because we are no longer talking about one small irritation. With every object the irritation is increased causing us greater grief.
Equally so with every object removed, even at the pace of one item a day, the irritation is also decreased. For me, with 800+ items removed from my home I feel the weight of irritation lifting off me more and more every single day. So whether you are just at the start of your declutter journey or a long way down the track let it be known that every single object you remove relieves a little more irritation. So get started or keep up the good work, depending on your situation, and enjoy the feeling of the weight lifting from your shoulders.
Today’s Mini Mission
Declutter a fashion item. That could be a piece of clothing, a pair of shoes, a handbag, a scarf…
Today’s Declutter Item
Excess cords in this house come up, as the declutter item of the day, almost as often as baseball souvenirs ~ well maybe not quite that often ( we have had a lot of baseball items) but too often for my liking. This pair sold on ebay. And who wouldn’t want to pick one up secondhand if they needed one because they cost a fortune to buy new.
MacBook / iPod Cords
Eco Tip for the Day
Don’t throw away your old electronics cords. There is always someone out there who needs one. Either donate them, offer them to friends, list them on freecycle.org or try to sell them. You may be saving someone from having to buy new.
Oh boy can I relate to this! This past month or so I have literally addressed every single annoyance such as you described with your little picture frame. I made a list of everything that needed gluing, fixing, tightening, oiling, repairing, etc that falls into the category of small but persistent annoyances.
Took all of a day to address them all – most of which took less than a minute or two to “fix”.
What I found so odd was how long I let/allowed these pesky little annoyances to haunt me & to cause me grief. Some have been in need of attention for years! Yet those were the one’s that took mere minutes to fix!
The more I declutter – the more I find myself analyzing my own thought patterns that let me ignore or tolerate something (or caused me mental anguish) for so long when the solution took no time at all to “fix”.
Take for example our sliding glass door. It used to be easily opened with one hand. But over time the runner has jammed up with usage & now it takes two hands & putting your entire weight/effort behind it to get the door to open & even then – it jerks & grabs the whole way. It’s been in this state for over 5 years now. 5 years at least!
So a few weeks ago we went to the home improvement store & bought a replacement roller/runner track then we repaired the door in about 2 hours. Done! Fixed! Door works fine again! My shoulder can finally heal now!
Jane – I swear you’re my long lost twin! I have been doing the same thing for the last month or so too. I think as your house gets more and more decluttered, you start noticing all those pesky items that need attention and yes they haunt you.
Yes! Haunting is the best word to describe it! I can’t tell you how many times I wake up in the middle of the night with a new “old” to-do to add to my get-done list! Did that make any sense? LOL
Jane – yes makes perfect sense. 2am is my list writing time. And as one item is crossed off, another takes its place.
Congrats on your progress!
Why thanky! I’m on a mission to reach a self-imposed deadline/goal that I’m not yet ready to disclose as I’m not yet sure I’ve made the cut.
Either way, there’s a fire under me to cull & declutter at a more rapid rate & while exhausting – it’s been rather exhilarating at the same time as I ruthlessly rid myself of the unnecessary!
I’ve made near daily trips lately to the consignment store, thrift/donation centers, main recycling center for my county & even to stores …yes stores….to return previously purchased items for refunds.
Been crazy but crazy with a purpose!
Jane – what will we do when we’ve run out of things to declutter?
Outstretch my arms & touch nothing. Put my feet up & not knock nothing over. Walk through my house at night, in the dark & not fall over anything. Walk into my home after a long day & feel comfort & joy!
Good question Moni. I hope my husband doesn’t make me go out to get a real job. Ha ha!!!
I still think we will find that we are never totally free of decluttering because there will always be times when someone bestows things on us we don’t want.
Jane – and if we can lay our hands on the can opener first try…….we will truly be masters of our own universes!
Jane are you going to be one of those crazy people who decide to sell their house and in the process of fixing it up for sales decide it isn’t such a bad place after all now that everything is working properly.
My husband and I looked at a two bedroom apartment today. I will have to ramp up my decluttering too if we were to buy that one. I can tell you we are tempted.
LOL, I can see myself doing just that!
Back a few years ago when all our friends were selling off their regular homes to buy big giant McMansions (during the height of the housing boom), my husband & I kept our wits about us & stayed in our little regular house & paid off all our debts instead of buying an investment house. Thankfully we had the clarity to not buy “up”…which for many is now waaay under (in value).
However, one of our friends fixed up their little house for sell during the housing boom. They fixed all the long-standing cosmetic issues, put in upgraded cabinets, flooring, counters, appliances only to realize they loved their home & ended up not selling! They too count their lucky stars that they didn’t fall for the housing boom fiasco.
I love to hear stories like this Jane. Just yesterday a house came up for sale on a real estate web site we keep a close eye on. We had looked at this house about six months ago but weren’t prepared to deal with a reno. Wow you should see the revamped version. We are going to inspect it tonight. It is just about the perfect size for us and in one of the suburbs we like.
Wooooo, exciting! Always best to have let someone else survive the reno & you reap the rewards! Let us know how the house viewing/inspection goes!
I will Jane. I think that we keep making excuses not to buy because we really just don’t want to be tied down to a loan. Or more to the point we wouldn’t want a loan to affect our chance to travel. The home is going to have to be just right for us to take the plunge.
You’ll know when you find it. Our current house was “the one” at the time we were buying a house. Lord knows we looked at close to 50 or 60 houses (not including what we saw on online real estate listing).
Our next house, well we’ll know which one is “the one” when we find it.
For us, “the one” is the one we don’t much mind making payments on.
Jane – did you find when you were house hunting – some houses you could almost feel there had been a lot of happiness and laughter in them? And other houses just didn’t have that vibe?
I’m glad you were smart Jane and didn’t sell and Buy up. Colleen, I keep thinking apartment and looking and drooling because it would mean less stuff and no upkeep. That sounds soooooo good.
Hi Jane well you know exactly what I’m talking about. In fact you should have written the post because you clearly have more experience in this than I do. You are probably even more incredulous as to why you left your repairs for so long.
I think should take a leaf out of your book and take another look around my house for any other offenders.
Colleen, once we started tackling all those “little pesky’s” it felt as if we had made the biggest leaps in our decluttering as those kinda things are like a pebble in your shoes. Sure you can try to ignore it or even try to tolerate it, but ultimately getting rid of the irritation is the only solution. It’s just how long are you willing to “ignore” the pebble in your shoe.
What a great analogy Jane ~ a pebble in your shoe is exactly it. Might seem like a small irritation but the constant pain wears you down after a while. Got to wonder why one would want to torture themselves in the first place.
Me too, I have a frame as well lol & xmas ornaments that are special to me & just an angel head stuck back on etc. They build up & mulitiply don’t they. But as you declutter they resurface.
First of all, I love the Eco tips for the day. Second, I can relate to this post. Whether it is an unfinished project or something that needs to be fixed, it can be an irritation. Sometimes I just decide a date that it needs to be done by and if I don’t get it fixed or done, it leaves the house and is replaced if necessary.
Hi Spendwisemom, I love the challenge of trying to fix things myself. It certainly saves money being handy as I am sure you can relate to. I am about to do a revamp on a corduroy jacket that I have owned since 1997. Poor timing but as the cool weather is all but gone now.
This is a very timely post. I’ve decided I’ve got too many unfinished projects around the house, many little repairs or paint jobs that I ignore everyday. Why have I decided it’s okay to live this way? So the past weekend was for Completion. I finished painting a door that I started over five years ago. Also finished three knitting projects and put away a bunch of materials for projects that are underway. I need to just get out the tools and materials for one job, finish it, and put everything away again. How hard is this? It feels so much less chaotic and stressful than having half done projects and tools sitting around.
In the same spirit, I returned materials I had for a new project to the store. If I finish everything else and want to put shelves up, I can go and get the parts again!
Packing away things for a project, and only getting them out when you’re working on them, is a concept I refer to as Reset. My partner is a painter, and after a painting session, resets all her gear, so we have a nice space to be in. Similarly, I’ve been working on a lot eBay selling lately. I grab a small bunch of DVDs to list, do so, then put them away, resetting our space.
I also try to never get too far away from a reset position. And make sure I reset before starting a new project or task.
We have been finding great benefit from this process. It helps us to really focus on the task or project at hand.
The lack of project clutter also helps with the mental clutter. Clearing our minds feel great.
RESET! Such a little word, so much what I need right now. Actually the combination of Colleen’s and your thoughts (yay for all the comments and conversations on this blog!) is what our apartments desperately needs.
We’ve been taking up a lot of projects, the biggest one was/is purchasing and installing an additional big wardrobe (the bigger part of it we could buy used but needed to upgrade it with some more parts from Ikea). I fooled myself for half a year that we could cope with 1,5 meters of wardrobe for the two of us – which actually worked for the basics but there was much stuff parked in boxes in corners. Some stuff to declutter, some stuff to keep. And even with all the decluttering efforts I took it wasn’t melting away at the speed I had hoped for and it was becoming obvious there would still be too much left that we actually should or wanted to keep.
But back to today’s subject: Big part done, little fixes still to be done … and of course all the tools are out, the cardboard is still around (will we need it to protect xy in the process?) and a whole lot of items are homeless right now because of the shifting (and reshifting ;-)). We really should make it a priority to get the last little fixes done, so we can put the tools away, recycle the cardboard and shift the major stuff in the right places to reset back to (sort of) normal.
Thanks for the inspiration today! It was just what I needed.
Good for you Ideealistin,
it is so easy to put off the little tasks because we are too tired, too busy or too tired from being busy. However what we often don’t realise is that the frustration of living in a not so serene environment is actually just making us feel more tired. It is a vicious cycle. Best to just make that concerted effort to get the tasks complete and enjoy the new serenity.
I feel that serenity often comes from reduced mental clutter. Often that is created by reducing the visual clutter in our homes. Resetting our stuff into appropriate storage.
I am so glad you connected with my idea of Reset.
I hope your wardrobe project is going well. Your plans are definitely in the right direction.
Hi Mark, I so agree with this concept. I have been spending more time crafting lately and I feel much more content if I have left my work bench tidy at the end of the day. And I sure feel good when it is all “reset” for a fresh start the next time I decide to work there. There is a much better chance that I will know exactly where everything is.
I am so glad you connect with this concept.
Starting fresh feels great.
Also for me, being able to start fresh on a different project is important. If I’m not reset, I sometimes feel bad about not finishing the other project first. But when I’m reset, none of this feelings occur.
This is so great and so important, especially for people living in small spaces. My husband has his corner of the living room for his office area (in fact, he has a rug there that pretty much defines “his” area) and it’ll be a mess while he’s working on computers and then he’ll tidy it all up.
Agreed in regard to small spaces. Our lounge room is small, but has a two sweater couch, two computer desks and an art easel. It is our creative space. We love it, and it works so well.
But we do both need to keep working on resetting the space so as to keep it as a positive uncluttered creative space.
Mark – I love the idea of re-set, especially as at the moment I have a lot of sewing projects on the go and I have been making an effort to clear it away at the end of the night, rather than leave it all out for weeks (I sew ballet costumes in my evenings but only between Oct-Dec). I brought to my husband’s attention that I was trying this new arrangement.
The minor glitch that we have run into is that I’m a ‘re-set at the end of the day’ kind of person and he leans to ‘re-set in the morning’ person. The positive is that we didn’t realise we had different timing and now at least we can be a bit better understanding of each other ie he doesn’t know why I’m buzzing around the house last thing finishing up chores and putting things away when I could be relaxing & winding down from the day, while I don’t understand why I have asked him to load the dishwasher and last thing it isn’t done, (so I end up doing it) when his master plan was to do it at 6 in the morning when he gets up. Turns out, that is how he has always liked to start his day by having a tidy up (though usually at work as I like to get up to a tidy house) so at least we understand each other a little better and I do a trade off by saying I’ll do my re-set a bit earlier so we can relax together if he can help with a few things first.
Moni – I love the idea that working through your clearing process is helping you and your husband to understand one another better.
I know that my minimalistic journey is definitely helping to strengthen my relationship with my fiance. I believe this is happening for two main reasons. Minimalism for me is about questioning my life, and these questions cross over into our relationship, which leads to many deep conversations. The second reason is that minimalism gives me more time to focus on what is important, and my fiance is definitely someone important to me.
Good thinking Northmoon, why plan another project when there are already several begging your attention. Pick one project at a time to work on and before you know it you will have a nicer environment to live in and feel a whole lot better for it.
We are always aiming for a better space to live in.
What a good and timely post. We have some things that I need to get fixed but they have been put on hold for quite some time. I told Mom next week was going to be the week to work on them. S and I were also having this discussion with her husband this weekend. They have a bunch of things that need to be fixed or tossed. He thinks he will someday get to them–has thought this for years. S is tired of them being around in the way. I told him they are going out the door on trash day. He finally agreed. I told himi that if he hasn’t done it by now after all these years (some they brought with them in their last move 15 years ago) it wasn’t going to happen. If you put them in a seperate box with the trash they will disappear and someone else will fix them.
An update: S was telling some of our friends from church that I was helping her get things cleaned up. They were saying she was like a different person and how much they think she was feeling a load off of her shoulders. I thought it was great that she was telling people and that they could see a difference in her. Way to go S!!!!
Deb J – here’s my secret to getting something done. Right a list in big letters, preferably each item in a different colour so it is eye-catching. Attach to the wall directly in line with the man-of-the-house’s dinner spot at the table. It works.
That’s what Mom used to do. GRIN!! Now we don’t have a man-of-the-house. Boy does that make a difference. My dad taught me how to do a lot of things but I don’t have his height and of course now I physically can’t do some of it.
Deb J – maybe S’s husband could do a few jobs for you in return? Or amongst your community you could organise/coordinate a neighbourgoods share/swop system.
Moni, hate to say this but I am better at fixing things than the husband of S. Have been trying to get a share/swap thing going but no one seems to be interested. they would rather just pay to have things done I guess.
There seems to be 4 kinds of husbands.
Those that can actually fix things and do fix things.
Those that swear they can fix things but can’t or never get around to it.
Those that claim to cook a mean steak on the grill and do.
Those that claim to cook a mean steak on the grill & instead serve up the charred remains of what could have once been a steak or a fencepost.
No offense to the husbands out there…just making mention. 😉
Deb J is seems to me that it isn’t just S and her hubby’s house that you have been cleaning up but I think you are probably helping their relationship as well. You must be feeling so good about yourself at the moment. I bet those good feeling are spurring you on to doing more stuff around your own house too. Hell, I just want to get up and do something here just from reading what your comment.
Thanks for bringing up the slow-and-steady approach again.
As to the things that require maintenance: Personally, I have become much better in that regard, too, since I started decluttering. Firstly, I consider whether it’s really worth the effort and might declutter it, if it’s not – and secondly there are just less duplicates around, so when something breaks, I NEED to repair it.
That said, I had a large stack of torn tights (thick ones, for winter) until last week. I already planned on asking for some new ones for christmas, but then, as I was sitting at my sewing machine anyway, I just mended the tears (along the seams) of about 5 ot 6 pairs and got rid of the two pairs with awkward holes in visible places. Well, these mended tights are as good as new ones, it took me just a couple of minutes and I should have enough now to bring me through winter. I am really glad, I finally did that and didn’t just run out and buy some more. And that nasty stack is gone as well.
Oh Sanna I love this ~ “and secondly there are just less duplicates around, so when something breaks, I NEED to repair it”. That there girl is one reason why decluttering is better for the environment. And no doubt better for your bank balance as well.
Great post, I can really relate to this today. Before I read the post today, I was actually out doing errands and was going to purchase glue, but then I remembered I may have some glue at home for a repair. Better to use what I have if it works, than to buy more. I have one item that was knocked over by my son and has been needing to be repaired with glue for over a month now and today is the day that I will fix it. After moving I had several items that were broken and are still waiting for me to repair them, but maybe it is time to re-think truly if I even want them or not.
You are so right, Colleen. Dealing with clutter can be so simple and easy but at the same time, we can let it get the better of us. We become irritated by it, having to look at it, constantly moving things around to make room or step over/go around it in our homes. One small step gets us that much closer to freedom. That freedom is so energizing, too. I have found that the more clutter I remove and the more that I keep my home in a clutter free state, the less irritated I become, but not only that, it has a terrific impact on the mood of my family members. They seem less stressed and more at ease when they don’t have to deal with it as well.
Hi Jen – I have a couple of shoe boxes in my hall cupboard that hold all sorts of odds and ends, things like glue, tacks, etc – I have written on the end of each shoe box what is in each one so that is easy to find and so they get returned to the right place at the end. A friend gave me that idea and it has worked well.
Thanks, I think that would work better than sticking it in a drawer, which is my usual option :). I will give it a try.
OMG, I have this in my hall cupboard, too. And I thought I was unique 😉
Jen, what a wonderful comment. It is so nice to hear the wonderful results of my readers’ decluttering. Even when the job is not complete you can plainly see the fruits of your labour. Well done Jen. I am so glad for you and your family.
Thank you so much!
This post is very timely for me as our house is becoming more and more streamlined – my hubby tells me at least once a day he LOVES the new regime – it does seem to highlight minor maintenance items that used to fade in with all the general chaos. The last month or so we’ve been noting to each other items which could do with some attention etc.
We’ve had a tendancy in the past to leave all the sort of thing until we decide to sell/shift – but we recently decided that if it is good enough for a buyer to have our house in tip-top condition, it is good enough for us. We don’t have to rush thru the list either. It is quite pleasant to be dealing with suppliers or contractors and not having a deadline looming or pressure.
I love how your husband is so onboard. That’s really a great thing. I know what you mean about seeing things and getting them done more now. With Mom and I the thing is finding someone to do them and affording it. But I’m gradually getting things done and it feels really great.
Deb J – the other day we got someone in to measure and quote to replace our kitchen blinds – why we hadn’t done anything about them earlier is beyond me! The two corner ones didn’t twist open/shut as the mechanism was broken and the large one over the bench/sink was all peeling. I think we just ignored them and decided to do it when we next shifted (no short-med plans to sell) but now my kitchen bench is permanently clear unless I’m cooking of course so the blinds are really letting things down.
Anyway, Adrian told me in advance not to go for the dearest one, its only a kitchen blind, not to look too eager etc. So I was looking thru the standard collection with the sales rep when Adrian spies the ‘platinum collection’ samples and pounces, next thing he’s holding up samples and telling me to see how it sparkles – for the record the correct term would have been ‘sheen’ but he is a bloke – and this colour goes perfectly with the cupboard doors……yes, we’re getting the sparkly blinds.
Moni, Adrian is a hoot. So typically male. Dad used to do things like this. He would say Mom had to be careful of the cost of something and the next thing you know he would come in with it and would have bought the top of the line even if that wasn’t what Mom had planned to get. Men! They are definitely from Mars or something.
I agree with Deb J, Moni your hubby is a hoot.
I got in trouble from a male reader one day for making sexist comments so I will just quietly chuckle at your references but not comment on the subject. Except to say that I understand my husbands strengths and weaknesses and he mine and it all seems to work quite well.
I think you are so right Moni. Once all the extraneous crap is out of the way you can plainly see what else is not right about your home. This is a good thing because once fixed the house becomes more highly functional which feels good to everyone living in it.
I have two things that have been bugging me for I don’t know how long. One is a hinge to a small buffet in my dining room. The top hinge needs to be replaced because the screw holes are really big and won’t hold, so the door cannot be used. A friend’s husband says just use larger screws (who knew) and it will take about 5 min to fix. Also, the decorative handle needs to be glued back on and again, I have the glue, just need to do it. The 2nd thing is a cabinet door in my kitchen that will not shut. My husband says it is the magnet but I think the top of the door can just be shaved down a tad and since he won’t do it, I am going to. Your note today is just the incentive I need. Now, to find some heavy duty sand paper.
You go Maggie, I look forward to hearing how much better you feel about it when the job is done.
Like I said to Deb J, I am feeling all inspired to go over my house with a fine tooth comb now to find any annoying repairs that need taking care of and do just that. Although on reflection I have actually attended to at least three already this week without even giving it much thought.
I have felt, and continue to feel, that same irritation.
Similarly, I am loving that sense of relief as I remove so many items from my life.
I really enjoy the connections I make with your writing. Thank you.
Mark – I was using your illustration from your site about the big pipe coming into the house and the small pipe representing stuff going in and going out and then switching the pipes around. It is great, everyone gets it.
Thank you for your thoughts. I wrote a reply to your thoughts on my blog today:
https://mark-douglass.squarespace.com/blog/2012/10/16/enjoying-the-conversation
Thank you Mark, it is funny you should say that because some days I struggle to find something to write about and then I whip up a quick little blurb about one silly incident in my daily meanderings and how it relates to decluttering and hey presto it makes such an impact.
It gives me such a thrill and brings me back to centre where I realise that this is what people need to hear.
Almost all of my daily writing comes from something related to that days activities.
I’ve considered planning them in advance, but want to avoid big lists of writing ideas. I don’t need the mental clutter.
So I choose what is most important to me that day. Occasionally an idea will form over a few days or week, or even something I’ve thought about for a long time, but often it will be something in that day that will help to complete an idea or solve a problem I’ve been considering.
Thanks again for your thoughts and writings. I’m finding a true connection here on this blog
The worst case with cord (as per eco tip) is e-waste recycling (sometimes it costs you).
The clutter than continues to annoy me – papers! I work on limiting what comes in, but there’s always something, sometime, for various reasons!! But I do ‘get it on’ and sort out ‘fixes’ and ‘do’ things rather than having things stored. One of the upsides of my decluttering mentality – decluttering the niggling to do list of odd jobs.
Snosie – I advertised some on freecycle and was blown away by the number of people who wanted them.
Both my kids have needed new cords for their laptops over time. At $90 a pop for a macBook power cable I sure would have liked someone to offer me one for free or even cheap secondhand.
Keep working on reducing that paper coming in Snosie. We have worked ours down to a trickle and it is a beautiful thing. I have been thinking of buying half a dozen NO JUNK MAIL stickers and offering them to my neighbours because I am tired of seeing their junk mail poking out of their mailboxes, sitting on top of the mailboxes and sometimes scattered all over the footpath.
I’m the ONLY ‘no junk mail’ sticker of 115 apartments. Alas I still get junk (and I think… really, would it KILL you to only deliver 114?). Alas, where I got the sticker (from the council) they keep giving me extras – tempted to create a ‘pond’ around mine, so we all get out of the junk mail.
After hearing about today’s post, Adrian has come up with a few more items that need repair/maintenance that I wouldn’t have noticed and is also talking about a fresh coat of paint on the walls.
Go Adrian.
🙂
Moni, we just bought a few gallons of paint. Time for a fresh new coat of paint in a fresh new color, which is sage-grey. Pretty much gonna repaint the office, main hallway, office & second bedroom. The husband even bought paint to paint his garage/guitar workshop. Haven’t yet decided on the color for the great room/kitchen area – it’s one big room & I’ve not yet decided on a color.
Hopefully I have the whole interior repainted before Thanksgiving. Of this year. LOL
Moni, we actually found the house style we loved..then had that particular house built for us.
Now the first house I ever bought was when I was still single. It was then a nearly 45 yr old house & a mere 840 sq feet (give or take a few feet). I knew that that little dinky house was exactly the one. I still own that house & have been renting it out to the same guy ever since I moved out (when I got married).
Anyways, that house felt happy. Other houses I had looked at were either sad houses or had some kind of bad vibe/energy going on. I’m not the cosmic ghost-believing type – but I know a bad house when I “feel” it.
Jane – yeah I’m not a cosmic type either but every house we looked at I would classify ‘happy’, ‘neutral’ or ‘sad/bad’ – I think the real estate agent was getting a bit annoyed with me towards the end.