Spring Decluttering.
According to your Facebook posts, lots of you are starting to spring clean and some of you are posting a lot of items for sale...yay for decluttering!!! Each time I finish decluttering my entire house I think I finally have gotten rid of everything I don't want. But then...a few months later I'm at it again! This has been the case for me this week. Having the windows open and fresh air flowing through the house has made me want to go through every room, closet and drawer in the house for a 15th time :) Yesterday I did just that. I'm sure you're thinking, "how could you do an entire house in one day??" Well, it actually only took about 2.5 hours....and that's because the more I do it, the less there is to go through and the faster it goes. I do still find plenty of things to get rid of each time. Several have asked me what I could possibly be getting rid of....so here are some things I tossed out yesterday.
Winter clothes. I went through my closet and drawers and pulled out everything I did not wear over the winter. I figure if I didn't wear something a single time over the course of the cold temp season, I'm probably not going to wear it next year either, and thus, don't want it just hanging out, claiming space in my house. I also got rid of a good portion of my kids' winter clothes because I know they won't fit next year. I did keep lighter weight long sleeved tops to get them through spring and cooler summer nights as well as pants and lighter jackets.
Lotions. I'm always wanting to try new lotions and new scents. I had about 6 bottles of barely used lotions that I don't plan to use again. Same with hair products. I buy something new to try and usually don't like it after two uses. While I know I should, I can't just use something until it's gone if I don't like it.
Jewelry. About a year ago I had a small 3 drawer plastic box full of random jewelry and other small accessories. It's one of the first places I go to when I'm decluttering, because I know I rarely, if ever, wear any of those pieces. Prior to yesterday, I had the box down to 1 drawer full. After realizing I still haven't worn any of those items since the last decluttering 3 months ago, I decided they could all go. I kept 2 sentimental pieces and 3 "just fun" pieces that I do wear on occasion. Everything else though...out. The toughest thing to get rid of was a watch. It isn't anything fancy...just from Target...but it's so cute and I really love it. But, I haven't worn it (or any watch) in over a year. I keep thinking I'll keep it just in case I feel like wearing it someday....but yesterday I realized that the battery doesn't work anymore and the likelihood of me getting a new battery for it is slim to none. So, bye bye watch...you are super cute and I hope you look wonderful on someone else's wrist.
Containers. I have held on to several of my nice velvety boxes that my good jewelry came in. I don't store my jewelry in them, but I have been keeping them just in case I want to, or in case I want to use them when I travel or move. Well, yesterday I was honest with myself and realized that I never use them when I travel, likely won't when we move....and my mom gave me a traveling jewelry case for my birthday that I would be more likely to use. So, I finally tossed out the boxes. The best part of that was how much space they gave me in my drawer!! I just love space...I like to be able to see the bottoms of my drawers :) I also got rid of a few plastic containers I had bought when I was into "organizing" before my decluttering days. See, if you just declutter, you no longer have any reason to organize, because you don't have enough stuff to make you un-organized. Also, the less stuff you have, the less containers you need to store them in....and less containers is just less stuff :) It's a fun little circle :)
Lids. For whatever reason, I still had a couple of lids to food storage containers...but no containers for them to fit onto. No sense in keeping lids.
Thermal bags. I have 3 thermal lunch bags, each of differing sizes. They are all super cute patterns (notice how much I love "super cute" things??) so I have had a hard time wanting to get rid of them. Two of the three I actually use quite often. It's the third one...the smallest one, that I've never used in the two years I've owned it that I have never wanted to part with "just in case". Yesterday, my honesty was high, and I discarded it knowing it will never get used. It's just another cute item hanging out, taking up space in my house. I'd rather it have a new home where someone gets real use out of it.
Books. I have done a really good job getting rid of my books. I almost never read the same book twice, so there's really no reason to keep them once I finished reading. And if I ever do want to read a book again, I can always get it from the library or online. I do have 2 first aid books though that I got from classes I have taken, that, until yesterday, I wanted to keep. When I was looking through them yesterday I realized how unlikely I am to go look through those books in a situation where first aid is needed, when I could instead pull it up on the internet so much faster. Those books are now in my discard pile.
Toys. There really aren't many toys left to get rid of. We are at a pretty good place with toys, but I still find random small plastic pieces of toys we no longer have, or that came from birthday party favors or McDonald's that aren't really played with. My kids honestly play with everything but toys most days (mixing bowls, pots and pans, blankets and pillows, shoes, etc.) that I really don't feel we need a lot of toys at this point.
Duffel Bags. James and I had 3 duffel bags, but use the same two all the time. It was time for the third one to go even though it was, of course, super cute ;)
Towels. We have 16 bath towels in our house of 4 people. That doesn't include the 5 beach towels we have too....nor does it include the 5 that are stored away "just in case we buy a camper someday". I figure even if we have a house full of people over night, half of them probably won't shower, so we should be good with about 12, and even that may be too many.
So this is just a few things I got rid of yesterday. And when I say "got rid of"...I don't mean that I threw anything in the trash to sit in a landfill. It will either go to someone else I know, Goodwill, or a garage sale. I still have some things I'm mulling over getting rid of, but after a couple more rounds in the next year, they will probably all be gone. It feels so freeing to get rid of stuff and makes maintaining my house so much easier. Plus, I want to teach my kids that a person doesn't need much....but oh boy do I personally have a ways to go on that one before I can model it for my kids!
Happy Decluttering!! Let me know if you need help or even just a little nudge to get rid of something :)
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