Thirty-one Day Decluttering Grand Total is...

I began my fall cleanup October first and started strong.  My goal was to declutter five items each day.  Mid month, illness delayed my efforts but I picked up the challenge again in November to complete my thirty-one days.

It was interesting how varied and random my items were.  Some things were mine, some were items left from my children, and some were from my teaching years.  Items came from every room in my house and although I'm glad to have it all out of here, it's hard to see a big impact because of that.  It amazes me how I can take bags of stuff, big black lawn bags of stuff, seven so far, out of this house but not see a huge impact.  Of course, I notice as I am more in tune to details but I doubt my husband has noticed.

As I decluttered and came across empty containers or emptied baskets, I gather them all together and now have three apple boxes full of containers.  I gave a couple away to a friend who stopped by and when asked, picked out four containers for items she was trying to organize.  When I am finished with my whole house declutter, any containers I do not need will be donated.

I found letting go so much easier at this point in my life.  I was hanging on to a lot of my teaching items in case I go back into that field but was able to let go of a lot of it.  I now have a bunch to donate to the local teaching center and to a local preschool.

I will continue to declutter as we head toward the end of 2018 but of course this time of year is busy so I will not have a daily item goal.  Today, I came across six rolls of wallpaper that will be the beginnings of a new donation pile.  This coming week will find me tackling the holiday decorating so that should generate some more things as I focus on the meaningful decorations and let go of the rest.

I think the process of focusing on meaningful things has really helped me make a mental shift which makes it easier make decisions about which things are important and which items  I still want tp be a part of my life.  I can glimpse a bit more the life I imagine and therefore can work toward.  I feel that simplifying my surroundings will open more room for creative space and time. Oh, and the grand total is two hundred and one items!

Third Week: Thirty-six Items and a Travel Trailer

Accountability is important when making a commitment to something. I'm finding that posting these pictures and blogging about this decluttering effort is really helping me push through when life gets busy or I get lazy.

A major item that was released this week was a travel trailer.  We had just purchased it last year, a 2016 model, and had not been able to use it much at all.  I had purchased many items to 'furnish' it with adequate bedding, dishes, bath items, etc.  A hail storm hit here at the end of the summer and it was quite significant at our location.  We had several things damaged and the trailer was one of them.  We had no indication of the extent until the adjuster came out and a few days later we were informed it was totaled!

We did not expect that and the thought had not even entered our minds.  It turns out the labor is quite expensive when replacing hail-beat siding and there was more dents than we had initially seen.  The inside was still in new condition so it was a bit of a struggle to decide what to do.  Our lack of proximity to a dealer who could do the work, inevitably swayed the decision to let the trailer go to the insurance company.  It will be auctioned off and we are confident that the new owners will feel blessed to get such a nice trailer at a good price.

It also presented a conundrum:  what to do with all of our 'furnishings' and personal affects that had to be removed.  Most will be moved to our older trailer that we keep down by the lake and those things traded for will be brought back and donated.  Until then, I now have to store all that stuff.

This kind of unexpected happening is what throws me off.  The phone calls, emails, appointments associated with any insurance claim is very time consuming but USAA makes it as simple as possible.  Then there is the time to take possessions out of the trailer and make decisions about it, then store it.
Regardless, I managed to continue with the decluttering goals in the house and below you will find the items released this week:

 

Oct. 15: two magazines, a plastic cup, a water bottle and a cookie cutter.

Oct. 16: three pairs of old shoes, and not pictured; a cell phone case plastic jewelry all in the trash.

Oct. 17: pair of sandals, book, jewelry pouch to donate, a shoe box and magazine in the trash.

Oct. 18: six plates and a vintage school desk.

Oct. 19: a crayon maker, a jewelry box, a velvet folder, the shirt below and a cornhusk doll which is not seen but is in the crayon maker box.

Oct. 20: two small glass cups, a birthday glass, a kids wallet (all donated), and a pair of slippers for the trash

Oct. 21: a drawstring bag, a hourglass timer, and four paperbacks.

The grand total for October so far is one hundred forty four items! This past Saturday, we took three large yard bags of the stuff I had collected since the last drop off, along with the desk, and donated them to the DAV.  This week we've started new bags and can't wait to fill them.