Key # 5 Admire your handy work
There is nothing like a healthy dose of gloating over what a good job you’re doing to inspire yourself to keep laboring on. Just stop every now and again and look around you and enjoy the difference you are making. Why not go back and take a quick peak in that closet or drawer you decluttered and re-organized yesterday to give you inspiration to get back on task today. I do it all the time it makes me feel good and encourages me to move on to the next step.
Today’s Mini Mission
Repurpose something. I constructed a dolly (a small platform with wheels) out of a piece of chipboard and some spare casters in the garage. It is now making the compressor easier to move around. Maybe you have something in your home that would be good to use for a purpose it may not have been intended for.
Today’s Declutter Item
I bought this item years ago when my children and I used to enjoy the Harry Potter Novels and often took one on vacation with us. My kids are well past the age that I read to them anymore and I rarely buy a book so this item is no longer necessary.
Book Carrier Bag
Eco Tip For The Day
Stop using fabric softener some experts say that it is a waste of money and not that good for your clothes. Try using white vinegar instead. Not only will it remove chemical residue in your fabrics but will also help control mould and mildew in your washing machine. If you like to add a nice scent to your wash load add a few drops of essential oil.
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“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast
Hi Colleen! Definitely going to try the white vinegar aproach. I have been very dissatisfied with softeners lately, because they just don’t seem to work. Nice tip! I ‘ll get back to you with the result.
I use white vinegar all the time and it works fine. I was first put onto it by someone who told me it will help hold colors without getting washed out (sorry for the unintended pun) over time — especially on black cloth. I had a good chuckle at the dolly you made out of chipboard. In the US, chipboard is the stuff that cereal boxes are made out of. I thought, “Wow — I know Colleen is a wonder woman, but I’d like to see that.” 😉 I suspect you used what we’d call particle board, but maybe you really are a wonder woman and used cereal boxes. I’m repurposing old calendars into envelope folios for a birthday book I’m putting together for my sister’s 60th birthday. It will be comprised of 60 memories/stories/recollections/good wishes from 60 friends and relatives. I look forward to your daily prompts.
Yea, the ‘chipboard’ caught me up, too!!! Particle board I’m guessing. Right? LOL! 🙂 So funny different terms across the oceans! 🙂
It is so satisfying when you can stand back and look at the result of your hard work. Definitely encouraging and gives you that boost to keep going forward because it is so worth the end result. I love the idea of being able to re-use an item for a purpose other than what it was intended. Just takes a little creativity and possibly a little handiwork, but worth it. I was able to re-utilize a padded, zippered, cloth memo pad holder that I had. Normally, I would have purchased a holder specifically for my e-reader, but this works great. I was able to save money and still make use of an item I already had. Makes me feel like a more responsible consumer and helps to keep from re-cluttering.
I don ‘t gloat but I sure enjoy looking at all that uncluttered space.
I am going to try again to convince my mother to use white vinegar. I have seen clothes that others have done this with and I like how they come out of the laundry.
I succeeded at not recluttering. I spent a whole day at our state fair, which always gives out a mountain of stuff, and only came home with four things (well five, but one’s a piece of candy that’s been added to our candy dish). A nice pen, which will be used in my upcoming lab course until it runs out of ink, a cup (came with a milkshake and will be used for many more) and a magnetic chip clip (my old one broke, so it can be replaced now). The last was an intentional purchase of a set of sheets. I got a set last year and they were AMAZING, so I had planned to get another set this year and I did. Considering my mother left with several plastic bags, a few paper fans, some temporary tattoos, a few plastic necklaces, and a whole bunch of pamphlets and whatnot, I feel pretty accomplished.