How did you do with Buy Nothing New October? Colleen ~ I was hoping to say that I bought nothing new this October and personally I feel that I have done that. I have bought nothing that I wanted to buy that's for sure. Unfortunately though the air conditioner in my car failed on me, and I had to have the compressor and the condenser replaced. I feel rather bitter and twisted about this for a number of reasons that I won't bore you with. Technically the compressor was replace under warranty but who's quibbling: it's new, and it's now mine. Although it doesn't count because it isn't new, I did … [Read more...]
Change your attitude and change the world
I have just started reading a book called ~ A complaint Free World by Will Bowen ~ How to stop complaining and start enjoying the life you always wanted. I haven't got far in to the book but the story goes something like this. Will Bowen is a church minister who has started a movement to get people to stop complaining, criticising and gossiping. The idea is to use the 21 days to a better habit principal to stop yourself from participating in these futile negative behaviours.  He offers free purple bracelets to people who want to participate and whenever you find yourself complaining... … [Read more...]
Your relationship with clothes
I received a comment form Amy last week that just begged asking the question ~ Why is that we buy clothes and then decide later that we don't like them any more. Here is Amy's comment: Your post reminded me of a time when I was clearing out dresses that I no longer wore. Either they didn’t fit quite right anymore or they were, as you say, “second favoritesâ€. I got everything together for hubby to take to the local charity here and he started going through them saying things like “Why are you getting rid of these, they are perfectly good dresses?†(Hubby is a “saverâ€) So I said, … [Read more...]
Sharing the wisdom of experience
Hi folks, I am back at the helm of the good ship 365lessthings and ready to set sail again on my declutter journey. In the two weeks while I was away visiting my loved ones afar my conviction to minimise my possessions was reinforced by situations I encountered. Although none of what I am about to write was a revelation to me, as I have already learned these lessons at different points in my life, I feel it is my duty to put into words the wisdom that is to be gained by what I experienced. As you get older it gets harder to maintain your home when there is too much clutter. Too much to … [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...]
Do you shop to fill a void?
When we get to a point where we are shopping to fill a void in our lives then it is time to stop and think ~ What is happening here? ~ Instead of facing reality and doing something to improve whatever unsatisfactory situation you find yourself in, you turn to your drug of choice, shopping, to give you that little pick-me-up that you are craving for. Why do I do this? ~ In this day and age we behave this way because we are conditioned to it. In the modern consumer society we have become accustomed to the idea that shopping is a feel good activity and if we want to feel good what simpler … [Read more...]
Same information different translation
Among the answers to the ten questions post last week was a response from Cindy to question 2 (For Me)... Question 2. ~ My style of decluttering is “Slow & Steady†do you think that is a style that works for you and makes my blog unique? Cindy's Answer ~  Yes, I think slow and steady for decluttering, like weight loss and love, is better than “fast and furious†which often doesn’t last. In terms of your blog being unique. It must be, because I’ve read every single post, and I don’t read any other blogs except for a very occasional peak. In response to that answer from … [Read more...]
Children and alternative gift giving
Quite a few of my readers have mentioned on different occasions that they have friends and relatives that give their children far too many "clutter" gifts. No matter how much they insist that this stops the gifts just keep on coming. There are many alternative gift ideas that you could suggest they choose. Unfortunately life sometimes gets away from us and when the time is nigh we can't think of any suggestions to make to these very generous gift givers, that are a great alternative to clutter. In the past I put together a list of alternative gifts with mostly adults in mind. This list is … [Read more...]
Is Shopping the New Religion?
Cindy's Weekly Wisdom My husband and I were in Sunday School (religous education) recently, and the speaker touched on the topic of the Christian calendar (the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, etc.) that mark the Liturgical (Church)Year. He pointed out that we used to have two main classes of holidays: Holy Days and Patriotic Days. Thus, in the United States, our seasons would be marked by celebrations such as Independence Day and Presidents' Day, as well as by religious holidays. Over time, days such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Valentine's Day got added into this mix. More … [Read more...]
Children’s clothing
I have been struggling to find time to wrote my blog posts over the last few days because my parents are visiting so today I will keep my post short. Being that the mini mission for the day is to declutter the outgrown, worn or unloved clothing that is hanging in your child's wardrobe I though it appropriate to make a few comments on that subject. There are several reasons why is does not pay to overindulge when it comes to children's clothing... Wasted money ~ why buy a whole lot of clothes that are going to get rarely worn before your child grows out of them. You really only need … [Read more...]