How are you doing in the 365 Items in 365 Days Declutter Challenge? It's the 49th day of the year today so if you started in January, your target is to have purged 49 items by now. But don't worry if you've just started. Just jump in! It's always a good time to declutter :)
Today I'll be sharing what I've decluttered since my last update in December. As you know I was down and out for most of January, so I didn't do a lot of decluttering, but I will work extra hard next month to catch up with my average of 1 item per day goal! Oh, and this doesn't count for me personally, but in the last few weeks I've helped my clients declutter approximately 5 giant bags of recycling, 8 bags of garbage, 6 boxes of donations, plus a bunch of large items for garbage, donation, or giveaway. I love my job :)
By doing these monthly updates I hope to give you ideas of things you can purge from your home!
Most of what I decluttered this month was holiday-related or seasonal (plus a few other random items of course!). Even though I'd decluttered a lot before Christmas, there were still items I decided to purge afterwards.
Here are the Christmas items we decluttered in January:
- 1 sheet of window decals (we've got LOTS of them and this was a duplicate one that we didn't end up using this year)
- 1 set of outdoor lights (we haven't used them in several years because my kids keep choosing the coloured ones we have instead of these white ones)
- 1 candy cane striped candle with a buried wick (we have quite a few candles and since we switched our entertainment unit for a smaller unit that the TV sits on top of, we have less space for decorations now - this one had to go!)
- 2 wooden wall decorations (I've had these for years but just felt like I had too many so I purged these older ones that are less sentimental to my kids)
- 2 plastic containers with lids (these don't seal as well as my Rubbermaid ones and even though they're cute for the holidays, I'd prefer function when it comes to baked goods)
- 1 set of Christmas CD's, 1 Christmas CD, and 2 Christmas cassettes (we haven't listened to the CD's the last couple of years and I don't have a cassette player anymore so I purchased these 2 albums on itunes and got rid of the cassettes)
- 1 snowman container with Christmas playing cards inside (we never use it and even when we played cards over the holidays we used our "regular" decks)
- 2 bath puffs (the kids didn't care about using them this year)
- 1 holiday planner (I haven't used this because I use my regular calendars and lists)
All the above items were donated except the candle and bath puffs which were tossed in the garbage.
We also gave away our Fisher-Price nativity set. My daughter used to LOVE this set, but she barely touched it this year. I still thought she'd want to hang onto it, but when I asked her about it she said she would like to give it to her cousins since they don't have one and are young enough to still play with it. I was surprised but proud :)
After Christmas was put away, we pulled out our winter bin to decorate our house. As we did so, I purged a few more items.
- 2 winter candle holders (again we have less surface space to display things now)
- 1 set of snowman salt and pepper shakers (I like my polar bear set better so these weren't used much)
My daughter was given this winter hat (or toque as we call it here in Canada eh?!) at her last dentist appointment but it's WAY too big (which is odd since all their patients are kids!). My hubby and I have enough of our own hats so we donated this one so someone else who really needs a winter hat can use it.
Moving on from seasonal items, we did have a few other items we decluttered. To make space for some of the new electronic items my kids received for Christmas, they purged some older things:
- 1 Wii game (it's cute and my daughter and I love polar bears, but we didn't really play the game very often)
- 1 DSi game (my daughter was willing to part with her Dora game to make room for some more challenging ones now that she's 8)
- 2 nunchucks and 1 remote for the Wii (they weren't working very well and the kids play xBox more than Wii so they didn't need as many)
- And this is unrelated to the electronic items but I didn't feel like taking a separate picture... my hubby donated 1 book that he read and likely wouldn't read again.
Also following the one-in-one-out rule, we gave my daughter some new sheets for Christmas and she agreed to purge these Mickey Mouse ones that she loved (they were ripped and had really thinned out).
My hubby received this Rowan Atkinson CD for Christmas but it turned out he already had it so he gave this one back to his sister so she could enjoy it too.
I received a few new sets of pajamas for Christmas and my birthday so I purged 1 pair of fleece PJ pants (they were a bit small) and 1 set of pajamas (very sad to have to toss them but they were very worn out).
But at least now I can close my pajama drawer again :)
In addition to the items pictured, I also decluttered:
- 2 sets of lingerie (they were too small)
- 1 travel toothbrush holder (it had gone moldy inside... yuck!)
- 7 bags of shredding (I love going through my files in the new year and getting rid of all the old stuff I don't need any more! Although I won't be doing as much in future years because I've switched so many bills to electronic versions that I don't have much left in my file drawer!)
All totaled, that makes 40 items decluttered in the last month and a half. Not as good as last year, but I'll catch up :) I'm starting a fresh count in 2015 so that is also my total for the year so far.
It is so great to be doing this challenge with all of you and sharing our progress together! I hope my decluttering has inspired you to look around your home with fresh eyes!
So, that's my decluttering journey this month! I'm so glad you're part of the 365 Items in 365 Days Declutter Challenge and I hope this post gives you some ideas of what you can purge next! If you haven't joined yet... jump in!
Are you ready to declutter?!
With spring coming, it's a great time to get rid of the stuff you've accumulated over the winter so you can have a fresh start. By the way, you'll love the Spring Cleaning Printable Bundle that's going on sale on Friday. It's not just about cleaning... several of the printables will help you declutter too!
[Update: Here's the link to the Spring Cleaning Bundle sale - it's only available until Sat Feb 28!]
Remember to tell others about this challenge. They'll thank you for helping them declutter. Feel free to grab this button to spread the news if you're a blogger or have a website.
If you need any decluttering ideas to get you started or keep you going, check out the other posts from the series below... it seem to write about decluttering a lot :) You can also follow my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board on Pinterest.
What did you declutter this month? Do you have clutter you want to purge before the holidays? Do you declutter on a daily basis? Have you joined the 365 in 365 Challenge yet?
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Here are all the posts in the 365 Items in 365 Days series:
