In Hindsight

Looking back I see that I met my challenge ... not by purging 25 items for 20 consecutive days, but 500 (and possible more) none the less!

Releasing a stack of boxes with homeschooling curriculum was remarkably easy to do. I tried to give them away (asking only for donations to benefit a homeless family) via Facebook, Craig's List and through a homeschool community email loop ... but had no takers. It was a pleasure to donate the items to Covenant Homeschool Resource Center.

I got rid of the two LARGE boxes inside our front door that I used to fill with donations as I purged.

My husband patched a hole (he had cut) in the ceiling of the closet in my office/craft room/library so that I could utilize the closet for storing some things ... woo hoo!

As I packed up household decor to put away as we put out Christmas decorations, I thought to myself that I could get rid of some of the items. Also, as I looked at the Christmas decor and noticed things that we did not use (and probably hadn't used the year before), I was able to give some of those items away.

I'm making progress and that's what counts. I'm pleased.

Apparently This is My Pattern

I did marathon decluttering today. Most of the work was in my bedroom (on my side of the room) ... and the location was MY idea! Boo yah! 

Oh my goodness! So much dust!! Ech! Filled a 13 gallon trash bag, two plastic bags, 1/2 of another 13 gallon trash bag ... all garbage. Threw away a plastic laundry basket that was on the bottom of a pile of stuff. It was broken on one end and warped out of shape. I also threw away a bankers box and lid (which had seen better days). 

I have a bag full of old medication (which I would have flushed down the toilet), that I will take to my pharmacy to see if they can dispose of it  ... since it is not good for our health (water wise) to flush any more. 

I decided to let go of the all the items in the old "cold weather" box. I had a little bit of a sentimental reaction. This box held mittens and warm gloves of all sizes, winter hats and some scarves. 

A box full of memories:  

• trips to the snow
• trips to Prescott (when it was cccold) 
• cold nights of Christmas caroling
• shopping for our Christmas tree (on a cold night)     

Gave some items away to two of my daughters. 

My husband found a BRAND NEW cordless drill that he had stuck in a crack (yep, been there, done that) and was thrilled out of his mind! He also found some bags of coins (a couple of them). He came upon Julianne's seed collection. I'm glad he found it .. I may not have been able to deal with it right now. He gave it to Julianne, she laughed and looked at it. And guess what... she didn't want to keep it! Actually I would have been shocked if she did. 

I asked Hubby if he would buy me new window coverings for our bedroom window as my reward for working so hard. He said ... yes! 

Day Thirteen: goal met

Hitting the wall

Day three found me tired. My thought was to "just" find 25 items and put them in the give-away box. Bob thought we'd work in our bedroom .... ahhhem, I'd work on my side of the bed, that is. I drank a little green tea for a pick-me-up and then agreed.

While I sorted, cleared and piled, I suggested that he work on "his" things in the room. He did.

I had to fight off thoughts of "this is the LAST room I want to be tackling right now" and "waaaa, I can't do this!!"

There were four laundry baskets on my side of the room. He asked me to work on emptying those. I cleared two. Filled one with dirty clothes that had been mixed into a pile and returned the other empty one to the laundry room. One of the original four had books in it. I added more books to it as I came upon them in the heaps. I didn't empty the fourth one .... because it had sheets in it. At this point I don't remember if the sheets are clean or dirty. They are not sheets for my bed. I stopped there.

During the clearing process, I made piles on my bed:

• clean clothes (that need to go into my armoire  ... but can't get to to open the drawers yet)
• medication 
• labels taken off of prescription bottles (that I intend to shred) because I don't want anyone to know my personal business
• a container that I used to hold items I came upon that have a place to go to (in the house), not in my bedroom
• a box for things that will be donated
• several lists of the prescriptions I have had filled (so that I can look at them and keep the most current one -- they tell me which prescriptions were refilled and if there are any refills already ordered for them). I didn't want to look at them and make that determination now. 
• hangers I brought out of my closet to hang clean clothes on
• Possibly more, but I can't remember now

Last night I sat in a chair, Bob would hand me a box to look in. I'd throw away trash, decide what to keep and what to donate and he'd take care of that and then give me another box. 

Tonight I was working alone and it was EXHAUSTING. He was clearing and purging his things, but it wasn't the same. 

When I stopped, he said, "now, aren't you glad and don't you feel better?" I said, "no." 

Later he said "You were working for a long time and it doesn't really look any different." 

"If you don't want to be killed with a knife, these are the things you don't say to your wife." - Tim Hawkins, comedian

Day Three: goal met

Unbelievable!

This evening I worked with my husband to clear out what we call "the room." It was originally our back porch, now enclosed, and used as a storage area. 

We went through piles, boxes, bags, baskets, trays and other assorted containers to see what was inside each one. Approximately one- third of what we found was thrown away. Another third was kept and the rest was set aside for a Goodwill run. 

Thrilling discoveries we uncovered: a beautiful autumn wreathe (that I had forgotten I even had!!), the port-a-potty we borrowed from my parents the last time we camped (many years ago!), a brand new hammer (in an unmarked box! -- most of the boxes are labeled ... well, the ones I had packed were labeled), many Christmas gift bags and a cassette tape of our son asking me questions (from when he was about 9 years old). 

We did not open every single box or purge every nook and cranny, but we made a huge dent in processing this room! It was fun to do it together and share in the laughter of seeing just what was lurking in this room for ages.  

Day Two: goal met

This is going to be good!

Today I challenged myself to give away 25 items from my house every day for the next 20 days (until December 15).

25 items x 20 days = 500 items outta here!!

This evening I started clearing out the bottom compartment of my china hutch. My daughter, Julianne, sat with me.

We laughed about a lot of the "treasures" that were down there covered in dust. Candles of all shapes and sizes, melted and not. Some were broken, others still had the remnants of 5 or so wooden matches melted into the top of the candle (because the wick would not light or stay lighted). Many small glass voltive holders .... I assume that I had very good intentions for them ... in case of a power failure or perhaps to create a serene (or sensual?) atmosphere. Truth be told, I can't remember one time being elated that I had all those voltive candle holders and putting them to use!

I stopped counting the items I threw away (four grocery store plastic bags full) and the items I will donate to Goodwill (there may be 25 in that section alone).

Day one: goal met

Yea

Dining Room table clear (except for plants) which still makes it CLEAR !!!

Dining Room Table

It has been a goal to clear my dining room table ... to a degree, it has been.

This is what sits on it now:

• My spider plant and several "babies" that I am starting from clippings. They sit atop the table to get sun.
• a metal "bread box" that has misc items inside of it -- wow! I just looked inside of it! It only houses two devotional books and my Quiet time journal !! Very cool !!
• two binders -- my medical info and Quachi Clan
• a large 2011 calendar (from the Chickasaw Nation) that is unused but has beautiful photos
• calendar pages (by the month) that have been ripped off the large (desk size) family calendar that hangs in our kitchen.
• Old dayplanner pages and a small 3 ring binder that contains more of the same
• my old dayplanner (leather binder)
• stacks and stacks of papers
• a small wire basket with papers in it
• some Christmas cards, mostly photos, received last year
• a collectible horse (that I intend to return to my sister, Julie)
• an empty purse of mine
• Newspaper pages (saved for packing things)
• a couple of pads of paper
• a fold-able book stand
• a plastic file folder (stand up) holder (which holds the Christmas cards and pads of paper)

It seems as if I could EASILY clear this table TODAY (or at least by the end of the week).