I was wondering what I should write about today when it occurred to me that I have just past the four year anniversary of blogging about decluttering here at 365 Less Things. That got me thinking about how things have changed and in some cases how things haven't. My living circumstances have certainly changed, having reached the goal I originally started out trying to achieve. I am a little amazed that the goal never really changed over that time. However, my principles of decluttering haven't changed at all. So today I thought, just for fun I would dig up a blog post from about this time … [Read more...]
Cleaning out closets ~ By Linda Bailey
Here is a guest post from July 2013 by Linda Bailey from housekeeping.org that I thought was worth repeating for the lessons it contains. Enjoy! So I tend to bite off more than I can chew. A few months ago the opportunity to have everyone out of the house for a weekend seemed like the perfect time to do some major cleaning up. I had high hopes. I was going to tackle the worst room in the house. It was filled floor to ceiling with boxes from the move and just had enough floor space to walk a thin path around it. Since the move had taken place some five years before I had the brilliant idea … [Read more...]
The beauty of the internet
I was chatting with my mum yesterday and we were discussing the imminent arrival of my niece's baby who will be my mother's second great granddaughter. We were both hoping that she would be born yesterday (12th of February here in Australia). Then my mother would have a daughter, a granddaughter and a great granddaughter all born on the 12th of February. (She also has a niece born on that date as well). She said "I must look up the family history book and see if there are any other relatives born on that date."  To which I replied  "It would be better if you had the family tree on-line … [Read more...]
Worth the effort
I received the following statement in a comment from Michelle yesterday... "This blog is just awesome. I feel better in my surroundings, things are easier to clean and keep organized. I think I’m saving money because I’ve been trying to use up what we already have. Thanks so much, Colleen, for your encouragement and support." I get messages like this quite often, sometimes from people who were sceptical that they could reach their goals and it is very satisfying. Not just for myself, that my blog is helping others, but more so, I get to share in the joy of their success and realisation … [Read more...]
Owning your life skill ~ By Doodle
One of our long time regular readers Doodle has kindly agreed to help out here at 365 by writing a blog post for me every other Wednesday. Today is her first regular post although not the first she has contributed. She has become quite the expert on the subject of decluttering over the years and I am sure you will all be able to learn a lot from her. Welcome Doodle and thank you for your contributions, past, present and future. Owning your life skill The biggest reason I owned too much stuff, was I just never realised I didn’t have to. It was as simple as that: getting rid of stuff as a … [Read more...]
Cindy’s weekly Wisdom ~ A Study of Clutter
I read this great little post the other day - 46 ways to increase your happiness. Of course, I wasn't surprised at all to find that reducing clutter was on the list (number 31). I followed the link to the summary of a University of California Los Angeles study about "crushing"number of possessions in the households of 32 Los Angeles families. I highly recommend you read the whole article and examine the photos. I'm going to highlight some of the portions that struck me as particularly important. First of all, only we know what goes on it our home; only we can tell (or hide) the truth about … [Read more...]
Apartment Update
Our apartment deal fell through. Although the owner had accepted our offer and we were about to sign the initial contract, he received a last minute higher bid and reneged on our deal. So for now we are staying put. I prefer to be philosophical and say that perhaps it wasn't meant to be and something better is around the corner. But really we are very disappointed and for the moment will just lick our wounds, chalk it up to experience and look forward to our seven week vacation. So I guess life isn't so bad. The premature excitement did however spur me on to getting rid of and swapping out … [Read more...]
My big bedroom declutter (Part 1) ~ By Andréia
When you have been a clutterer for a long time, decluttering never seems to end. Reading posts and articles I found that there is always room for improvement. Last year I was very much upset with my bedroom, but I had no idea where to start. Frustrated I asked Colleen for help and she told me to make a plan. My bedroom didn’t just need a declutter, it needed a new life. I always felt a mess in my bedroom. Not a nice feeling to have at all in one’s sleeping place! So I started to point out to myself what were the trouble areas: the furniture in a whole, the excess stuff I put off dealing … [Read more...]
Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom ~ Moving
Last month, I helped my friends, The E family, move. In the last month, I also helped my daughters' school pack for a move. The Es have lived in their house 13 years; the school has been in this location 10 years. Let me tell you, I have seen a lot of junk, stuff, things, good stuff that's no longer needed, beautiful useful items, heirlooms, and lost & found in the past month. A lot. Moving really forces you to focus in on what's essential. This is especially true for the school, which is being torn down and rebuilt. For the first half of the next school year, The Girls' School of Austin … [Read more...]
Fourth Thursdays with Deb J ~ Get your affairs in order
It has been almost 5 years since we moved to Arizona. I have been putting off the hassle of updating all the legal paperwork like the wills, etc. I know I should have done it sooner but can admit that what we have would work in a pinch. I also have to admit that it would be more of a hassle for those left to deal with it if I had left things as they were. I have been updating everything and creating a set of instructions for those who will be our executors if both of us go together or at such time as the other is gone when one dies. It’s much more of a hassle than any of us want to deal … [Read more...]