Cindy's Weekly Wisdom Perhaps if you’re like my mother – always organized, always together, the focused Energizer Bunny – you won’t understand this post, this post about why my house fell into complete disarray and stayed there for about 8 years. Well, perhaps not why it fell into disarray, but why it stayed that way, year after hateful year. Our house was almost literally always under construction, with my husband and I as the main worker bees. I had two young children. I find housework boring. All those reasons are true. But plenty of people offered to dig me out of my hole, and … [Read more...]
Day 358 Key #2 to simple decluttering in 100 words or less
Key #2 -Start with the easy stuff When it comes to decluttering there are always those items that are easy to part with and items that for one reason or another you feel more attached to. My advice is to start with the easy stuff. Things you know for sure that you no longer want or need. Once you start to see and feel the benefits of your decluttering I am sure you will become more ruthless at parting with stuff. By the time you are done, you will wonder why you were ever so attached to those “hard to get rid of†items. Item 358 of 365 less things I wasn't planning to get rid of this … [Read more...]
Day 327 Not too many not too few
Each person's goal when it come to minimalism is very individual. I, for one, cannot ever see myself living with only 100 things as some minimalists suggest. In fact at this point in my journey I have no idea how many more items will leave my home before I am satisfied with the end result. It may be that as time goes by my embrace on this lifestyle could strengthen and I may detach myself from even more of my belongings than I ever considered when I started. Who knows? Being comfortable in the here and now with what is too many and what is too few is all I concern myself with. I want to … [Read more...]
Day 308 Push youself
Sometimes we can find it hard to just get up and go. Things happen in life that we would rather just hide away from and instead of getting on with it, we fall in a heap and feel sorry for ourselves. Sometimes the catalyst for this behaviour seems quite trivial to some but can be a big deal to you when you are living it from your perspective. Trust me though, curling up in a ball in front of the television isn’t the solution to anything and it certainly doesn’t make you feel better about yourself. Giving up only adds to your woes and makes life even more unbearable. What you have to do is … [Read more...]
Day 250 Reducing your Travel Clutter
Another guest post by my husband. You'll never meet a traveller who, after five trips, brags: "Every year I pack heavier." Rick Steves - Travel Writer These words echo in my head every time I pack for trip, whether business or pleasure, reducing the amount of stuff I carry always makes for a more enjoyable time. Whenever I travel with colleagues, they are amazed by my small bag and unable to imagine how they could do it. Packing light is easier than they think and anyone can reduce their luggage to a manageable size with some planning and preparation. Colleen and I are committed to only … [Read more...]
Day 215 Declutter burn out
Yesterday I received an email from Denise which raised some interesting decluttering questions. I have edited and reworded the email as I did not have time to contact Denise to get her approval to quote it verbatim but I am sure she will know it was her and this is what she asked... (more or less) What happens when you have gone through the house once and think you have decluttered significantly. I am sure I could do better but I wish I could see items around the house with "new eyes". If you reach an impasse, do you try again or try another project and come back to decluttering in a few … [Read more...]
Day 181 Listening to your inner voice
I don't know if I am interpreting "Inner Voice" the wrong way but I don't happen to agree that you should always listen to it like people often advise. I think of "Inner Voice" as that niggling little feeling inside that makes you feel cautious when faced with certain situations that you aren't to sure about. In my experience that little voice often tells lies and undermines your common sense. I have suffered from depression on and off during my life and I can tell you for sure that that little voice hasn't helped during those periods. It has come right to the forefront causing me a whole lot … [Read more...]
Day 167 Take your time, learn as you go.
If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that my take on decluttering is " slow and steady wins the race". One of the advantages to this approach is that you can start with the easy stuff and as time goes on you become more ruthless and eager to reduce your clutter more and more. The job gets easier as you go because what seemed like hard decisions at first become simpler and comfortable for you. Betty Jo from Joy With Less has discovered this and she recently wrote about it in her post The Little Things. Here is an excerpt of what Betty Jo wrote.. ...I have one room and … [Read more...]
Day 162 Savour the moment
Due to all I have learned since starting my 365lessthings resolution where I have taken a relaxed approach to a job that could otherwise be quite unpleasant I am really starting to mellow and learn to savour the good feelings evoked during the process rather than just being satisfied when I am done. Through links to minimalism and inspirational web sites that I have discovered along the way I am learning to live in the moment and enjoy the process. If you approach an event with dread, determined that you will not get any enjoyment out of it, chances are it is going to live up to all your … [Read more...]
Day 129 Learn to love the process of decluttering
I no longer look at the decluttering process as a chore in fact I really enjoy it. I look for the positive in in every little effort I make. I no longer focus on the enormity of the task and just revel in the good feelings I get every time a piece of clutter leaves my house. There is such a feeling of accomplishment and freedom associated with ridding myself of objects that bring me stress rather than the joy I thought they represented when I brought them into my life. I have almost forgotten what the feeling is like that is evoked by retail therapy. I think I was pretty much over … [Read more...]