Month #11 for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge! Here are the ground rules:
- Only spend 10 minutes at one time and only in one specific area.
- Monday through Wednesday, seek out items that we no longer need and make a pile. Then Thursday through Saturday, make a plan for how to deal with them. (This has worked so well and avoided that dreaded box of “what should I do with these?” items.)
- Possible places to find new homes for items: Ebay/Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, Trash Nothing website or the local Buy Nothing Facebook group and as a last resort, Goodwill
I feel a responsibility for the things I have and want to be intentional with how I dispose of them. Questions I asked myself: If it’s here, what purpose does it serve? Can I use it up? Can I enjoy it vs. keeping it tucked away in drawers and boxes? And if not, can I let it go to someone who may need it more?
The one year mark for this project is quickly approaching! Since this was my last month before school resumes, I tried to knock out as much as I could, digging around in closets and cabinets and the basement. I’m starting to see the fruits of this whole adventure, though, because it feels like I’m finding less and less, ha! What a good feeling.
WHAT I DECLUTTERED THIS MONTH
- 15 books. I have had a big pile of books in my closet for months now in the hope that I could start a Little Free Library. And then the world turned upside down! I decided to try my luck on ebay instead to get books into the hands of people who want to read them.
- Two new Ikea duvet sets. I purchased these right before we moved to the farmhouse for the little boys’ room, but eventually went in a different direction. I never opened them and three years later, it appears Ikea doesn’t sell this variety anymore. Sold both on ebay within hours of listing!
- One book on Greek myths. I somehow had a duplicate, so sold the extra on ebay.
- 2 throw blankets.
- A baby bouncy seat.
- One pack of confetti balloons. From the BWF days.
- 16 pieces of Mark’s clothing. I convinced him to go through his closet and he ended up with a big pile.
- 26 pieces of kids’ clothing.
- 3 dress-up skirts.
- One baby winter coat. This was a little hard to let go because all five of my boys wore it at around a year old. But what good is a coat stored away indefinitely when it could be used by someone right now?
- One pullover fleece. Sold on ebay.
- 2 coloring books. Into the recycling bin.
- 8 empty egg cartons. I collected these back in February with the intention of posting them on Trash Nothing for a preschool/kindergarten teacher to use in the classroom. (I was imagining a caterpillar craft or maybe even used for seedlings.) But then…COVID. Thankfully, my son works at a farm that could use them and now they’re finally out of my house!
- One bath mat.
- 2 bags of shredded paper. Junk mail and other personal paperwork that needs to be shredded counts as clutter too! I’m counting each full container (which is the equivalent of a plastic grocery store bag) as one item. Added most of it to my compost pile.
- 7 pieces of miscellaneous clothing. Off to Goodwill. These are pieces in good condition, but don’t have much resale value and weren’t substantial enough to warrant a post on Trash Nothing.
Money made this month: $82.85
P.S. To “count,” the item had to physically leave my house. So while I have listed a handful of things online, those aren’t counted until they have sold.
I love what you had originally thought for the egg cartons, very sweet and thoughtful, the important thing is that they were reused.
We go through SO many eggs around here that it seemed a shame to throw all of the cartons away. I was so happy that the farm needed them and could give them another life.