For a long time now my husband and I have kept track of our savings and spending using budgeting programs on our computer. We record pretty much every cent we spend so we know where the money is going. Recently we bought a new Apple Mac Mini so our old software is no longer compatible. We downloaded and tried out a couple of free software programs but have not been to happy with the performance of these. I have been persevering with one anyway just so we can keep track of things as usual but after today we have decided that we really don't need to do this any more. There are two reasons for … [Read more...]
Day 174 Downsize
The word for today is... DOWNSIZE Sometimes decluttering doesn't mean getting rid of things altogether sometimes you just need to DOWNSIZE. For example here are a list of the items we have DOWNSIZED since the start of our decluttering process... We replaced a twenty something year old bulky stereo system with a new iPod docking station. We replaced an old laptop with an iPod touch so we don't have to carry such a heavy item around with us when we are on vacation. We replaced our old computer tower with a new Apple Mac Mini which takes up so much less space. We replaced a big bulky … [Read more...]
Day 128 Step it up a notch to minimalism
When I first started this adventure of decluttering at the beginning of the year that was all it was to me, decluttering. As I go along on this journey and discover the freedom that unburdening our lives of things that only bring stress on us I am starting to embrace the idea of taking it to the next level. It really is a natural progression because the fundamentals of minimalism have been a constant topic of conversation in our home for some years mostly without me even realising it. My husband has been reading up and considering the options available to us for some time now and I have … [Read more...]
Day 118 Luggage clutter
Just thought I would share a little story about some cheap luggage we once owned and how we off-loaded it. My mum bought us a set of luggage and the first time it did the cycle through the airport wheels fell off and things broke. We only used them one more time and that was as excess baggage when we moved to America. They then got stuck in a cupboard until the first unsuspecting visitors came over to stay with us. Since America is a great place to shop the visitors had a lot more stuff to take home than their suitcases could carry so we gave them one of our dodgy ones to take their … [Read more...]
Day 110 House Downsize
I know I am getting slightly outrageous today but I just wanted to plant this thought. Now that you have created space in your home do you really need it? That much space I mean. How many of us live in homes that are far to big for our needs. Is your home just a status symbol with more rooms than you need that just cause you a whole lot of wasted time doing housework. When I was a child with four siblings and a mum and dad, we all managed to live quite comfortably in a four bedroom house with one bathroom, a kitchen, a lounge room with a rumpus room under the house. One of the … [Read more...]
Day 97 Handbag Clutter
When out picking up a few groceries the other day, I noticed a woman getting her handbag checked as she exited the shop. Nothing unusual about that except the lady had to rest this bag on a nearby store display in order to open all three compartments that were so crammed with God knows what that she could barely get the zippers open. There was no chance she was about to steal anything because quite frankly she couldn't possibly have fit another thing in. Although she quite possibly had already stolen 3 paperbacks, half a dozen DVDs, a flat pack bookcase and 2 bags of potting mix the way … [Read more...]
Day 96 Sunscreen multiplies and expires
Although my toiletries are one of those things I have well and truly under control, sometimes certain items do seem to multiply and then reach their expiry date while I'm not looking. Sunscreen is one of those items that tends to do this due to a number of reasons like... An unplanned trip to the beach where a "pink pelt" like me has to lather on the sunscreen or that pink soon turns to blistered red so you duck to the nearest convenience store to buy a bottle. A planned trip to the beach where you forget the sunscreen and rather than go all the home you are forced to buy another … [Read more...]
Day 95 Going to Extremes
While cruising the Internet looking for inspiration on the topic of decluttering I found a few interesting articles that take downsizing and minimalism to greater extremes. I am not prepared to go to that extent, not at this point anyway, but they were inspiring and made me feel that what I am attempting seems like a walk in the park. When I say "a walk in the park" I don't mean it demeans my efforts in any way, it just helps me see the bigger picture and I now feel very comfortable that the small sacrifices I am making are not such a big deal. Some of the topics to google when looking … [Read more...]
Day 90 Uncluttering, the cure for retail therapy
I have discovered that uncluttering is the cure for resorting to retail therapy. How often do we use retail therapy to make up for times when we feel down, disappointed, bored and other conditions of the mind. What does this kind of therapy do to improve the situation? Usually it just adds more problems like credit card debt, guilt and regret. It has amazed me how quickly I formed a dislike to shopping once I committed myself to my 365 day resolution to de-clutter my home. Now when I get spare time I don't get bored, I use that time to find the next thing I am going to get rid of or try to … [Read more...]
Day 89 Just because everyone else has one
I am Australian and my give-away for today is a barbecue. If you are from another country you may wonder what is unusual about being Australian and giving away a BBQ, so I will explain. Just about every household in Australia has a BBQ, because of our climate we are a very outdoorsy kind of people. When friends come around for a meal the normal procedure is to "chuck a steak on the barby". Personally though I would rather cook a nice roast dinner, a spicy curry or maybe make gourmet pizza and as a result our BBQ has not been used for the last three years since we took it our of storage … [Read more...]