Month 3–It’s spring…are you slowing down or speeding up?
Whoopsie, In April–my den clutter got worse!! Ewww!!
For April, my den got worse..Far worse. But I am hopeful… How did well did your efforts go?
In February, over 50 readers of Still Blonde after all these YEARS took the Decluttering Challenge . In March, over 25 more joined the cause. They along with me pledged to throw out, giveaway or donate 365 items in 365 days. Well, a month has passed and it’s time to check in and report.
NEWCOMERS WELCOME!
Interested in joining the challenge, just make a comment below that you are ready to jump in. While you missed your first month’s entry, you still have 10 more months to go…and clean! Will you join us?
THE GIVEAWAY:
I promised that I would award the winner of this contest (chosen from all monthly comments and the end of the 12 month period) a prize that exceeds $100. So here’s the Pile of Prizes:
- $25 Pier One Gift Card (February addition to the Pile of Prizes)
- The $70 Grey Serena William Purse featured in our giveaway (March Addition)
More to be added each month! Won’t you join in for the fun?
One comment=One entry. Only one entry per month. Unless I decide to do a bonus…which I am not going to do this month. Giveaway ends Jan. 25, 2012
HOW DID I DO? HOW DID YOU DO?
For my part, I lost some steam, I did get rid of a bunch of magazines and books. I think spring wiil help motivate me! The den shot MUST improve for next month!
Here’s some input from you guys over the last month (with 77 people now participating, we have some dedicated declutterers!) :
Pamela S. Said: I just threw out about 10 shoe boxes. I was saving them for if my son had a project, but he is getting a little old for those types of projects now that he is in high school. (HAHAHAHA!) .If I see flea market sales in which I can buy a table and sell stuff there, I plan to load up my car as much as possible, and sell stuff.
Sarah Said: I’m at a bit of a standstill in my decluttering efforts as the books and videos mentioned in my last post still have not made it out the door. My next project will be to clean out the pantry off the kitchen that is a repository for dead candles and diffusers, among other things.
R Hicks said: We have accumulated so much stuff over the years. I recently went thru our basement and hauled away 2 truckloads!
Betty C said: My biggest challenge is paper! I recycle all the time and I never seem to get ahead. My daughter-in-law brings me boxes from WalMart and I can fill up 2 or 3 every week for recycling.
Paula Mitchell said: I am soooo taking you up on this challenge although I’m a little late to the game:) I followed a link here from Maple Leaf Mommy and am going to start my daily decluttering exercise right now! I vow that I will trash, sell, donate or recycle one item bigger than my fist worth more than $5 each and every day. I’ll be back next month to let you know how it’s going!! I think I’ll do a series on my blog as well… What a great idea!! I’ll make sure to link to you and give you cudos for your awesome idea. I hope my husband doesn’t find out that I’m getting rid of stuff…he’s definitely a keeper of things!
Cathy H Said: I was going to start tackling the attic, but it has been too cold. But we had a couple of warm days and worked on the shed area. Took many things to the dump and made a lot of free space. Found a huge bee’s nest in there and it was fascinating to look at! I also spent a day organzing my art studio.
Vicki B said: I decluttered a two foot tall pile of boys clothes age newborn-2 years today. I need to do my pile of mail that is buy the front door next there are ads in their back to christmas and before.
365 in 365…I think some of you have some catching up to do….
Those who already in the group get a special newsletter!
If you have a blog, please copy with button to your blog! And get your reader’s decluttering too!
been meaning to tell you I got rid of a half an outdoor size garbage can of stuff this weekend (pats self on back) Lots of extraneous papers, boxes I was saving because you never know when you might need them, recycled mailing envelopes, tubes, old plastic shelving. My mom was here helping me get a grip on things 😀
I thought this was such a great idea I blogged it. Lets hope some more folks jump on!
I’m in on this! My husband will be so thankful to ge rid of some of this stuff!
Hi all! I need some motivation so I am joining up with this challenge. My hubby is the clean one in our family… I am the pack rat! He will be so proud of me if I can do this! 🙂
I wanted to do the linen closet but have had knee problems this past month. So I did little decluttering projects. I got rid of old prescriptions and vitamins. I also cleaned out the dresser drawers of junk stuff.
Mary! that’s fantastic that you realized the the littel projects are important too!
Have you seen the $800 worth of contests that we have right now of the RIght hand side bar of the blog? Here’s one:
https://stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2011/05/75-braggables-handbag-and-accessories-giveaway-and-review/
I guess I would like to join in. I just went through my pantry and and sorted out all the canned goods and shelf stable foods that my kids refuse to eat. They were all still good so I donated the food to my local food drive last Sunday, May 1.
Great Job Danielle! Thanks for Joining in.
The Chief Blonde!
It’s only May 3rd, but so far this month I’ve gotten rid of a huge trash bag of clothes(mine), I mean huge…one of those industrial sized trash bags. I got rid of 6 pairs of toddler shoes, a pair of my husband shoes, some pet stuff and 3 moving boxes worth of junk. Everything went via freecycle! I didn’t have to go to the dump at all. I am hoping to get rid of even more since the month is still young!
Dear Jen,
THat is fantastic. I have been sticking to my one thing a day pretty much but one thing is one thing right? You go girl!
The Chief Blonde
i have a bad habit of collecting lots of catalogs & magazines…i sat & went thru them & tore out recipes etc what i wanted & threw out the rest…cleared out alot…yipeeeeeeeeeeeee@
pkeintz@gmail.com
Great Job Polly! Now organize those magazine articles! The Chief Blonde
in january we donated 264 items to our local women’s and children’s domestic abuse shelter and in april another 450 we have made one heck of a dent in our storage shed our 2 front closets my wifes dresser and closet our pet supplies our unused dishes and garden decor and at the same time helped a group that doesnt and cant stay in the public eye and mind for safety reasons. when so many devastating events take place in the world their resources usually go to other causes and their needs don’t stop being desperate. im not trying to brag just asking you to put this thought before your readers as an important one to consider and it might make their 365 items easier when they consider the bennefiter
I have to say that April has been a better month for de-cluttering.
I have to admit I am still having a difficult time with just the letting things go part. :/
Idk if anyone else has had this happen but one particular day when much floor space was revealed in one of my rooms; I had this overwhelming sense of loneliness fill me inside. I mean I kind of knew I used ‘things’to replace people or bury feelings but I had no idea I would ‘feel’ that. It’s one thing to ‘think’ something and sometimes very startling to ‘know’ something. It was a definite learning moment for me.
I am seeing more floor space; finding things I had forgotten/had and needed; found some money; and learning things about myself in the process.
I have not covered the space that was ‘found’ for which I am patting myself on the back; however, I did still go and order things I don’t need.
This is a great project and definitely a learning process for me, some days are better than others. 🙂
I am so glad to be a part of this. Thank you! 🙂
Mippy,
Such a wonderful thoughtful piece. THanks for letting us in on your thoughts. I am sure tons of people are feeling some of what you are feeling! I can especially relate to the “I did order some stuff I don’t need”. But I am good at taking stuff back to.. Are you? Glad you aren’t covering up the cleaned space!
The Chief Blonde
This month I’m filling boxes with items for a yard sale. Whatever doesn’t sell will go immediately to one of our local thrift stores or on Freecycle. So far I have filled about a dozen boxes some large and several smaller ones.
THanks For letting me know where you are at Betty!
The Chief Blonde!
I think my battle tends to be one step forward and two steps back, but I’m on the forward steps at the moment! I managed to clear off the kitchen table and made good progress on the freezer. Also, there is a pretty clean space on the kitchen bar!
Laura Pruett
backflash_tuna@juno.com
Thanks for stopping in Laura and letting us know about your progress!
The Chief Blonde!
i just bagged up two trashbags of old toys to donate..have probably 2 more to fill this month
nannypanpan at sbcglobal.net
I’ve made progress on stacks of paper items but as far as ‘hard goods’ go – there is much more work to be done!
Hi Carma, Gosh don’t you know it. My den is just disgusting…really. I just have to do it. Hopefully in May, I’ll have something positive to show. Although, I am sticking to the one item per day rule pretty closely!
The Chief Blonde
I’m just getting cracking!! I’ve started with my baby’s dresser last week and have moved onto my husband’s dresser this week. Where do you stand on decluttering a family member’s stuff without them around?? I’ve got no problem going through the kids stuff and getting rid of things without telling them but am on the fence with my husband’s things. I mean, don’t get me wrong, some of his stuff is going to get the boot too but I’m wondering if I should “chat” (read discuss loudly) with him before it gets kicked to the curb!! lol
HI Paula,
If he has had a problem with you doing in the past, definitely discuss it. I find the best thing to do is to clean everything else first, then they know they are the last hold out then it’s hard to argue. If you start with them first…they tend to “testy”.
The Chief Blonde!
Would love to join in. My garage will have to b the first on the list to b gone through. Wondering if my car counts the kids use that as a dumping ground..its bad . Okay now to that garage!Thanks for the motivation.
Amy,
SO glad to have you here! Yes, the car is a great place to start. The thing I think about the car is that you can get it clean (Usually) in a day. It brings such pleasure and then you can monitor the “Re-messing” up quite easily. Keep track of your progress so you can report in next month!
The Cheif Blonde!
Hi, my hubby and I went through his closet and got rid of a bunch of clothes that he just never wears (we gave them to Goodwill).
Keep up the great work Shala!
The CHief Blonde!
Freecycled an old freezer and 100 old magazines. Ebayed some junk that i’ve been saving and i’m going to use the egg cartons that i collected ( for a possible craft that i would never have done) for a recycling petal for my girl scout group. I’m doing pretty well but have a lot to go.
I moved @ downsized so my clutter was cleaned out.
Great Job Camilla!
The CHief Blonde!
This month I was able to get rid of 20 items- 5 phonebooks that have been sitting in my kitchen collecting dust. We’ve gotten all of them since we moved in August, and we never even use a phonebook- we go to the internet for everything. So into recycling those phone books went! The rest of it was mostly clothes that I can’t wear due to being pregnant, and that I know I won’t likely wear again once I’m small enough.
Stromy–I forgot I got rid of phone books this month too. I throw out so much stuff I can’t even remember that I am doing such a good job. Hmmm, I think there is some more in there that need to go! Good luck with the Baby!!
The Chief Blonde