Less Won't Always Work

OK, here's the deal. I am a word person. So, I won't always be able to use the word "less." There are times I will simply have to go with "fewer."

And, today, I have fewer twist ties in my silverware drawer. I got the photo from the Bedford Industries site -- they make twist ties, and I'm sure they're wonderful. I have apparently kept Bedford and other companies like it in business, because I had approximately 90 million twist ties in the drawer. And I could have sworn I tossed them out not that long ago. Oh well. It's that maintenance thing ...

Anyway, today -- and the day is young -- I have much less of a mess in my silverware drawer. The silverware trays are washed and lovely, everything is sorted. It's fun to just open the drawer and stare at the happy spooning and forking.

I'm easily pleased. Or, maybe I'm just twisted. :-)

Step by Step

Since this is My Year of Less and not My Week of Less, I guess it makes sense that some days the steps I'm taking are small. I can't work, blog, take care of family and friends, and make huge leaps in simplifying my life every day for a year. But, I can do something LESS every day.

Tonight, I've just been going through a few magazines, cutting out collage material. The process has been a littler slower than expected, because I found stories I wanted to read. (Vanity Fair is dangerous. Long, well-written stories.)

But, every magazine that's out of my office and in the recycling bin is a step in the right direction!

Cutting Up the Clutter

Some people cut out clutter. I cut up clutter. Today, I'm starting to go through magazines I've saved for my collage art. I'm grabbing the scissors and a few magazines, and making progress! It's a way to have less stuff in my office, and it's fun, a treasure hunt of sorts -- I never know what words or images I'll find in one of the magazines.

Toss: The Makeup Mess

I'm a big believer in small steps, so for my first "throw something away" exercise, I tackled the makeup basket in my bathroom. For makeup, it was not pretty.

So I started tossing. I threw away free samples of products I will never use -- perfume, skin creams, lip gloss. I got rid of old lipsticks. I put the razor where it belongs. I pulled off the basket cover and tossed it in the laundry. (Isn't it amazing the things you can forget to wash/clean/dust/whatever? Or is that just me?)

The result will not win an organizational seal of approval from Better Homes & Gardens. But it makes me happy. Step by step, I've started.