On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.
Favourite Comments. Enjoy!
Here is a great comment from Larry who had never commented here before. It seems he has some good wisdom to share so I hope we hear from him more often.
This comment from Deb J is short but says a whole lot about why people buy stuff in the first place. I have also made the mistake of buying stuff because I thought it would make my life easy but often find the opposite. Then there are the pretty things that are hard to resist, I don’t suffer from that problem any more either. All proof that you can change your thinking.
This comment from Kirsty is also short but sweet. I loved her optimism that even though her house wasn’t there yet she wasn’t discouraged. Good for you Kirsty!
Moni brought up an interesting declutter subject in this comment. I responded with my ideas on the topic. If anyone out there has some expertise of an opinion please feel free to share.
Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!
Di reminded me of this video I once linked to and I enjoyed it so much again the second time around that I thought I would share the joy and link to it again today. http://youtu.be/MvgN5gCuLac . Enjoy!
I loved this post from Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist.
I have had a busy week and haven’t had time to read much in cyber space. I did find this post and I have to confess I haven’t read right through it but I feel sure it is full of great tips for going paperless. bemorewithless.com ~ The-possibility-of-paperless
Although I don’t agree with this entire article because I don’t subscribe to the idea that everyone is capable of giving up all their bad habits in one fell swoop there are still many good points made.
That is all I have for you today. Sorry.
Today’s Mini Mission
What about decluttering the remnants of a unhealthy habit you once had like smoking ~ Â have you kept a couple of ashtrays just in case a smoker comes to visit. Why not make you home a smoke free zone it is your right to after all.
Today’s Declutter Item
This item kind of fits with today’s mini mission. In fact just about everything that I have decluttered does. They are mostly examples of my previous habit of buying things I didn’t need or worse still, like this framing kit, things I didn’t even end up using. That is one big chunk of guilt come aspirational clutter gone from my life.
More of my decluttered craft supplies
Something I Am Grateful For Today
My husband ~ for earning all the money in our household while I dedicate my time to running the home and volunteering my time to help others. What a privileged life I lead.
all the links you showed today, I already knew except the one about going paperless, which is a great collection of ideas.
I was happy today. yesterday I sold a book (dictionaries – love for books and languages combined) and brought it too the post office this morning. just to discover as soon as I got home that I sold another book (tourguide – love for books and cities combined). So when I was about to pack the item, I found out that the buyer was basically living next door, and I sent him an email, saying if he wouldnt mind, I would come by and bring the book immediately, cutting out the post. He said he was going for a run anyway and would come by my place. and he just picked it up, 3 hours after he bought the book via amazon. I love easy and quick things. and the look on other peoples faces when they hold a good book in their hands.
How satisfying Lena, to see the joy of your decluttering on someone else’s face. I hope he was cute as well. 😉
funny you mention that, he was indeed. I thought at the first moment: what a beautiful man with good taste (judging by the book he just bought). and then I saw his girlfriend waiting for him… haha.
Maybe it was his sister. 😉
We are really storing up some great posts and comments here on 365lessthings. Thank you Colleen. It’s wonderful to have this community.
Thanks for the links. They were all really good. I’m still working on going paperless and that link just gave me a new boost to get going on it some more.
Wanted to let you all know that Mom and I sat yesterday and went through the 4 drawers and two large shelved sections of the lower part of our built in hutch. She decided to declutter 85% of what was there. I already have it packed in containers and ready for the yard sale a friend is having in October. Mom wants to get busy and do more today. WooHoo!
Well that’s it Deb J, your mother has officially become the best declutterer in your house. Now you will be the one struggling to keep up. 😆 But to be serious you have done an amazing job with her and not just with decluttering but with communication as well. Patience in a virtue and you have displayed plenty of that. And as for you mother, they say you can’t teach and old dog new tricks, what a load of poppycock.
Today we decluttered a bunch more stuff. I can’t believe it. I’m sort of in shock. It’s great.
Deb J, this is great. I told you, she is going to switch the roles there… you are going to have an empty house in no time!
Yep!! It’s great.
Hi Colleen ! Haven’t looked at the links yet – will save that as a treat for later but thank you for your fabulous posts which are rich and wonderful and which then lead to all the interesting responses from the readers.I am always amazed that I can find anything else to declutter but somehow I always do.I gave away five scarves last week but had another look this week and found another two! One was beautiful- mohair and wool in my favourite jacaranda blue – and I knitted it (amazing in itself believe me ) BUT I have never worn it – probably because it was a bit too warm but its been there a very long time and even last week I hadn’t considered moving it on .Anyway its gone now along with stationary clutter , a vase, some antique silver items that someone else will enjoy and a few other things .Actually when I was dropping the bags off at the thrift shop I saw something that I had donated weeks before belonging to my late grandmother which was displayed in a special way to make it stand out .I felt a bit guiltyand a bit sad for giving it away but had to remind myself that I hadn’t ever really liked it and I hadn’t missed it until I saw it in the shop .AND my grandmother would know that I adored her and not necesarrily all the items which used to belong to her .For all I know she may not have liked it either ! (and imagine the wasted energy and space if I’d kept it forever and she hardly cared for it either) I have a lovely embroidered jacket belonging to her which I keep happily hanging up with my own clothes and its a lovely cheerful reminder of her and I see it daily and enjoy it.
Thank you and well done Jez. I have given away plenty of things that used to be my grandmothers also over the years and I believe in your attitude. Not having them hasn’t caused me to forget her, she probably did care for the stuff anyway and would prefer to know that someone else is enjoying them and/or getting use out of them.
In your grateful bit, I think you meant “our” not “out”.
I am curious about that framing kit! I have spent so much of getting things framed for my place. Thankful that I’ve met my self imposed goal of frames & display it, or lose it…
Not sure about the becomingminimalist post. It’s only that it seems that when I declutter life and, strip things back, well… there’s not a lot left! (Don’t worry this doesn’t mean I’ll revert my ways), it’s just strange how often blogs go on to say life will be rosy, more time for people (all true), but the reality is that other people are still busy, buying things. I don’t know how to annouciate this correctly, but basically the concepts he brought up don’t sit well with me.
PS I have one of the ‘freecycle’ listed items with me to drop off at Vinnies on my way home from work!
Thanks again Snosie, by the time I got that far yesterday I was just about seeing double as I had a bad case of hay fever. It is much better today but my poor nose is sore from all the wiping.
Yes Snosie I understand where you are coming from when it comes to painting too rosy a picture of what minimalist life is like. It doesn’t make all your problems go away. Take me for example I love that I can now spend my time helping people and volunteers rather than going to some dead end job every day to earn money we don’t really need. But at the same time I feel some guilt that my husband still has to go to work everyday to pay for that privilege for me. His job is very satisfying though but still I am sure he would rather retire early and travel. I have to say thought that I have always gotten so much more satisfaction out of my volunteer position than I ever did out of paid jobs. Except perhaps the two jobs I had in America because my managers were so much more grateful of my efforts and supportive than they have been here in Australia. Strange isn’t it considering the pay was lousy over there.
You should never feel guilty Colleen! As soon as I read this I googled ” reducing guilt” and came up with this lovely article
http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/how-to-free-yourself-from-guilt/
So please, use your wonderful skills to help declutter your mind of any guilt feelings.
Have a lovely sunny weekend everyone!
Cheers
I do think appreciation is the key. I’ve done the same job under two bosses (a florist) and had VASTLY different feelings about the job. And I think with voluntary stuff (of which I do some), you feel good partly cause all of the ‘doing’ comes from a want to, rather than a ‘need’ to, for money etc. There’s no sense of ‘failure’ either, cause you have less invested in it… It’s hard to explain… Don’t worry, if your husband enjoys his job, then that’s half the battle. Not all of us want to live off writing (honestly! I don’t have a blog, love reading them, love commenting on them, could not make it the major part of my life like a job)… Oh I’m talking all at tangents… scattered mind. I hope the hayfever has passed!
snosie, I know what you mean, but I cant grab it either. I call “those” minimalists also individualists, because I have the feeling that they often “forget” the outside world, if it isnt really useful to them. I dont know how else to put it…
Hi Snosie,
It’s funny, I got a somewhat different message from this link. He was not exceptionally clear but what I think he was getting at was to spend time with not only our family and friends but also with other people and beings – or, put another way, think of how we can help others in the world at large, as well as the people we already know. “The world at large” can be as close as your community (nursing homes, Boys and Girls Club, home for the disabled, animal shelter, etc.) or as far away as another country. There is always someone who needs a helping hand, a kind word, company, to be listened to …
I really appreciated the link to the paperless article as I am attempting to make the office end of our small business paper-less – e-mailing invoices was easy to achieve as that only required an upgrade in software.
All of last year I focused on receiving invoices and statements from suppliers via e-mail, and scanning those that didn’t, with a view to digital archiving these records (we have to keep for 7 years).
I realised though that it was our paper and ink printing being used, so that they could be collated on a clipboard for approval/signed off by a manager, to then be returned to me filed in the “To be paid” folder, and then after they were paid to be filed in the filing cabinet. I got to wondering if I could present the creditors invoices in digital form on a flash drive to the boss.
It meant I had to re-think my step-by-step process, and I can’t say I have a fluent system yet but I have committed to seeing this thru. I do print the end of month statement from each supplier to make sure that all the invoices have been received and loaded in the accounting software, and that all digital copies of invoices are sitting in the external hardrive.
This means I am printing about 20-30 documents (end of month statements from creditors) rather than 200+ invoices over a month. So that there is a small savings in paper, ink and of course, postage from outwards invoices.
A number of other small business in our area are keen to see how this works out for me, and when I feel I have a failproof method they would like me to write it down so they can implement.
The other benefit is that I’m not going to need one of the three drawer filing cabinets in the very near future.
There you go Moni, you are a trend setter. You go girl. I hope you perfect the process and recruit your neighbouring businesses into the paperless account system. Just imagine the amount of paper manufacturing you will be responsible for eliminating. Woo Hoo!
Hi Colleen – I think a lot of people would like to go paper-less (I love how that article emphasised it is less paper not necessarily no paper) but because they have done things one way for so long that they don’t know how to re-invent a process.
I am also working on decluttering at work, we have talked how we would like to one day move to a more purpose suited building. I have suggested that regardless of our final decision, we view the time left on the lease as an opportunity to declutter and streamline systems, so if we do decide to shift it would be quicker, cheaper and less production down time. Everyone seems keen.
Keeping the work place streamlined and declutter is a good idea whether you are thinking of moving or not. My last job used to drive me space to the out of date rubbish that was stored out the back, under the desk and even in the toilet. Then when they did shift it was a monumental task decluttering and decided what had to be kept and what didn’t. Luckily for them I had been tossing out crap for the two years I was there. I would get the “You can’t do that it came from head office!!” I would say “Don’t worry if head office enquires tell them it was me who did it.” Needless to say head office never enquired.
I love the term “aspirational clutter.”
I am also passing on your website to the attention of Dr. Chabaud from “Hoarders.” I’ve worked with her on an animal hoarding case (I work with animals) and she will appreciate it.
Something lovely I just heard: a friend’s son is getting married. He and his wife are buying a small condo — two bedrooms, one bath, 508 square feet — in the French Quarter, in an ancient building that used to be slaves’ quarters. They included a brochure with their wedding invitations asking guests not to give them “stuff.” Here is a quote from their lovely little brochure:
“We do not have a gift registry at any store, anywhere. We are both in our late 20s and have lived on our own since college, so we have all we need in the way of kitchen things, dishes, linens and such. We are moving into a small home and never really plan to buy a large one, so space is a very important consideration. The only gift we hope for at our wedding is the honor of your company. However, if you feel that you must give us ‘something,’ please consider the following: copies of old family photos with identification of the people pictured, the approximate date, etc. … treasured family recipes … type out a favorite family story, or write a few pages remembering a relative who is long gone … print out a favorite poem … or perhaps pass along some small antiquity you wish to keep in the family. We are preparing a memory book in which to keep these things, and it will always be treasured, and it will bring us far more happiness than any shiny new gift.”
How forward-thinking of them. I hope this starts a trend.
Hi Julia and thank you for drawing attention to my blog. I hope Dr. Chabaud will visit and enjoy what I have to offer here.
I love the story about your friend’s son and partner and what they have requested for their wedding. With an attitude like that I am sure they will have a beautiful life together. And like you say how forward thinking of them. i do hope they receive lots of lovely contributions to their memory book and have a lovely time putting it all together.
This warms the heart. What a wise couple!
How lovely. I think this is a very smart young couple. I agree that I would much rather have the recorded memories than stuff.
oh that is the most beautiful wedding ‘thing’ I’ve ever heard of, it totally made me cry. VERY special! What a lovely wise and young couple! :O)
I’m also kind of fitting to the mini-mission: I got rid of more books, which I had the habit to buy but never read.
That sure does fit Sanna, well done.
Colleen,
I’m so laughing (still) over that George C comedy routine. He is the BEST! It gives me a new way to look at my ‘stuff’!!! 🙂 (or LACK thereof!). Live light, travel even lighter! 🙂
Also, I really enjoyed re-reading the comments that came out of Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom (before/after photos). The fun part of this blog is how (us) the readers take one subject and somehow in our comments completely move in a different direction on decluttering but yet how it all ties intogether and makes sense and is soooo helpful! Then I realize that you have followers/readers of SO many different ages and generations and countries and life styles. It is such fun to read about the younger folks and their outlook, and those of us who are older and have rediscovered a simpler decluttered lifestyle. This is a subject that crosses all bounderies in race, age, gender, state/country/oceans…
Colleen,
It looks like I’ve “returned” at the right moment: I loved your pointer to Joshua Becker and then read his previous day’s blog and interview with Daniel Suelo (the man who doesn’t use money) with interest. Then I checked out Daniel Suelo’s blog and found a mention of Heidemarie Schwermer – did you? If not, it;s well worth reading and seeing her video: http://www.odditycentral.com/news/woman-hasnt-used-money-in-15-years.html
Heya, I’m the author of the post – “How to Stop Self-Destructive Behavior”.
Just wanted to say that I stated in the article that the particular strategy of “giving up all their bad habits in one fell swoop” is not for everybody.
It worked for me, so I shared it in case someone else will find it useful.
I’m glad that you enjoyed the rest of the article, also thank you for sharing it!
Loved your blog concept, its really cool!
Take care,
Halom
Hi Halom,
I understand that you made the distinction in your article that giving up all habits in one go isn’t for everyone. I just really wanted to reiterate this point because although I liked everything else about the article that particular point is somewhat opposed to what my blog is all about. I am sorry if you were offended by that. It was in no way meant as a slight on what you had to say or I wouldn’t have linked to the article in the first place. I am glad it worked for you though. I look forward to reading more of your articles.