Tag Archives: minimalist

Day 14: Flour: Hope In A Bag?

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1,400 things gone, only 8,600 to go

It’s safe to eat at my house again.

Of course, there’s nothing to eat but, since the weevil incident, I haven’t had much of an appetite anyway.

This was a huge job and took a lot longer than my daily limit of 30 minutes for decluttering.  But since there were insects involved, I felt compelled to do a bit of cleaning as well.

I moved on to the vitamin/medicine/first aid cabinet today and removed bags of expired products.  And, I discovered there’s a pattern to my shopping.

I overbuy things when I’m anxious: 3 types of echinacea, skin care products on top of skin care products, learning games (my kids hate that one), three bags of flour (I never could bake).  You get the point.

Newsflash: not one of these items has ever solved the real problem for me.

I can tell you that tossing bags of flour and bottles of vitamins into the bin, has cured me of the urge to try that experiment again.  Maybe pastry flour will make me a better cook?

Actually, I’m elated not to have to buy things I don’t need.  It frees up my resources to spend on what I want.  Except that I don’t have any time to shop since I started decluttering.

What I tossed today: 65 things from the pantry and vitamin cupboard, mostly cardboard, mixed paper, vitamin and pill bottles (recycle),and 20 styrofoam cups (I’m still trying to figure out what to do with these) and oops! I was supposed to get rid of 15 more things tonight but I think I’ll just let it slide – just this once!

Day 13 – What’s Bugging You The Most? Start There.

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1,300 things gone, only 8,700 to go

Did I actually say I was looking forward to decluttering the garage yesterday? That shows you how tired I was when I wrote that.

I wasn’t looking forward to decluttering anything last night.  Yesterday’s basket project was surprisingly unsatisfying.  Sure, I got rid of 100 things but they weren’t the things that were really bugging me.

I didn’t wake up thinking – thank goodness I got rid of that Duplo!

I was in desperate need of a little motivation today.  So I asked myself what clutter was bugging me the most.

The pantry came to mind:

I spend a lot of time in there.  It would probably shave hours off my day if I could actually find what I’m looking for.

It was a lot of work, but super satisfying to purge the pantry for the second time round.  I must have missed the chicken broth from 2006 and the lasagne noodles with the weevils the first time.

Is it just me – or does every single lasagne recipe ever written call for a box of noodles less three?

That’s it, I’m using the whole box next time.

I haven’t put my pantry back together (after all the bleaching), so I’ll post an after picture tomorrow.

Some of you were wondering about where to recycle “other/soft plastics” and batteries.  Thanks for asking. I’ve been wondering the same thing.   I’ve updated the Recycling Resources page with some suggestions.

What I tossed today:  100 pantry items – expired food (garbage), unexpired food (food bank), tupperware (donate)

Day 12: Baskets – Friend or Foe?

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1,200 things gone, only 8,800 things to go

I was at a dinner party last night and the subject of baskets came up.

As in: “What do you think of baskets?”

“I think if you have a lot of baskets,” I said with conviction, “you just have too much stuff.”

That was my advice.  These are my baskets.

And these are just the ones I could grab on the fly.  I probably have a hundred baskets I could get rid of, not to mention their contents!

I don’t object to the baskets themselves.  If you know what everything is and where everything is in your home, and baskets are a part of that, then your baskets are working for you.  You have my permission to stock up at IKEA.

Some of us, however, need to take a look inside the basket and ask ourselves a few questions like these:

If I didn’t have a basket for this doodad, would I still keep it?  Do I ever use this doodad?  Am I even a doodad person?

For the most part, I agree with Ranka Burzan, author of The SOS Guide to Organize and Clean Your Home, and her thoughts on baskets:

“The container companies make it easier for us to keep a mountain of things we don’t like or use. You just have to contain and label everything and your clutter problem is solved. The clutter problem is not resolved; it’s just shifted to a different area of your home.

This, for example, is not good use of a basket:

I’m pretty ambivalent about most of these items:

Although I have a certain fondness for the “clutter ninja.”  Maybe he’ll be my ally in the war on junk.

I could have used an ally this weekend.  With baseball, playdates, dinner parties and all four of us at home, weekends are difficult to get any decluttering done.

I’m looking forward to rooting 100 things out of the garage (aka squirrel territory) on Monday.

What I tossed today: 60 pcs. duplo (thrift shop), 1 broken flashlight, 3 strands ivy garlands (thrift shop), 5 baskets, and 31ish miscellaneous things from inside those baskets.

Day 10: A Long Way To Go To Clutter Free

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1,000 things gone, 9,000 to go

I fluctuate (sometimes hourly) between thinking 100 days is not long enough to make a dent in the clutter that’s taking over my life; and thinking 100 days is way too long and, in the end,  I’ll be pulling weeds and rummaging through the neighbours recycling bins to make my daily quota.

Then I do something like open my spice cupboard and I realize I’ve got a long way to go:

It’s clear the Squirrel isn’t the ony one with a problem here.

In my defence, at least everything in these bins has to do with cooking.

Now, anyone who knows me knows how much cooking I actually do as opposed to the cooking I fantasize about.

So I got honest with myself about the likelihood of ever using tapioca starch, onion granules, or freeze dried dill ever again. And I was able to pare down the inventory to this one bin:

I also decided I can live without the salt and vinegar popcorn topping (not a good idea in the first place) and this fossilized maple butter.

Pretty sure this is not what it’s supposed to look like.

And since I’ve subjected you to this, I’d like to thank you for logging on to witness my paring down.  And if you’re paring down I’d love to hear how you’re doing it.  Leave a comment below or send me an email.

What I tossed today: 20 miscellaneous spices, 4 bowls, 3 plates, 1 salt, and 1 pepper shaker, 26 pcs. plastic cutlery, 1 silicone spatula (that never flipped anything well), 3 books, 1 vase, 40 pcs. old lego

Day 9: Dive In – Your Clutter Is Waiting For You

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900 things gone, only 9,100 to go

In case you’re wondering, my cheat day yesterday consisted of removing all the magazines and catalogs from the house with dates prior to 2010.  It was easy, my husband (aka Squirrel) had 40 of them underneath his bedside table.  I topped up the magazine total with 10 books from my bookshelf.

I used to hoard books – afraid that I might want to revisit the pages that once gave me so much pleasure.  But I’ve realized that I rarely revisit a book unless it’s a reference book or a classic.  There are just too many great books to read to spend much time looking back.

Plus, I’ve discovered this handy little device called an I-Pad.  Squirrel picked one up this year.  I read my first book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris on the I-Pad while driving up to Whistler this winter.  I don’t recommend this, by the way – David Sedaris is best enjoyed on solid ground with an empty bladder.

I digress.  My point is, even a book lover like me can adapt.  The minimalists have some great tips on this if you want to go the distance and get rid of everything (not just books) that can be stored on a computer.  I may revisit this advice at the end of 100 days but, for now, I’m pretty happy editing my book collection a few volumes at a time.

Which brings me to the observation that there are two kinds of people in the world: those that consider a cold pool an opportunity to cannonball; and those that start with a toe and 10 minutes later take a their first tentative stroke.

If you’re the former, this may not be the blog for you.  No worries – there are so many incredible minimalist blogs out there to inspire you.

But if you’re a toe tester, like me, you may find this is exactly where you belong.

No matter.  In the end, we’ll all claim the water is just fine – once you get in.

What I tossed today:  40 things from the kids art drawer, 5  baking pans – some rusted, 1 phone book (who uses phone books these days!), 13 fisher price toys (listed on criagslist), 1 portable air conditioner (sold), 9 dried out markers, 29 pieces of old candy

Day 8: Who’s Getting In the Way of Your Decluttering

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800 things gone, only 9,200 to go

It’s 4pm and I haven’t collected my 100 things yet today.  And judging by the way I’m feeling, it’s going to be a cheat day. Which means I’ll find the easiest way possible to collect and purge my quota.

And since I’m procrastinating, I thought it would be a good day to catch you up on the Squirrel.  Here’s a Squirrel cache I found yesterday while cleaning off the kitchen desk:

I think it’s a good idea to keep a bowl on the desk for spare change.  Squirrel likes to use these bowls for just about anything. Here’s a closeup of the contents:

I spy candy, a hockey player, a star fish, change …

Now, this isn’t such a big deal, is it?  Candy, silly bandz, labels and bike chain go in the garbage. Toys get set aside for the kids.  I’m pretty much done.

Then I open the cupboard below:

I should’ve known a good Squirrel never hides all his goodies in one spot.  You never know when you might need a maple leaf pen cap or a bobby pin.

I try to be philosophical about it.  Isn’t it wonderful we approach things so distinctively?  Squirrel can’t stand  it when I leave things out on the counter almost as much as I loathe finding the junk he tucks away.

But really, does this make any sense to you?

I found this toque, spoon, light stick, and chinese finger trap under a pile of papers on the desk.

Like most things in our marriage that we fight about, we pretty much want the same thing, but go about it in completely different ways.   Squirrel doesn’t want to see the clutter – so he tucks it away.  I don’t want to see the clutter ever again so I drive it away.

I think this project will be good for both of us.

Day 7: Sex, Lies and Recycling

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700 things gone – only 9,300 to go

I’m dating myself here, but does anyone remember this scene from Sex, Lies and Videotape where Andie MacDowell (Ann) talks to her therapist about garbage?  Brilliant, isn’t it.

Well, that’s kind of what I’m like with recycling.  I know the ins and outs of my blue box; glass, metal, and plastics 1,2,4 & 5, but that’s about it.  Without the numbers I get a little twitchy.

And that’s exactly how I felt trying to decide what to do with the two empty CD cases I found today.  Toss or recycle?  After pondering for a moment, I decided on recycle, popped them into the blue bin, and forgot all about it.  I wish.  Nope, much like Andie (Ann), I just couldn’t get them out of my head.

I imagined a recycling worker somewhere plucking my CD cases from the line thinking – what kind of moron puts CD cases in the blue box?

So I typed my query into google.  Can you recycle CD cases?  Now I wonder what took me so long.  There are entire websites devoted to the topic.

I owe a big thanks to Ashley Webster for cataloguing the recycling resources in Vancouver, BC.  Turns out there is a place for my CD cases to retire.  They also accept: computers, computer accessories, game consoles, cell phones, phone cords, DVD cases etc. etc. Looks like I need to set up a free geek box in my garage.  I’m sure it will be full to overflowing by the end of 100 days.

Day 5: But I Spent So Much Money On It!

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Here’s a picture of the 100 things I ferreted out of the house today.  Pretty boring, isn’t it?  Does anyone else cringe at the big pile of teabags in the garbage section?

Actually, it  was tempting to keep some of the tea.  I spent so much money on it!  And you never know when you’re going to want a cup of tea you really don’t like.

The but I spent so much money on it! excuse is a huge obstacle to uncluttering.  Fortunately I have a long list of reasons why it is better to get rid of something you don’t need rather than store it.

1) Think about the real estate.  OK, so we’re talking about tea here but if you spread out all of the things in your home that you don’t need you’d see we’re talking about significant square footage.

2) The obscuring principal:  keeping things you don’t want makes it harder to find the things you do want.  I’m down to four teas in the tea drawer: orange pekoe, english breakfast, chamomile and pomegranate green tea!?  More on that later.

3) Exposing yourself makes it less likely you’ll repeat your fruit tea buying ways.  Eight of nine boxes I got rid of were fruit teas.  It’s clear no matter how many varieties I try – I’m never going to like fruit tea!

4) With all the clarity you’ve gained you can go on to focus on buying only the very best of the things you know you like.

It’s fortunate I have so many defences against the but I spent so much money on it! excuse because I am helpless against the but someone gave it to me! excuse.   And so the gift of pomegranate green tea remains in my drawer.

With 95 days and 9,500 things to go, I’m sure I’ll come around to the tea drawer again.

Day 4: That’s Not Really A Recycling Box and Other Squirrelisms

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I expected some sort of resistance from my family when I started removing 100 things from our home every day.  So I purposely decided to keep the project  low key. Typically, I gather a few things here and there while I go about my regular routine.  I’m making breakfast – a broken pair of scissors disappears.  I’m folding laundry and an old T-shirt vanishes. I run the bath and suddenly we have 12 less bath toys. No one seems to notice the three plastic bags (donate, recycle, garbage) hanging off my forearm.  Items that are too big for the bags get stacked in piles to collect later and often furtively.

But occasionally I feel I must ask for guidance when disposing things that a) don’t belong to me and b) I don’t recognize.  Here are a couple such things:

 

And here’s how the conversation with my significant other went:

Me:  Do you need these dried up monitor wipes or should I throw them out?

Husband:  I’m not sure…let me see…no, throw them out.

Me:  Great.

Husband:  But keep the container it might be good for storing pencils. (starts rummaging around in the kids art drawer for said pencils.)

Me:  We already have three pencil boxes.  I think we can recycle this container.

Husband:  (reluctantly) I guess so.

Me:  (picking up shiny silver disc off the floor) What’s this from?

Husband:  (taking it from me) It’s a battery.

Me:  I know it’s a battery but do you know what it’s for?

Husband:  (setting it down on his desk) I think so.

48 hours later

Me:  (noticing the battery still on his desk) Did you ever figure out what that battery was for?

Husband:  No.

Me:  Are you just going to keep it there on your desk?

Husband: No, I’ll put it in a special place.

And that would be OK if he had one special place but he doesn’t.  He has stashes in drawers and cupboards and jars and boxes all over the house and that’s where the recycling bin comes in.

Me:  Do you need this copy of iLife ’09?  There’s a disc in it.

Husband:  I’m not sure.  (pointing to a chair in his office) Just put it there.

Me:  Are you sure you want it?  I found it in the big blue recycling bin in the garage with a few books, a plastic stool and some garbage.

Husband:  That’s not exactly the recycling bin.

And that is the mystery of the man I married.  If it’s not the recycling bin – then what is it?

It’s a special place.  A depository where an enigmatic assortment of things come together in one place to be dealt with later.  While pack rat seems a little harsh, I can tell you without reservation, that this man is a Squirrel.  I knew it from the day I moved in with him and found a power bar in the cedar chest.

Non – squirrels, myself included, will never appreciate his methods.  All we can do is observe and speculate, which is why I’ve given him his own special place in this blog.  The category Squirrel Corner is where I’ll share the habits of this strange creature and, just for fun, track some of his belongings.

Today, despite resistance, I managed to rid the house of 50 items of kids clothing (half passed on to friends, half donated) and 50 items from my bathroom counter and my make-up cache (sadly tossed).  I’m actually establishing a rhythm of gathering, sorting and disposing of junk that doesn’t take a lot of time, energy or space.  I’ll open a page called the method tomorrow and post the details as I figure them out.

Day 2: A Fridge Full of Condiments

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I pulled 70 condiments out of my fridge today.  That’s right 70.  Only 30 of them got put back in.  And even those are questionable.

Why do I hang on to this stuff?

That’s a good question.  I found a really great answer in this post by the minimalists, Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.

The answer is fear.  We hang on to things because we’re afraid to get rid of them.  So what’s with my condiment hoarding?  What am I afraid of?

I’m afraid, feminists cover your ears, that people will find out that I’m a horrible cook and therefore a bad wife and mother.  And, I’m afraid to give up the hope of one day becoming a wonderful cook with the right combination of condiments.

Crazy, isn’t it?  But isn’t that what a lot of Moms try to do, become good at everything that is expected of them whether or not it’s something they truly want to do?

So today I got rid of 40 condiments and I got rid of an ambition that has very little meaning for me.  Which makes room for the ambitions I really care about.  And that is worth far more than the hundreds of dollars in condiments I just poured down the drain.

The rest of the 100 things today came from my bedside table.  Yes, I had 60 extraneous things next to my bed. I know I won’t miss my Sony Discman.

Maybe I’ll even sleep a little sounder tonight.