365 Less Things??

Since my major decluttering mission is over but I still have the major ‘minimalist’ bug I am going to try something new.  I have been a follower for a while of a blog called 365 Less Things.  And obviously, the idea is to de-clutter one thing per day.  After the huge purge of my home, I am not sure if I have 365 more things that I can remove, but I am sure going to try … anything that helps along the road to minimalism!  (And I'm already running over a week behind ... eek!)

Day 1 – My first item is a bit sentimental.  My Nana used these along with the rest of the set as her ‘everyday’ dishes. I don’t have the rest of the set, don’t know where they went, but these have been sitting in a Rubbermaid box, wrapped in newspaper since 2007.  I guess that means that I don’t use them, so I am taking a picture and into the Garage Sale they go!

 Day 2 – I’ve had this stuffie since we went to Hawaii when I was a child, probably about 30 years or so.  It sits in a box like so many other things that I have kept over the years.  Hawaii Lover has seen better days.  Picture and the donation box here we come!

Day 3 – I thought this might be worth some money – WRONG!!!  It was my Poppa’s, it’s a lovely little book but does no one any good sitting in a box not being admired.  I’m going to ask my brother if he would like it.

Day 4 – In 2005 my husband and I took our first trip to Las Vegas with my brother and sister-in-law.  I made the same little scrapbook for both of us, but again, memories aren’t memories in a box.  I scanned each page and saved it on a disc so I can look at the pictures anytime I want.

Day 5 – This photo book contains pictures from when my step-daughter was born.  Again, does not good in a box, so the pictures are getting scanned and the book is Garage Sale bound!

Day 6 – This is a picture of my Nana (isn’t she lovely?).  When she lived in the retirement home, the ladies got together and did a calendar (a la Calendar Girls) to raise money for addiction treatment for women.  All of the ladies in the calendar are wonderful but I like my Nana the best and would like to look at this picture more often – it’s getting scanned!

Day 7 – I am taking these bills to the bank with the rest of our miscellaneous money.  Not worth anything but I don’t need it sitting around here!

Day 8 – My Cabbage Patch dolls are in the Garage Sale already and these can go with them!

Dealing with my Sentimental Clutter

For the last couple of weeks I have been dealing with a huge amount of sentimental clutter – and I mean a huge amount!  For some reason I have no problem taking pictures of my children’s artwork and chucking it out once the excitement of their new picture/craft has run its course but when it comes to dealing with my own keepsakes and memories it’s a different story!  Why is that?  In trying to become more of a minimalist this particular section of my journey has been the hardest so far by a long shot.

We are planning an international move and I know that not everything can come.  It’s not the furniture or lamps or even some of the artwork that bothers me, it’s all the things that I am sentimental about.  Over the years I’ve gotten rid of many things I thought were sentimental only to discover later that I had no need for them but now I find that I have afgans and quilts and bedding that my Oma, Nana and Mom have made for me and they now sit in a bag in the basement, unused, gathering dust.  I have a Lane Chest in my crawl space full of memories, photos and items that just sit there.  My children have no interest in them, they don’t understand what they are or what they are for, so what do I do with it all?

I found these really great ‘clauses’ that I am going to follow for all of my sentimental clutter:

The fire clause. Ask yourself what you would want to take with you in case of a fire. This is a great way to determine what you truly value.

The function clause. Decide what in your home has a purpose — and what doesn't. Ask yourself why you are holding on to the items that don't have a specific use and decide if the space they are taking up is worth it.

The someday clause. In most cases get rid of the things you are hoping to use or wear "someday". Chances are someday will come and you won't like the thing anymore anyway.

The happiness clause. Last but not least, keep only the things that make you truly happy.

As you go through your stores of sentimentalities, make three stacks:

Stack 1: Items that can be scanned, photographed or digitized for saving

Stack 2: Items you want to display proudly on shelves or other areas in your home

Stack 3: Items you can donate or sell

It’s hard to be ruthless when it comes to memories, especially when it is a memory of a loved one past, but I’ve come to realize that my memories are in my head, my heart and that is where they will always be.  I now have a wonderful collection of memories that I can look at, a few that I can touch and a couple that I can look at and the memories are still there – they always will be.

Mission Decluttering #5 - Kitchen & Nook

This is one mission I am TOTALLY dreading!  Just the same as the living room and office, the kitchen in our house is never clean!  It feels like we work in a short order kitchen most of the time.  I’m trying a mixture of two methods here.  Let’s see how it goes!

1. Clean your kitchen before you start.  Put away your dishes from the dishwasher and sink, wipe down your counters. This way you won’t have to move stuff around or look for space to put things when your hands are full.  Start clean, finish clean – what an a-ha moment!

2. Start with the drawers. Utensil drawers first and move down to pots and pans drawers if you have them. Pull out everything, wipe down the inside and outside.  If it’s clean the less likely I am to put stuff back in that I don’t use.

3. Return items that you only regularly use. If it’s broken, a duplicate or worn do not put it back. Only the things that I am actively using stay in.

4. Throw away the garbage, put your recycling in your bin, and put everything else that didn’t make the “I always use this” pile into a box.

5. Continue with the rest of the drawers. If there is an item you don’t use, don’t keep it around ‘just in case’ or because your Mom used to keep it around. Put it in the box and move on!

6. Now start on the cupboards. By pulling everything out cupboard by cupboard, this way you can really see what you have. Do you need all of this stuff? Ditch those plastic containers without lids and extra empty jars you’re storing.

7. Finish ALL the cupboards – not under the sink yet (that’s a mission in and of itself).

8. How full is your box or basket looking?  Think you’re done?  Not yet, I’m moving on to the pantry!

9. I LOVE a clean pantry … especially since I spent days creating a lovely, easy to use Mason Jar pantry.  However, when the other half doesn’t jump on the bandwagon, it makes putting groceries away a very looooooong task!  Two things when cleaning out your pantry:

•  Is my family going to eat this?
•  When?

If you answered no to either of these questions, don’t keep that item in your pantry until it expires and you have to throw it away. Donate unopened items to the food bank, soup kitchen, or local churches.

**As you work on your pantry decluttering, make sure you wipe out the drawers and shelves as you go, too! Get rid of the stuff that doesn’t belong there. Pull out organizing tools you don’t use.

10. Look around and make sure you have gone through each drawer (don’t forget the one under your oven!), each cupboard and the pantry and celebrate!  Enjoy your new decluttered and minimized space!

11. Close the box (or boxes in my case).

What did I let go of this time:

·         2 full bags of tealights

·         A set of fabric placemats (we have bamboo ones that are super easy to wipe down, so I’m not sure why I got the fabric ones – OK, I liked the colour!)

·         Half a dozen mugs that were shoved to the back of the cupboard

·         2 flower vases

·         Cream and sugar set (bought those for Christmas dinner and didn’t end up using them)

·         Gravy Boat (same as above)

·         More than 20 sets of chop sticks

·         7 forks, spoons and knives that came from who knows where

·         A box full of miscellaneous Ziploc containers with no matching lids

·         A box full of baking sheets, muffin tins, loaf pans, etc. (I love to bake, but I don’t need multiples of everything)

·         A set of mixing bowls (again, don’t need multiples)

·         Slow cooker (always meant to use it, never did)

·         A set of funky napkin rings (does anyone use those anymore?)

·         A pair of Salt and Pepper shakers

·         A serving platter that had a huge chip out of one of the corners

·         Half a dozen assorted sippy cups and thermos’s

·         2 lunch boxes that were purchased for the girls but they never used

·         2 books on wine

Seriously???  All that crap that we NEVER use!  Ahhhhhh – that feels (and looks) so much better!

For a mission that I was totally dreading, it wasn't so bad afterall!

And so it is ...

So it shall be.  I finally decided to get off my duff (for lack of a better word) and start this journey my little family has endeavoured to begin.

What's the journey you ask?

On or around March 20, 2014 we are leaving Canada for a year long RV trip around Europe!  That's crazy you say?  Indeed - crazier even with twin girls who will be 7 at the time and a 2 year old.  What's that you say ... it'll never happen!  Ha, ha you jest.

Well, here's the deal - follow along as we purge our home, plan every detail from places we want to go, to budgets, to gear we are taking, our purchase of a RV ... you name it, we (well I will really) put it on here.

Really, when I look at the title we decided to call our first little blog (little in the sense of us not knowing at all what we are doing) it should have been more to do with planning our travel but our first stop along our planning adventure is living a more minimalist life.  Decluttering and freeing ourselves of the things that are not so important so that we can live a more unmaterialistic life with our kids!

Can't wait for the craziness to begin?  Neither can we!