But wait... there's less!

 The Minimalists' first documentary - "Minimalism" is now available to stream for free. If you'd like to know more, check out my original review of the movie. Otherwise, kick back and enjoy the movie...

This book stood out on the library shelf. Massive clutter can create anxiety at any time, let alone when it has to be dealt with during one of the toughest points of life. Author Julie Hall deals with estates for a living. Her book covers the nitty-gritty of dealing with all that stuff. It also covers caring for parents while they are here and what to do to make life easier for them, your siblings and you. Parent Logic We may wonder why parents keep so much stuff. Julie explains that our parents (having grown up in a different time) have their reasons. Often they had to 'go without' as kids and so don't want to 'go without' again. Sometimes they think items will become valuable with age.  Also there's the thought "the more I leave the kids the more they will have" . This is obviously mathematically true - but whether that's a good thing is questionable. Ironically, this admirable quality of aversion to waste often ends up causing waste. Items get s...

What do Snoopy and the Peanuts gang have to do with decluttering? It's a typical example of parting with things we no longer need. In doing so we're making money, saving money and bringing joy to the lives of others. Peanuts While I still enjoy the Peanuts characters, comics and movies, I wasn't really using these Linus and Lucy figures. They were sitting in a shoe box (along with Schroeder and Snoopy). Schroeder and his piano now serve as a bookend on our bookcase . But for Linus and Lucy I decided they'd be more loved by someone else. The other day a Peanuts-loving parent bought them for her (and her kids) to enjoy. Another success is increasing the joy in the world. Numbers I love stats, so I keep a record of our sales. Together, these two Peanuts figures were the 598th sale my wife and I have made. This particular sale because the $8 took our combined sales to $4,500 (over several years). I've double checked with my tax accountant and this is tax-free income. :...

"Why is it so hard to resist new things even when we know we already have too much. Can we find an alternative to the more, more, more mentality?" That promo got me hooked into the half-hour doco "Too Much Stuff". Australian viewers can see it online . Otherwise, here are some of my highlights. Host Sarah Wilson sums up the problem right at the start. "At every turn we're urged to possess the next thing that will make us feel smarter and more desirable. Anything we want is available with just one click. We're filling up our lives with stuff; yet ultimately, many of us feel empty, guilty and stressed out by our consumption." She sets out to explore an alternative. To see if "radically reducing our consumption" can lead to a better life. (Spoiler alert: Yes) Sarah says many people call her a minimalist but she's not so much about getting rid of things, more about not buying stuff. What's wrong with the Marie Kondo approach? Each ep...

One of the difficulties of downsizing our possessions can be the regret of sending things to landfill. Fortunately more and more solutions are becoming available so that unwanted possessions can have a second life. Today I'm looking at shoes. If they are still wearable you can sell them - or give them to a friend. But sometimes they've just reached the end of their usefulness - as happened to my blue sneakers. I'd got every last bit of use out of them and was thinking they'd be going in the bin. Then I found out about the clunkily-named ASGASOS initiative . What can be recycled? Basically sports-shoes. Sneakers, trainers, runners, football boots, and thongs. Sadly no business shoes or workboots. See the full list . What happens to them? The shoes are broken down and the usable components (rubber, leather and fibres) are extracted to make new products including gym mats, floors and playgrounds. Where can shoes be recycled? I took mine to a JD store, but several retailer...

If you're 21, you can probably stop reading now. If you're a bit older and own CDs keep reading.  CDs are an example of "calendar clutter" - once-useful items that time has rendered obsolete. But what should we do with CDs rather than dump them in the garbage. Is there a way to recycle CDs and DVDs? Other options Obviously I'm a big fan of selling (people bought my Batman DVDs and my Abba CD) or giving away. These are both better options than landfill. But there are discs that no-one wants. The installation disc for the printer you no longer own, the Microsoft Encarta 98 disc, the CD computer backups (pre-external hard drives), the disc of digital photos from your holiday with a friend, and self-made music CDs (the 90s/2000s equivalent of an 80s mix tape). Unless you want to do a crafty DIY project the next best option is to recycle them. But where? Officeworks This is me at a nearby Officeworks, recycling a bunch of discs we've had for ages. Out of interest...

It's no secret that almost all of us have too much stuff. Peter Walsh's book Let it Go is very helpful for people looking to do something about it. Aussies may know Peter Walsh from Space Invaders , where he regularly assists people in letting go of about 75% of their clutter. In this book he gives a mental framework, and practical approach and a step-by-step guide for downsizing your physical possessions. It's particularly geared for people moving house, often in a life transition such as marriage, job change, kids leaving home, retirement, or moving into aged care.  Here are some of my highlights: Why is this so hard? At the moment the Baby Boomer generation is inheriting a lot of stuff from their parents while also entering retirement and trying to downsize. So they pass things along to Gen X and Y. The event that caused the downsize can be stressful in itself. Then we realise that we own way more than we want or need. In our society, consuming and accumulating is consid...

Here in Australia, there's a new TV show -- Space Invaders. The expert team visits ordinary families and help them declutter their home and improve their lives. Just one episode in and it's already a must-watch for me. Meet the Team "Declutter Guru" Peter Walsh is accompanied by renovation expert Cherie Barber and treasure hunter Lucas Callaghan. Their mission is to help households remove clutter, renovate the decluttered space and maybe find some treasures along the way. Episode one Empty-nesters Julie and Pete were in need of help. Julie's birthday presents lived on the dining table as there was nowhere for them to go. The spare room had barely enough floor space to walk in. The main bedroom was not much better. Pete's clothes were stored in the living room. Julie herself admitted "each thing I recognise and love - but as a whole it's just become a bit of a mess" . So what did they lose? Julie's nine racks of clothes were reduced to three. ...

Joshua and Ryan (The Minimalists) have a new documentary Less is Now . Their key message - life is better with less stuff - remains the same. This time around they've interviewed regular people, and looked into the causes of our consumerism - and how it hurts us. Here are some of my highlights: S‫imple vs Easy They're not the same. Easy is going with the flow. Buying whatever advertising tells you to. It takes work to be intentional but it's worth the work. Haste makes waste The idea of anything we want being "on your doorstep within 24 hours" sounds convenient. But convenience can be our enemy . "If I can get you to purchase before you can think, I'm gonna get you to buy stuff you don't need". Manipulation Selling is OK - we want the grocery store to sell us food. But what people are pushing is not always compatible with what we need. Corporations are there to make money, make sales, and make more of both. Marketers are "really impressive...

During October I set myself a challenge . To make some progress in decluttering / minimising some possessions. I made a list of 31 items / categories that most households could probably reduce. Then each day I tried to address the category of that day. That meant either listing something for sale, recycling it or safely disposing of it (eg. old batteries). So did I do something every day? No, not quite. Maybe most days. But that wasn't the point of the challenge. It was about reducing the overwhelm and making progress. So how much progress did I make? Found a buyer for this unused cookbook :) I reckon we put 47 items online through the challenge. Our current list is bigger by 20 (compared to pre-challenge) and another 27 have sold. (12 of those came from two people who bought six things each) We had way too many tools In addition I've taken a bunch of photos of items I'm still to list. Record achievement? I don't keep month-by-month records but that's definitely the...

Decluttering can be overwhelming. I've been stuck. Shelves and boxes and drawers full of stuff I should go through but not sure where to start. Aaagh - there's so much of it. The solution? So for myself (and for you if you want) I've developed a strategy. I've picked 31 categories in advance. I plan to tackle one item per day of October. If I miss a few that's OK. The point is to overcome overwhelm. To focus on one thing at a time. To move forward instead of being stuck. My favourite way to declutter is to sell online . (I even wrote a  free ebook of tips for selling online). I also like to recycle or upcycle things. Wanna join in? I've chosen categories where I think most people would have excess. If there's a category you have already dealt with, that's cool. Have a rest day - or go even further in one of the previous areas. The list Ok so here's my plan for this October. Bookmark this post or download the picture of my notes. For each category I ...

My friend Stephen asked about charging for things. He felt bad about charging someone $30 for an artwork - even if it cost him much more. Should he feel bad? No. If someone wants to pay the price, they obviously value it highly (at least more than the $30). If he's willing to sell, he must value it less than $30. So it's going to the person who will get more joy out of it. Why not just give it to them for free? Money is a convenient way to measure value. It's also a way to share the joy. If Steve gives the art away then he no longer gets to enjoy it - so is worse off. By selling it for $30, he is happier with the $30, and the buyer is happier with the artwork. The end result of the sale is that both people are happier than they were before. Here are 3 reasons it's better to sell than to giveaway and how it helps you declutter and minimise better. 1. Money (most obviously). It might just be a few bucks here and there - but it adds up. My wife and I often sell an i...

I never need buy a pen again. Ever. The pen round-up. I searched the house for pens and gathered them up. We had 128. Woah - that's more than I expected. Then it was test-time. (You can get a lot done watching summer sport ;). Good ones went on the table. Broken ones in the box. Pen operations I saved a few 'broken' pens, by taking working insides and matching them with functional outsides. Particularly much-loved pens, for sentimental reasons, were given a life-extending 'ink transplant'. Final Tally We ended up with 67 broken pens and 61 good ones. And about 10 pencils. What to do with 67 broken pens? In my city Biome recycles pens . It's as easy as taking them into the store and dropping them into the giant collection box. Decluttering and recycling together - I love it. A lifetime of pens An average pen writes 45,000 words. So that dedicated shopping list pen on the fridge could write a 20-word shopping list for 43 years. Our 61 pens repre...

As we wrap up 2019, here are the most-read posts here on But Wait There's Less . 5. Books. Do we need them anymore? Why do we keep books? To read them again? How many do we ever read a second time? I worked it out .For me not many. This lead to a second post on my technique for streamlining my book collection . 4. Living in a converted barn. This was something my wife and I tried on a trip away this year. Check out the pictures . I still reckon it could be possible long-term. We really don't need as much space as we have. 3. What's your retirement age? It's not 67. At least it doesn't have to be. If we spend less, compulsory work can become optional at a very early age . It could even be in your 30s. 2. The automatic guest room On the same trip as number 4, we stayed with a friend who (with some clever furniture ) converts her living room into another bedroom. It's a clever way to be able to have guests, but without paying a heap of money for a bigge...

To me a "win" is giving a great present to someone who'll enjoy it, and not being wasteful. That can be tricky with these games. What is Stealing Santa? It's a version of secret santa played at workplaces or in extended families. Each person contributes a gift, and draws a number to determine the order of play. Player one selects a gift and opens it. Each following player opens a gift and can keep it or (forcibly) swap it with any already-opened gift. The last player has the choice of all the gifts. Why I hate this game Clearly it runs totally against the idea of buying a present for a specific person who you have thought about and brought something that would suit that person. Also, giving gifts for an unknown recipient often results in unwanted and wasteful purchases, sometimes thrown away. Why I love this game If played well, the worst outcome is neutral and the best outcome can be someone getting a gift they love. What? Let me explain. My wife didn't...

Yes! A movie about minimalism. Well, yes and no... I was immediately interested by a movie called Downsizing . It's not exactly about reducing material possessions. At least not in the normal way. Synopsis In an attempt to solve the problems of population and global warming, a Norwegian scientist invents the process of downsizing - where humans are shrunk to a height of 13 cm. Paul Safranek (played by Matt Damon) and his wife have financial problems and look to downsize as a way to solve their financial problems. Obviously, life is cheaper when you can live in a doll's house and a biscuit could feed you for a month. What interests me? The movie received mixed reviews, based on performance, but the premise (described as "profound") is what interests me most. There is an obvious comparison to my type of downsizing - consuming less and having fewer possessions, both for the planet's sake and for my own. Take the pressure down At the school reunion Paul meets...

Selling this couch reminded me of another benefit of selling. My ebook is called Less Clutter More Cash , but sometimes there's also a more heart-warming aspect. This couch was given to my friend. He no longer needs it and was thinking of dumping it. As you might imagine I stepped in, suggesting he sell it online. Apart from making some cash and avoiding landfill, the buyer will does the transporting. (That's reason 4 of my 4 Reasons to Sell Unwanted Items .) As it turned out, I listed it for him. After all, I've got a bit of experience at it now, having sold 370+ items of ours. How did it go? Within hours we had a number of people asking about it - and someone picked it up the next day. I met my friend shortly after and he was very happy about the experience. The pick-up was quick and easy but mostly he was pleased about the family it went to. He reckons they were not very well off at all. They also had at least five kids - so lots of need for seating. And they ...

Going through all your books can be a daunting task. My system helps me get the situation under control, prevent overwhelm and get on with what I love. Reading. Fake decluttering A bookcase can be a magnet for clutter. I know mine was. After relocating knick-knacks, it's time to organise the books. I arrange mine in height order so they form a gentle slope. Clearly this doesn't clear out any books, but it's fairly quick and already it's looking and feeling a lot less cluttered. That's a psychological win - a feeling of momentum. Like I'm half way there in not much time at all. A good way to defeat the feeling of overwhelm. Even at this stage a visiting relative complimented me on how organised we were. If only she knew how easy that step was. :) Pick out the definites Generally there'll be a few "keepers"; precious gems that you have to hang on to. Separate them. Some books you can already say goodbye to. Separate them too. I put eac...

Rachel Aust begins her book "Less: A visual guide to minimalism" by defining minimalism as: unsubscribing from the idea that how much you own equates to your level of happiness. letting go of the unnecessary. the removal of distractions. a way to reclaim your time. an intentional way of living that allows you to identify what's important to you. simplicity. freedom. How is it a "visual guide" Flow charts, tables, photos and diagrams. Even if you didn't read a single paragraph of text there's still value in this book. Decide what to do with unwanted items by following a flow chart. Tips for daily, weekly and monthly tasks to stay minimal are in a handy table. Same for goal setting. Diagrams of study workspaces and wardrobes help illustrate how to keep those traditionally cluttered areas more minimal. Even lists are presented in visually appealing ways or as a collection of icons - such as the 20 essential kitchen tools. Not just declutteri...

I love reading. I read often. You might think I'd be the last person to want to get rid of books. But I do have a lot of them. There's about 100 just in this little arty photo of my main two shelves. I want to reduce, but what if I want to read them again? Should I hold on to them just in case? Oops! I said those 3 words. The 3 dangerous words to say when downsizing. "Just in case". Let's not be a hoarder If you've ever seen those hoarding shows on TV, the 'star' of the show has 10,000 objects they are keeping "just in case". As outsiders we can clearly see that it's all a complete waste of space. So how do I avoid the "just in case" syndrome and instead make sensible decisions about my books? Actual Data The theory for keeping a book is that I might read it again. But how likely is that? Let's take a survey of the books on my top shelf (neatly arranged by height). Part-read or never read counts as zero. Once r...