For this week, I set a challenge for myself based on one I saw at Makeunder My Life.
I challenged myself to Throw Out 50 Things.
After doing a BIG purge while moving this summer, I was a little doubtful that I would be able to easily rustle up 50 more items to throw out.
And yet, here we are.
Some of these were easy, some I had to search for, and a few I had already earmarked for disposal.
Note: I only "threw out" a few of these items. The rest went to Goodwill.
1. Tablecloth & napkins
2. Placemats still in the box after 9 years
3. Leaky kid cup
4. Metal steamer
5. Food chopper - used 1x
6. Globe from hall light
7. Christmas cup
8, 9, 10. Cooking utensils
11. Pot lid holder
12, 13. Curtains
14. Duvet cover
15. Sham (yes, just 1)
16. 5 year old disposable camera
17. Collection of lids from take out cups
18. Tarnished napkin rings
19. Medicine dispenser
20. Knife cover
21, 22. Hats
23, 24. Pans
25. Grill pan
26, 27. Books
28, 29. Pajamas
30. Shirt
31. Hat
32. Jeans
33. Free tote bag
34. Slippers
35, 36, 37. Shirts
38. Bath fizzies
39. Sunglasses
40. Watch band
41-44. Shirts
45. Skirt
46, 47. Shirts
48,49. Pajama tops
50. Pants
This was a great exercise for me.
Although I found that I really have to question why I feel the need to hang to so many t-shirts with holes in them.
And while I bask in the glow of not just purging, but physically moving these items out of my house in a timely manner, I also find it disturbing that I still resist getting rid of some items - despite not having used them in YEARS. The "But, What If" mentality is strong in me, and is one that I think I will always have to fight. Which is doubly ironic because once those items are gone, I breathe a tiny sigh of pleasure over the reduction in clutter. It's a battle, folks, a CONSTANT battle. This is exactly why I need to plow ahead with The William Morris Project.
PS: It felt really good to complete this - to actually find & get rid of 50 items, but sharing the collection of stuff above feels like I am revealing my Crazy. Really, who keeps 16 take-out lids? Or two tarnished snowflake napkin rings when we are a family of 4? Or a watch band missing a connector pin? THIS GIRL.
13 comments:
The "what if" mentality is incredibly strong, isn't it? I do pretty well getting things rounded up, but getting it to Good Will seems to take me forever. Usually my items get to travel for a few months in the van before leaving home completely!
Oh my goodness, that sounds like so much fun! I realize 'fun' is probably not the best word to use, but what better way to motivate yourself to declutter than turning it into a 'treasure' hunt! Good job!
Throwing out 50 things is awesome. There are so many things that I totally hang on to 'just in case'. Thanks for motivating the rest of us to get rid of our unused stuff. {I have yogurt lids instead of take out, but still, there are quite a few!}
Getting rid of 50 things is such a great idea! I'm always amazed by the things (like takeout lids) that build up in my home without even realizing it. Way to get rid of some of the clutter!
Throwing out (donating, whatever) 50 items sounds like ALL SORTS OF FUN. I might have to do this!
I really struggle with the "what if" mentality. I have often thought we could benefit from a move simply because it would force us to go through our stuff and just get rid of some of it! We have waaaaay too much crap.
You come by it honestly - I have always had a clutter problem - I just hide it well
I love this idea. When we moved this summer I was happy with myself when I donated at least 3 trunkloads full of stuff to goodwill and sold a ton of stuff on craigslist. But since we have the pleasure of moving again this summer I've been trying to downsize a little more. It has amazed me how many things I couldn't part with the first time around but aren't making the cut this time. I'm going to copy your idea and rid myself of 50 things this week. Sadly, I don't think it will be that hard.
I keep stuff too, but I am getting better at letting go and it does feel so good once it is out of the house. Cool project by the way! We have that same grill pan. I hate it, but my husband doesn't...
Visiting from Jules' link up. As I was falling asleep last night I thought about doing this exact same thing. I bet it felt wonderful. Maybe I should add it to my list!
LOVE this. Sadly, I can probably come up with 50 items in just about every room...and clothes are another category, entirely. Great idea to put a number on it!
Great job! And don't feel alone in the crazy, You wouldn't believe the weird stuff I've been purging. Who stores 12 empty orangina bottles? This girl!
50 items, what a great idea! Right now, I feel like I've got 300+ items...50 for each room in the house :-)
Good luck with the WM project.
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