Month #13 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?
This was a good month for the challenge! I’m on the home stretch, can allllmost see the end in sight and that is motivating me to keep going. This is also “birthday season” for us and with Christmas not too far away, I really want to make space for all of the new things the kids will be receiving.
WHAT I DECLUTTERED THIS MONTH
- 9 books.
- One men’s button-down shirt.
- 2 toddler coats, 2 shirts and a pair of snow boots. Slowly going through P’s outgrown clothing from last year. These sold on ebay.
- 2 sweaters, one dress and 6 tops.
- One Polish Pottery mug. This was a tall mug that I used to use as a pen holder, but it has been tucked away for years. The size is too awkward for drinking coffee, so I cleaned it up, listed it on ebay and it sold for over $9.
- 2 decorative plates and a fabric banner. Surprisingly sold on Poshmark!
- 2 baby fleece sleepers. I still have a small pile of baby clothes to go through (which are not my absolute favorites that I’ll keep forever, ha!) and while these were a little hard to part with, I’m glad another little guy will be able to use them.
- 2 skincare samples.
- 3 bags of shredded paper.
- One sham/pillowcase. Some of the boys have Ikea duvets on their beds. They don’t use the matching sham/pillowcase and they’ve just been sitting in the linen closet. I decided to see if I could get a buyer on ebay…and I did! Sold for $4.
- 6 old workbooks and 2 magazines. Into the recycling bin.
- 2 DVDs.
- One wallet and one makeup pouch.
- One belt.
- One teacher manual. I’m just about through all of my unneeded school books! Sold on ebay.
- One Arc Paper Punch. A long time ago, I used the Arc notebook system (you know the one with the discs?) to make a type of DIY planner. It quickly became too much to keep up with, so I bought a cheap planner at the store and this paper punch sat in my closet ever since. It surprisingly sold within days on ebay for $25!
- One vanity mirror. We replaced the mirror in Sophie’s bathroom and gave the old one away via Trash Nothing.
- One pair of sandals. D wore his Under Armor slides to shreds this summer! Into the trash can.
- One broken fan and a broken soccer chair. Into the trash can.
- One welcome mat.
- A pillow, duvet cover and two shams.
- One Halloween decoration.
- One nursing tank. I’ve had this listed for almost a year(!!) and it finally sold on Poshmark.
- 7 pieces of Sophie’s outgrown clothes.
- 3 light fixtures. After three years in this house, we’re finally starting to replace the lighting with something a bit more our style. These fixtures are all in working condition so we donated them to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
Money made this month: $140.59
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.
That's great! I bet you feel very accomplished after getting rid of clutter, making some money, and helping people and the environment by finding new owners for certain things
Yes! As I'm sure you can imagine, a household of eight people accumulates quite a bit over the years, especially with generous family and friends. I finally feel like I have better control of the "stuff" and of course, you know how much I love a challenge. 🙂
I've been so inspired by this series…I actually think I'm going to add a similar challenge to my new 101 in 1001 list (and I'll make sure to give you credit for the idea!).
One thing I credit to this challenge is that it's made decluttering just a normal part of my weekly routine. Before this, I would declutter in fits and spurts, but that never seemed to get me anywhere fast. Now, I'm looking and considering the necessity of our unused things and that's helping me determine what clothes/home decor/toys/furniture I'd REALLY like to have. I've learned so much! Highly recommend the process.