Anyone want to start a purge challenge?

[DawnM]

Mine will be much more minimal than I would like it to be, but I have got to have at least a weekly goal, even if it is just one drawer or one box in the attic.

• state your goal
• report back when you finish your goal
• It can be big or small 

 

Anyone want to participate?

[DawnM]

In our last house we had a junk drawer.  I needed up just filling two of those 2.5 gallon zip locks with all the junk.

Yesterday I went through them and got rid of a full bag full of junk.

1/11/20-Today, I would like to tackle one box in the attic, even if it is an easy box to go through, and take the 3 boxes that are ready to Goodwill.

[Carrie12345]

I’ve done most of the “big stuff”, but I definitely have to keep going with the little things, which I do find to be a lot harder.  Okay, my “office” area and bedroom closet are still (again) big jobs, but I need to break them down into tiny ones because they’re awful.

In the past week, I gave away outgrown snow pants,  a pair of sneakers, and some office supplies. I also sold some crafting supplies for a few bucks.  Yesterday, I cleaned out my mug and glass cabinets. Now I have to put some plastic wine glasses in my camping supplies (yes, I do! Lol.) and bite the bullet to get rid of two mugs that are sitting on my desk, staring at me.

This weekend, I need to tackle food containers.  I hate that job so much!!!

[happi duck]

My goal for this week:

Our kitchen island has a shelf that has become where everyone stashes random things.  I need to "konmari" that stuff because a Christmas gift needs somewhere to "live".

[Ottakee]

I am doing the fridge and freezer today.....sorta have to.....my new one will be here any minutes and my current one will be going downstairs to dd's "apartment".

 

I have TONS more to do.  The storage room is the big thing and then all of the paperwork/filing stuff.....ex husband's, in-laws (both deceased), mine, my kids, etc.  Add in court stuff, adoption paperwork and disability paperwork and it just explodes.  I need to week out stuff over 7 years old and then organize the rest.....so that it is easy every year to toss out the 7 year old stuff.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Ottakee

[unsinkable]

Good luck everyone!

I'll be rooting for you all but lately I am at the stage of keeping up with every day cleaning and household management stuff. 

[mlktwins]

I can't this week, but I may join if you are still going in a week or 2 :-).  Good luck!!!!!

 

[TrixieB]

Yes I will join!

My entire house needs to be purged but it is so overwhelming that I haven't been able to make myself get started.  Thank you for setting up this challenge and giving me the motivation to get going.

Today 1/11/20 the plan is to tackle the storage chest in my bedroom - both what's inside and what's piled on the top.  The intention of this storage chest is for out-of-season clothes, and the lid is supposed to be for my bedside lamp, alarm clock, and nothing else.  

ETA: coming back to report, I did it.  And I purged a dresser drawer too.  The dresser drawer now holds my current season workout clothes that used to be piled on top of the storage chest.  One big black bag ready to go to Goodwill.  And I discovered there is WAY too much dust in my bedroom, yuck.

Edited January 11, 2020 by TrixieB

[historically accurate]

I cleaned out the nail polish drawer. It was because my DD has some new medicine that needed a home besides the countertop, so I didn't gain any room in the drawer. But I did get rid of some stuff.

I have a huge stack of Goodwill/selling/wherever stuff that I need to go through. I know some of it is outgrown clothes, some is FIL's hobby stuff MIL wants sold, some is junk. Maybe I will start sorting that since we are iced in today.

 

[DawnM]

3 hours ago, mlktwins said:

I can't this week, but I may join if you are still going in a week or 2 :-).  Good luck!!!!!

 

 

Oh, this will be all year for me most likely.  Some weeks will be small.....like a drawer or cupboard, other weeks I hope to tackle more, like two large boxes in the garage/attic.

But 2020 is the year to purge for me!  Slowly but surely.

[Ottakee]

I got the fridge and freezer done....but had to put it all back as my new fridge came with 4 big dents in the front so I had to refuse delivery.

 

[itsheresomewhere]

I need to do the house.  I am starting with the basement. It is divided into two sides.  The one side needs to become my DD’s animal space for her show rabbits and guinea pigs. And what is left of that side will be the gym, storage, game area.   That is what I will be doing this weekend and most of next week.  It is finished already but we pile a lot of crap down there. 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I want and need to do my whole house this year. We moved into this house summer of 2018 and cleared out a lot before we moved. That house was 1300 square feet, two decent sized closets and two very tiny ones, no usable garage, a barely usable basement, and some cubby holes under the eaves for storage. This house is about 2200 sq feet, 10 good sized closets, 3 car garage, dry basement storage area, a shed, and a potting shed. It’s all full. I don’t understand it. It shouldn’t be possible. 
     Anyway...I did half of my kitchen last week and DS cleaned out some clothes that no longer fit and DH took them to Goodwill. I was hoping to get the other half of my kitchen done this weekend but I’m not sure it will happen. We started back to school this week and I forgot how much that takes out of me. Next week I add in my piano students and the kids’ extra curriculars. I’m going to still going to try to get something done towards my purging goals, even if it’s just one shelf or drawer. 

[Storygirl]

Okay, I'm in. I so need to do this, but I don't want to. It will help to have some accountability.

Today I cleared too-small clothes out of DS15's closet and reorganized his t-shirt drawer, while he was folding his laundry. Yay!! Except I took the too-small items and piled them in a heap in my bedroom. Boo!! So by the end of the day, I need to fold them up and put them in the donation bag.

We also took the winter coats that no one needs out of the front hall closet recently. They have been sitting in a pile in our study ever since, and I need to bag them up. Our church does a coat drive in the fall, so I can put them in our basement until then.

Obviously, I need to stop leaving my purging tasks half done.

It's warm here today, so DH and I are working up the gumption to organize the garage a bit. We've been busy with other things, and it's now 4:30, so I really don't want to start on that. But I'm going to round up the kids and tell them we are all going to work now for a bit. They are going to be so thrilled. They were warned earlier in the day that this would be happening, but the day has gotten away from us -- we've been putting the Christmas tree away and doing some food prep and other little chores so far.

[Ottakee]

22 minutes ago, Storygirl said:

 

We also took the winter coats that no one needs out of the front hall closet recently. They have been sitting in a pile in our study ever since, and I need to bag them up. Our church does a coat drive in the fall, so I can put them in our basement until then.

 

I can't do that---hang onto stuff as then it just gets all mixed back in and cluttered up.  I have found that I need to get it OUT of the house asap and donate it.  Even if it isn't the "ideal" donation center.  Out of my house and donated to plan B is still better than STILL in my house waiting for plan A to get ready to take it.  That is just me though.

[Storygirl]

52 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I can't do that---hang onto stuff as then it just gets all mixed back in and cluttered up.  I have found that I need to get it OUT of the house asap and donate it.  Even if it isn't the "ideal" donation center.  Out of my house and donated to plan B is still better than STILL in my house waiting for plan A to get ready to take it.  That is just me though.

Yeah, that's true. The church had 900 coats to give away last fall (!!!!!) so if I donate them somewhere else instead, mine won't be missed. We did put some in a big box once before and save them until the fall, and they stayed segregated. But the box takes up room in the basement for months that way.

[Storygirl]

Well, we did it. The garage looks better. It wasn't a full clean out -- DH has a bunch of things on the shelves that he could purge. But we got the miscellaneous junk off of the floor, stacked up the gardening pots and potting soil, hung our foldable chairs on hooks, etc. Three of the four kids cleaned out the bin of balls, Nerf guns, skateboards, helmets, etc. and put what they no longer want in a donation bag (the fourth teen is at work but did a task out there before she left).

We gathered up two black garbage bags of trash, plus one of toys to donate. Swept up all of the leaves and trash from the corners.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Storygirl

[Carrie12345]

9 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Yesterday, I cleaned out my mug and glass cabinets. Now I have to put some plastic wine glasses in my camping supplies (yes, I do! Lol.) and bite the bullet to get rid of two mugs that are sitting on my desk, staring at me.

This weekend, I need to tackle food containers.  I hate that job so much!!

I sorted through the food containers, got rid of the mugs plus some old board games that I meant to tackle last week.

I plan to just relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend, but I might tackle shredding some documents in my office if we all get sick of each other, lol.  I have practically every piece of paper from 18+ years of child support/custody and 504 plan documentation.  My child is 21.  I think it’s time to purge! 😮 

[Terabith]

Am I the only person who read this and whose thoughts instantly went to the movie?  I haven't even SEEN the movie...

[DawnM]

Just now, Terabith said:

Am I the only person who read this and whose thoughts instantly went to the movie?  I haven't even SEEN the movie...

I have no idea what the movie is, so obviously my mind didn't go anywhere to any movie

[DawnM]

9 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

I’ve done most of the “big stuff”, but I definitely have to keep going with the little things, which I do find to be a lot harder.  Okay, my “office” area and bedroom closet are still (again) big jobs, but I need to break them down into tiny ones because they’re awful.

In the past week, I gave away outgrown snow pants,  a pair of sneakers, and some office supplies. I also sold some crafting supplies for a few bucks.  Yesterday, I cleaned out my mug and glass cabinets. Now I have to put some plastic wine glasses in my camping supplies (yes, I do! Lol.) and bite the bullet to get rid of two mugs that are sitting on my desk, staring at me.

This weekend, I need to tackle food containers.  I hate that job so much!!!

 

I was thinking today that I really need to get to the bolded here.

[Terabith]

Just now, DawnM said:

I have no idea what the movie is, so obviously my mind didn't go anywhere to any movie

It's a series of movies in which laws are suspended for a day each year, called The Purge.  For some inexplicable reason, everyone goes to murder, instead of, say, looting book shops.  

[DawnM]

Just now, Terabith said:

It's a series of movies in which laws are suspended for a day each year, called The Purge.  For some inexplicable reason, everyone goes to murder, instead of, say, looting book shops.  

 

Oh my.  

[Ottakee]

16 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

 

I plan to just relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend, but I might tackle shredding some documents in my office if we all get sick of each other, lol.  I have practically every piece of paper from 18+ years of child support/custody and 504 plan documentation.  My child is 21.  I think it’s time to purge! 😮 

That is what I worked on today.  20+ years of medical documents, school IEPs, dhhs papers, SSI papers, etc.  Folder by folder.

My goal is to have things neat and easy to find sorted out by child.   Lofty goal I know.

[historically accurate]

I bagged up some outgrown clothes for Goodwill, and my younger two children added some stuffed animals to the bag. We're in the middle of a snowstorm, so the bag is still in the laundry room. 

[PrincessMommy]

I've also done a lot of large items since we downsized 2yrs ago.  But, there is always *stuff*... 

This year I plan to get rid of things I had planned to fix up and get rid of for 3+ years.

This would include fixing them - actually fixing them!!!!  and then selling them

Also, I plan to slowly purge my yarn stash this year.  I say it every year,but this year I am committed.   I have already used up 3 cones.  I'm saving the cones so I can see what kind of progress I've made at the end of the year. 

My laundry room needs major help.  It's become a collection zone.  ugh - I have too many collection zones.   

So I don't know if that's what you have in mind.  

[gaillardia]

I cleaned part of my bedroom yesterday. So many papers that I couldn't understand what I needed them for a few months ago but was finally able to decide what was important to keep, shred, or toss. Have started to fill a box of craft items to get rid of, and will work on my desk next. My shredder no longer works. I suppose I can get rid of that too!

Finally decided to try to sell one of the vehicles. Made it to social security building yesterday too, Yay, go me. 

[Carrie12345]

10 hours ago, Ottakee said:

That is what I worked on today.  20+ years of medical documents, school IEPs, dhhs papers, SSI papers, etc.  Folder by folder.

My goal is to have things neat and easy to find sorted out by child.   Lofty goal I know.

Congrats!!!
I have ALWAYS told myself I was going to get it all nice and neat “soon”, but I’ll just stick this new one in here “for now”. Since, like, 2001. I lied to myself so hard!  I know some of the most important papers are in my filing cabinet, but may be in different drawers. Then there’s a giant zip up binder for court and one for school, but I know there’s crossover.  It’ll feel really good when it’s done.

If I’m lucky, that’ll inspire me to move forward on 12 years of homeschool portfolios (something like 27+ across all kids.)

[Kanin]

I purged a ton of stuff recently, not by choice. A sewer pipe backed up and our basement had 4 inches of water in it last week 😞 We stupidly had a bunch of stuff still in cardboard boxes on the floor from our move over a year ago... so we had to chuck two pickup truck loads full of old clothes, books,  and who knows what, and also learned that you should never keep cardboard in the basement!

Yesterday we went to Home Depot and spent a bunch of money on plastic tubs (which I hate... they smell SO toxic! Kinda nervous about having them in the house), and a giant metal shelf. Still have so much stuff to either keep or chuck.

I think a lot of my organizing problems stem from not having the right way to store things... so I get really disorganized. Why is it so hard to spend money on storage that will improve my life greatly for the long term, and so easy to spend the same amount on clothes or fun treats from the grocery store??

[Lady Florida.]

We've been purging and purging and purging since the beginning of December. We're finally seeing a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel. We've got to get it done so we can get the house on the market. We have a contract on a house that will be ready late March-early April so we need to sell this one. 

We have 20 years worth of our own junk plus stuff from 3 parents and 2 grandparents. In 2000 when we purged our old house and moved in to this one I swore it wouldn't happen again. Of course it did anyway, mostly without us even realizing it. We've been making repeated trips to the thrift shop and the dump. I'm hoping we can be done by next weekend. 

An oldie but a goodie. And of course since it's George Carlin there's the obligatory warning about language.

 

[SounderChick]

I was going to tackle our storage/utility room.  Now I have to switch to the bathrooms because we have a leak and water damage so one whole bathroom is shut down.  Since I'm pulling all the stuff out to combine with the other two might as well go through all the bathroom stuff.  Purge and organize.

Edited January 12, 2020 by rebcoola

[HollyDay]

I so need to do this!!  A box of books went to Half Price Books last week.  Another will either go to Amazon BuyBack or Half Price in the coming week. 

One big thing I'm committing to:  don't buy any new quilting, latch hook, or cross stitch until I finish what I have and use up a lot of stash!  If I need extra thread, more backing material or more batting to finish a project, that is fine.  But, no new project supplies!!!!! 

[jen3kids]

We renovated our kitchen last year, so that area is pretty good, but the basement still has a bunch of unused stuff from moving everything down there - ugh!  We also have a king size bed in the basement that older ds and his girlfriend use when they're here but, since younger ds is off to university and probably not moving back home, I made an executive decision to do some re-arranging of the bedrooms upstairs....

Younger ds' room will become older ds' room and I'm going to buy a queen size bed for that room.  Older ds and his gf can sleep there when they're here.  I will use older ds' bedroom as my office and that will keep my computer/coaching clutter out of our family room (hopefully).  I'd like to get rid of the kingsize bed in the basement, but when younger ds comes home, he could sleep down there..... I did ask dh if he'd like to try to make a murphy bed in my new office, but he's not so sure of that.  Maybe he'd do that in the basement.....    Decisions, decisions...

But, the room re-arranging is currently on hold because dh decided to order a closet organizing system for his walk-in closet, so all of his clothes are in younger ds' room, meaning the room switch has to wait a couple of weeks, but at least we have a plan to deal with it!

[crazyforlatin]

I’ve been purging for the last 2 months and worked on the bathroom cabinet and supplement/vitamin drawers this weekend. I can only manage a little at a time.

 

[HazelAnne]

Thanks for starting this, I’d love to join in!

Last year we really focused on decluttering, and got rid of carloads of stuff- but somehow there is still so much more to purge! The homeschool supplies are where I’m really stuck. I have switched curriculum more times than I care to admit, and have lots of half used workbooks that I can’t bring myself to recycle, and I save thinking maybe a younger child will use for extra practice someday... It’s really just overwhelming me though.

[mom2scouts]

I'm aiming for a big purge this year despite the fact that dd saves every tissue box and gum container for one of her artistic projects and dh brings in everything he finds on the side of the road that might be useful or might contain metal to scrap. At least dd uses the stuff she keeps and makes some really interesting artwork. DH just makes piles of junk and loses stuff we need in the piles. I'm going to give dh an area to keep his junk and everything else is mine to go through. 

I have a basement full of old toys and it's time for most of them to go. We're going to have a grandchild this year, so I'll save a few things. I'd like to try to sell some of it and put money towards paying down debt, but if it doesn't sell within a very short time I'll donate it. I already have several boxes filled and ready for donation.

We still have stuff that belongs to our adult children and they all own houses and it's time they store their own stuff, so I'm going to try to get some of that stuff moving out of our house.

I just had dd go through all her clothes and need ds to do the same. I've also been working slowly through drawers and getting rid of or using up small things. My house needs a complete deep clean and I have grand goals of doing that while decluttering, but I'm not sure if that's taking on way too much right now.

[Carrie12345]

Today I sold a box of planner supplies, put some ill-fitting table cloths and a couple of books to donate in my trunk, got those pesky plastic wine glasses and a few random bubble bottles into the shed, and condensed snap circuits into a bin instead of in multiple boxes that were falling apart.

I also parted with some macaroni and bead necklaces. Shhh!

Little bits at a time really do make a huge difference... coming in or going out!

[Hoggirl]

On 1/11/2020 at 3:11 PM, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

I want and need to do my whole house this year. We moved into this house summer of 2018 and cleared out a lot before we moved. That house was 1300 square feet, two decent sized closets and two very tiny ones, no usable garage, a barely usable basement, and some cubby holes under the eaves for storage. This house is about 2200 sq feet, 10 good sized closets, 3 car garage, dry basement storage area, a shed, and a potting shed. It’s all full. I don’t understand it. It shouldn’t be possible. 
     Anyway...I did half of my kitchen last week and DS cleaned out some clothes that no longer fit and DH took them to Goodwill. I was hoping to get the other half of my kitchen done this weekend but I’m not sure it will happen. We started back to school this week and I forgot how much that takes out of me. Next week I add in my piano students and the kids’ extra curriculars. I’m going to still going to try to get something done towards my purging goals, even if it’s just one shelf or drawer. 

You fill up the space you have.  

We downsized and are in a 935 sq ft condo.  I finished up going through the entire place yesterday after starting January 1.  Took it at a nice easy pace, yet it still got tiresome.  I probably purged 300 “items,” but only a third were things that I could donate.  Lots of expired food, spices, medicine, make-up, etc.  

Everyone needs to find a purging system that works for them, but I am a fan of the “a little bit each day,” approach.  

Good luck to all!

[wintermom]

I need to purge as we're doing an international move in about 6 months. This means I may have to box and list every single item I bring with me on the move, and the list includes a description of the item (e.g., 1 small towel, 2 large towels, etc.). The less I have to list the better!

I have 4 dc and a dh who likes to save his old clothes that I've never seen him wear in the 23 years of our marriage. I will need some serious help!! 😨

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

3 minutes ago, Hoggirl said:

You fill up the space you have.  

We downsized and are in a 935 sq ft condo.  I finished up going through the entire place yesterday after starting January 1.  Took it at a nice easy pace, yet it still got tiresome.  I probably purged 300 “items,” but only a third were things that I could donate.  Lots of expired food, spices, medicine, make-up, etc.  

Everyone needs to find a purging system that works for them, but I am a fan of the “a little bit each day,” approach.  

Good luck to all!

The mind boggling thing is that it was all full as soon as we unpacked. The previous owners left some furniture for us and odds and ends of materials that had been used around the house (flooring, paint, etc) but not enough that the whole house and all the storage areas should be full. (We bought the house from older friends who were downsizing to a much smaller house. We were fine with what they left.) We’ve only lived here a year and a half. We have brought some new stuff in but not much, I don’t think. At any rate, this whole house needs to be deep cool cleaned, purged, and re-organized. It’s daunting. One shelf, drawer, or box at a time...

[Ausmumof3]

Need to do it though I don’t want to

schoolroom and kids bedrooms are the worst though my wardrobe is starting to overflow 

[DawnM]

And to think I actually purged a lot before we even came to this house!  

#NeverEnding

I kept some things I probably shouldn't have.  But now I know.  

[BlsdMama]

Tonight I went through the youngest three's closet and cut their clothing in half.  Honestly? I think it's still too much.  What 5 year old boy has six hoodies?  But ONE pair of jeans?

Found 2T underwear (not too weird, he's a skinny) but he needs socks!

Tomorrow?? The 10yo and 11yo.  Everyone else keeps on top of trimming their own closets.  

[moonflower]

I found a great local motivation to go through our stuff and purge.  We are minimalists (who have 7 kids) so we generally don't have a lot of extra stuff, but we've been in this house for 2 years and there's definitely some extra

at the WalMart last week an elderly lady stopped me at the checkout and told me about a thrift store she works at that actually serves poor people directly - you pay $2 for a bag and fill it up with as much as you need.  (instead of the ones where they're making money from sales to fund a charitable mission, if that makes sense, like Goodwill, etc.)  So I'm super happy to donate there.  So far I've donated one pair of jeans, from back in my teenager jeans thread if anyone remembers it, that my teenager never condescended to wear.  I held out hope for long past a reasonable return timeline but they were great jeans with the tags still on!  

This week I'd like to go through my maternity clothes and figure out what to keep.

[Ausmumof3]

4 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

Tonight I went through the youngest three's closet and cut their clothing in half.  Honestly? I think it's still too much.  What 5 year old boy has six hoodies?  But ONE pair of jeans?

Found 2T underwear (not too weird, he's a skinny) but he needs socks!

Tomorrow?? The 10yo and 11yo.  Everyone else keeps on top of trimming their own closets.  

Sounds like my 5 year old.  I think the jumpers get passed down in good nick but the jeans wear out.  And they’re way more likely to get a cute hoody for their bdays than a pair of pants 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Ausmumof3

[wintermom]

9 hours ago, DawnM said:

And to think I actually purged a lot before we even came to this house!  

#NeverEnding

I kept some things I probably shouldn't have.  But now I know.  

What did you keep that you shouldn't have?  It's so hard to know what will actually be needed, and what won't.

[DawnM]

50 minutes ago, wintermom said:

What did you keep that you shouldn't have?  It's so hard to know what will actually be needed, and what won't.

 

Oh so much!

I think it is finally time to get rid of the majority of our camping equipment.  The boys just aren't interested anymore.

A lot of the decor from our last house just doesn't work in this house, or doesn't fit, so I will be purging that.  Some furniture my kids don't want anymore, even though they thought they did.  And then I have boxes of things like plastic-ware/rubbermaid that is old or I can't find lids to.  And I am a tote bag hoarder!  I need to purge through that.    And I have some throws that are from the 90's in pink, burgandy, and forest green, that just don't go with anything........

I also have quite a few old cameras I have no idea what to do with.  I am sure they aren't worth anything, but they still work.  

And boxes of old cords and remotes that I dont' think go to anything!

Stuff like that.  

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by DawnM

[PrincessMommy]

10 hours ago, DawnM said:

And to think I actually purged a lot before we even came to this house!  

#NeverEnding

I kept some things I probably shouldn't have.  But now I know.  

Isn't that the truth!   

[StaceyinLA]

I’ve been purging for the last 2 weeks, and I didn’t really have a lot to purge. I’ve also just been organizing what’s left. I have a daughter that comes and stays for 2-3 months at a time with her toddler son while her fiancé is on a submarine, and I’ve been trying to make a better setup for him/her, while making the rest of the house make more sense.

I store a lot of stuff (Christmas decorations, misc items/out of season clothing) for my other daughter, whose house is small, but I have it labeled and organized in the attic. I store all the kids’ clothing that my girls share and hand down, but I now have it all organized and labeled by size/season in the attic. 

I’ve gotten my hall closet done, and my/my husband’s closet stays organized, as well as playroom and downstairs guest room closets, but I do have one closet upstairs with craft items, wrapping paper/ribbon, photos that need framing/organizing, etc. That is my last project, and I need to get on it soon! I’ve just been trying to come up with a plan.

[DawnM]

And, my big goal is to have everything in plastic bins, with lids ( I have a lot of them so may not need anymore), with labels, on shelves, or in closets, where I can not only easily find them, but if I had to move again, I could just load up the boxes.