2013 in 2013 challenge

You may have noticed the little gadget on the top left, called "2013 in 2013 challenge" and a little progress bar. 

That is a marker for my challenge in 2013, to declutter up to 2013 items in 2013. I'm not sure if I even own that many in the first place, but I will certainly give it a go. 

My lovely friend in the blogosphere, Brooke, came up with this challenge. You can see all the details here. 

It is a year long challenge, because the point is to do it slowly. To not get too caught up in the rush of decluttering, and then feeling exhausted afterwards. 

I will update the progress bar every couple of weeks, or if there has been significant progress in the challenge. 

Wish me luck!! 

A taste of clutter-free

I've not focussed so much on decluttering this week. I've taken a bit of a break from it, but in writing about it yesterday, I realised that the stress associated with the clutter hasn't been present this week. 

Instead, I've found the space within my mind to write, and to relax. I've been able to write spontaneously, and give more thought to my posts here and elsewhere. I didn't think of it at the time, but I'm certain that the shifting of a whole car load of stuff (200+ items) has facilitated the freedom that I've felt this week. 

This is my taste of clutter-free. The removal of the stress associated with owning too much stuff, constant frustration that everything is everywhere, all over the place. 

By removing physical belongings and freeing up space, I have savoured the space in both my mind and my physical environment. 

It feels great. There is a long way to go, but I'm grateful that I've been able to experience the freedom that decluttering allows so early. It motivates me to carry on.  

New series: 52 weeks of happy 1/52

I'm joining in with my friends in the blogging world, and starting a project called 52 weeks of happy.  I've followed my friend Gillian's posts in this project, and I thought I would have a go. Something to keep me on my toes. 

Each week, I'll be posting 4-5 simple things that have brought joy and happiness into my life. I don't take many photos when I'm out and about, so forgive me if these are not picture rich posts. All the same, I want to try it. 

So, here is my list for week 1, (w/c 1st January). 

 - a lovely walk on Brean Down with my partner. I was amused by these sideways-growing trees. The poor things have been battered by the wind off the west coast.

- I gave my good friend and writing partner an unexpected birthday present, something very simple, but something I'd thought out and knew she would like. The smile on her face when she opened it made my week. 

- We were desperate to move out, but suddenly, upon viewing another area, and discovering an absolute dump, we decided to appreciate the one we have now. I've got lots of things in mind for my flat, and we started with the lounge.  We bought a coffee table (7 months over due) and a little decoration to go with it. I hardly recognise it as my lounge anymore. And yes, I was embarrassed by how it looked before. This is a vast improvement!!

 

The ceiling is still dripping from the recent leak and ceiling collapse, hence the bucket. All the same, this is now our clutter free zone, and it's so peaceful to sit on the sofa now.

- Re-discovering the crafting bug. I've been crafting, and crafting, and crafting. I have lots to show you in the next few weeks!






I'm on a project/designing/crafting roll, and I'm so excited. 

  How was your first week of 2013?

Project 333 Season 2 list

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 


First, a quick recap and thoughts on the Project.

I have completed one season of Project 333 and intend to continue for the forseeable future. This method agrees with me. I am happier as a result of it. 

Experiences of Season 1:

• I found the occasional boredom creeping in, with my lack of variety. Then I remembered that there is more to life than clothes, and the benefits far outweigh a little boredom. 
• I did add a couple of items along the way, bending the rules a bit, without rotating something else out. I will definitely rotate in/out this time, if it happens again. 
• I didn't include jewellery, and found that I haven't worn it at all, so I'm not including it this time. 
• I got excited about designing the new season, early December. Never has the idea of 'shopping'  from my wardrobe been so appealing. 
•  I stick by my decision to not include belts, because for me, they are part of the trousers. They never come off, or get changed. Therefore I don't class them as accessories. 

Lessons from Season 1:

• It is easier to choose what I'm wearing, because it all goes together. I'm not overwhelmed with too many choices. 
• I have found a style that I'm happy with, and all my clothing choices reflect this. I'm not trying to follow fashion or keep up with 4-week long trends that change constantly. I also don't care what others think about my clothes.
• I am happy living with 33 items, and feel good because I only wear things that I'm comfortable in. 

I got to work building Season 2, from my pile of staple clothing items. I almost found it hard to fill 33 slots on my sheet. I had a feeling I could live with even less if it came to it. 

Again, like Season 1, I've made a collage of all my clothing, and some potential outfit combinations. 

I reduced the number of shoes in my collection, because I just don't wear that many. I have work shoes that I keep at work, so they go in a similar category as work-out clothing. Same with the boots I cycle to work in. They don't get used for any other purpose. 

Here is a list of the items, from top left on the collage. The ones with asterisks * are new for Season 2.

1. Purple Berghaus waterproof jacket
2. Black warm coat
3. Pink lacy scarf
4. Blue cowl
5. Black wool shawl
6. Pure wool headband
7. Handbag
8. Black wool gloves* (the other ones got a hole in them)
9. Blue suede trainers
10. Brown leather boots
11. Long grey cowl jumper
12. Light grey button jumper
13. Thick black knit cardigan*
14. Purple "tracksuit" top*. I decided I wanted something super casual this season. 
15. Taupe knit top*
16. Blue floral dress top
17. Magenta long sleeve top*
18. Bright pink cardigan*
19. Black cardigan
20. Navy long sleeve top
21. GAP fuschia 3/4 sleeve top
22. Oatmeal long sleeve top
23. Black flowy t-shirt*
24. Dark blue t-shirt*
25. Black strappy top*
26. Cream/pink knit-tank*
27. Black work trousers
28. Black work trousers
29. Bootcut jeans
30. Skinny jeans
31. Grey tank* (not pictured)
32-33. 2 pairs Black leggings (not pictured)

Again, like last time, here are some possible outfits from the above items:

You'll notice that the bottom half of the grid stays much the same. I don't really mind having only two or three pairs of shoes, or limited options for trousers. I find it easier to mix and match outfits if I have variety for the top half, and with these items, I could create lots of different looks. 

Columns 1-2: typical work outfits
Columns 3-4: weekend/socialising outfits
Column 5: my super casual, comfy outfit. 

I managed to purge a few items from my maybe box, and I also realised that I have a lot of different colours stored away, most of which don't go together, or don't go with many things. 

*Confession* I went out at the weekend and bought a replacement pair of black leather flats, while they were on sale. I doubt my current ones (pictured above) will last another year (I've already had them for 4 years!) Here are my new shiny black flats:

This is the last purchase for at least 6 months. They were relatively expensive, but are great value if they last the same time as the others. I will only buy quality items from now on, that are likely to last.


I'm excited for what 2013 has in store, and it has got off to a great start already. 




P333'ers: what is your experience of building Season 2?
Others: would you consider this Project?

In the nick of time: Reverse 100 thing challenge

I do better if I have a set number, a limit, something concrete to aim for. 

I decided to do the Reverse 100 thing challenge, and added an extra bit along the way. Complete the challenge before the new year. I started this on the 27th December.

And I have!! I just counted them, and the grand total, including things that I had already decided to get rid of, is.....


140!!!!

Woah. I was thinking to myself, never will I get to 100 this evening. I even overshot my target! 

I've been hampered by my lack of photo taking opportunities (being at work full time and arriving home in the dark). So I've got a badly-lit-flash-gone-off-messy-photo of all the items. It will have to do! :)

 

This feels great. I am ready to take on a New Year, to continue to question my belongings, and be free of all this stuff that I see everywhere I go. I will probably do this again in early 2013! My ultimate dream is to reduce my personal belongings to a total of 200. Never again do I want to make 7 car trips just for my stuff when I move house. 

I'm excited for what the New Year will bring. I have a long project list to keep me busy, and will look forward to making some regular blogging time! 

In the mean time, I wish you all the very best for 2013, and I also want to thank my readers for the support and comments these past few months.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
  

Project 333 Season 1 List

I've wanted to write this post since I started Project 333, and now a month into the first season, I'm ready to share my list. The following list is all I'm wearing from October 1st-December 31st 2012. 

I've finally tweaked my list and written up the final version of it (I was supposed to have done this first week of October, oops! P333'ers you'll know what I mean!!). 

Using the collage above as a guide, from top left (moving down by rows):

1. Waterproof jacket
2. Warm coat
3. Long pure wool Icelandic jumper (hand-knitted by my great aunt).
4. Pink lacy scarf
5. Blue cowl
6. Pure wool black shawl (hand-knitted by my grandmother <3 )
7. Pure wool headband 
8. Handbag
9. Pure Icelandic wool gloves
10. Hiking shoes
11. Black flats
12. Blue suede trainers
13. Brown knee-high leather boots
14. Dark grey cowl-neck jumper
15. Light grey button jumper
16. Long colourful dress top
17. Navy floral dress top 
18. Grey short sleeve dress top 
19. Fuschia stripy top, 3/4 sleeves
20. Oatmeal long sleeve top
21. Black cardigan
22. Purple long sleeve top
23. Navy long 3/4 sleeve top
24. Black t-shirt
25. Purple stripy t-shirt
26. Light blue strappy top (excuse the wrinkles!) 
27. Black work trousers
28. Black work trousers
29. Bootcut jeans
30. Skinny jeans
31-33. (not pictured) 1 pair tights, 2 pairs black leggings. 

I made a collage of some of my outfits, if anyone needs some inspiration. I can make so many different combinations with those 33 items, because they ALL go together. Some of the pieces are great for layering too. Here are 4 outfits:

Column 1-2: My go-to weekend/socialising outfits
Column 3: Typical work outfit. I'm lucky that it's business casual. I obviously don't wear it that wrinkly!! 
Column 4: Casual weekend outfit, for grocery shopping etc. 

All the above can also be mixed and matched, to make more outfits! 

I think these are my favourite combinations. Since I started, I have switched out a few that I didn't want to wear, or seemed less practical. My white button down shirt is now reserved for interviews, since the dress code is business casual at work. I am not comfortable in a white shirt, like at all. Luckily, all the clothes above are neat enough to go to work in (except the denim), so I get to use most of my favourite pieces! 



What I've learned from this project:

• I don't need a lot of clothes to feel good in what I wear. 
• Sometimes, I wish I had more variety, but I stop myself and remember, "there is more to life than clothes".
• I feel much better having fewer options. Too many are overwhelming.
• So far, I almost haven't noticed that I have 33 items total to wear. 
• I don't want to buy new clothes for a long time. I don't need to. 
• A simpler life is a better, happier life.

I'll say it again:

A simpler life is a better, happier life

Sorting through the beauty products

This post is part of my September challenge. I am organising/decluttering one small area of my home each day for the month of September.


By beauty products I'm referring to all make-up, lotions, creams, moisturisers and medication that I own. 

I've recently become interested in the ingredients list on these products.  Chemicals. Unnatural names for unnatural substances. Something concocted in a chemistry lab. How do we know what these are doing to us?

One particular ingredient that has had a lot of attention are parabens. They are used in lots of products, as a preservative. These chemicals mimic oestrogen, and who knows what that might be doing. Alternatives might take some searching for, but they are out there. I found a good article that reviews some products made from natural ingredients. The GoodGuide has more in-depth analyses, but doesn't feature many products I find in the UK. 

For this little project, I started by collecting EVERYTHING in my whole flat that falls under the scope of this challenge. This is what I found:







The goal was to fit all of this into my two bedside table drawers, shown above, and the two lilac baskets which live in the top drawer of my dresser. I use the contents of those baskets every single day, and they are very accessible there. 

Then I sorted everything into categories. 






oh and my make up (why aren't there 5 picture collages?) 

I'll briefly outline what I got rid of from each category:

1. Hair: Duplicates of products that I use very rarely. I had two combs and two hair brushes. I only need one of each. 

2. Lotions: Any containers approaching empty and that had been open for over a year.  Anything that used to smell nice, but now smells off. You'll know. Anti-bac hand gel that attracts wasps and bees (lavender). I am phobic of wasps! 

3. Nails: I love painting my nails. I managed to get rid of 4 bottles  - the colours I won't wear anymore (black, bright red and princess pink). 

4. Meds: Anything out of date. I trimmed down meds for conditions we hardly ever suffer from.

5. Make-up. I'm not a big fan of caking make up on so it's an inch thick. I found an eyeliner that was more than 10 years old, and surprise surprise had parabens in it. I don't think they're supposed to last that long! Chemical breakdown + my eyes = not a good combo. 

In the end I managed to empty the plastic crate, so now I can fit everything in the two drawers and two baskets. Yay!

In future, there is a definite one-in-one-out policy in place. I will have to surrender something I have already if I want something new. That way, hopefully, the drawers won't overflow!

Also, every new product will be researched. If I buy less of them, I might be able to afford to spend a teensy weensy bit more to avoid the nasty chemicals. 


How do you feel about the synthetic ingredients?

September challenge: decluttering one area per day

Sometimes, projects and ideas just don't work out. The best thing to do in those cases is to come up with new ideas, or refine the old ones. Last month, I started a project called 30 things in 30 days. I was attempting to find a way to continue with decluttering over a longer period of time, instead of taking the tasks in bursts and getting bored too quickly.

But, it didn't work because I wasn't motivated to do it. And that's ok. I found another similar approach, which involves writing a list of 30 areas that need decluttering, and tackling one area per day (read more here) It appeals to me more because the areas are distinct, and at the end of each day, I have organised/decluttered a specific area in my home. Result!

Each morning, I generate a random number, and then choose the item corresponding to that number from the list. I take before and after pictures of the area, and take pictures of everything that I'm committing to get rid of. At the end of the month I hope to have a collage of photos of all the things that have left the flat.

So far, it's working! 

Here is my list of 30 areas:

1. Bathroom shelf (we keep toothbrushes, mouthwash, floss etc. on here)
2. Bathroom cabinet (extra shampoos, shower gels, lotions)
3. Cupboard under the kitchen sink
4. Food cupboard (we only have 1 to store all dry goods/groceries)
5. Cereal and tea shelf
6. Cutlery drawer
7. Kitchen counter (main counter)
8. Kitchen counter by window (lots of random things end up here)
9. Beauty products (lotions, medications, hair products etc.)
10. Floor of the wardrobe
11. On top of the wardrobe 
12. Pyjamas
13. Sides of the wardrobe (can you tell things are crammed into every crevice in my flat??)
14. Suitcase full of clothes (that I boxed up when I started Project 333)
15. Crate of clothes (also boxed up due to Project 333)
16. Linen cupboard (also where we keep lounge wear, hoodies etc.)
17. Bedside table
18. Winter clothes box
19. Hallway - small storage cubbies
20. Hallway - Top 3 large shelves 
21. Hallway - Bottom 3 large shelves
22. Books in the living room
23. Paperwork
24. Dropzone (where we dump our stuff when we come in the house)
25. Sewing box
26. Sentimental/keepsakes box (yikes! I'm most scared of this one)
27. Junk corner (random things accumulate here)
28. Junk bag in the study (leftover from previous organising)
29. Craft shelves in the study
30. Box of DVD's and books 

Sheesh that felt long! I can also think of more areas that I want to add to the list! Some areas are easier than others, but I think it's important to have some easy ones on the list too, so as not to get overwhelmed by the difficulty. 

My aim is for this challenge to help me create a simpler, frustration free life. 

Anyone want to join me?

Stationery is my biggest weakness

Close second comes fabric and craft materials. Colourful things make me swooooon.

Remember this list? 

************************************** 

Here is the list of areas that I need to work on so far:

1.  Books

2.  Stationery

3.  Paperwork 

4.  Clothes - attempt 33 items including outerwear and accessories

5.  Craft materials

6.  Tools and electricals

7.  Decorative items

8.  Bookcase in the study

9.  Crates on the floor of study

******** original post here ********


I knew number 2 would be most difficult, because I've been pretty much addicted to stationery, pens, pencils, crayons etc., since I was a child.  I didn't have loads of dolls or Barbies (I had 5 when other kids had 50), but I always had multiple colouring books and lots and lots and lots of crayons. I loved it. Now it includes every type of folder, notebook and pen imaginable!

The dilemma here is that I'm also trying to simplify my life and eliminate as much of the visual clutter as possible. I finally psyched myself up for the challenge of de-cluttering the stationery. My reasoning was that if I succeeded at this challenge I could do anything.

I began by going through every room and collecting every pen, pencil, folder, scissors, etc. that I could find and dumped it all in the living room. 

This is what I ended up with (*hides behind the sofa in shame*)

Now, I reckon that must be half a car load right there. Or close. Erm yeah. That lot doesn't really fit in with the lifestyle I'm trying to achieve, so I started going through it. It was a lot harder than I thought. Turns out I'm attached to my stuff. 

The challenge took a long time (I struggled with it over 2 days). I managed to let go of this stuff: 

Folders, pencils, pens, coloured paper and so on. It's a start, but I will probably have to do it again in the future. It made me realise how hard it is to declutter an area that you still value, or is somehow part of your upbringing/childhood. 

The things I kept, I was determined to display. I wondered why I'd kept all the lovely colourful pencils hidden, when they could be displayed and enjoyed, even just by looking over at the shelf!

So I set about collecting some glass jars, and chose the items that were colourful in my remaining collection.

Here they are in their new home: 
  

I look over at my shelf lots of times every day and each time, it makes me happy to see the lovely jars with all the colourful pens in them!  The leaves at the back of the shelf are a result of a random evening of watercolouring. It definitely brightens up the shelf.

I'm done with stationery organisation for now so that means I can cross it off my list!

1.  Books

2.  Stationery

3.  Paperwork 

4.  Clothes - attempt 33 items including outerwear and accessories

5.  Craft materials

6.  Tools and electricals

7.  Decorative items

8.  Bookcase in the study

9.  Crates on the floor of study

I've conquered a couple more on that list, but the fun bit is writing about it!


Anyone else been de-cluttering an area that's difficult, for any reason? I'd love to hear about it!

On Simplicity

As I said in my previous post, I've been thinking a lot about simplicity over the last couple of months. I think living a simple life has great potential for helping to improve my situation. I've been so overwhelmed with stuff and things to do lately that I've had to cut back drastically so I don't end up running myself into the ground.... again. It's more about making the right choices, and listening to what my body is telling me, than just cutting back on everything altogether.        

In my mind, the first thing I have to tackle is my environment. That includes my flat, my stuff, my clothes. A calm and peaceful environment makes for a calm and peaceful mind, right?

 

As yet, I haven't made any real progress towards a simpler life. I still see clutter everywhere I go, and I don't know how to get rid of it. I've been reading and gobbling up 3 writers on simplicity recently, and am inspired by their efforts. Leo Babauta from zenhabits  gears his writing towards productivity in daily life, but so much of it applies to life in general. The Power of Less is an awesome book. Kelly, who I've been reading for a while now, has just started a mission of doing one small thing every day for a year to simplify and reduce her consumption. On her new blog, the year of less, she posts tasks that she is completing towards consuming less on a daily basis. The latest edition to my reading list "be more with less"  is a wonderful source of inspiration. 

Through Kelly's blog I stumbled upon this website, project 333 which is by the same author as "be more with less", but focuses exclusively on clothing and fashion. I got motivated to try it, but first of all I counted the items of clothing I have. The number came to approximately 140 items. Holy moly. And yet I find myself complaining that I have nothing to wear. Sound familiar?

So off I went when I had a day off, and started building my wardrobe on the idea that I would live with 33 items of clothing for 3 months. I haven't reached that target yet, but I cut it down to about 40-50 items, not incl shoes, outerwear and accessories. I packed up the rest in a suitcase so it's out of the way. The website explains the approach in detail. The amazing thing is, I actually found clothes that I like, but never wear because I always go for the most familiar clothes. Ironically, I now feel like I have more options with less stuff! Brilliant.

LIke I said, the first thing I want to focus on is the visual clutter around me. At the moment, it's everywhere. So, one path towards simplicity is getting rid of the excess.  I will be posting on the topic a bit from now on, because it is important to me, and most of all, I enjoy the feeling I get from it.

I realised with the clothing project that I really need concrete tasks to do, with limits and boundaries. Otherwise, I get totally overwhelmed, racing from one room to another, bits here and bits there, and never accomplish anything. This way, I will write about it and have a list of projects on this blog that I can tick off as I go along.

Here is the list of areas that I need to work on so far:

1.  Books

2.  Stationery

3.  Paperwork 

4.  Clothes - attempt 33 items including outerwear and accessories

5.  Craft materials

6.  Tools and electricals

7.  Decorative items

8.  Bookcase in the study

9.  Crates on the floor of study 

Note that I haven't yet placed limits on these, and I believe that is important. To illustrate, say that I count my books and I have 30.  If I put the goal as "reducing the amount of books", I could in theory just get rid of one book, and that would be my goal completed (and believe me, I find it easy to come up with those excuses). But that doesn't help the overall goal of having less stuff.  On the other hand, if I say "I will get rid of 5 non-fiction and 10 fiction books" then that makes the goal very concrete, and I will know for sure when I have achieved it.  If it still feels like I have too many, then I can decide on a lower limit. 

By the way, I'm not trying to get rid of everything, and don't suggest anyone does. Or even to let go of stuff that is important, just for the sake of the mission. I want to get to a place where I have less visual clutter, less disturbance, and less frustration when things end up on the floor. I want to make it easier to pick things up, and know exactly where they go. 

Once I take inventory, I will update the list with the goals, and then I will be able to cross them off the list once I've achieved them.  

A little reminder, to myself: 

 

 

Until next time!

 

-Linda 

 

 

 

 

 

30 things in 30 days

I've been thinking a lot about simpilicity, decluttering and living a more stress and frustration free life for a while now. I will admit now that I am not the best when it comes to picking up after myself, but I also get frustrated when things are all over the place. As you can imagine this happens a lot. Now I've started making concrete plans to make simplicity happen. I wanted to share the story with you, mainly to make me accountable for it, and give me motivation to carry on! 

The first project I'm sharing here is 30 things in 30 days.  This is based on an idea I found on Kelly's blog, here. During August, I'm getting rid of one item (or a group) every day and posting them to facebook, if they don't get snapped up there, then I will Freecycle them or take them to the charity shop.

This might be a slower process than doing the whole flat at once, but I think it's easier to do it bit-by-bit, and therefore easier to sustain throughout the month.  

This project falls under a bigger goal of mine which is 

getting rid of clutter --> less mess --> beautiful surroundings

and which also fits within the theme of my blog! 

I'm excited for the results, and I know the decluttering will be an ongoing process. Anyone else attempting to banish the clutter in specific ways?