My daughter has been contemplating the idea of moving out on her own and it got me thinking what would she absolutely need if she moved into a place completely on her own without any existing amenities that come with an already shared dwelling. The only things that are a must that I could think of was a refrigerator, a bed, some basic linen and enough kitchen items to put a meal together, serve it and eat it. So if that is all she needs to survive on her own how many things should you be worry ing about getting rid of and "needing" later down the track when they are gone. If you are … [Read more...]
Clothing???
On Saturday Jane requested for me to write a post based on "Clothing. Buying (and only keeping) clothing for the person /lifestyle I aspire to be verses the person/lifestyle I really am/have. I am intrigued with this suggestion, especially since she used the word aspire in it. I would always advise clothes shopping to stay within the guidelines of a style the person is comfortable with unless they are ready for a change. And even then I think I would ease myself into that change an outfit at a time. I would think it is a risk to step outside of ones comfort zone too hastily or you could end … [Read more...]
Awkward clutter
People give things to friends and family members for all sorts of reasons and three of those reasons are 1. Gifts  2. Trying to be helpful and  3. Offloading things they no longer have a love of or need for. And each of these reason have their own sub-categories some of which crossover through all three titles. I will set out some examples below. Gifts They have one themselves and love it and wanted to share the joy. The intention is good but it may not contain the same joy for you. They know you have a collection of something and think you would be happy to receive another … [Read more...]
Other People’s Stuff
My daughter is home for a ten day visit and according to plan I have her decluttering the stuff she left behind when she went off to university four years ago. Â She is being very cooperative and I am grateful for that. Knowing me as she does she was fully expecting to have to comply with some decluttering tasks before she even arrived. I haven't bombarded her with stuff, just every now and again I will pull out some things and hold up for her to adjudicate on. A quick "keep" or "no" is all it takes. She has done well so far eliminating quite a few items, making it possible for what is left … [Read more...]
Digging in the archives ~ Day 250 Reducing your Travel Clutter
I think I deserve a break during the holiday season and if I don't I am having one anyway. So for your entertainment, I have set up five posts for this week with articles from the archives. That is I am going to share with you some old post that you may not have seen for some time that you might find interesting and helpful all over again while I take my break. I received some unexpected help this week with choosing which articles to use from Lena who has been reading through the archives since she discovered my blog not so long ago. Got to love her dedication, especially since it has … [Read more...]
Decluttering with a little help from a friend
Back on the 18th Nov Sabine left a comment about how her friend Debbie had helped her with an emotionally difficult declutter job on memorabilia that was cluttering up her garage. I asked her if she would be kind enough to write a blog post to share with us all. She gladly accepted the challenge and the post below is the result of her effort. I am sure you will all enjoy it and feel free to leave comments and questions for Sabine because she would love your feedback. Let me also say thank you to her friend Debbie for being there for her when the going got tough. Decluttering isn't always … [Read more...]
Stumbling Blocks to Success
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom We all want to succeed. We all want a clutter-free, clean, and peaceful home. Yet sometimes we struggle. What are some of the stumbling blocks to success? Making Excuses Instead Starting "I'd like to start." "I'll get around to it soon." "When things settle down, I'll declutter." Those are excuses, and if you're using them, they're getting in the way of your success. One of the beauties of one-thing-a-day decluttering is that it hardly takes any time, especially in the beginning. In the beginning (which is when excuses are their strongest) nearly anything you touch … [Read more...]
Have storage will clutter
For some time now empty storage containers have been mounting up in my garage. I treat them with the same slow and steady approach that I use for the rest of my decluttering. Therefore I had set them aside until I was sure that I don't have another use for them. The further into my declutter mission I go the more I confirm for myself that I am never going back to the way things were. So I have come to the conclusion that I am never going to need these containers and it is time to declutter them along with the next load of items going to the thrift store. Myself and some space in my garage … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ A Sense of Wealth
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Do you feel rich in your possessions or poor? Feeling poor makes it difficult to get rid of things that are no longer needed, wanted or valued. It induces hoarding and the suspicion that you really might need that someday. Might you really? Feeling rich in your possessions allows you to let things go. It allows you to feel sure that there's no lack of items in the world, and there's certainly not, at least not in the world of anyone who's reading this blog. Certainly our fortunes may change, but it's unlikely that anything you may declutter today would mean the … [Read more...]
Don’t worry, be happy
Today I am going to keep my post short and simple if it brings up questions for you please feel free to leave a comment and I will attempt to answer it for you but for now I wish to be uncomplicated. I received a comment from Chelle yesterday and the following words were amongst what she wrote:- "This is so overwhelming, but I am slowly going through things and chucking stuff that is just taking up space, donating, and getting rid of. It feels good, but I keep realizing how much I still need to do!" * * * * * * Before I came up my brilliant plan to declutter one thing a day for … [Read more...]