Sometimes I have to laugh at myself.
Do you ever stumble on to a certain blog or web page and think to yourself you were destined to read those words … at that exact moment? Well I do. It happens to me all the time. Maybe not in a “fate brought me to this” kind of way but in more of a, “Wow! This is really going to change my life kind of way.”
I really need to start sharing these moments with you guys more. I promise I’m going to get on that right away. Hmm, might as well start now.
So last week I was sifting through my feeds, trying to catch up on the 1000+ backlog of posts I need to read. When somehow or another, I came across the website You Are What You Keep. The writer, Tabitha is on a mission to reduce the number of items in her home by 2,010 by the end of the year. I know, cool right? Well, as I read her posts I got to thinking about how much I wanted to join Sarah from Clover Lane on her mission to get rid of 40 bags in 40 days during Lent. Instead I sat around, thinking about it … procrastinating … watching as she progressed and items in my house kept accumulating instead of disappearing.
That’s probably why Tabitha’s experiment appealed to me so much. I often play the throw 10 things away game when I walk into various rooms of my house, so I just sort of figured this would be a version of that … just on a MUCH larger scale.
Anyway, I ran the idea by the Mr. and we both decided the house would look a whole lot better minus two thousand and ten items. So, we’re in! We started today. Here’s our Day 1 breakdown:
1-11 toys from the playroom
Note: Starting small, today I just asked the kids which cars they didn’t want. Cars are taking over our lives. Turns out diecast construction equipment is “not their favorite”. Yes! Those are the worst to step on anyways. (AUNTS & GRANDPARENTS see Note – no construction vehicles for holidays)
12-29 Magazines (Yes, 18 brand new magazine. All my SIL’s who moved recently, mailing them in the AM. Just wait till I get around to my magazines! Dang you $5 Amazon magazine subscriptions.)
30-33 Some of SIL’s Things (also being mailed tomorrow)
Note: Yay! for Megan she just scored a great gig in Cali and is officially moving on Fri. If you’ve got a minute, stop by I Love … I Hate and congratulate her.
34-82 Kids Clothes boxed up for resale
83-109 Kids Clothes donated to the Medina Children’s Home
110-115 Women’s items also donated to the Medina Children’s Home
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115 just on Day 1!
Not a bad start, ashamed to say this didn’t even make a dent in the clutter that is taking over my life, my home and my happiness. Like I’ve told you before, I’m a sucker for numbers and stats so I think this challenge will suit me well. I’m not sure if I’ll make it by the end of the year but if I don’t, I’ll just up my number to 2011.
Tabitha likes to log items by Sold, Trashed, or sent to a “Better Place”. I want to play by the rules so today’s 115 items break down like this.
48 Sold
67 To A Better Place
If you like this idea as much as I do, feel free to join in. Tabitha even has a Flickr group if you’re brave enough to post photos of your clutter and progress along the way.
The rules state items can be given away, sold, or thrown in the trash. Trash items only count if they are leaving your home and you are not replacing them with similar everyday items (toilet paper rolls, cans, bottles, etc). If you lose count she has handy system for just counting a full bag as 10 or 20 items.
If you’re on the fence or curious about my progress, drop me a line or leave me a comment. Chatting about it will only help motivate me more. I’ll post updates along the way and see if I can whip up some handy dandy tracker widgets so you can see my progress when you stop by.
Yay! Never been so excited to get rid of things
I added this post to a Homemaking Link Up on Raising Homemakers
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Yay congratulations! It feels good to get rid of all that extra stuff doesn’t it? Keep up the good work and maybe I can be inspired to purge my stuff too
Wow- this is FANTASTIC! What a cool way to do it as opposed to saying “I just need to declutter.” More creative=more motivation!
So awesome that you got rid of so many things in just a day! That would probably be my reality too!
Melissa {adventuroo}´s last [type] ..Guest Post- Five Must-Have Shots to Take in Yosemite National Park
Thanks Melissa, I really am a nut for numbers, I secretly dream of being a sports stats gal. You know the one who comes up with the crazy facts. So and so has a .354 batting average when there are 2 outs, a 50% chance of rain and a left handed pitcher …
HOW FANTASTIC! You are going to feel OVER THE MOON wonderful when you check off item 2010!!!!
I think we donated at least have of the 2,010 items on Saturday after our unsuccessful garage sale. We have a whole lot less mess in our house now, and the charitable organizations can use it all for their benefit. It’s a great feeling to declutter and actually see (and feel) the difference.
What a great idea. I happened to be cleaning out some old dresses last night. i think i will start documenting my progress too! I think we can definitely get rid of 2,010 things too!
Yay! Aren’t you in Texas too? There’s a bunch of us starting up – I think by the time we’re all through we’ll have gotten rid of over 10,000 items!! Wow, that will be awesome. My numbers haven’t been as big this week, hoping to do so mass gathering over the weekend.
Woohooo! So happy to have you along for the ride! I can’t wait to track your progress!
Don’t forget… I just started a month ago… we have PLENTY of time!
Tabitha´s last [type] ..Brick Walls
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