Halfway Point for Lent Purge Project

So here we are, March 7th, halfway through Lent (for some denominations) and thought it would be a good time to check in and give a progress report. Progress has been made! Check this out!

Now I picked the front of our garage to stock pile the items we are getting rid of as I thought it would be easier to move at the end of this 40 day project. Open up the doors and have a garage sale, load up the truck for a garbage dump trip or donation drop off. We haven't quite decided at this point what will happen to it all, probably a combination of the three. But for now I am just happy to have it out of my house! (happy dance! happy dance!)

Filling a bag per day has been a challenge, but in the end it will all work out. To tell you the truth, some days are just too crazy around here. I definitely have to be in the right mood to plow through a closet and see results. On the other hand, there have been days when I can't stop! I've made it to the halfway point and so far I am ahead of the game, so I'm not going to fret too much ..... maybe on Day 39 when I'm riffling through my husband's underwear drawer praying to find a holey pair! But for now, we're good.

In this pic, you are seeing;

25 boxes

7 garbage bags

3 pcs. of furniture

odds & ends (not in boxes/bags)

and 3 bags (partially full)

We have also had 2 garbage days since Day 1, so I have also purged 3 bags of garbage and 6 bags of recycling! Feels good people, feels good!

So are you keeping up with me? Surpassing me? Right on target? There is still time!

We need to cut back on the excess in our lives and Spring is a great time to start. Even if you are reading this for the first time, join in and start your own purge project TODAY! So much stress, time and energy is soaked up by the clutter we keep in our homes. If it was all taken away, would it really matter? I'm sure that my children would say 'yes', and sacrifice themselves for the piles of Lego in their toyroom, but I know you would think differently.

Let's get ourselves and homes in order!

20 more days = 20 more bags to go!

You can do it!

Becca

Purging Pointers to Get You Started!

I like to talk myself through things, literally. If you were to walk into my house at any point during the day, you would think I was entertaining a few people. Nope, just me, myself and I.  It's like getting psyched-up before the big game, adrenaline pumping, crowd cheering you on!  Some of my best ideas have been discovered while talking with myself ..... So, whatever works!

Well, this morning I needed a good pep talk as it was Day 1 of Lent and my household purge. It is always hard for me to get started on big projects. So I thought I would share a couple of pointers that I discovered during this process to help you get started as well. 

----- Pick a really overflowing spot that has been driving you crazy!  Something easy in content, like plastic shopping bags or that mountain of towels in your linen closet. You want to fill a bag quickly to get you revved up and eager to do more. Don't start with something sentimental, like photos or kids possessions,  or anything time consuming like office papers.

For example, I started in our library as it is the drop-all spot of our home. It lies between the common area and bedroom area of our home, so it piles up with things going to either zone.  Such as laundry, odds and ends from reno projects and this ......

Those are two blow-up mattresses that have been in the corner of my library for a few weeks now. We had family visiting so the little ones used them to bunk in with their cousins. However, we discovered that both mattresses had slow leaks when the kids woke up flat on the floor in the morning. Oops!  I grabbed two more beds for the next evening but these two damaged ones ended up here ..... and never moved.  I kept telling myself that I was going to patch them when I had some extra time ..... yeah right! That's not going to happen ..... So they were the first items in the garbage bag. Good-Bye! And they were sizable, so the two of them took up more than half of the bag.

----- Check your local waste collection bylaws. Halfway through my morning of purging, I realized that I was putting a lot of recyclables and garbage in with my donations. I figure the last thing we want to do at the end of this project is to backtrack through 40 bags and separate it all!

 

So I grabbed a clear bag for  garbage,  blue for recycling and black for donation (as that is what our local waste management requires.) And I don't know about you, but our collection laws are strict. We have officers that do random spot checks curbside, tag bags that do not pass inspection and even fine homeowners. So not only do we want to avoid these penalties, but we also want to help the charity workers who sort through our donations and of course our environment.

----- Make lists as you go. I have been using an exercise book to keep my purge project halfway organized. It keeps me on track and although I don't follow it strictly, it is nice to have guidelines when your mojo starts to dwindle.

I made a list of target areas in the house that I need to tackle and I continually add to it as I go along.

I am a procrastinator and find lists keep me on target. I would be tempted to stop purging and paint my linen closet if I thought it needed a fresh coat. But now I just write it down in the margins for a later time. Also,  when I purge an item that I want to sell instead of donate, I'll take note of the item, plus a price and certain details such as it comes with a manual or extra parts. These side notes help immensely later on.

----- Keep a tally of how many bags of garbage and recycling you send to the road each week from this purge project. The paper and packaging is all stuff that has been kicked out of the house. But I cannot hang on to garbage for end results! So a tally will do just fine.

I hope everyone is having as much success as I am through this process. It has been so rewarding to see that donation pile grow each and every day! Let me know how you are making out!

Cheers!

40 Days to Cut the Clutter!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and I am preparing our family for 40 days of purging clutter from our home.

I am always filling bags of random things and dropping them off at our local charities. But our home is now in need of a major overhaul and thought this would be the perfect time of year to do so. It's a good experiment (especially for the kids) to see how much stuff accumulates in our home that we don't really need. 

As most modern day families, we live in excess. I am struggling on a day to day basis to keep the house tidy, but am always defeated by piles of clutter. We have moved numerous times in our 10 years together, and with each move comes more stuff. We also have five children, and with each child comes even more stuff. Toys, clothes, books, school work, gifts, decorative pieces, dishes, sports equipment, seasonal decor ..... the list goes on and on and on .....

Well, today is the beginning of the end to that nonsense! 

I have compiled a chart of target areas throughout the house that need a good cleaning out.  

Each day our goal is one bag. One bag to donate, sell, toss ..... just out of the house!

By the end of the 40 days, we will have a total of 40 bags of STUFF out of our home. Hooray!

I have cleared a large area in our garage to house the bags until the end of Lent. I hope this visual will benefit our entire family and serve as a reminder to keep our future purchases to a minimum. Learning to live with less is something that I preach constantly to our children. Now I will have proof that it can be done!

Is anyone up for this challenge? 

Now I understand that we are all busy and a big project like this takes time. However, I truly believe that if we dedicate the time now, it will save us time in the future with everyday life. Clutter is stagnant, wasteful and stressful. This cleanse is needed in most homes to allow more airflow, creativity and happiness.

Let's get our homes in order and shed the burden of clutter!

So, get yourself to Walmart and grab a box of heavy duty garbage bags ..... how convenient that they come in boxes of 40!!!   Pick a spot and start!  It does take time to get in a rhythm, but once you do, it is empowering! And if you get on a roll, don't stop because your bag is full, open a new one and keep going!!!

Spring cleaning will be so much easier this year!

Happy Bag-Filling! 

Check in and let me know how you are doing!

Cheers!