My September Decluttering Challenge is to declutter as many items a day as the date. I should have 465 items decluttered by the end of the month. However, I am giving myself permission to stop at 300 items decluttered or carry it until I have a total of 500 items. We shall see how it goes! But, to keep myself accountable, I took pictures of what I've decluttered this week:
1sr - 1 Magazine (free; M picked it up when he attended the tomato festival and bought the heirloom tomato plants)
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| 1 Magazine |
2md - 2 Empty Containers (Yellow one came with some toiletries, I think)
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| 2 Containers |
3rd - 1 Artificial succulents planter (a gift), 1 blue and white decorative teapot (I bought for my collection), 1 decorative pot cover (something that most people would have thrown away as soon as they bought the plant, but, I thought I could reuse for another potted plant and didn't)
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| 1 Planter, 1 Teapot, 1 decorative pot cover |
4th - 1 Purple plastic pot, 3 brass coasters (from Sri Lanka - there must have been 4, but, I don't know what happened to the 4th one)
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| 1 plastic pot, 3 brass coasters |
5th - 1 Beaded cat design purse (beads coming off), 1 flower that used to be attached to a head band or something, 2 fabric masks that I sewed and used at the beginning of Covid, 1 paper mache wallet
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| 5 Items on the 5th |
6th - 1 foil baking tray, 1 foil serving tray, 1 plastic serving tray(all three given to me with food at various times), 1 tote bag (used to take it to work), 1 Trivial Pursuits game (from neighbor T's yard sale; I took it thinking daughter and I or daughter and friends will play when she came down over the holidays, but, we haven't played), 1 pair of barely working head phones
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| 6 on the 6th |
7th - Seven pairs of knee highs (don't wear them much, anymore, since I retired; I've more in the drawer if I need them!)
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| 7 pairs of knee highs |
1+2+3+4+5+6+7 = 28 items decluttered.
And there you have it - the first week of decluttering!
Are you decluttering, too?
Well done, you make the decluttering look easy. I wish I could make a start but I can't, low energy, no willpower or determination. other things on my mind, so many excuses!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. To be quite honest, decluttering is not easy for me; my tendency is to hold on to things, especially if I think they'd come in useful one day. I think it would be easier if I really had a need to declutter, such as downsizing. But, every now and then, I feel that I have an abundance of things and I don't really need to have so much. It's more mental for me than anything else. I like the number of items as the date method because I can ease into it - start small - and there's a daily limit. I can stop once I get to the day's number of items. Often, at the beginning, I just need about 5 minutes a day to gather that number of items.
DeleteMaybe you don't need to declutter? Not everyone has to declutter. Maybe you don't keep things like old magazines or empty containers. If so, you don't need to declutter. :)
Yes trying to declutter, but not doing it as efficiently as you
ReplyDeleteThat's fine, Angela. We all declutter at our own pace, don't we? I often decide what I'd declutter before I actually physically remove the item. For me, it's easier to declutter once I've mentally prepared myself to do so. :)
DeleteYou're on a roll! That looks like the original Trivial Pursuit game that came out decades ago. It would be interesting to see how your daughter and friends did with the questions since many of them are based on "current" pop culture. I always find it interesting to see what is common knowledge to me, but not to my kids because of our age differences. Anyway, I'm sure there are games online that would test the same thing. Good job getting rid of it and the other things.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. Yes, I thought it would be fun to try the Trivial Pursuits game with my daughter or for my daughter and her friends, but, it's been with me for a year and no one has played with it. Time to let it go and maybe someone else might find it of interest. :)
DeleteWell done! I'm not nearly as industrious. I'm trying one item a day. So far six, i need to catch up already!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. An item a day is fine, too, and if you don't find something to declutter, that's fine, too, as that would mean that there's nothing more to declutter at this point in time. :) What I am decluttering now are items that I wanted to keep the previous times.
DeleteWell done you, I'm decluttering again, having found a whole lot of stuff in the old bed drawers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Chris. Good luck with your own decluttering. It's an on-going process, isn't it?
DeleteI'm trying and I was amused to see that you have decluttered that red flower, because I am hanging onto a blue flower that broke off an artificial flower spray. Every time I pick it up to throw it away, I put it back because it might be a useful craft item one day! You know what I mean, don't you? It could stay put for another few years if I live that long. On the plus side, it isn't taking up much space!
ReplyDeleteI do know what you mean, Bushlady, because I have other flowers stashed in other places waiting to be used! I often attach a flower instead of a bow to gifts or to decorate something. But, I was ready to declutter this particular flower. :)
DeleteSorry, I must have sent my response to yesterday’s very, very hot post out into the ether instead of to you. 🤦🏻♀️
ReplyDeleteWe had another beautiful day today with perfect weather.
I have been enthusiastically declutterring. My latest has been recycling cardboard cartons. How many could we possibly need? I have hovered over some things that probably should have gone out years ago, so maybe when I see them next round (or next…), I’ll be ready to part. 🤔
No need to apologize, Taconix; I found your missing comment in my spam folder, along with one of my own responses to someone else's comment!
DeleteI'm glad you had another beautiful day; we had another hot day!
Well done on your decluttering! Oh, my, yes, cardboard cartons and boxes! I have a whole collection of them, myself. I sometimes use the bigger boxes as weed control in the garden (flattening them out and putting them down to cover an area). But, I tend to hang on to the smaller ones, thinking I could reuse the as storage containers! I've several items that I think I should declutter, but, then, I'm not quite ready to do so, right now. Like you, I might be ready the next time around. :)
Bless you are doing really well with your September decluttering project. I agree that you have to be in the mood & mindset to make worthwhile decisions. I had another look through my closet & have donated a few items. My biggest clear out was the frig as we had a new one delivered & I took that opportunity to do a deep dive clear out (along with cleaning).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary-Lou. Yes, you really need to be in the right mindset to declutter. I am now ready to declutter a few of the items I'd wanted to keep during earlier decluttering sessions. Enjoy your new fridge!
DeleteWell done on the decluttering! I am hoping to get restarted now that I'm back home again
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. Welcome back!
DeleteYou've made an amazing start. I'm sure I could join you in managing to find a few more items to declutter. Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. It's always easier during the first week, but it gets harder as the number of items increase by day!
DeleteI'd be happy to have you decluttering along with me! :)
Well I said it via email but if you get rid of that Quality Street tub, what are you going to use when you come blackberry picking? I use those tubs for that purpose. It stops me overfilling, so I can put the lid on and they don't roll around in the car on the way home! There are still quite a few there - so I reckon you could fill it with about a kilo! ;o) I am busy thinking how you could repurpose your "rubbish" - use the kneehighs as a jelly strainer maybe!! (But then you have to make jelly just to put them to use... there may be a flaw in this idea.) Put a ball in the end and play with Dancer! As I said via email, I can sympathise about the chopsticks - so many modern societies splash these single-use items around without thought. GB is bad enough, Japan is worse and I suspect the US is no better! I just return it all to the shop before it even makes it home.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the Quality Street container has already gone in the recycling bin. I guess I'll have to bring one of my other containers when I come to pick blackberries. :) I have a couple of those plastic shoeboxes with lids. I did consider using the knee highs in the garden to tie plants to supports (I've done that before), but, I still have several pairs of knee highs in the drawer if needed. There were lots of ideas online on other uses for chopsticks, but, I decided that I will simply recycle them. Maybe, the next time I order take out from that restaurant, I'll specify that I don't need any chopsticks as I have some at home, already.
DeleteGood idea. Best not to accept them in the first place. It was about 20 years ago, but I seem to recall being shocked about the amount of single-use plates and cutlery all over the place in the US. Not just the obvious (McD's and other takeaway places) but also it seemed to be the norm when sitting in restaurants. It's an abomination!
DeleteWhat I actually came back to say was that I like the brass coasters with the elephants! You could use them on your street food stall (for tips!) or bring them to me when you come blackberrying!
The brass coasters are pretty, aren't they? Maybe I will bring them to you! But, seriously, I am looking at things with a rather critical eye - the brass items need regular polishing and I will do it, but, I know for a fact that my daughter won't. What I am doing is not quite the so-called Swedish death cleaning as my daughter assures me she will not mind having to sort through my collections when the time comes, but, I am trying to lighten the load and make it easier for her.
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