Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Do you want to join my experiment? Read on at my blog- I need a support group! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Oh I am soo there...however I am going to keep it to a walmart bag. Although I have to de-clutter if I took a big trash bag everyday for a year I would literally have nothing left! But I am going to do that! I will make the kids do it for a while too! How are we going to report our progress?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 There's no way I'll keep up with a bag a day. Not that I don't have enough stuff (sadly, I do). You did provide a bit of motivation though! I've filled 2 bags today, and now I can actually walk on my side of my bed! Bye-bye dusty magazines, old bills, and random notes/lists! Now to re-home all of the books that were piled up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Interesting. I don't know that I can do it every day for 365 days, but I can sure do at least 2-3 bags a week. Thanks for the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Wonderful idea. I don't know that I could keep up with it but I am trying to declutter my house this summer, one room at a time. I was doing well until we had a very busy week and now we are almost back to square 1---well, minus all the stuff I got rid of already. It is very likely we are moving within 12-18 month (highway is coming through my bedroom) so I really want to downsize before that to just what we NEED and things we really LOVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMama Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 :hurray: Baby steps, I love it! Count me in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotsofpumpkins Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 I'm pregnant, and I'm in the stage where I want to declutter everything! I do keep up with it on a pretty regular basis, so I wouldn't be able to do a bag a day, but I do have some work do to around here. I was just looking at the mess my children made this morning, wondering where all this stuff comes from! Even with continual decluttering, the stuff seems to multiply. I think they are just getting messier (which is a whole other problem I need to deal with...) I'll check out your blog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 This sounds great...but it means I have to actually get off the computer today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 On January 1st I committed to tossing 1 *item* per day each day in 2010. That has escalated... see my sig line! To keep myself accountable I decided to write in my day planner the item I tossed on each calendar square. Now, each day's list won't fit! When I made a couple of dollars on some items I took to Half Price Books, I decided to record my profits as well. I personally could not have committed to a bag a day. I have, as you can see, gotten rid of over 4 years' worth of "tosses" already. Some days I get on a roll, and other days I have an "Oh, I almost forgot," or an "I don't wanna!" On those days I rest knowing that I am still keeping my commitment by tossing out 1 small item. So, if any of you are intrigued by the OP's invitation, but are shy of committing to a whole bag, maybe try the 365 items. With 2 - 3 items per day from now until December, you will have rid yourself of 365 things you really don't need. And yeah, happy meal toys count. They feel *especially* good to toss, and it's one less thing to step on in the dark when you check on your wee ones in the wee hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbyhugs Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Count me in. I actually started two weeks ago and took three carloads to the local thrift and library. I still have more to go through. I looked at the heap of frayed towels, worn socks, and ratty T-shirts I keep for rags and decided it had to go, but I didn't want it to go into the landfill. So the worms in my worm composter have started eating the natural fibers. Anybody know if this will harm my worms? So far they look healthy and happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Count me in. I actually started two weeks ago and took three carloads to the local thrift and library. I still have more to go through. I looked at the heap of frayed towels, worn socks, and ratty T-shirts I keep for rags and decided it had to go, but I didn't want it to go into the landfill. So the worms in my worm composter have started eating the natural fibers. Anybody know if this will harm my worms? So far they look healthy and happy. My resident worm expert says the fibers aren't a problem but that any dyes or chemicals (such as bleach, usually used by the manufacturer, before you ever purchase the item) used on the fibers will be hazardous to your worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 The bag a day can be any size- tonight it was a small rubbermaid of financial papers that I was just sick of......the idea is to just toss daily for one year. I am already feeling lighter! Thanks everyone for joining in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 You inspired me. Yesterday the house was too hot to do anything. So today I cranked up the A/C, and so far I have: 2 grocery sacks full of old papers/workbooks/magazines out in the trash can! 1 entire shelf of books in the school room cleaned out - stacked neatly aside to go to the library book sale next week. 1 grocery sack of misc stuff placed in the garage to go to Goodwill next week. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I didn't fill a bag today, but a friend with a truck stopped by to drop off some plywood for dh. They went into my crawlspace and hauled out 4 arm fulls (or would that be 8 arm fulls?) of, get this, CHRISTMAS GARBAGE! Boxes/paper, etc. I had no idea that dh had stashed that down there. Surely, that has to count! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 How is everyone doing with their "decluttering" goals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Count me in for 2-3 things a day! I have been decluttering in an effort to get our new school room set up without moving things we don't use. All I need to do is sell some books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Not a bag a day, as I don't have that much clutter. Can I join in and work on an area per week? First goal will be sorting out my home office desk which looks appalling at the moment - covered in papers and I can't find anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Do you want to join my experiment? Read on at my blog- I need a support group! haha Congrats on the declutter -- but I really liked looking at the pics on your blog! Are your exchange students LDS, too? I didn't know if there is some special program in your church or if it is separate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Great! And yeah, happy meal toys count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 updates anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 I am still decluttering- any updates from fellow de-clutters Thanks for the compliments on the photography- And as for the question of my exchange students- one was a private exchange, yes, she is LDS but we knew the family. The japanese student we do not know it was through a program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Over the past couple of weeks, I've been pulling stuff out from many areas of the house. Dh took a carload to Goodwill this past weekend. Lots of clothes, shoes, toys, & misc. household items. Have been working w/ the dc on getting rid of books. Dd has probably gotten rid of about 200+ (hooray)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Inspire me! I am trying to get very minimalistic in my home. The hardest thing to let go of is all my beloved books!!! But the other hard part is the kids drawings, I have BOXES of this stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I went to Goodwill today! The entire back of my Jeep was filled (the back seat was folded down, and we have the "unlimited" Jeep with a little extra room, so it was a big space to fill). I had a very large trash bag of clothes/toys, plus several smaller bags of stuff, plus a vacuum cleaner and TV stand and some small electronics (wired router, cable modem...stuff that works but that we don't use anymore). What a relief that was! I feel like I lost 10# - every time I declutter it feels as good as losing weight. :) On Friday my church is having a curriculum sale; I have a table reserved and hope to sell 3 shelves worth of books/curricula. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Inspire me! I am trying to get very minimalistic in my home. The hardest thing to let go of is all my beloved books!!! Well, as far as books go... I rarely tend to re-read books myself. So, a couple years ago, I purged *my* books (mostly donated to the library). And, I made a pledge to myself to not buy books for myself & use the library instead. So far, I have kept this sytem in place for the past few years. I decided to make some hard choices on curriculum as there is just too much. When there's too much, I end up using less of it just because there is too much to schedule or I forget what we have. Over the past 2 years, I've probably halved our schooling related stuff (and I still have too much). The last category is the books my dc have. They both have tons & tons of books. Ds is pretty good about purging books & his really aren't a problem. Dd loves her books, though, and hates to get rid of them. The other problem is that both dc re-read books all the time. To tackle dd's stuff, I pulled every single book off her bookcases & sorted them by types/categories. I got rid of duplicates first, then created a stack of ones I thought she would be amenable to getting rid of. I showed her the stacks/categories & had her pick her favorite sets & we reshelved those first. By having all the similar type books together (horse ones, for example), she was willing to get rid of some because she could see overlap in some of them. I think that's key. Anyway, she still has way too many, but she did get rid of about 200 or more today. I'm so proud of her. It used to be hard for me to get rid of books. However, we have libraries available, friends who would lend us books, plenty of garage sales/thrift shops around, etc.... I've had to convince myself to let go because books do age (sometimes not so well) & it's better to let the love & learning of a book be shared rather than not (by being crammed on our shelf w/ hundreds or thousands of other books). Some I donate (library or Goodwill), some I pass on to friends, some I post on PaperbackSwap, and a few I sell. It's a hard process, but once you start doing it, you'll gain momentum. Stop bringing new ones in and work on removing ones you currently have. For each new book you bring in, tell yourself that you have to get rid of two that you already have. If the new book is not worth two of your old ones, don't get it. Don't know if any of my rambling helps, but there you have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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