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!
My favorite tip – I recently agreed to leave some stuff out for a local charity. Now I’m on their mailing list and they call me every 3 weeks. I figure if I get rid of 2 or 3 boxes every time the clutter will be gone before I know it!
My biggest challenge? Definitely the office..ugh. Depressed just thinking about it.
Probably more than that! I cleaned out my closets and my basement several times. My friend had alot of items for her yard sales this past summer!
No One, not even my husband! He knows once I start it is best to stay out of my way!
Who gave it to me. I only keep things from my most loved family and friends.
By telling myself I need room for my new things!!
Label, label, label! You need to label things so that you can find them without wasting alot of time!
My husband is the worse.
I have started using plastic bins that go under my bed. Seems to help some.
My shoe area in my closet, I just can’t seem to let go of my shoes!
My clothes closet!
I got rid of a lot of things this year as we bought new furniture and got rid of the old. I guess that doesn’t count if you quickly replace the old with the new. I’m sure I have gotten rid of that many pieces of paper…I won a new shredder earlier this year. Thanks for a great giveaway and I hope I did this right, I was a little confused about the timeline thing.
Hahaha! My husband is always standing in my way of decluttering. I can’t tell you how many times in the last 25 years he has said “some day we’ll need that” and once in a great while I’ll need something and he’ll show up with it and say, “see I told you so”. I hate it when he’s right. But, do we really need to maintain a disorganized hardware store in our basement, and of course I can’t find anything when I need it.
The biggest factor for me on whether I keep something or throw it out is it’s usefulness and sentimental value. My children are almost 30 and 21 and I still display some of their elementary christmas crafts every christmas. But, having maintaining my own home for 30 years now, we have most everything we need, so if it is not useful and functional, I try to get rid of it.
My motivation is cleaning. I live in a dusty old log cabin and I don’t want to be dusting useless nick nacks and papers. So it help me to find places to put things away.
A storage tip is you definately need a file cabinet. My dad had this neat old file cabinet it’s a dark walnut veneer and has three layers that come apart with a top and 9 drawers. I remember when I brought it to my house and cleaned it up to put in my office, my husband the big clutterer himself was like what are you going to do with 9 drawers, I just looked at him in disbelief. Some people don’t have a clue!
Like I said, my husband is the biggest offender of clutter. I guess you can’t teach an old dog!
My favorite decluttering tip is that if you haven’t worn a piece of clothing in two seasons, you probably won’t so get rid of it. Though I think I’m guilty of not following that tip myself, always thinking that if I just go back down a size, I can wear it.
The hottest spot is our basement, why? because that is where my husband puts all of his junk, junk we don’t need or use. He’s a hopeless horder!
My biggest decluttering challenge is getting my husband to throw junk out. Stuff that has no usefulness, yet he thinks someday it will. My gosh he even still has an 8 track player.