Surfing the net all day….

Today I’ve not been doing much de-cluttering 😦

I’ve been spending my time online instead.  You know how you sometimes are “just going to” look up something on the internet, and before you know it you’ve been roaming around for hours out the in the world wide web. That’s where my evening have gone.

It all started because I wanted to find out how I can connect a domain I already have, to this blog, so that I get a “proper” web address. I think I have figured it out.. now I just have to set it up, and hopefully without completely crashing my site 😉

I’m waiting for the company that I have my domain with, to update some stuff (which they said could take up to 24 hours) – so hopefully tomorrow?

Wish me luck will you 🙂

All these fertilizer choices

I told you before, that I like plants, yes?

Well, along with plants, fertilizer options tends to follow. And there are so many options; indoor plants, orchids, roses, rhododendrons, green plants, summer flowers and so on. I could go on forever.

I’ve gotten pretty good at narrowing it down to some key types, and use up the ones I have. But, there is this one bottle of stuff that’s probably close to ten years old, that I’ve hardly ever used. It is time I realize, it’s not going to happen… I will never ever, use this up.

I’m sorry, dear bottle… but you gotta go…

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Pump it, pump it!

A while ago I bought one of those gym balls, you know, one those big ones you use for exercise. A bright green one I’m using as a “chair” at my office. And as with most of these a cheap plastic pump came along.

After having tried forever, and I mean forever (you should have seen me sitting there like an idiot trying to pump that ball up to its full size) I realized something was wrong with the pump. It turns out the darn thing leaked all the air back out, as soon as the pressure in the ball got to big.  So I gave up, brought the ball to the shop and had them pump it up for me 😉

I came across this pump the other day, and suddenly remembered that I had another one of these gym ball pumps hiding in the house. It came along with a similar gym ball I bought a very long time ago. And it was one of the most ridiculous pumps I have ever seen for a gym ball (yes, that’s that yellow thing), and I have no idea why I ever kept it!!

Today those two pumps, can pump their way outa this house…

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A perfect day

It’s been raining and raining for weeks, and today I woke up to the the most beautiful, clear and sunny day. One of those zero degrees, chilly, clear days with a hint of white powder on the ground.

And for the first time in a while I could go outside and “smell the roses” so to speak.

I know, not much roses growing this time a year, but if you check out the white plant below, it’s actually called Christmas rose here in Norway (just don’t smell much though) 😉

Being outside on this clear, chilly day, cleared the “cobwebs” out of my mind and cheered me up no ends.

You might say, it was just what the doctored ordered 🙂

You see, sometimes it doesn’t take a lot, for us to lower our stress hormones, making ourselves a little happier and look at the bright side of life. Sometimes all it takes, is waking up to a beautiful day 🙂

And today reminded me of an daily exercise I used to do, but that somewhere along the way got forgotten.

My daily routine
It’s the first thing you should do when you wake up in the morning, and the last thing you should do before you go to bed.

Open a window, balcony or entrance door (anything that opens up to the outside) stick your head out,close your eyes and take a deep breath of fresh air, hold it and exhale slowly. Open your eyes and take another “how many breath you want” 😉 and just be, be in the now, even if it’s just for a second.

I’m not kidding… It’s such a stress buster… and I think it’s a good routine for everyone to have. We are so busy with everything, that sometime we just forget to stop up and “smell the roses”. I’ve found that this small routine is the greatest way to start and end the day. I’m in the moment, even if it’s only for that second or two…

So I will bring back this routine, to declutter my mind 🙂

I’ll take a deep breath tonight. Why don’t you give it a try 😉

My Christmas roses
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Just couldn’t resist, just had to show you a couple of more from my entrance 🙂
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These shoes are made for walking…

I have a stack of men’s shoes sitting in my house… and hey, I live alone, so what on earth am I doing with a bunch of men’s shoes????

After my dad passed away last year, some of his stuff ended up in my house. Both for me, and family members (I’m a bit of a holding facility 😉 ) Last time my brother was visiting from London, we took a stab at dad’s cloths.

There are still things I need to go through (I have a few boxes), but what I’m sure of, is that I should at least get rid of the stuff I know none of us want.

Today it’s the shoes, and for good measures, I’m throwing in a couple of my own 😉

What do I do with them? Well they are in good shape, so they will be on their way to; either Fretex which is part of the Salvation Army, or to Hjelp oss å hjelpe an non profit organization that helps locally in my area.

That’s six pairs of shoes and a couple of flip flops 🙂
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One in – two out – and a happier patio

My patio have been looking a little sad lately, it’s been raining and windy for weeks, and the poor thing have been getting worse by the minute, with all the leaves and green algae from all the rain. In one nut shell, my patio have been one wet, miserable and green thing.

Today I decided to give it a spruce, just a quick clean getting rid of the leaves and algae.. it’s still wet (can’t control the weather) but at least it looks a little happier.

And you are wondering about the one in, two out!

During my clean up, the brush I was using, suddenly broke. I suppose it didn’t like being outside in this cold and miserable weather 🙂 thats 1 OUT

And then my small hand dustpan set, which have been deteriorating during my 2013 summer project, finally gave in. Guess I’ve been a menace on my tools today 😉 that 2 OUT

And the IN? I do need a small dustpan set, so not only is it my 1 IN, it’s also the first replacement item for the year. Guess I didn’t last long! but I found it super cheap at IKEA, all of 1,7 dollars.. not bad for Norway…. And it was so shiny 😉

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I want, I want – I want it now!!!!

I think it’s time to move out of this consumerism mindset. First of all it’s expensive, and second it tends to generate stuff… and since my goal for this year is to reduce stuff…out the door the shopping sprees goes 😉

Today I’m taking a stab at decluttering my life in 2014 with a promise – to make an effort to buy only necessities. You know, needs rather than wants.

Now, this doesn’t mean I’m going to live on oats, walk around with my toe sticking out my socks, only shower once a week, never use the car, use next to no electricity and so on…. you get the picture 😉

Nope, I have every intention of still living good. In my world, I believe necessities are what you need to survive, and live a happy life.

This definition, might include items in addition to the basics of food, clothing, and shelters. But the key is; what do you really need? And even more so, do you need it all the time? or can it be an occasional treat?

Since we are all have different life’s and interests, needs will differ from person to person. Have you ever thought about what your absolute needs are?

I know, this might not be for everybody, but if you have been thinking about the same lately. You know: buying less, saving money, less impact on the environment and so forth. And if you like me, just starting out, why don’t you make a list of your own, like I’m doing below 🙂

My overall general rules

Only buy necessities. Replace an item that is broken/ used up only if I really, really need to.
I will use up the stuff I have before I consider replacing.
I will try to find creative ways to meet my needs, and make do with the things I already have before I consider buying more.

Some of my allowances

Yes, allowances, I gotta live a little 😉

Books – I can buy up to 10 books/magazines for the whole year – you might say this is not a necessity, but I love books, and house/garden magazine and believe me a total of 10 books or magazine is quite a limit for me. And I will preferable get them as e-books since I don’t want to add to my already overflowing bookshelves.

Eating out – I eat out a lot, and the goal for 2014 is to cut down to at least half the amount of times I eat out. Yes I know, eating out is not an necessity either, but it’s an enjoyment I’m not quite willing to let go of yet.

Flowers and plants – I love my garden, I might even be a little bit obsessive about it – just ask anybody that know me 🙂 And I love having plants and flowers in my house, so I will allow myself to get some summer plant for the garden and the occasional orchid or cut flowers for indoors. But I do promises to not go totally overboard like I have a tendency to do. The goal for 2014 it to cut down to procuring less than half of what I normally would.

None negational items

I have several projects inside and outside the house, that have been in the making for quite some time and are planned for this year. These I will have to spend a little money on. And even thought doing the projects might not be strictly necessities (well, some of them are starting to be), I am still sticking to my my original plan 🙂 So what are these projects you may ask? Well… I’ll let you know as I move along with them…

That is it, so far!

If I think of something else for the list I can always add it later.

But if I can do this, I’ll say it’s a good start on living with less.

Real estate value

My neighbor just sold their place, a small three bedroom town home. The other day I was talking to a friend of mine, and I mentioned that my neighbor had finally gotten their place sold. This news sparked a conversation about the price difference of a small place vs. a bigger place, and the cost associated with needing a larger home.

Now, I know some families are big and need a big place to fit everyone inn, but there are also families out there that have a big home just to have room to store their stuff.

How many times have you heard – “well, I need a big home so that I have room for all my stuff”, ok….!!! sure, it makes sense to need a bigger mortgage that will keep you in debt for longer, just to fit in stuff…!! (Yeah, that’s me being sarcastic) “What about getting rid of some of the stuff instead, so that a smaller cheaper home is big enough?”

Have you ever thought about how storing stuff, you don’t need, can be a massive drain on your finances?

In the region of Norway where I live, the difference in purchase price between a small two or three bedroom home is easily a minimum of 500 000 NOK (about 85 000 US dollars). That’s a lot of money to dish out just so that I can store some stuff that is probably not worth even close to 40 000 (7000). And just think of places like for example London and New York, where it’s way more expensive to go bigger.

Would it maybe make more sense to have a smaller and cheaper place, and then buy the items as you need them, rather than store a bunch of items just in case….?

With the extra mortgage, interest and years of debt a bigger home most likely will generate (unless you just won the lottery), your should at least be sure your stuff is worth it, either financial or emotional.

I think a good exercise while decluttering would be to look hard at the item and decide; is it really worth the money it wold cost to keep it? Is this an item I can let go off? and should I ever need such an item, would it just be easier to buy it then?

And you might say… Well I got this place and as long as I have room…. well yes… But you started this journey because you found yourself in need of a little more space and room to breathe.

And just image, with less stuff, you might be able to downsize to a smaller space one day. With less mortgage and therefor more freedom to afford to do the things you really love….

And me? My item for the day is to realize I’d rather declutter and stay put.

I love my little house 😉

Annie, get your gun!

About a hundreds years ago – yeah, I know – I’m not really that old, but still, a long time ago, I used to shoot.. with pistols and revolvers…. me and a bunch of friends. And as part of the fun we would spend time together making our own ammunition.

On one of my trips to US at that time, I thought it would be a great idea to buy my own shell casings. Especially since it was way cheaper than buying them in Norway, so I bought a bunch. For some obscure reason I never used them, and then I stopped shooting! You know how that story goes 😉

These empty shell casings have been taking up space in my storage rooms for a while now, you know, “Just in case”,and before you know it, it’s 17 years later and they are still following me around… and what the heck am I to do with empty shell casings?

Yes, you guessed it, it’s my declutter item for today… out the door… 250 shell casings went….. right into the hands of an old shooting buddy of mine.

And the agreement is, should I ever want to go for a round of shooting, he will load me up some ammo and bring a gun 😉

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I can see clearly now

I opened a drawer this morning, can’t quite remember what I was looking for, but there, all by their lonesome a couple of old glasses looked up at me….

Poor things, after I got my new fancy and adjusted glasses they had gone into oblivion, no longer needed and forgotten in the dark.

Well today they are back out, dusted and cleaned and ready to be donated to Vision for all an humanitarian organisation started by a group of opticians to help people in poor countries get glasses.

The link is to a Norwegian site, but I’m sure wherever you are there are similar organizations you can donate your old glasses to…. if you have any 😉

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