I looked in my closet one day last week trying to decide what to wear for the day. I wasn't doing anything special or going anywhere in particular but was a little tired of the same old jeans and long sleeve T combination. (My default outfit in the cooler months of the year.) Then I spied the lovely velvety olive green jacket that I usually reserve for special occasions. After dismissing the initial thought of “But that jacket is only for good.†I decided, why not! That is just what I needed to spruce up an otherwise ordinary day. This is exactly what we should do with all our good stuff. … [Read more...]
Thursdays with Deb J ~ While Making an Inventory
I’ve been taking an inventory of what we own. I’ve never done this to the extent I am doing it right now. It’s for insurance purposes but also because I really want to know. What do we own? Do we need to own it? I’m not listing every little thing. For instance, I listed things like 8 place settings of Corelle dishes rather than each individual one. I listed 8 place settings of Oneida stainless. I made sure to take pictures so that I could “show†what we own. I have a long way to go to finish the list as we still own lots of things. When I started this list I took pictures first, … [Read more...]
Fourth Thursdays with Deb J ~ Someone Else’s Clutter
We moved here to Arizona 5 years ago. We had very benevolent former owners. They just knew we could use a number of things so left them here for us. Along with a yard containing 6 fruit trees, two rosemary bushes, two grapevines, a jasmine, a honey suckle, 5 Texas Sage bushes, 3 western petunias, 8 rose bushes and a bougainvillea. They also left a couch, two garden chairs, a metal patio sink, and bunches of “construction/building†materials. Now, mind you, they had done a wonderful job of updating the house. The kitchen was “to die for†and the pantry and laundry area were very handy. … [Read more...]
How To Equip A New Home
I got to the end of the day yesterday and realised at 10:15pm that I had forgotten to put a post together for today. Luckily for me Andréia had sent me another post she had whipped up this week. She has obviously been thinking a lot about clutter lately and likes to share her experience with us. She has titled this post "How to Equip a New Home" but she could just as easily have called it "How to Declutter Your Home to Suit You".  Thanks Andréia. So without further adieu here is her post. How To Equip A New Home ~ by AndrÃa I have been decluttering for a while and this question has … [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...]
Perishable Clutter
One thing I haven't brought to your attention for a long time is the fact that some items left unused can perishe over time. Therefore, without you realising it, some items in your home may slowly be becoming useless while you wait for "someday" to arrive when you will have a use for them. I know I have encountered some incidences of this during my decluttering experience ~ Elastic that lost its stretch, electrical item than no longer worked, shoes that the fabric perished on, lipstick that smelled off... I always feel it is such a shame that these things end up going to waste. Below is a … [Read more...]
Use your imagination to help you declutter
Today I am going to suggest five scenarios, that you can imagine you are a part of, that would likely force you to be more ruthless with your decluttering. You find an area in the house that you feel could do with some decluttering, and I will set the scene for a situation that would, if it were reality, make you let go of some items you might otherwise keep just because you have the space. Scenario One:Â Your kids have left home and you have just had an offer, out of the blue, from someone who would like to buy your house. It is a very generous offer and you have been thinking of downsizing … [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...]
Lost in the clutter
This comment by Jo H and the mention of Feng Shui last week got me thinking about the aesthetics of a home. We all have our own tastes when it comes to the kinds of things we like, fabric choices, art works, furniture styles, knick knacks etc etc. However as Jo pointed out in her comment the beauty of these objects have a better chance of shining out when they aren't so plentiful that they get lost in the clutter. Although I only have a vague understanding of Feng Shui, and  am sure some people think it is a lot of hocus pocus, I would suggest that it is worth investigating. I feel that some … [Read more...]
Life Circle Clutter
I have written, more than once, about clutter categories on my blog. Categories such as obligation clutter, sentimental clutter, lazy clutter, guilt clutter... One category I have written about before but am not sure I have ever labelled is Life Circle Clutter. I have been reminded by recent events that people usually have their own particular clutter weakness or weaknesses. I have also noticed that these weaknesses may involve not accepting that a certain phase of ones life is now in the past. For example, are you reluctance to let go of the fact that there are no longer young children … [Read more...]