The Challenge-Are YOU Up For It?? - Page 24

[treespeak]

Tackled my tools and paint supplies--14 more items out. #307-#321: stuff from deck box.

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by treespeak

Tackled my tools and paint supplies--14 more items out. #307-#321: stuff from deck box.

ohhh I need to do this. but I am scared...

[lolar2]

10 down, 75 to go for today....

[jrabbit]

sigh. does it count when a child drops a perfectly functional glass, and I have to throw it away?

[lolar2]

Originally Posted by jrabbit

sigh. does it count when a child drops a perfectly functional glass, and I have to throw it away?

I say YES!

I am going to have to get rid of 90 more items today, not 75, because my mother went shopping and bought three more things. I know just where to get the 90 more things but they are kind of heavy and my chronic pain is acting up a bit. Oh well, maybe she or my dad will help tonight.

[jrabbit]

220. the broken glass (I'm counting it because I cleaned it up immediately without throwing a temper tantrum)(yes, moms throw tantrums, too)
221-225. recycled some parts to a faucet mounted water filter that we freecyled months ago ...

[lucifugous]

Still 224/245.. planning to make some progress after the kiddo goes to bed

[greenmansions]

I find I am running out of steam the past few days... My DH has been out a lot and between that and my doing a lot of volunteering at my kids schools, I am kind of wiped. I feel like I have gotten a lot of the "low hanging fruit" and the next round is going to take more effort. I have so much paper to go through - literally boxes - and I can't just dump it because we are missing things we have been looking for. I also do not have a storage system devised for what needs to be kept. I will probably end up putting "to keep" stuff in a new box and figure out a home for it once the basement reno is done.

[FillingMyQuiver]

I haven't made any progress the last 2 days. I've been plagued w/ a migraine and like others, the next round of stuff is going to require some effort. And some non-kid time. Hopefully on Saturday my DH will be able to take most of the kiddos for a bit so I can hit the utility room and make my way through the randomness down there.

I KNOW I have LOTS of stuff down there that can leave my home forever.

[FillingMyQuiver]

While putting something away, I realized I have 6 chair covers sitting unused in a closet. They are now in the donate pile (which will be dropped off on Saturday again )

387

[Mirta]

Yesterday I had a guy from Craigslist free section come pick my two kitchen bags of full Air-Fill bags, you know those bags full of air you get in packages though the mail (instead of styrofoam peanuts..) He said he wanted them because he mails lots of things.. I THINK he was the same person who took my kitchen bag full of packing peanuts way back when, if so, he has a at home business (thus all the shipping) Either way.. THRILLED to get rid of all of those!! Don't know how many were in there.. at least 40.. maybe as many as 80.. I'm giving myself 20 because of the weight of the frustration those bags gave me after a while (I should have listed them months ago.. I was originally waiting until I had enough to making it worth whoever would be comings time.. (2 isn't worth it... 1 kitchen bag full is.. then I was sick of dealing with freecycle for a while so... they sat.. and multiplied... and annoyed me.. till yesterday!!)

Ok...weird question... just wanted to know if this is just my quirk or if others had it too... some days I'm in the mood to deal/declutter with papers and some days I'm in the mood to declutter STUFF.. rarely is it both on the same day.. so my boxes that I have to go through and declutter are actually sorted into papers and stuff, so I can just grab a box of what I feel like dealing with that day... Today however I had to sort through a stash and grab box from a crisis cleaning (ie made rush cleaning before guests arrive) that had both mixed together and I was only in the mood to deal with Stuff, but made myself declutter some paper too, which was HARD, because I sooo didn't want to!! (so i gave myself more credit for the papers then I may have on a day when I was in the mood to deal with them.. (like 4 points for 10 instead of 1.. )

1/13 20/10
1/14 87/5

Total for the Month 446/275 -- (Penalties added for new things purchased..)

Good thing I've decluttered sooo much, because we are off to a playdate, in part so DS can get some more Little People (my friend is decluttering, too!) and DS was enjoying his but 98% of them got put away since they were Christmas items.. (Nativity & Santa)

Kym

[echospiritwarrior]

well ladies I'm BACK! My computer was out of commission for the better part of the week and WHOA does my house look the part! I think I have to give the computer more "time outs"

Anyhow, I kind of lost track of the specific number of items. But I can say without a doubt that I met my goal. Yesterday I had a friend come by and pick up some lanolin for another friend that just had a baby and as we were chit chatting she said I always love walking into your home, it always feels so open and clear wow. I can't tell you how good that made me feel!
And another friend the day before stopped by (to pick up two DVDs and two more I just tossed in to get rid of) and said It just looks so CLEAN in here!

Those two statements and the fact that I can now easily walk around my clean, clear house and there aren't these nagging areas screaming at me where I have so much to do are well, it actually makes me feel excited and a little shaky. Especially while my computer was out of commission I sort of panicked about what I needed and then I remembered I could just pick up a hobby, grab a book or play hands on with my children and it was so relieving. It felt so good to just lay on the futon and thumb through books with one of my daughters today as I was waiting for my computer to come back.

I have done more shopping for nonperishable items than I have in a LONG long time but it really feels like they are very intentional and every one of them (with the exception of three kitchen items and some night lights) have been for cleaning or organization. I'm able to go so much deeper than I ever had been before.

I've tackled so many projects that have been on the to-do list for ages because less stuff means less stuff to wash/clean/put away/trip over/worry over. I needed a challenge like this. I REALLY look forward to the next one!

My reward (besides the in and of itself obvious stuff) is that some amazing wonderful musician friends that happen to be in town are playing tomorrow night at my local coffeehouse and I have a date to see them. No children in tow just a night out for me.

[greenmansions]

20 + sheets of paper
2 newspapers i'd been saving

139 + 4 => 143/150

[Mirta]

Ok... as i mentioned yesterday it is a good thing I got rid of so many items because I knew we would be bringing in more toys... Unfortunately I let DS see all the toys we brought in before I went through and sorted which we would be keeping and which we wouldn't, so he might ask for some of the ones I just sorted for the not keeping pile. ... Keep pile 17 that means 85 items to get rid of! Luckily I got rid of 87 yesterday... but I'm going to try for an extra 87 anyhow, cause we have SOOOO much to get rid of!

Kym

[treespeak]

Originally Posted by Mirta

Ok...weird question... just wanted to know if this is just my quirk or if others had it too... some days I'm in the mood to deal/declutter with papers and some days I'm in the mood to declutter STUFF.. rarely is it both on the same day..
Kym

Yeah, I can relate. I worry that I'm going to throw out some essential tax document or something, so I generally go through paperwork when I'm focused and am doing just that. Going through other stuff is more integrated into my daily routine.

Just let go of:

322: empty paint can (combined two of the same color)
323: extension cord
324: x-acto knife
325-328: books
329: pot--no not that kind, the enamel kind, with a lid

[lolar2]

I made my quota today. Phew.

[Mirta]

250 pieces of paper items deleted.. counting every 10 pieces at 1 so.... 25 items!! Plus 5 other items... DS new sheet set arrived today counting as 3 items.. ie 15 points against me...

1/15 30/105

Total for the Month 476/380 -- (Penalties added for new things purchased..)

[lucifugous]

Originally Posted by lucifugous

Still 224/245.. planning to make some progress after the kiddo goes to bed

Had no idea what I was in for!!!
I pulled down the rest of the boxes from storage - which I had no clue existed until a few days ago! It was stuff I didn't take with me to college and eventually my mom just cleared my room out. So on Thursday night I lost track in the neighborhood of a hundred things, many of them notebooks, magazines , and then the random crap... and that was before I got rid of a few dozen more photos. I am counting the night as a hundred, it was a lot more than that but many small things. Only two boxes full went into the trash.
On Friday we had a lot of stuff to be donated, just one box of mine to the VFW or something (because that's the only one around where they had people manning a truck, and I had a box that wouldn't really go into one of those bins). My mom and bro took a carload of their stuff, mostly clothes, to the Salvation Army. We made our second recent drop at the library, and this one included 102 books! Their annual book sale is this weekend so hopefully they made it just in time. About 98 of them were my mom's books but I carried the three boxloads into the library.. Inside the boxes they were in grocery bags so I think I will count each of those as one. There were at least a dozen grocery bags with books.
There is more coming out of storage too... I'm getting rid of ten more pieces of artwork I made years ago (they're nothing special!)
348/245 I knew it would happen in one big purge, but I had no clue I would do it before even getting to the stuff at my ex's! :/ he is going to move soon too so I need to get up there and sort things out.
It is crazy how it's catching on, too! A week ago my brother came up with a box full of clothes, and now my mom has been getting into it... she started with just a couple of books and was still reluctant for a while. The ones that didn't sell waited in a pile for her to bag up for donation or decide to keep, but then even after they were bagged she wasn't sure about just giving them away... finally by the time they had sat around in the dining/computer area for a week she was ready to chuck them all!! And she is clearing out major closet space on top of it! We will be starting to show the house in a little over a week so that helps. She is looking at renting just a single room near where she works. She is still a loooooong way from being that pared down but it's happening.

[FillingMyQuiver]

Started in my utility room, we're making a run to the landfill in a few minutes.

-17 empty boxes broken down for recycling
-4 big pieces of styrofoam
-2 expired carseats

Donating

-2 carseat underpads
-2 table lamps
-jogging stroller we've never used
-1pr outgrown kids boots
-3 bathroom rugs
-4 baby headbands

We're also dropping off the papasan to my brother today. That's going to be a big relief for me b/c it takes up so much space in my utility room.

424

[lolar2]

Got my five gone today! Onward and upward.