365 Less Things...

[Loupy]

Mini Mission Monday ~ The master bedroom
By: Colleen Madsen @ www.365lessthings.com/


Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week we are going to focus on the decluttering a few items that are cluttering up the master bedroom in your home. Your bedroom should be your sanctuary and clutter can make you feel less than relaxed in a space that should be tranquil for you. So lets see if you can find a few things to make it a more pleasant place to be.

Monday – Declutter items that have accumulated in or on your bedside table/cabinet, nightstand or whatever you call it.

Tuesday – Declutter a few of those scatter cushions you pile on and off your bed everyday, all the while collecting dust and dust mites.

Wednesday – Declutter out of date makeup and lotions on your dressing table.

Thursday – Declutter anything lurking under your bed.

Friday – Declutter costume jewellery that you never use anymore.

Saturday – Declutter a couple of less loved clothing items.

Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering.

[Loupy]

The problem is acquiring
By: Colleen Madsen @ www.365lessthings.com/

Clutter is very much about being keener to acquire than to let go. We acquire things we need or want but once their usefulness to us has expired we hang on to them. I feel that there are three main reasons for that and they are laziness, fear and indifference.

Laziness of course refers to having the stuff there, being aware that it is a problem but refusing to deal with it because you just don’t want to make the effort.

Fear is all about thinking you might need it some day and keeping it just in case.

And indifference is being aware that you have clutter but don’t mind, don’t care or even like it that way. It can also be that you don’t even notice because you like being surrounded by stuff.

I don’t intend to elaborate on that, the purpose of this post is to have a discussion ~ inspired by a situation in my life right now ~ about the insanity that acquiring can be.

So here is my story. As I have mentioned here more than once, I have an art space where I sell my handmade cards and, at the moment, beaded spiders. My space runs as an artist collective of, at present, six artist/crafters. Our price range begins at $1, for a handmade origami gift bow, and goes up to as much as $500 at times for and original acrylic painting. So as you can see out creations are many and varied as are our members.

There has been some contention recently, both internal and external, about the integrity of the value of an artists labour and real art v kitschy craft. And one of the issues is that people coming in to the venue, which also houses ten other art spaces, might opt to purchase one of our least expensive items rather than opting to buy something of greater value, either within our collective space or the venue as a whole. It boggles my mine that anyone would think they might be losing the sale of, for example, a $200 fashion item to a $5 string of origami cranes. I could elaborate more on this situation but that would just be expressing my emotional turmoil and discontent, so I will leave it at that as a lead into my the point about the strangeness of acquisition.

So let us assume that no one in their right mind is quietly making the choice between a $200 or $5 purchase and that they are purchasing the $5 item…

…because they actually like it or…
…they feel obliged to buy something while in the space and just choose the cheapest item they like the look of.
The second reason above is one of those situations where the better choice would be to buy nothing.

This of course got me thinking about the futileness of acquiring stuff just for the sake of it. It brings to mind the clever marketing many companies like Tupperware and the like who almost exclusively sell their products via party plan. In the past even I used to feel obliged to buy something when attending such parties. The host is your friend, they have provided a delicious spread for the event, and how much of a heal would you look if you just walked away satiated, entertained and empty handed ~ well orderless but same thing.

Then there is recreational shopping, where you just go shopping with no real need in mind and end up finding all sorts of things you didn’t know you “needed” and go home with a whole lot of potential clutter on your hands.

All these scenarios above are where most of the clutter comes from in your home. Combine that with the three reasons I also stated as to why it is not being removed and you can end up with quite a mass of clutter on your hands.

So the moral of this story is, don’t acquire for the sake of acquiring. Stuff doesn’t make you happy, at least not for long. If you curb your shopping habits you will also reduce the likelihood of clutter buildup in your home. That is the first lesson in avoiding clutter and it won’t do your bank account any harm either.

[Loupy]

The silly season series ~ Part 1
posted by COLLEEN MADSEN

This blog post is by Moni Gilbert who is coordinating this series of posts.


As we enter the Silly Season I would like to kick off a series written by Deb J, Andréia and myself entitled “365-ing The Silly Season”. So often women plan their holiday seasons to the nth degree with the goal of the ‘perfect’ day and while the home might look grand, the menu perfect and all the little details might be delightful, is there a tired, stressed out woman behind it all? I would like to suggest the gift of going a little easier on yourselves. Trust me, no one will notice the difference if you omit a few things.

I’d like to encourage you to decide what is actually important to you as far your preparations go, cull some not so important details and reduce your menu by an item or two. I’d like folks to think about how their expectations and preparations would appear mapped out on the calendar. If every single day in December has a huge to-do list on top of all the regular workload and commitments, add an escalated social whirl, its a recipe for stress. Set yourself a limit of how many ‘extra’ chores you can realistically achieve in a day and stick to it. It is realistic to have time to yourself to relax in the evening in the weeks leading up to the holidays. Explain this new arrangement in advance to your family, they might have suggestions of what they’d be happy to forego or volunteer to do in your place.

What would you be prepared to forego this year?

Today’s Mini Mission
Declutter something that was really useful in the past but hasn’t been used in a long time. Maybe its time in done for you.

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?”
Unknown

[Loupy]

Silly Season Series Part 2 ~

Christmas/Hanukkah Gift Wrapping

This post was contributed to 365 Less Things by Deb J

Gift wrapping is one of the big “chores” of the Christmas/Hanukkah season. A later post in this series will talk about alternative gifts for adults but for those who take part in gift giving among family and friends decluttering wrapping supplies can make a big difference. Every year as you walk through the stores you see a big assortment of wrapping papers, bows, bags, gift tags and gift boxes. I remember a time when we had a huge storage tub of wrapping supplies we would buy in the after Christmas sales and hold over for the following year. We no longer have any of that. We are gift wrap free and have been for about 10 years. Of course, as I have shared before, we no longer give gifts as our family and friends have decided to “get out of the habit.” Still, I’d like to share some ideas we used once we realized how much time, money, space and effort came with shopping for and storing wrapping supplies.

I think the biggest change we made was when we decided to no longer store wrapping supplies. We decided to pick a theme color each year for paper, ribbon and bows. We bought one huge roll of paper, a huge roll of ribbon and made our own bows. Most of the time, we bought white paper or craft paper and then came up with the “color of the year” for the ribbon. I especially liked the year we used craft paper and plaid ribbon. Even the gift tags were made of “craft paper” card stock with a swipe of color around the edges by a marker and tied on with thin strips of the ribbon. Whatever you decide, it is much cheaper to buy supplies in bulk with the idea of buying only what you need for the one year.

Many people have resorted to using gift bags. We found a place where you can buy various sized ones in one color. Then you can embellish them with stamping, stickers, rick rack, ribbon, etc. to fancy them up. I know friends who make bags out of the paper sacks they get at the grocery store. You just turn them inside out and either cut them to size or use them at their original size. Lunch sacks work well also.

I think the best idea I have seen is a friend who made a variety of bags out of holiday fabric. Every year she gives gifts in these bags. She tells the receivers she will gladly take them back if they don’t want to reuse them. She has found really cheap fabric in after Christmas sales and takes her time over the year making up the bags. Another friend uses fabric to make pillow cases and then gives away gifts in them. Nothing like giving two gifts in one. She especially likes to make the cases in material that reflects the recipient.

Do you have any cheap, easy ideas for holiday gift wrapping that helps you with the prevention of storing wrapping supplies from year to year?

[Loupy]

365 Less Things Mini Mission Monday ~ Guest Prep
From: By: Colleen Madsen @ www.365lessthings.com/


Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.
So it is that time of year again where family and friends come together to celebrate one occasion or another and sometimes a little of each. So now is a good time to eliminate some stuff messing up our homes that we wouldn’t want others to see. So lets see if there is some little tweaking we can do to make our task of presenting a home, in its best light, a little simpler.

Monday – Declutter some of those dust collectors that make cleaning day a bigger chore than it ought to be.

Tuesday – Declutter some things sitting on surfaces in the bathroom. Cleaning bathrooms is a big enough chore without having to move things to do the task.

Wednesday – Declutter some excess items in the room that would be used to accomodating guests. It can be awkward enough living out of suitcases in an uncluttered space, the task becomes more difficult when there is no clear surface to put guests’ things on.

Thursday – Declutter some items from the entrance to your home. Either the front lawn, the porch, the entry way etc. You want your home to make a good, welcoming, first impression.

Friday – Declutter some excess, less used, items from the kitchen. This will make it easier to get at the things you do use, making food prep easier.

Saturday – Declutter any stuff cluttering up the dining table. This clutter is bad enough at the best of time but when guests are in the home it makes catering more difficult than necessary.

Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

[Loupy]

Mini Mission Monday ~ Shapes
By Nicole V @ www.365lessthings.com/


Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This weeks Mini Missions are brought to you by Nicole V.

Do you remember playing with those shape-sorter toys as a child? Apart from being fun, they were great for developing hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. We’ll be shape-searching this week and you’ll need to find something to declutter in the form of (or relating to) different shapes. The item doesn’t necessarily have to take the shape perfectly – it could be squarish, instead of a perfectly proportioned square, or it could be a vase with a triangular base, and patterns and prints of any of the shapes would work as well. So let’s see how your decluttering shapes up for the entire week.

Monday – Declutter something that is a circle.

Tuesday – Declutter something that is a square.

Wednesday – Declutter something that is a cylinder.

Thursday – Declutter something that is an oval.

Friday – Declutter something that is a rectangle.

Saturday – Declutter something that is a triangle


Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

[Loupy]

365 Less Thngs---Ringing Out the Old and Welcoming the New
By Deb J


How many of you come to the end of the year with a bundle of paper you need to keep to prepare your taxes or because you have to be reimbursed for medical expenses or for who knows what reason? How many of you just find that at the end of the year you have piles of Stuff you can’t remember having a reason to keep? How many start the year with plans to do better and then it all falls apart? Every year I find myself going through a large personal safe of paperwork. I’ve been good about filing it away but I still have way more than I want or need. I also find myself starting a new year with plans to create a better way to file things. It never seems to work like I want.

This year I am recommending creating e-files for those papers that we need to keep. I’m also recommending e-files for keeping things for the new year too. Here is how I plan to do it.

The Old Year

For every tax file I need to keep I will create a year file under taxes in Dropbox. As a year becomes redundant I will just delete the file. I will keep no paper copies. I can easily print them out if needed.

I will create a file for every other item of paperwork I need to retain. Once I no longer need something I can delete it. Probably an end of year task.

All paperwork no longer needed will be shredded and disposed of.

The New Year

Create a Medical File that includes sub files for each doctor, hospital, ancillary office. Mom sees an inordinate amount of doctors along with having numerous tests and procedures. I need to keep track of the bills, results, etc. I can match bills with payments, maintain a file of results of tests and procedures, and at the end of the year use it all to create the medical deduction if needed for taxes.

Create a Financial file. This will include a year’s worth of bank statements. Again this will keep this information available for tax purposes.

Create an Automobile file. This file will contain copies of all work done on a vehicle, the insurance policy and any other pertinent paperwork for the car.

Create a Home file. This will contain the insurance policy, repair paperwork, etc.

Just looking at these two lists creates a calmness in my heart because I know I can maintain all of this with a little work between the holidays. I hope this gives you some ideas of ways to cut down on the paperwork clutter in your home.

Does anyone else have files you would want to create?

[Loupy]

365 Less Things---Silly Season Series ~ Banishing the Busyness
by Idgy of the North


Banishing the Busyness
Growing up in small town Canada, the holidays were filled with the Hollywood version of Christmas. My mom would bake lots of cookies in holiday shapes and Christmas cake. We would go into the forest and cut down a snow covered pine tree. Our house would be covered in lights and the inside would be decorated for the holidays. There were always lots of social gatherings both at our home and at friends and families. We would end with a huge feast with my parents, siblings and grandparents.

When I was an adult, I tried to recreate these idyllic scenes. I would spend months shopping for the “perfect gifts” for family and friends. I would send out holiday cards to everyone we knew. We had a large tree that would take a whole day to set-up and decorate. I would bake dozens of cookies. We would setup a schedule to visit as many family members and friends as possible in the few days we had off work. If we were “hosting” the holiday dinner, we would spend a couple of days cleaning the house and prepping food followed by a day of cooking. We said yes to any social engagement we were invited to. Our extended family is spread out around this large country so we often travelled snowy highways for several hours or took very expensive plane rides so we could spend the holidays with family. At the end of the holidays, we were left exhausted. The holiday season became something to dread. Where did we go wrong?

In looking back at my childhood, I realized my life looks nothing like my parents. My mom was at home with the kids. My dad had 2 weeks off work for the holidays. In asking my mom if she enjoyed the holidays when we were young, she answered that it was stressful and exhausting! She spent weeks baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating, cleaning , sending out over 250 holiday cards and cooking. The tree took a whole day to get into the house, into the tree stand, floors cleaned up and tree decorated. She had to remember to water the tree everyday so it wouldn’t become a fire hazard. She had to vacuum several times a day due to the needles dropping from the tree. On Christmas Day, we kids would wake up ridiculously early in anticipation of opening presents. My parents often had 2-3 hours of sleep after setting up all the gifts. My mom would then spend hours in the kitchen preparing the feast. She would then fall asleep shortly after dinner and be exhausted and/or sick for the following week.

My life does not resemble my parents. We live close to the country’s largest city and have long commute times. Both my spouse and I work full time. I travel by plane a lot for work. We also have 2 school aged kids with special needs. We just don’t have time for the fairytale. We began to say no to anything that was not high priority. High priority for us means spending time with our kids and spending time outside. This included scaling back the decorations to a small tabletop artificial tree, saying no to events that were not meaningful to us and saying no to driving hours on dicey roads to spend a few hours with others. We also scaled back on gift giving. We now only give experience gifts to the kids (ours plus nieces and nephews). We no longer exchange gifts with our siblings, parents and friends.

I now look forward to the holidays as a time to rest and enjoy the season.

What have you done to banish the busyness?

[Loupy]

365 Less Things Mini Mission Monday ~ Silly season stuff
By: Colleen Madsen @ www.365lessthings.com/


Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

The holiday season is a great time for decluttering. It always seems to be the time of year where all the weird stuff comes to the surface or at least comes to mind. And now is a great time to send it on its way. So here are some items to be on the lookout for.

Monday – Declutter something glittery.

Tuesday – Declutter some old toys.

Wednesday – Declutter something red or green.

Thursday – Declutter an old unwanted gift.

Friday – Declutter someone from your Holiday card list that never sends a card in return.

Saturday – Declutter some holiday themed household items ~ towels, oven mitts, placemats etc.

Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

[Loupy]

365 Less Things Silly Season Series
Christmas shopping for kids
by Andréia @ www.365lessthings.com/


It is that time of the year again. Christmas is approaching and with it comes the shopping season. But I am not getting too deep into that in this post. I want to talk about children and their gifts. I have three young children and a host of well-intentioned extended family. That being said, it means that my children get tons of toys, every single year.

I can´t seem to put a hold on my relatives, but I have developed strategies not to be sunk deep in new toys. Mind you, I might seem ungrateful, but one child can have enough toys. And sometimes a interesting and or fun experience, or something a child really needs, can be way better.

How do we go about reducing the toy gifts and converting them to something more useful? If you have a large extended family, maybe Christmas is the time of the year to ask for clothes or a good pair of shoes for your little ones. Or you could suggest a special outing. If you have to pay for school books, a good idea is to ask a portion of the money that would be spend on toys to be designated to buy school books, or even go to a college fund.

However, you will meet with plenty of resistance. The older generations were the ones that had one new toy every year, if they where lucky, or none at all. Sometimes they are not thinking only about this child they are gifting now, but remembering their own disappointments of never getting that special toy or game, so they tend to overcompensate. With that in mind, approach them with calm, way before Christmas shopping gets underway, and gently suggest that your child is not deprived of toys, and that an experience would be greatly appreciated, such as tickets to a child’s favourite cartoon character movie, a fun sporting activity like roller skating or wall climbing, a visit to a zoo, theme park or museum etc.

On the other hand sometimes we, as parents, are very pressed for cash, and a few good clothing items and new pair of shoes would be a help, because children need lots of clothes! I would like to explain that a little better. When we are grown ups, we don’t “lose” clothes so much. We gain weight, we lose weight, clothes tear from too much use so we need to buy new items occasionally. Children on the other hand “lose” clothes all the time. Sometimes an entire wardrobe becomes obsolete from one winter to the next. That lovely pair of trainers you kept for outings, suddenly is not fitting anymore, in a short space of one month. Thankfully I get lots of hand me downs, but I am equally passing on a lot of things that my children have grown out of, so bigger clothes are always needed.

So, now the silly season is coming, think about what your children really need or would enjoy rather than toys and conveying that to those well intention relatives who would probably appreciate your suggestions. I am sure children would enjoy something other than just another toy to add to the pile. I remember going on outings with my grandmother and other experiences we had together a lot more than any material gifts I ever received. On the other had I also fondly remember a real nice doll I got one Christmas. I certainly wouldn’t remember that one special gift had I received a dozen similar year after year. Our children will enjoy the season all the more when not being swarmed by it.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow...

[Loupy]

365 Less Things Mini Mission Monday ~ NICOLE
From: Colleen Madsen @ www.365lessthings.com/


Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.
Since Nicole is so good at coming up with amusing and inspiring mini mission I am dedicating this week’s missions to her in the way of an acrostic poem. I have to say that although I was a little cheeky with one mission it was very hard not to use a lot of funny adjectives to describe Nicole. However I don’t know her all that well, except the side she shows to us here through he post, but all but one of the words seem to fit. Enjoy everyone and especially you Nicole.

Monday – NICE ~ Declutter something you don’t love, need or use even though it is nice.

Tuesday – INCREDIBLE ~ Declutter something that was incredibly difficult to part with in the past but that you now have the strength to let go.

Wednesday – COLORFUL – Declutter something colorful.

Thursday – ODD (Ha ha, just had to throw that one in for fun) ~ Declutter something left over from a set. For example – An odd sock, the last of a set of broken glasses or crockery… Or just something in your house you think is odd. Perhaps you have a hideous sweater that someone “generously” knitted for you.

Friday – LOVELY – Declutter something that a lovely person gave you but you never really wanted.

Saturday – ENTERTAINING ~ Declutter something used for entertaining. This could be anything for CDs and DVDs to a serving platter you no longer use.

Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

[Loupy]

The ability to, and satisfaction of, improvising
Posted by: Colleen Madsen


I have written about this before but it is an important skill when it comes to living with less stuff. But don’t be deterred by the word improvise. Even though some people may have more skills at this than others, when it comes to everyday improvising I am sure everyone can do it without much thought.

The reason I even bring up the subject is that much of the tools, or gadget if you like, that we have around out homes perform the same tasks as one another. So at least half of them aren’t even necessary to the smooth running of our homes.

A simple knife for example can, with a little practice, perform the same task as so many other gadgets in the kitchen. “But…”, I hear you say, my gadget does it so much faster. But that might only be because you haven’t performed the task often enough to improve you skills. Which begs the question “If you aren’t needing the gadget often then why do you need it at all. And another thing you aren’t taking into account is that gadgets usually take much more effort to clean, cost a lot more to buy, are prone to break down and usually take up much more space.

I’ll give you another example. Do you own a mixing bowl a colander and a salad spinner. Well you don’t need the salad spinner. Put the colander in the mixing bowl with the salad leaves in it, fill with water, shake and then drain. Then shake the colander over the sink. Voila clean drip dried salad fixings. And only half the space wasted in your cupboard.

At the moment I am living in a studio apartment in Berlin. Needless to say there is the bare minimum, in the way of gadgets, in the small kitchen, however, I have not found that to be a drawback. In fact I am being more adventurous than usual with my cooking, trying new recipes and adapting others, that I regularly use, to what is on hand. I find the challenge, if you could even call it that, entertaining and am more than satisfied with the results. The satisfaction of these small achievements is mentally rewarding.

I have also had to improvise when it comes to doing the laundry, darning a sock, acquiring some foreign language skills and getting around. And am happy with all the results.

If you insist on keeping certain gadgets at least get the most out of them. I use my coffee grinder to also grind nuts and spices, make small quantities of bread crumbs from stale bread, whip small quantities of cream etc. I use my panini press to cook pancakes, bacon, eggs, french toast (both sides at the same time), roti bread when having curries etc. Well, I did use it for all those things until it broke down, and I am not going to bother replacing it unless I can pick one up secondhand.

So my challenge to you is to find a gadget in your home that is, for the most part, just wasting space. Now devise another method of performing the same task this gadget is meant for, and hone those skills. Do a Google search for a video on how to best achieve this if necessary. I did so when I wanted to learn how best to peal, chop and mince garlic and eliminated the need for a garlic press or buying jars of minced garlic. Fresh is best and presses can be a pain to clean.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

[Loupy]

Mini Mission Monday – Whistle while you declutter
By: Nicole V.


Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.
These mini missions are brought to you by the ever amusing ~ Nicole V.

“Once upon a time, a beautiful queen had a baby girl. The baby’s skin was as white as snow, and she had beautiful black hair.”

From the title and opening lines, you must have guessed that the fairy tale of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” will be the inspiration for decluttering this week. We’ll focus on the seven dwarfs, in particular, for the mini missions. Some suggestions follow below, but you are, of course, free to creatively interpret the missions as they relate to you.

Monday – Doc: Declutter any expired medications, anything past its use-by date from your medicine cabinet or first-aid kit, medical bills or receipts that you no longer need.

Tuesday – Grumpy: Declutter anything that might be annoying to use, clean or maintain. It could also be something that puts you in a bad mood, for whatever reason or something that gets in your way each time you need to access a useful item.

Wednesday – Happy: This could be something that no longer brings you joy like it used to or something that would make someone else happy if you gave it to them or donated it.

Thursday – Sleepy: This could be anything from your main or guest bedroom or anything sleep-related or something that makes you yawn or feel drowsy (a really boring book, for instance).

Friday – Bashful: This could be a cheesy CD or DVD that you might be embarrassed to admit you have in your collection, an item of clothing that is so frayed and faded that you’d be too shy to be seen in it outside the home or even something from your past that might seem cheesy now (neon legwarmers from the 80s, anyone?) or anything associated with a fad that you are now embarrassed to ever have embraced.

Saturday – Sneezy: Declutter anything that exists solely to attract dust, ineffective or expired allergy medications, or even anything related to sunshine, exercising and plucking your eyebrows. Yes, you read that right – sunshine, exercising and eyebrow-plucking can induce sneezing in some people. If this has never happened to you before, who woulda thunk, right?

So that leaves us with Dopey. You can either declutter with Dopey for extra credit or use him as a replacement for any of the earlier mini missions that you might have had difficulty with. Dopey: This could be an item that has you dazed, confused or bewildered as to why it is even in your home or a thingamajig that has no apparent function, with nobody knowing what it is or what it is used for. It could even be a key that doesn’t fit any locks in your home or office.

And now, all that’s left is for me to say:

“And the friendly, creative and supportive decluttering community of 365ers lived happily ever after.

The End.”

Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

[Loupy]

Silly Season Series ~ Consumable Gifts
by Moni Gilbert @ www.365lessthings.com/



Looking for some last minute gift ideas? Ideas which won’t clutter your friend’s and family’s home and will be happily received? Here are a few consumable gift ideas from myself, Deb J and Idgy of the North.


Moni’s Lemon Honey (also known as Lemon Curd)
3 eggs
1 Teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 Cup Sugar
½ Cup Lemon Juice
50 grams butter

Melt butter in a 2 liter microwave proof container.
Add rest of the ingredients and stir.
Microwave on high for 8 minutes.
Allow to cool then pour into hot dry jars.
Seal when cool.
Note: this recipe won’t work if doubled.

Idgy’s Whipped Shortbread
1 cup butter (do not use margaine)
½ cup icing sugar
1½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar.
Add flour and beat for 10 minutes.
Drop from small spoon onto cookie sheet.
Decorate with maraschino cherry pieces if you wish.
Bake at 350 F for about 10-12 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned.
Makes about 3 dozen small cookies.
Note: This recipe doubles well.


Deb J’s Mocha Truffles
(Yield: about 5 ½ dozen)
3 ½ cups semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons of instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons water
1 pound of dark chocolate confectionery coating

IN a microwave-safe bowl melt chocolate chips.
Add cream cheese, coffee and water; mix well.
Chill until firm enough to shape.
Shape into 1-in balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.
Chill for 1-2 hours or until firm.
Melt chocolate coating in microwave-safe bowl or double boiler.
Dip balls and place on waxed paper to harden.
Note 1: When shaping the balls, take only small amounts out of the refrigerator at a time so they will be easy to shape and not becoming warm and sticky.
Note 2: We melt small amounts of coating at a time because it hardens quickly. We also take out a few of the mocha balls at a time because they are harder to cover with the coating when a little warm.
Note 3: Truffles can be frozen for several months before dipping in chocolate. Thaw in the refrigerator before dipping. They can also be frozen after dipping and thawed in the refrigerator.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

[Loupy]

365 Less Things Mini Mission Monday ~ And so it is Christmas
By: Colleen Madsen @ www.365lessthings.com/

Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.
And so it is Christmas and what have we done ~ a whole lot of decluttering this year, that’s what. So I think it is time for a break and this weeks missions are based on that. You can either do Part A of each mission or Part B, it is entirely up to you. I will be focusing on Part A. Have a very happy holiday everyone, no matter which, if any, you are celebrating. And we’ll chat again in the New Year.

Monday – Declutter A. Something chocolate, or B. Something that begins with the letter C.

Tuesday – Declutter A. Something edible with mixed fruit in it, or B. something that begins with the letter F.

Wednesday – Declutter A. Some wine or other alcoholic beverage, or B. something that begins with the letter W.

Thursday – Declutter A. Some gingerbread, or B. Declutters something beginning with the letter G.

Friday – Declutter A. Declutter some Turkey or other edible cooked bird (Tofurky roast for the vegetarians among us) or B. Declutter something that begins with the letter T.

Saturday – Declutter A. Something cluttering up your fridge, such as that carton of eggnog (For extra decluttering effort my daughter-in-law suggests adding a shot of spiced rum to that), or B. Declutter something that begins with the letter E.

Sunday – Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

[Loupy]

365 Less Things Holiday Declutter
by Deb J @ www.365lessthings.com/


Each of us has a different day when we clean up all the decorations from the holidays. One thing we all do though is repack and stash away everything. This is a great time to declutter. We have a great opportunity to look at each item and decide:

Did we use it this time?
Does it need repair or a toss into the trash?
Do we like it?
Do we want to change our style/color?
Has our life changed in a way that requires our decorating to change?
Now is the time to declutter all of those holiday items you no longer need taking up space in your home. Things like decorations, ornaments, decorative paper plates or napkins, towels, tablecloths, and duplicates of salt and pepper shakers or serving pieces. I’m sure there are more items you can think of. How about holiday books or magazines for: cooking, decorating, or crafts.

This year we are going to be decluttering many things because we will be moving. We will have two households but fewer places to display items. Mom is not even sure she wants to decorate other than maybe a wreath on her door. I will probably keep the small tree we have but not many other things. If I could find a metal tree I really like I may get one to put the ornaments on because they are what I treasure.

Happy Decluttering and Happy New Year!