365 Less Things

Reducing our stuff one day at a time.

Sharing others’ wisdom

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Today I just want to share with you a couple of post from other bloggers that I enjoyed, and a comment from one of your fellow 365ers.

1. A great article ~ For many people, gathering possessions is just the stuff of life.  I found the link to this article in the Becoming Minimalist Newsletter . In Joshua’s newsletter I also enjoyed his lead article ~ Answer softly, answer clearly. He and I follow the same approach when it comes to this article. However the real point to it is to follow the same principle when dealing with similar realtime situations. I must say though that the same online delivery system used by the offending person becomes a Godsend for the time it affords one to formulate and deliver a response. I suppose in realtime the strategy of think before you open your mouth is all one has to fall back on. It is too easy to jump angrily to ones own defence in this situation. I know I am guilty of that at times but am working towards taking a few deep breaths and being a bigger person.

2.  Michelle sent me this post to share with you. I found it a little amusing but others might find it a little blunt. Either way it is good common sense.

3.  And a shared declutter story ~

I just had my partner give me 5 weeks home alone the dog went to his boarding place – a happy home with more dogs of his breed and I decluttered and destuffed. On my computer screen I have the Mantra: A place for everything and everything in its place There was once a time when I had that because we had very little income, yet lived comfortably What I began to realize a year or more ago, that the place to put things was filled with stuff which was no longer necessary Now I am getting back to that situation, where there is room for the things I do want AND I also made decisions that I would no longer think about doing all the myriad crafts, arts, fun things, etc for which I’d been saving equipment but never used, My life is some simpler. When I go to a store and “things begin singing to me: ‘buy me’ “ I remind myself that I do not need it and have no place for it I have a friend who will not bring a new thing into her home without taking something else out of her home This includes a book, a piece of pottery, what-have-you. She is a good role model Years ago, at a spiritual retreat, the leader warned us: If you take up this discipline, you will have to remove something from your life. There is still only 24 hrs each day. This also applies to “stuff” I enjoy reading your blog, I read others and they all help me to stay focused. I am not entirely there yet, but getting closer. Maybe 85% of the way Thank you for your words ~ Mary Farley

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something that the kids have grown out of or that belongs to a child that has left home. Get their permission first of course.

Eco Tip for the Day

Watch less television. Find something to do for amusement that doesn’t require electricity in place of at least one session of your weekly television viewing. This of course will only work if the television gets turned off and not watched by someone else in the family. Perhaps you could instigate an old fashioned games night.

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

Comments

  1. Colleen, these links are to some good articles. I remember when I first lived in LA back in the 70’s. Twice a year you could go to Beverly Hills and they would have yard sales where they sold off the furniture they only kept for six months because they changed everything out. My friend bought all the furniture she needed for her new apartment for $500 including pictures. Then there are the flea markets like at the Rose Bowl or the drive in theaters. You name it and you can find it. Ugh!

    Joshua’s article is good. I like the speak softly and clearly idea. I like to create a post or letter or whatever and then let it sit awhile before reading it again and making changes if needed. It’s just like shopping. If you have a need do your research. If you don’t have a need but a want then always spend a few days thinking about it.

    I liked Mary’s comment. Sometimes it just getting it all out and making decisions in one big declutter. Thankfully, for most of us we can do it slowly.

  2. In regard to Joshua’s article, I have found it difficult sometimes to understand an individual’s meaning in the internet world. Maybe written words sound angry or sarcastic or maybe it is a good statement, but somehow the meaning gets lost in translation. I try to give the writer some leeway, but I can tend to get riled up, too.

    Gail VazOxlade can be “in your face”, but generally I like what she has to say.

    I enjoyed Mary’s post, as well. All good things to keep us all motivated!

    • Hi Michelle, you are so right. Text messages are the same. It can be hard to tell if someone is being terse or just being economic with their words. I always pays to ere on the generous side of your nature. I have to admit though that people, who drop into my blog or the 365 facebook page just to tell me it should be “fewer things”, tend to get the short shift from me these days.

  3. I thoroughly enjoyed this (almost) Friday’s Favourites type post. Had forgotten how much fun it was. I’m going to go home after work and make some decisions about a few things that I have been a bit namby-pamby about.

    I enjoyed Gail VazOxlade – loved it, especially the idea of a clutter saving account ie instead of buying something unnecessary she transfers the money into an account and watches it grow. Wouldn’t that be an eye opener!

    The LA Times – the average house has 300,000 items from paperclips to ironing boards. That would be an interesting exercise to do, though I imagine it would be quite time consuming and probably not the best use of my time, but should I ever find myself with some excess time, I’ll do it.

    Good news – on Monday I mentioned a storage container I have that I literally bundled anything ‘paper’ that was lying around prior to us emptying each room to paint over Summer. General flotsom and jetsom. Well I grabbed a handful this morning and of that 99% was now out of date, bypassed, no longer relevant etc etc. I remember reading a post by Ratitude (also on a Friday’s Favourites) where he did something similiar deliberately as an experiment re: dealing with paper work. BUT here’s the best part. I found $55 in an envelope. I do sort of remember something about it, but at the house was tipsy turvey at the time with painting. Anyhow, perfect timing as I have two daughters going to the School Ball this year (Prom) and shoe shopping is next on the to-do list.

    • Hi Moni. there is no way, even with my small mostly decluttering apartment, am I ever going to be bothered counting everything I own. I have better things to do with my time. You go for it though. It could be mind boggling.

      $55 what a find. I did that once way back in my early days of decluttering. I found $20 in one card and $5 in another that were gifts for my son when he was a baby. He was pretty happy to receive the money at 21 years old. He and his sister were also amazed the the money was the old paper kinds. They couldn’t even remember there ever being money like that in Australia. We have had polymer notes for years.

  4. Hi Colleen! I really enjoyed today´s post. I find it that, to stop stuff being the central thing in my life, I had to take a step back and access my whole attitude towards stuff. Now, whenever I find myself in a shopping mall I usually head to the eating area, to meet someone. I avoid shopping malls as an entertaining place. And whenever I have to shop I have a set thing I have to buy, no impulse buying. I liked the post Michele sent. It is very straight forward and it says the real thing: buy too much = too much clutter.
    I congratulate Mary, I have been in her place, and it is great to see results.

    • I am glad you enjoyed them Andréia. I am not a lover of the mall either. I really need to go to one the try on bras (don’t you hate it when they stop selling the one you like. Mongrels). I also need to find frames and order new reading glasses but that is almost as unappealing as trying on bras. Oh well, maybe next time I am over visiting with Liam.