40 Bags-40 Days to Declutter your house!
The Reality
A little over a month ago I read a blog that stopped me in my tracks. You can read it for yourself here at CloverLane (one of my new favorites). There was something about this theory of decluttering your house in 40 days that was appealing and frightening, but I wanted to take the challenge. See, the whole concept of this theory is "less is more"... I'm sure you've heard of it, and now I, ....well.... I now live by it. Essentially you have 40 days and 40 trash bags to declutter your house, getting rid of any unnecessary junk, extras, or items you are no longer using. It felt so good to donate clothing, toys, and extras to our local Salvation Army and clothing shelters, and it felt even better to get rid of junk that we've been moving with us the past ten years of our life together. Isn' it easy to accumulate so much "stuff"? I found myself looking at what we kept...asking...ummm WHY do we have this??
Where do I start? ( I wish I took pictures throughout this process, but forgot, I was focused,...ok?!)
So where did I start? Well I took a room a day, if I was really on a roll that day I'd do closets, dressers, AND rooms, but at the end of the day my goal was the same...."less is more".
I broke it down on a piece of paper....for me, seeing it makes it real...
McKenzie's Room
-closet
-dresser
-bookshelf
-bins
-under bed
Riley's Room
-closet
-dresser
-toys
Master Bedroom
-closet
-drawers
-nightstands
-under the bed
Hall Closet
-jackets
-winter stuff
-shoes
Kitchen
-cabinets
-utensil drawers
-pots and pans
-pantry
-under sink
Bathroom Closet
-medicine chest
-old lotions, etc
-irons, flat irons, etc
Basement Laundry
Basement Toy Room
Basement Office
Basement Living room
I mean, you get the point...if you can see it on paper,...it doesn't looks so bad. It's manageable...and for many of us time is something we have a hard time fitting in. (I know that sounds crazy, but it's true)
The Outcome
I found that once I got started it was easy to do. It actually felt GOOD donating, tossing, giving away to others. There were numerous items we left out on our front lawn with a big "FREE" sign, and within minutes they were gone....someone needed it, and in my eyes I helped them. I learned that this is a multi step process...and although I feel as though I made a huge dent in my goal, there is still more I can get rid of, but for now, I want to reflect and say good job. I can always organize more/better, and I can learn how to utilize what I have.
But, what I really learned throughout this process is to really appreciate what I have. Our worlds are so surrounded by "stuff" that we sometimes get lost in what is truly important. Stuff means nothing when you have a house full of love. Stuff is just stuff,... junk to fill the space. I learned that children (yes, even McKenzie's age) can understand how important it is to give to others that are less fortunate, and how a simple act of kindness can feel so good. I learned to rethink purchases (do I REALLY need this???), and how to relax more (not feel like I always need to be buying/purchasing stuff to make me happy, retail therapy ring a bell?). At the end of this process I felt like I not only accomplished something big (something I've been wanting to do forever, but never had the motivation to start), but my world is a bit lighter. Do I have more to tackle in front of me, absolutely,..but I realize that by taking this process one day at a time, little by little, I slowly was able to change my life.
I encourage you to try it! Let me know how it goes!!
No comments:
Post a Comment