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!
I try to go through things and ask myself, When was the last time I used this? Have I utilized this for the original purpose? For instance, I have a stack of magazines that I just KNEW I would read…and STILL haven’t. TRASH!
Motivation has been hard for me, as I have little energy due to illness. Plus it is so overwhelming for me with such a small home, it is hard to see it as many small jobs instead of one HUGE undertaking. My best motivation this year was (as you had) grad parties and family coming so I had to get rid of things…simple embarrassment goes a long way to motivating. WE also had a baby coming (a live in grandchild) so I HAD to move kids all around into other rooms in order to make room for baby. I learned to do small jobs like ONE closet or drawer at a time and try to take baby steps towards a great end result.
The back bedroom. It’s TINY (doesn’t even have a closet. It’s maybe 6×8? It’s like a prison cell. So, it’s where all the “crap” goes, like storage. UGH!!!
no!
Best storage tip (after having water damage this past summer) is to keep items in large zippie bags that are waterproof, especially photos or books. For clothing, I put in large construction type garbage bags and then put into bins. To keep other items fresh in bins, I put dryer sheets in to keep them from smelling musty.
the kids
Papers, magazines, books. (although that’s not ALL!) I don’t throw them away, I think I’ll read them later, etc. Ugh. I’m not a hoarder, but it’s too much clutter.
we might use this one day! haha
My husband is the worst clutter person in our house, garage, shed, bedroom, etc. He keeps every magazine, clothing, tools, hobby items, etc. EVEN WHEN THINGS ARE BROKEN! He always thinks he can go back to refer to publications, will get to fixing things, or will be able to use things again. I am worst about sentimental things but he is far the worst about keeping things. We also have one of our 6 kids, a teen that is also bad too.
pictures or company coming
bin boxes
the children!
My favorite decluttering tips have been to have the kids only have ONE long bin that fits under their bed to keep ONLY their favorite projects. To take pictures of items to “keep” them in memory and then get rid of. To not keep items like clothes for other kids unless it will be less than 2 years away, as you can sell your items at garage sales and then buy back later at garage sales when you really need them. I had to remember that styles change and sometimes clothing breaks down (like elastic for instance) if you store too long. When decluttering for your first phase of this challenge, I went through everything in our keepsake bins and kept ONE outfit and ONE blanket for each child as a keepsake for them when they have children.
orginization!
playroom everything gets thrown in there
playroow everything gets thrown in thee
playroom!
our clutter hotspots are the kitchen counter (papers of ALL sorts), our basement back room which is supposed to be our storage room but is totally out of hand…we cant even get to our freezer much of the time. And finally, our garage, becomes a dumping ground. Each room also has clutter, mostly clothing and now toys again with a baby in the house. We had tried to “save” things like toys and clothes for younger kids or grandkids , thinking that would be the smart thing to do, but I did realize you can always find these items at garage sales again when you need them. Why all the clutter? Too many people in a tiny space and too much sentimentality connected to items.
Our clutter hot spot is our entry way- we tend to just drop keys, bags, whatever else as soon as we enter the door and never pick it up.
My biggest declutter challenge is my husband. He wont get rid of ANYTHING and he doesnt want me to go through his bins…some of them from college! (He is 43 and has some bins that are 10-20 years old, PLUS his mom brought 5 more boxes of “childhood stuff” to our house this summer after we finally had a garage sale. For me it has been sentimental items I hate parting with. For him it’s ANYTHING he thinks he might use again or something memory attached. sigh…