It is such a hard task these days choosing five and having to let the others go. I would hate anyone to miss the great wisdom that my readers have to offer but there has to be a limit.
Marilyn in NM in response to Mini Mission Monday – Once again, these missions are great! I’ve gone through the bookcase… Read More
Annabelle in response to Reduce Reuse Recycle – I volunteer at a local thrift store; and more than 90% of the stuff we are given is TRASH… Read More
Kelley in response to Reduce Reuse Recycle – I love this post! I am packing for a move later this month… Read More
Meg in response to The Black Hole – Hi guys–my black hole used to be the big island between the kitchen and dining room… Read More Here is a link to Meg’s beautiful clear Island – Minimalistcook – Living-with-an-uncluttered-kitchen
Melissa in response to The black Hole – I do have a black hole….I just can’t find it!… Read More
This weeks favourite five post I read or blogs I have discovered this week.
Raptitude – How-to-make-trillions-of-dollars
The Uunblogger – Dogging-the-wag-putting-my-blogospheric-imagination-in-its-proper-place
Becoming Minimalist – 8-essentials-for-a-successful-marriage It is worth it just to take a minute to look at the lead photo in this post. It made me smile to see their joy.
Minimalist Cook – Getting-to-the-bottom-of-leftover-condiments
Modminimalism – Check out this new blog it promises to be very useful indeed.
Today’s Declutter Item
I don’t need coupon folders any more because Australia doesn’t do coupons like they do in America. Pity about that but since I don’t shop much any more it doesn’t matter.
Things I am grateful for today
- I am not my neighbour two doors down – it got to 43°C again today and their air-conditioner isn’t working.
- That the Cyclone that hit the North Queensland coast wasn’t as destructive as they feared – It is heading inland now which is a bit odd because they usually die out once they hit the coast. Let’s hope it peters out before it get too far because homes aren’t built to cyclone standards in there.
- A game of scrabble with some neighbours – I lost of course but that is partly because I refuse to use words I have never heard of and because I just like to play games and don’t care whether I win of lose.
- I am grateful to all the lovely readers that leave comments for Cindy and me – it really spurs us on to our next posts and even inspires posts on a regular basis.
- A book borrowed from a friend that has great historic photos of the city where I live – It is only a lone and will be going back once I’ve had a good look.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.
Responding to some of your favorite things: 1. We didn’t lose our AC but our heat. Spent the night with blankets piled and got up to 56 in the house. Thankful we live in Arizona. Got it fixed early in the day. 2. Had to have a spinal injection yesterday and while waiting my ride and I played Scrabble on her iPad. Like you I just like to play.
Got my Mom to declutter some things. Yippee! happy with that. We don’t have a black hole but we do have one small section of the breakfast bar that we use as a launch place for things we need to take with us when we leave. Like paperwork to go to a doctor’s appointment. I’m trying to find an alternative. We don’t have many surfaces in our house to weight down with stuff and we are both neat freaks. But there is no other place to lay things you don’t want to forget and the one very short wall by the back door already is taken up with the hooks for coats. So I’m going to have to get creative.
Hi Deb J,
we seem to be living kind of parallel lives at the moment.
I lose my AC you loose your Heat.
We both have launch pads rather than black holes.
Both launch pads have had paperwork for doctor’s appointments.
You get a needle in your back I am getting a needle biopsy.
We are both neat freaks.
I hope your back is OK and also that you find a better location for your launch pad.
Have a great day!
Well, today I am grateful for the link love 🙂
Also grateful for our electric and heat staying on during the 3rd-worst blizzard on record here in the Chicago/NW Indiana area. This was my first experience of “thundersnow.”
Grateful that everybody in my county co-operated with the authorities and stayed home during the state of emergency.
Grateful that I have a husband who is healthy enough to shovel all that snow!
Hi Meg,
it sounds like you are having the opposite weather to me in Australia. The idea of shovelling snow is starting to sound appealing to me right now. By thundersnow do you mean thunder while it is snowing? If so I experienced that once too it seemed an odd combination.
Wow! That is one clean kitchen. I see a rabbit in that painting. Don’t you also have a large sculpture of a rabbit that you made?
Yes, Cindy, that’s a rabbit! I’ve got a thing about rabbits and used to have a large collection. Whittled it down to just the few most meaningful ones, though, and am not likely to acquire more.
The kitchen is clean like that 95% of the time, believe it or not. Once all that extraneous stuff was out of the way, it was a cinch. BUT–
and this is a big but—it’s just the two of us. No kids, infrequent visitors, etc.!
Excellent selection of comments and links, Colleen!
I love reading the grateful lists. I started making my own lists about six months ago, first on paper, then in my head just before falling asleep. It’s amazing how this simple exercise makes me more aware of how fortunate I really am. It can turn a so-called bad day into one where I realize how small those bad things are.
Hi Jo,
I am so pleased that the attitude of gratitude is working to improve your experience of life. We really need to focus on just how lucky we are instead of dwelling on the bad stuff. The smallest things can bring pleasure and when you stumble across one it is good to stop for a while and revel in it so it cements itself into you mind.
I agree that we need to focus on the good stuff daily. That’s why I do the Friday Fave Five every week. It has changed my focus and my attitude.
Hi Willow,
I especially love the little otherwise insignificant things in my day that bring a smile to my face.
*Like seeing a lady helping and older lady find something in the grocery store today.
*Discovering that my local grocer sells Black Pudding. (most people would think this gross but I am looking forward to it for breakfast with and egg tomorrow.
*Laughing with my mother on the phone today. She is such a good laugher. It makes me smile just to think about it.
The simple things in life are often the best.
I am grateful that I could actually sit and have some degree of conversation tonight with French people. Sure I made many mistakes but at least I am moving beyond mutism!
As always Colleen, great post…
XO
B
Hi Bobbi,
I am still reading your blog everyday that you post. It is a shame that the property management thing fell through but look on the bright that is less toilets you have to clean and who wouldn’t be happy with that. I think you will be speaking French well enough by the end of the year to get a job in the village (aside from village idiot which I know is your favourite choise). Ot maybe that movie deal will come through. 😉
It’s been a busy week trying to get my ‘mini-missions’ finished up. I was going through my pantry yesterday and found several ‘stagnant’ items, once again on the bottom shelf. I will have to have a talk with DH about the sandwich maker and the waffle iron but I did get rid of the electric meat grinder that didn’t work! It’s funny when you have an old fashioned hand cranked version with 5 blades and then there’s the newer electric version with one blade and it won’t even turn on….lol. It just hummmmmmmed! I think we may have used it once many, many years ago and it was used then so it’s possible it served it’s purpose earlier in it’s life. But since it didn’t work it did get thrown in the recycle box. Our waste/trash company has a place for things like this if you take it out there to them so I’m just boxing things up and will deliver them at the end of the month. I have several items in the box so far.
For the rest of my ‘mission’, I’ve cleaned out my purse, and am still working on cutlery decluttering. Right now I’m reorganizing the drawers first then I’ll pull things out.
Great list this week…it kept me busy!
Hi Marilyn in NM,
well done you!
Your meat grinder is proof of what I say about things dying from lack of use when left stagnant for a long time. This is a prime example of when borrowing can come in handy. Rather than buy something that you may only get limited use out of check if there is someone around you that you can borrow the items from.
I like that you have a place that you can take broken items that may be questionable whether they can be recycled. I will have to check into that in my area.
Funny, I no longer care much about coupons either, since it’s just an excuse to buy something! So I also got rid of my coupon folder too.
Hi Eve,
one small step for man one giant leap for mankind. 😆