Did my Life get too Cluttered?
Blog Note: I have severely disappointed one of my readers, maybe more and I am sorry. I started this declutter challenge back in Jan., 2011. We had 3 months worth of prizes added to the pile and a nice group of readers jumped on board and participated enthusiastically. Then my life took over (one kid graduating high school out of state plus open house, one graduating college, sick mom, another kid moved out, high school senior went to college, 2 kids got licences, a wedding, a bridal shower, yada-yada-yada! ) Anywho, I let the ball drop on this and I am sorry! Especially to my dear reader who is upset with me. But the challenge isn’t ruined yet…we have this month to get caught up!
So Let’s Catch up!
Anyway the deal was, you were supposed to declutter one item everyday for 365 days. Then you were supposed to give your input every month into how you were doing as your entry and I would add a prize to the pile each month. You guys did an awesome job of commenting in the first three months.
Jan. 2011 172 comments
Feb. 2011 68 comments
March 2011 101 comments
Here’s a story from one of our reader’s pictures, Jen S., that she shared on her decluttering efforts this year:
Jen S. sent this shot of her Egress before her Decluttering Efforts
Here’s Jen S. Egress after Decluttering! Amazing Right?
THE PRIZES!
The prize pile has the following items in it so far:
- $25 Pier One Gift Card (February addition to the Pile of Prizes)
- The $70 Grey Serena William Purse featured in our giveaway (March Addition)
So here’s the deal, this was supposed to be the last month and you were supposed to have 9 months of commenting. Also, I was supposed to add 9 more prizes to the pile. Okay here’s the Newest prizes:
- April Addition: Write it Down! Camping Journal ($12.95)
- May Addition: Microfiber Hair Wrap ($5)
- June Addition: Frownies pH-Balancing Complexion Wash and Rose Water Hydrator Spray ($20)
- July Addition: Latika Natural Soap: Handmade Darling Soaps ($20)
- August Addition: Faux Diamond Ring ($10)
- September Addition: 2 tubes of Motives lipstick by Lauren Ridinger ($44 retail)
- October Addition: Elf Nailpolish–5 Colors ($20)
- November Addition: Elf Eye Shadow –Multi Palette ($15)
- December Addition: Organic Shea Butter Soap ($5)
- January Additon: Juice Beauty Green Apple Hydration Mask ($10)
TOTAL: $252 in Prizes to be Won!!
Answer these 9 Decluttering questions in the Rafflecopter and we’ll find our De-cluttering Champion!
NEWCOMERS WELCOME!
Interested in joining the challenge, just fill out the remaining comments in the Rafflecopter below to jump in. While you missed your first three entries–you still can claim nine entries! Will you join us?
THE GIVEAWAY: Ends 11:59 January 23.
UPDATE: The Declutter Challenge Giveaway has ended. The Rafflecopter had 873 entries and has been deleted. Thank you for being part of this event for the entire year. See Giveaway Winners.
Blog Note: Some of these giveaways items were previously provided for review purposes. This post was not compensated and the giveaway was strictly as a fun event for interaction with readers!
Fun peppy music seems to always help me get in the mood to declutter.
Instead of trying to declutter everything at once, go room by room so you don’t get burnt out on cleaning or feel like you aren’t making any progress.
Absolutely got rid of 365 this year
My kids and my husband seem to cause the most clutter.
Once you have decluttered, keep on top of things. Use plastic bins to organize toys and only allow one or two bins of toys out at a time so there isn’t as big of a mess to clean up if your kids decide to dump out the toys.
Biggest challenge was moving from a big house with lots of storage to a smaller house with hardly any storage. Lots of books and games,clothes and shoes left
YES – probably quadruple that number. WooHoo!
My bedroom seems to be the clutter hotspot. My kids come in to talk to me while I’m working on homework and just dump whatever they’re playing with on my dresser.
My health – sometimes I just don’t have the strength(mentally or physically), to get the job done.
My garage, it seems like when we moved into our new place, everything just kind of got tossed in there.
I’m a sentimental old fool! With 10 grown kids, and 18 growing grand kids, that makes for a very dangerous risk of letting clutter take over.
All I have to do is watch an episode of Hoarders, and I get right back on track!!!
Hmmmm – Clear Plastic Bins. There is something about being able to see the “junk” that you take up space with, that motivates you to get rid of what you really don’t need!
Now that we are empty nesters, we really can’t blame the kids anymore:-( I think that my husband and I are equal opportunity offenders!
Using the 3 “box” system.
(You can use boxes, laundry baskets, garbage bags…what ever works best for you. I tend to use a laundry basket for Box #1, a box for Box #1, and a garbage bag for Box #3)
1st. Box – Stuff that gets put into other rooms right away.
2nd. Box – Stuff to give away.
3rd. Box – Stuff to throw away.
Doing one room at a time,grab anything that doesn’t belong there, and place into the appropriate “box”.
Hmmm – It’s a tie between the guest room, and the living room. I rarely have guests, so it becomes a catch all. I often work on tutus and other craft items, in the living room, and hate to put everything away, if I’m not finished with a project.
Our Garage! Unfortunately, most of the stuff in there is my husbands, and there is NO WAY that I’m gonna throw out any of his stuff. But, I have been encouraging him, and it’s coming along nicely.
🙂 It’s amazing what he can do, with the right incentives!
My biggest challenge has been paper!!! My husband was military and when we first got married he insisted we keep every proof of purchase and/or payments so there would never be a question about how we obtained things. Although we have been divorced over 30 years those habits seemed to stick with me.
Add to that I have purchased rental properties and I’m always afraid I’ll be forced to prove my expenses to IRS so I’ve been keeping everything. Now I’m scanning to a disk.
I’ve been scanning and shredding diligently.
My clutter hotspot is the kitchen table, ugh!
My biggest decluttering challenge is weeding out the kitchen cabinets of things I haven’t used in years!