I am posting on a Friday for a change because I was too busy to put a post together yesterday. It has been a busy couple of weeks keeping up the stocks of my handmade cards at the art space where they are sold. It was Mother’s Day here in Australia on Sunday so cards were in demand. I have to say I will be happy to have a slower week next week. However I am also happy that a nice quantity of crafting supplies went out the door in the form of those cards. And the money I made was another added bonus.
So how has everyone’s contemplations gone this week? It is good to remember the wonderful results of decluttering, to pinpoint our clutter weaknesses and consider our acquiring habits… If we can give rational thought to these things and feel good about where we are at with out decluttering then we must be on the right track.
This week I decluttered an eight place dinner set which freed up some valuable space in my kitchen cupboards. Kitchen items used to be a particular weakness of mine, without me even realising it I think. These days however the more I reduce in this area the happier I am. It is one area in the house that is definitely easier to work in because of improved accessibility due to less stuff.
I think it is time I did a thorough sweep through of my home to weed out any remaining clutter I can find. Then it will just be a case of maintenance. And of course the continual decluttering of the craft supplies. I hope this gig at the art space doesn’t end for a while yet. It is helping me offload some long held on to clutter.
It has been interesting hearing about other peoples clutter weaknesses. Although, like mine, many of them weren’t really clutter because they were loved items and pastimes that will likely carry on forever and will never really be a burden so long as they are kept in check. I know I will always have crafting supplies as I would never be happy without something creative to do in my spare time. And all those avid readers out there will always have books on had to indulge their love of reading with. The fashionistas among us would be lost without a closet a little more stocked than others. And while there are kids in the house there will always be some in-between excess. In between hand-me-downs and in between dependant child and leaving home. So long as we are comfortable with all these things and enjoying our special vices then all is well.
So keep on working on those items you know your don’t care about or use and I will see you next week with a new set of missions.
Today’s Mini Mission
Declutter an item of your choice and spend 10 minutes thinking about it. Why you are letting it go and what other similar items you have around the house that you could also declutter.
Eco Tip for the Day
If you are in need of an item, investigate the possibility of acquiring it in good condition secondhand. It is environmentally guilt free, it will be cheaper and if it becomes clutter it will be easier to let it go.
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
Colleen, today is the first day I haven’t been on the run the entire day trying to “put out fires” or taking Mom to the doctor or shopping for some emergency item. I haven’t had a chance to even think about much of anything else. In the last few weeks we have had to replace the over the stove microwave, the sensor on Mom’s ceiling fan/light, the whole house water filter, the fridge filter, and the flapper in my toilet. Added to that the repairman had to come over yesterday because the end anchor of the dining area track lighting came up of the ceiling. IN those weeks there have been 5 doctor appointments, 3 several days long health insurance problems, and issues with finding some of the things we needed to replace. I hope this all slows down and we can just have some normal weeks now.
Wow Deb, I am sorry you have had such a trying, and sounds like expensive, few weeks. Don’t you just hate it when it all happens at once. I sincerely hope things will settle now and you can have a breather. I hope your mom is doing OK too.
Thanks Colleen. Mom is still having blood pressure problems only now it is going too high again. It iwll get works out eventually. I have enjoyed having a quieter and less expensive day today.
Hi Deb J
I think you need to say to your self well done me. I’ve got all these things fixed and organised and I’ve achieved a lot. I might not have done the things I intended to do but I’ve done a lot of things that are important and that is a good thing. I hope you don’t mind me saying that you seem to be rather hard on yourself. I think you need a pat on the back. Well done Deb J and well done for caring for your mother.
Yes, Deb J, you did a great job of ‘putting out fires’ and helping your mom. With your less cluttered house, doesn’t it make the crazy days easier?
Salley & Willow, thank you for your support. I am glad that I was able to get so much done. I guess it bugs me when I can’t get the “fun” stuff done. Decluttering to me is fun. Oh well! I will get stuff done when I can.
I was really excited by this week’s mini missions, more or less ‘have at it’ – but alas didn’t quite have the victory lap I was hoping for. I have two daughters going to the school Ball this year (school Ball = Prom here in NZ) so a lot of last minute prep going on and on Monday my younger daughter asked if we could hold a Pre-Ball which is a smaller gathering, photo opportunity, in this case due to their age, parents also staying for nibbles and drinks. Tuesday night my older daughter asked if we could be the fall back location for the senior year After Ball. Please cross your fingers for good weather so it stays at the first location. Obviously the house in in pretty good condition but with my son moving back in on Monday, there was some work to be done as his room needed to be set up again. But I needed to get the garage into tip top shape in case the senior class ended up here Sat night as we would need the extra space during bad weather. With the time pressure I had to make quick decisions and this morning, I am doing a drop off to good will and a large box of jetsam and flotsam going in the dumpster at work.
Hi Moni, I guess you could call that a probortunity ~ a problem turned into an opportunity. Opportunity to declutter so possible procrastination items. I do have my fingers crossed for you that the weather is fine though. Yike, a house full of teenagers that does sound messy and potentially emotional. 😉
Goodness, Moni. It sounds like you are having one crazy week. Hope things go well and all calms down for you.
These are great points, as an avid reader and a fashionista I will probably have more “stuff” in both of those areas than say you for instance, but even if I get them down to half what they are now, I will breathe a sigh of relief!
I am glad you are determined to reduce regardless of your love for such stuff. Good for you Shoeaholicnomore.
Deb, about the “normal week”, once when our four were still small but a least some in school and we had had a hectic week, I commented I wished we could just have a “normal week” sometime. My husband raised his eyebrows and said I think this was a “normal” week for us. Unfortunately he was right. So hope your normal week is over and you have a “vacation” break next week. Moni, you are one brave woman, to think of having all those teenagers.
I probably have more clothes than I need, just because I like variety and we have such crazy weather here. After 80’s and 90s last week, this week we had 40s & 50s at night and 60s & 70s in the daytime–right after I moved blankets, sweaters and most winter clothes to a different closet.. My husband and I both read a lot of books, and the library is kind of out of the way for us, so we do have some on hand all the time. He keeps more than I do, but I do keep some. But I did discover this week that there are some more videos & DVDs that are definitely out the door. They were certainly taking up some “mindless space”–where you don’t even see stuff.
Hi Nana, it sounds like you are being very realistic about your stuff. And you are still making headway so good for you. Keep it up and maybe one day you will be happier with less clothes as well. 😉
Oh my, Nana! I sure hope this past few weeks weren’t normal. If they were I will learn to adjust. Just hoping they aren’t the new norm.
I donated a large plastic bin and some boxes of nails to a friend at work today. Nice to get them out of here.
Also this was the week I got rid of an old headboard and 2 metal shelves at ReStore. I also have loaded 2 boxes for another charity shop but I’ll be dealing with those next week on a day off.
I do try and imagine how I want each room to look and, of course, to keep my end goal in sight… the downsizing of my home to a smaller space like an apartment.
It seems like you are going fantastically with your declutter goal. Good job Ron and keep up the good work.
Thanks, Colleen. Amazing the stuff we keep around at times with no need or love for it. It’s just there. Sigh. I still can’t get over the stuff I dragged around in boxes for years.
Lovely to read of continual decluttering. My folks moved to town and gave a ton of stuff to a local church and those items sold and the money went to charity. However, now I find myself with a couple of items that were ‘Grandma’s’ and the sentimentality has me spinning. I didn’t know about these items until my parents moved here near me, and now I can’t get the items ’emotional baggage’ out of my head!!! There are similar items listed for sale on ebay for anywhere from $10 to $40. I don’t know if it is worth the time to list them on ebay for sale (and the expense), but why can’t I just get rid of them and be done with it? What is this emotional connection? (not something I’m used to!). Colleen, HELP!!!!! 🙂 I’ve also thought of some friends I could give these to, and that would make me happy. But I appear stuck in a rut!!!
Hi Annabelle, it’s nice to hear from you. How have you been?
There is no rule against keeping the odd piece of sentimental clutter. It is not something I would make a habit of but meaningful things in moderation are harmless. However it sounds like you would rather let these ones go. Do you think perhaps that obligation to keep them is holding you back? Are you only keeping them because your parents passed them on to you? Give them back to your parents if you don’t want them would be my suggestion.
I read your blog faithfully and have been struggling with decluttering for a long time. My biggest problem is sentimental stuff. One morning I heard a thud from the guest bedroom and found that the box containing my wedding gown from 35 years ago had fallen on the floor. I decided to open it and look at it. I saw that it had gotten yellow and discolored in areas so I decided that I was going to throw it away. It no longer held that sentimental value. I waited to show it to my daughters in law on Easter Sunday and one of them wanted to take it home! So much for being gone. I don’t know what she will do with it but she couldnt bear to see it pitched.
Sorry to run on but that was one item I never thought I could get rid of. Thanks for all your support!
Hi Diane, if you can declutter that wedding gown you can declutter anything. Well done!
It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s going to happen! I have finally found a way to rid myself of my wedding china that is easy and satisfying. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of selling china on ebay and having to ship it. None of my girls wanted it. I even offered it to friends. Then I heard that a charity I like just opened a thrift shop! One of their focuses is on china and other kitchen items! Yay! I’ve talked with them and they want it! The store is a bit of a drive for me so I will be looking for other things to share. Next week that china will be gone!
Willow, it’s wonderful that you have found a way to declutter your wedding china. Happy dancing for you.
Hi Colleen and everyone, been a while since l checked in.
This is not very eco, but we have a skip next door and the builders have allowed us to chuck some stuff in.
We only chucked a few things but it feels good.
Plus some of it wasn’t ours, it was left by previous owner, so glad to get rid of.
So funny, l’ve seen a couple of sticky beaks go and have a look to see whats in the skip…..
Hi Felicity, best that it is just out of there. Mind you I don’t mind having a sticky beak to see if there is something interesting in the skip. I reshuffle the recycling bins in my apartment block because people aren’t very conscientious about what they put in them or how much space they waste because they are too lazy to compact items. While I am at it I don’t mind checking out if there is anything in there that can be salvaged to the thrift shop or to my craft supplies rather than go to waste.
Report cards from school, college papers, my thesis?
I’ve still got a few things to consider but do I love these things, do I need them? Not really.
I’m a shy, quiet guy and I do wonder at times when most of my ‘stuff’ is de-cluttered will I be free to move on to other things or will I be sad I let them go? Will I lose too much of me? Hmmm.
I know the idea is not to be sad but to de-clutter things that never get out of boxes, things we don’t need, things we don’t love but sometimes I falter and wonder what I’m doing.
My goal is still to downsize to a one bedroom or smaller one day so that still gives me an idea of what to work towards and I do NOT want a lot of storage so on I go to the next box.
Ron B, I still have a couple of papers from college (a long long time ago) but I was really proud of those papers and did a great job AND the information is still relevant (children’s literature) to the work I do now. Maybe some day I’ll digitalize the papers. But I do go back and reread them, believe it or not. The papers I don’t care about? Already gone!
Thanks, Willow.
I may take pics of some but I think it’s time to let them go. Not so sure about my thesis but I guess I could scan that in too. I had it on floppy disk… ha ha but got rid of the disk some years ago.
I think scanning the thesis in sounds like a great idea Ron. If you also save it to a cloud storage there is less chance that you might accidentally delete it.