11 down, 29 to go….
This spring like weather has me feeling happy and in the mood to refresh. I’ve been looking at new sheets for the master bedroom. Spending time in the sunshine has me in a good mood.
I’ve been at the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge for a few days now. Despite still fighting this crud, I’ve made some good progress.
For me, it isn’t so much as a matter of de-cluttering as it is de-owning. With the exception of the basement and play room, there is never piles of stuff in my house. The closets aren’t overflowing. I don’t have piles of papers needing to be sorted. Even without these things, I still feel stress about the amount of stuff we own. So, mine is more of a journey of de-owning to get rid of the things that we don’t use and things we don’t love.
I started out in my closet. I was able to fill a bin full of clothes to try and sell and half a large shopping bag of clothes to donate even though I went through my closet in January. This was the biggest reminder to me that this is a process that will continue over and over.
Next up was Emma’s craft room. I saw a post from someone looking for craft supplies for the waiting/kid area of their brand new business. I was able to fill a bag for them of crayons, coloring books and other supplies. I also filled a bag of trash. I didn’t find anything to sell because I had already purged craft supplies in early January. I also filled a small bag of trash and a small bag of recycling from our loft area.
I took advantage of the nice weather over the weekend to work on the backyard. It needed some serious TLC. We’ve had some windy days here, so I found random pieces of trash. We neglected some of the yard before winter came, so there were leaf piles to pick up. During one of the windy days, my lattice for my garden broke. I easy filled two lawn bags with clippings from our Colorado grasses, broken sand toys and leaves.
A quick ten minutes in Emma’s bathroom and the laundry room and I filled a trash bag and a small grocery bag full of things to recycle. I plan to tackle Emma’s closet and room this week. It’s a perfect time for switching out to more of her spring clothes. Other areas I am looking at are the spare closets and the playroom.
My Quick Tips:
- Don’t under estimate ten minutes- you can get a lot done in 10 minutes. Like I said, I went through Emma’s bathroom and the laundry room in ten minutes. Yes, checking Facebook may be tempting, but a less stress home is even more tempting (at least to me).
- You have to make time…… It’s just like other things in life that get neglected. You have to make the time to get your 40 bags done. For me, early morning into mid morning is always my most motivated time, so I try to use that time to de-own.
- You are worth it and your family is worth it. You may have to plop your kid(s) in front of the iPad. You may have to settle for a simple meal of spaghetti. You may have to give up something ( a coffee date, a workout, sleep) to get an area of the house de-cluttered. In the long run, it will pay dividends after you don’t have to loose sleep over the stress of a messy house. You will have more time with your kids because you aren’t always having to clean up. Life is full of sacrifice. Make this your short term sacrifice for a long term gain.
How’s the progress going for you? I would love to hear your comments about how things are going! Make sure to check out Facebook groups and websites dedicated to the 40 bags in 40 days challenge!
De-clutter, De-own and Adventure On,
Courtney
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