Decluttering – How & Why

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Posted on May 30, 2012

Tonight I have copied a piece I wrote and posted on the forum at Simple Savings.

I was intrigued at what seems to be a sudden and exponentially increasing interest in decluttering. This does not seem to be confined to a particular generation or socio-economic group. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

I am not sure of the reason but lately there have been many, many posts from people wanting to declutter or who are overwhelmed by their stuff and do not know where to start.

I have written this in order to lay out my thoughts and experiences in a logical manner. I am also happy to answer any questions.

I am not a professional organiser
I have had a cluttered, messy house in the past

I started my decluttering journey in a very small way about 10 years ago with 2 teenagers still living at home. We have moved house in that time and now there is only The Duke and I at home so our circumstances have changed significantly.

Recently, I have read several books on minimalism and decluttering as well as numerous blogs on the subject. I would strongly recommend that you read at least one. If you have a Kindle, download a book or otherwise borrow it from the library – you don’t want to be bringing more stuff into your home.

Here are a few to get you started.

Winning The Clutter War by Sandra Felton
The Joy of Less by Francine Jay
Simplify by Joshua Becker
Basics of Minimalism by Janice Becker

They are all good and have their place but my personal favourite is ‘The Joy of Less’. As well as gentle, practical advice there is a good deal about the psychology of stuff and actually changing your mindset to enable you to let things go. I found this particularly useful.

There are a few things that were important for me to consider.

I did not throw things out as I consider this wasteful and would rather take my time and use things up and not replace them.
I re-homed things that I no longer required – via either the op shop or Freecycle
Making money was not important for me but you may choose to list things on E-bay or Gumtree
Do not fill up the space that you create with more stuff – this is why it is important to read and understand the psychology of keeping stuff.

The big question is always ‘where or how do I start?’

This really depends on your circumstances and why you want to declutter. Is a particular thing getting you down, such as children’s toys? Or is it years of accumulated papers? Do you have to eat dinner on your lap because the dining room table is covered with piles of clean washing waiting to be folded?

Whatever the reason, you need a 2-pronged approach. As well as decluttering you need to maintain the regular daily chores such as washing dishes, preparing meals and washing clothes. If the clutter is impacting on your ability to do the basics you will need to address that as a priority. Do one small thing first and work from there.

Whatever you decide only tackle an area big enough for you to actually complete. There is no point in emptying out an entire wardrobe only to find that you run out of time or inspiration and you are left with piles all over the floor. It is better to do your underwear drawer and enjoy the feeling of opening it and seeing everything folded and in its place. Then you maintain the order in it and you will find that you want all of the drawers like this so gradually you will work through until it is all done.

Organising goes hand in hand with decluttering but is not a replacement for it. Stashing things into umpteen boxes and crates is not the answer. I understand that it is difficult in some houses with minimal storage space so you will have to come up with some creative solutions, however, best of all is to ask yourself whether it really needs to stay in your home.

There is a lot more I could write, but it is over to you, now.

What is your story?

Project Streamline – Shorts

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Posted on May 28, 2012

I know it is almost winter (and the temperatures definitely reflect that fact) but today I am going to review my selection of shorts. Perhaps it is easier to be rational about clothes in the opposite season?

SHORTS

Once again, I will catalogue everything that are shorts regardless of the state of them.

Good casual shorts – 3 pairs – black, white and khaki in the same style.
PROS – colour, fit
CONS –none
DECISION – they all stay – basis of my summer casual wardrobe

Rugby knit shorts x 2 – grey and red
PROS – comfortable, worn at home
CONS – 11 years old, paint-spattered
DECISION – keep wearing until they wear out

Refashioned shorts from some hiking pants
PROS – super comfortable and lightweight
CONS – generally worn at home or locally
DECISION – keep wearing them

Board shorts
PROS – hardly worn
CONS – not sure how much I will wear these
DECISION – reassess my swimwear/board shorts when it gets closer to summer

Today I heard of someone planning an overseas trip who thought 1 pair travel pants, 3 pairs jeans, 3 pairs cargo pants and a skirt was a reasonable number of ‘bottoms’ to pack. I don’t even own 3 pairs of jeans!! When I hear stories like that I know that I do not really have a lot of clothes.

Project Streamline – Dress

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Posted on May 21, 2012

Did you notice the singular – dress? That is correct, I own 1 dress. I have had this dress for 3 years and during the summer it is worn at least once per week. It works well at the cusp of the season with a cardigan, too. This is a perfect example of everything an item of clothing should be.

Relatively classic style
Versatile
Good quality
Comfortable

It is also fully lined, 100% cotton and made in Australia.

When I first tried it on I realised that it would require some alterations as it was too long in the waist and too deep in the armholes for me. I was able to do this by removing the collar and lifting the shoulder seams before replacing the collar. Even if I had to pay for this to be professionally done, it would have been worth the expense.

So, no decluttering in this category. The dress stays and has pride of place in my wardrobe.

I want to make a couple more dresses like this one so that I can wear a dress and sandals to work each day during the summer. The existing dress is still way too good to consider deconstructing it so I may have to use a combination of a commercial pattern and the measurements from the dress.

There are no other categories in my wardrobe which contain only a single item, so next week I will be back to justifying my various collections.

Meanwhile, I am creating a list of things I would like to buy when we are overseas. The first things on the list are 2 pairs of trousers that are suitable for wearing to work and an outfit for a wedding at the end of March in Canberra. I have no idea of what I want for the wedding outfit so it will be a matter of looking to see what I like. The other criteria will be that it is versatile enough to be able to be worn for other occasions.

Holiday Planning With A Difference

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Posted on May 16, 2012

We have decided to try get someone to housesit while we are on holidays. We are in the process of finding someone suitable who we trust to care for our house and animals while we are away.

Instead of planning what to take I need to think about what to leave behind.

This is going to require some planning and organisation to be able to hand over the running of the household. It is a reminder of how much knowledge and information is carried in my head.

Things like instructions for the washing machine, location of the booster switch for the solar hot water, how much food the dog eats, what day the rubbish is collected and so on.

The upside is that the house is pretty well decluttered and organised so it will be easy for someone to find where things are. There is also plenty of space for extra clothes and belongings.

I am determined that I am going to have all the planning done well in advance of our trip so that the last week or so will not be a mad rush. I want to simply pack my bag according to a pre-determined list and go to the airport, knowing that everything has been sorted out.

In the past, sometimes the last week before a holiday is so frenetic that I just want to get on the plane or in the car before my head explodes.

I would love to hear if anyone has had experiences of someone house-sitting for them. How did you choose them and was it successful?

Just Because It’s Free…………

10 Comments

Posted on May 15, 2012

…………does not mean you have to accept.

When you are given the option of free stuff, whatever the reason, try to fast forward to how you will feel about the item in 6 or 12 months time.

Will you love it?
Do you really need it?
Will it be back in the donation box for the op shop or garage sale?

Today at work someone was handing out giant-sized mugs with corporate branding on them. After having refused pens that were being offered last week, I was approached with a half-hearted comment about me not wanting their gifts. I simply assured them that it was nothing personal but that I really did not need a mug. Suddenly there was a chorus from the rest of the office about how they loved freebies.

If I see a particular use for a freebie I will accept it – otherwise I do not.

Also today, it was interesting to see that one of my colleagues had a new knitting pattern and next thing I knew it had been photocopied numerous times and copies were being handed around to everyone. While I could appreciate the pattern I have no intention of knitting it so I turned down the offer of a copy. It is a waste of paper and will clutter up my home and I could even end up feeling guilty that I had not used the pattern. Much simpler to just say , “No thanks”.

The other freebie was a little more insidious. A cake recipe sent via email. This came from another work colleague. There had been no discussion or request for the recipe – it was just there in my inbox. It had probably been discussed by 1 or 2 people and when it was sent to them everyone in the department was included – I expect so that nobody felt left out or forgotten. A nice gesture, I suppose but the recipe is now in the deleted box because I do not need it.

After spending time and effort decluttering, I owe it to myself to remain vigilant and stop all sorts of stuff before it gains a foothold.

What have you refused lately?

Project Streamline – Trousers

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Posted on May 14, 2012

It is now the middle of May and halfway through the 3 month period of my participation in Project 333.

I flouted the ‘rules’ on Saturday and wore a plain red knit top, white ¾ trousers and red/white striped overshirt. None of these were on my original list. The weather was unseasonably warm and all of these items are on my ‘big picture’ list.

Let me explain. Ever since I started the challenge of wearing only 33 items for a period of 3 months, I have been mentally working on creating a master list. This means I will not look at my wardrobe in terms of the next 3 months but rather the whole year encompassing all 4 seasons. I am identifying what works and what doesn’t and rather than have a major cull it will be a matter of removing things as they wear out and replacing only if required.

The first part of the journey is to catalogue what I really have instead of simply saying that I don’t have many clothes. Each week I will photograph and discuss one type of article of clothing. Today is trousers so you can judge for yourself.

TROUSERS

This category includes everything from trousers to wear to work to trackpants that I do not wear outside the boundaries of our property.

Charcoal grey work trousers
PROS – colour, weight, style
CONS – too big in the waist, slightly too long, only one pair, about 7 years old
DECISION – wear for the rest of the winter then send to op shop. Replace with 2 pairs of well-fitting trousers.

Black ¾ trousers
PROS – good fit, nice fabric, suit work and casual wear
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing until they wear out, consider something similar as a replacement

Jeans No 1
PROS – perfect fit, op shop jean which I bought and altered to fit
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing them

Jeans No 2
PROS – good fit, well-worn
CONS – getting threadbare in places
DECISION – keep wearing till the end of winter, send to op shop, look for another pair to replace them

Black Cotton casual 3/4 trousers
PROS – good fit, basic colour
CONS – a few years old, won’t last forever
DECISION – keep them continue to wear

I also have an identical white pair (the ones I wore on Saturday). Same as above.

Striped 3/4 cotton trousers
PROS – there are 7 nice matching buttons that I can salvage
CONS – 6 years old, a bit faded, the top I always wore with them has gone to the op shop, not really my colour, a bit tight
DECISION – remove buttons, send to the op shop

Navy 3/4 trousers
PROS – go with most tops I have
CONS – starting to fade a bit, am a bit over navy
DECISION – they get a reprieve at least until next summer. Op shop if I find that I am not wearing them

Navy trackpants x 2
PROS – comfortable
CONS – unflattering
DECISION – keep wearing them at home

Grey drawstring pants
PROS – comfortable
CONS – unflattering
DECISION – keep wearing them at home

Cotton 3/4 pants x 3
PROS – comfortable, suitable for home and local activities
CONS – not my colours, starting to wear out
DECISION – keep wearing them at home

Sage green lightweight jeans
PROS – good condition, bought from op shop
CONS – not my colour, don’t wear them them much
DECISION – back to the op shop

Charcoal travel pants
PROS – comfortable, zip-off legs, love them
CONS – nil
DECISION – keep wearing them and buy another identical pair before we go overseas later in the year.

Beige travel pants
PROS – zip-off legs
CONS – not super comfortable, dry more quickly than the other style
DECISION – keep until we go overseas then decide their fate

This has been a cathartic exercise and if you are trying to minimise your wardrobe I would strongly suggest trying to convince someone else either verbally or in writing why you should keep certain items. It has also been useful to do all of one type of garment together and then you can see just how many you really have and the range of occasions that they cover.

Watch out for more posts on the same theme each Monday for several weeks. Categories will include skirts, dresses (that will be short as I only own 1 dress), shorts, cardigans and so on.

Now that I have laid bare the inner secrets of the best and worst of my trousers please feel free to comment – the number, quality etc as well as my thoughts and decisions.

Project 333 – Planning For Summer

Project 333 – More Than Just Clothes

The Simple Stuff

3 Comments

Posted on April 28, 2012

Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by concepts, goals and methods which cause us to lose sight of our original intention. This can also be true when the very thing we are seeking is simplicity.

So it is time to take a step back, re-evaluate and take care of the really basic things that can make a difference.

You do not need a cupboard full of the latest fancy cleaning products with a different one for every job. I have cleaned the majority of my bathroom, kitchen and laundry for a number of years using nothing more than bicarb and vinegar. The only inconvenience is the method of applying the products and it can be a bit messy to use.

I found this recipe a couple of days ago for a home-made ‘cream cleanser’ based on bicarb.

1 cup bicarb soda
4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

Mix all ingredients together to form a ‘Gumption-style’ paste.

Use to clean sinks, baths and basins by rubbing a paste over the surface and rinse clean with fresh water. You can spray with vinegar for added effect. As always, test surface to ensure it is OK to use.

I made this yesterday and have stored it in a glass jar as the original recipe cast doubt on whether the eucalyptus oil would react with plastic.

I have used this to clean my bathroom basin today which is now sparkling. I also tried it to see if it would remove the permanent marker that I had used to label some bulk food buckets. It was perfect and left the bucket as new so that I was able to re-label it.

I will definitely be using this paste in future rather than a container of bicarb and bottle of vinegar.

On another note, we went shopping today to stock up on bulk dry goods at Simply Good. It is almost 5 months since we last went there so my plan to stock up has certainly worked. I spent just over $200 and while that seems a lot, I plan to make this last for 6 months. I buy all of our flour, bread flour, baking goods, dried fruit and nuts, spices, cereal and beans there.

We also called in to the Co-op in Maleny and one of the things I planned to buy was shampoo. I have bought it from the bulk containers there, however, the brand I bought is no longer available so I was left with a dilemma. My choices were from a 1 litre container (hardly bulk), no SLS and Fairtrade but imported from USA or I could buy a 1 litre bottle of organic, SLS free shampoo made in Australia but meant that I would be acquiring a new 1 litre bottle on a regular basis. I also bought another bottle of the body wash that we use and noticed that it actually said “Hair and Body Wash”. We can buy this in 2 litre containers so less packaging and I can now have 1 less bottle in my bathroom and we will use the same liquid to wash ourselves from top to toe.

What tips do you have to simplify things and get back to basics?