No.368: What I Decluttered // March 2020

Month #6 for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge!  Here are the ground rules:

1. Only spend 10 minutes at one time and only in one specific area.  
2. 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.)
3. 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?

At the end of last month, my decluttering grand total was only at a little over 300 items and I was feeling frustrated.  This challenge is going to take forever!  After a little whining, I realized that this may not be an entirely bad thing.  As I go through our things, tucked away in cabinets and drawers, I’m finding treasures I totally forgot we owned.  Dishes are being used, art supplies are making art, lotions are keeping hands smooth, “nicer” clothing is being worn just because.  What good are possessions if they only serve to look organized and worthy of Pinterest?

This month, I decided to tackle one of the bigger projects that I’ve been avoiding: the kids’ clothing.  Organizing what we have, making notes of what we need and giving away everything extra – it’s a HUGE job!  I’m not finished, but did make a big dent and that feels good.

WHAT I DECLUTTERED THIS MONTH

• 10 books.
• One pack of essential oil bottle cap labels and 6 essential oils.  I’ve been waffling about these silly essential oils for months, but I’m just not going to use them.  Gave them to my brother.
• One essential oil diffuser.  Gave this to my brother too.
• 46 pieces of Sophie’s outgrown clothing.  I posted two big lots of her spring/summer clothing from the last two years and they were spoken for in a matter of hours.  One woman was collecting the clothes for a family who had just had a house fire…can you imagine?  I’m so happy that I could take a tiny weight off of that family’s shoulders.
• 78 pieces of P’s outgrown clothing.  This was one of the bigger projects I’ve been avoiding because…it’s hard.  My baby is growing up!  I kept a few favorite pieces, but posted lots of all the rest on Trash Nothing.   
• One dress. Sold on ebay.
• One purse.
• One dress up vest.
• One pair of sneakers.
• 4 holsters. Sold for Mark on ebay.
• One bag 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 to my compost pile!
• One stuffed animal.
• One magazine, 2 workbooks and one old math book. Into the recycling bin.
• One pack of mini essential oil “sharing” bottles.
• 11 various pieces of 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.