Hello sunshines. I have missed connecting with you on here. Let me fill you in on what I’ve been up to.
So much stuff
Every feel overwhelmed by all the stuff you have in your house? I was definitely feeling that way. I looked around and realized there is stuff that just isn’t being used or is unnecessary. For October, I set a goal to get rid of the number of items that coordinated to the date. October 1st, 1 item. October 31st, 31 items. The grand total would be 496.
My goal
A total of 496 items sounded great, but I was striving for more. My goal for October was 1,000 items total. Yes, 1,000. Some questions I received were:
- How do you have that much stuff?
- Seriously? Where is all this stuff in your house?
How I organized
I created a spreadsheet with each day, an entry for the total, a checkmark for the items actually getting out of the house, and finally a summary of what I cleaned out. The checkmark for getting it out of the house was key. It had to go! That is the goal of this exercise. A donate bag lived by the front door.
I started with just 10 minutes per day or so. First, I tackled my t-shirt drawer, tank tops, socks, and bras. Not sure where to donate your gently used bras, then check out I Support The Girls and find an affiliate near you. My sweatpants and leggings drawer was its own task. Since I work from home, this is my to-go attire while at home.
You would be amazed by what you can accumulate over the years when you aren’t paying attention. I then tore through my closet and got rid of the clothes that fit my old body. The momentum grew quickly.
The grand total
As of this morning, the total is 1,251 items. How did I get to that number? I got honest with myself about what was sitting around the house. That stack of pavers I had a grand idea about…they can go. The file folders full of old bills, those can go. I had over 375 items just in this. Granted, they were neatly tucked away in file folders, but that’s still a lot of space.
Digging into toys, papers, and beauty products is what ultimately help me get to this number. Have you looked in your beauty products? The samples? There were so many that I had and never touched. Now my bathroom closet is less cluttered and I have an open shelf.
Looking ahead
The purge has started. I am not done yet. There are a couple more rooms and spaces I want to tackle. Starting with this gives me the motivation to keep going and see just how much I can let go.
Honestly, this was great timing. We are heading into the holidays. I don’t want to fill my house with more stuff. Instead, this has changed my mindset on what is coming into the house. I want to have more strategy on gifts and how much I consume this season.
I don’t ever envision myself as a minimalist, but I can put some things into place. Some friends joined me in this challenge and it was encouraging to watch them purge some items as well. We all struggled with those pizza cups. Either we have a pizza issue or just like those cups.
Fall is the perfect time to let go and prepare for the winter months. I’m going to be home more and it will be nice to enjoy the space rather than feel overwhelmed in it.
I’m going to keep track until December 31st on how much more I can get out.