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Welcome 2007: January Decluttering Challenge... - Page 3

post #41 of 459
12/31/06 at 11:14pm
I am in and new... I will try for 100!

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post #42 of 459
1/1/07 at 1:00am
I love this, I'll do 1000. I'm going to aim for 40 items per day, to break it up a bit.

do we keep our totals in our post?
post #43 of 459
1/1/07 at 1:10am
I got rid of bunches today. Can I count it for 2007?? And does returning stuff to their previous owner count?
post #44 of 459
1/1/07 at 1:19am
Count me in! I'll aim low at 75. I have 1, 000 things to get rid of, but I'll start off slow. Hopefully, I'll easily surpass my goal.
post #45 of 459
1/1/07 at 1:57am
oooh, the nesting has begun early this time so i should take advantage of that. i want to clear a ton of stuff out of here. i don't want to count so i'm not going to say a number, but i hope to have all the closets more under control by the end of the month. : i'm off to tackle my closet...

posting a quick update...i'm not quite done with the closet, but i have a huge box and three bags of stuff out of it that are going to goodwill!!! i have so much empty room in which i'll partially fill with my maternity clothes for the time being, but will be EMPTY come next june. feels great, going to do some more today!!
post #46 of 459
1/1/07 at 5:18am
Can I come and play? I'm going to count bags and boxes instead of individual items since I already have 5 garbage bags and one big box full of stuff to be donated. I don't feel like going through and counting it. I also just cleared out an entire blue recycling bag of paper out of my computer desk!

So I guess I've cleared out 7 bags/boxes so far. I'm going to aim for 20 this month.
post #47 of 459
1/1/07 at 6:14am
We are so in here. My in-laws usually watch DD for a few hours every weekend so DH and I can go to a movie, but we've started sacrificing some of those outings for decluttering time---which helps with the No-Spend challenge, LOL! I have no idea about numbers because I've never done this challenge before, but I'm guessing 500 will be easy.

Does anyone document their items so that they can deduct the donation? We need to come up with a system here. It needs to be accurate enough for the IRS, but not so time-consuming that it makes decluttering unbearable.
post #48 of 459
1/1/07 at 11:42am
I'm in a serious decluttering mood today, and I am setting my goal of 500 for the month. Like pp, I'm going to allow myself to count the 15 or so things I threw out last night, to give myself a good head start and some motivation.

So, I'm off! I think I'll start in the kids rooms and go through their clothes. I've got a huge pile of clothes that needs to be sorted.
post #49 of 459
1/1/07 at 11:49am
I'm in!! I decluttered 150 the week before Christmas and I'm hooked. I'll go for 350 this month!! Here I go...
post #50 of 459
1/1/07 at 11:59am
I'm in for 250.

Does anyone else feel like they're playing poker?

I'm going to keep track in my siggy so that I will be bringing this goal to mind every time I'm on MDC.
post #51 of 459
1/1/07 at 12:03pm
Can I play, too? It's just the two of us in a fairly small apartment, but we'll be moving some time in the next couple of months, so I really want to get rid of everything we don't need. I think I'll start with a goal of 300 and see how it goes from there. I've never counted things as I got rid of them, so I have no concept of how much 300 really is.
post #52 of 459
1/1/07 at 12:24pm
I'm in! I've been ruthlessly decluttering lately, so I'm setting low (for us) for 300 (I have a linen closet full of stuff to attack). If I can convince dh to let us donate the clothes that don't currently fit our girls, I'll hit my goal right there!
post #53 of 459
1/1/07 at 1:22pm
I'm in! I'm going to go unpack a box in the basement now!

------------------------------------

Nice. I found 20 things in there to get rid of already, so I'm also setting my goal at 500.
post #54 of 459
1/1/07 at 1:25pm
I sorted through the overflowing box of "too small" clothes, and threw out all the things that were stained. I also went through my freezer and pantry and medicine cabinet and threw out expired things, and things that no one is ever going to use (as evidenced by the fact that we've had them for almost two years). So far (just throwing things out), I am at 101/500.
post #55 of 459
1/1/07 at 2:46pm
Trash:
1 wooden puzzle (broken & missing pieces)
1 phone book from a state we haven’t lived in for almost 3 years
2 comic books
1 wooden box from my aunt (smells really mildew-y)
1 set of inflatable arm bands for swimming
1 dry 20 year old wrist corsage from my first prom
2 pr chopsticks (cheap…smell mildew-y like the box they were in)
1 box baby shower cards from ds #1 shower
1 pack old birthday cards from years ago
2 ‘inspirational’ books received as gifts from businesses when I graduated HS
1 red tote w/ logo of OB/GYN office who delivered ds #2
1 pack old napkins from our wedding
1 insulated bottle storage pack
2 ugly Easter baskets from MIL
1 Microsoft Money 2000 for Dummies book
1 old script from play I was in back in HS (book attacked by bookworm, falling apart)
1 basket of baby stuff (nail clippers, thermometers, emery boards, toothbrush, diaper rash cream)

Thrift shop:
4 wooden puzzles
3 cloth books
5 stuffed toys
1 book
1 photo album
1 jewelry box
2 calendars
1 ceramic jewelry box
2 crocheted pot holders
1 pink sunbonnet (Little Bo-Peep costume from 3rd grade)
12 annoying kids videos
1 wooden plaque

Total: 55/200

Not too bad of a start!
post #56 of 459
1/1/07 at 3:12pm
My goal is 351 items for this month.

I used to do Flylady, but have fallen off that wagon. One of her decluttering methods is a 27-Fling Boogie. The goal is to get 27 items out of your house very quickly -- like less than 15 minutes. She advocates putting on some fun music, and running through the house finding stuff to fling, and making it a game.

So, my goal is based on doing this 3 times a week -- once on each Saturday and Sunday, and again on Wednesday evening (our trash pick-ups are Monday and Thursday, so this works out pretty well).
post #57 of 459
1/1/07 at 4:09pm
I did my bathroom drawers this morning when I got up. I just did the four that have my personal stuff in them. I threw away 57 items! It was just about 1/2 of the stuff.
post #58 of 459
1/1/07 at 4:22pm
YAY we went through every closet and drawer. The girls tossed everything they don't like into a goodwill pile and we have a trunkfull. I went throught the kitchen drawer and tossed the melted and cracked spatula's that I replaced but didn't toss at the time.
post #59 of 459
1/1/07 at 4:25pm
Nothing has actually made it out of the house yet (I'm still in my jammies at 2pm : ), but I've gathered 150 things to trash, recycle, or donate. That's half of my goal for the month! I'm not going to update my tally until the things are actually gone, though.
post #60 of 459
1/1/07 at 4:26pm
I just got rid of a pile of magazines. I kept one page out of one of the magazines, that was it. That was 28 items. So now I have 323 more to get rid of this month.

You may also like:

Sitting or Squatting: What's Really Best in the Bathroom?
There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Decluttering, Organizing, & Simplifying › Welcome 2007: January Decluttering Challenge...