Cindy's Weekly Wisdom When Colleen wrote Have Storage Will Clutter, I assumed it would be about storage units, which exist all over the US, some row after row of garages, and others (literally) high rise buildings with full heating and air conditioning services. Some people's junk in the US lives better than many citizens. Recently I was  at a class with my eldest daughter and was telling one of the fathers about the blog. He immediately told me that his chore for that day was cleaning out the garage. The coach then approached and asked if we were talking about cleaning out a storage … [Read more...]
Experience Life don’t just hoard momentos of it
I received a comment from Willow on Saturday 20 August that inspired this post. I don't hear from Willow a whole lot through the Summer months in the USA because she is always away somewhere living life. Camping, exploring, visiting family and friends and generally enjoying new experiences. Willow is teacher and her husband is a professor so naturally their vacations coincide with school vacation times. This gives them a nice long Summer to do lots of exciting things. Needless to say that instead of owning a large home full of expensive stuff they have opted instead for a small uncluttered … [Read more...]
Ideealistin ~ An interview the Dave Bruno
As promised on Tuesday I have another wonderful interview to share with you today. Once again Ideealistin has put together a great interview, this time with Dave Bruno of The 100 Thing Challenge. You might remember back on January 13th my post consisted of a review of Dave's book The 100 Thing Challenge and how my skepticism changed to enlightenment once I had read the book. Before this I had only seen snippets from other bloggers about this concept and I thought it was just a fad that would be expensive to retract when the novelty wore of for some of the over eager participants who plunged … [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...]
Useful Gifts? I’m Skeptical
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom I hate to be a cynic, but I think I might be becoming one when it come to this oxymoron* ~ Useful gifts. More specifically, useful generic gifts. My mother gave me a drip irrigation system for Christmas. Let me tell you, that's a useful gift, and I am so appreciative. (Thanks Mom!) But what about these "useful"Â gifts that have recently come into my home: water bottles and bandannas from a child's birthday party. water bottles as a "finisher's prize" for a book reading contest water bottles given to the kids when they went to camp for a day bandannas as a … [Read more...]
Day 360 Key #4 to simple decluttering in 100 words or less
Key #4 Don't reclutter while you declutter Decluttering is a complete waste of time if there is as much stuff entering your house as there is going out. Limit your purchases to the things you really have put a lot of thought into whether you will get good use out of it or if it really suits your needs. Don’t wonder aimlessly through the stores looking for stuff you didn’t know you wanted. And try to convince your friends and family not to buy you gifts unless they are consumable in some way.- Fresh flowers, chocolates, beauty treatments and the like. Item 360 of 365 less things My … [Read more...]
Day 343 An uncluttered Chirstmas
In the spirit of giving at Christmas I have compiled a list of non cluttering gift ideas. This list can also be used throughout the year for birthdays and other gift giving occasions. I have cut and pasted a list I compiled back on Day 199 and added some more ideas. If you have any other great ideas to add to the list I will be happy to include them and then make a page out of it that we can refer back when ever we feel the need. So get those good idea to me via a comment I am looking forward to your contributions. Edible Treats Chocolate/Candy Cake (provide a cake for someone's happy … [Read more...]
Day 342 Buy Nothing Christmas
Cindy Bogard's Weekly Post There is a group of Canadian Mennonites who, along with AdBusters, promotes a Buy Nothing Christmas www.buynothingChristmas.org. While my family will not be having a Buy Nothing Christmas, we will be having a Buy Not A Lot Christmas. Each year, I’ve tried to cut back, usually with only moderate success. One memorable year, the kids got so overwhelmed by the number of gifts that we had to take a break from opening them. Good grief! Can you say “enough already!†This year Christmas comes very close to my half-year of decluttering anniversary. Having looked … [Read more...]
Day 325 Simply Sunday – Erich Fromm
This post was inspired by an episode of CSI Las Vegas while the excerpt below is borrowed from Infed.org To Have or To Be (1976) was Erich Fromm's last major work. In it he argues that two ways of existence were competing for 'the spirit of mankind' - having and being. The having mode looks to things and material possessions and is based on aggression and greed. The being mode is rooted in love and is concerned with shared experience and productive activity. The dominance of the having mode (as he argued in The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness) was bringing the world to the edge of … [Read more...]
Day 307 To believe
A friend and I were having one of our philosophical chats while walking a couple of weeks ago. At some point, the subject changed to the psychological benefits of my decluttering process. Having known me before I started on this mission and being that we often discuss it she has noticed the changes it has had on me. We discussed how my blog has added purpose to what seemed at first to be just a household chore. We talked about the side effects and lessons I have learned along the way. How I now receive so much satisfaction out of helping others with their clutter issues and that shopping no … [Read more...]