Today is turning out to be a crazy day with the kids. They have a million things going on so I’m not going to be able to do much with the decluttering challenge. I set up the free table this morning but I only put up a card table and without the big table to draw attention, not many people are stopping. It’s so hard getting rid of these things.
My mom was over this morning. She hasn’t been in my house in a few months and she was in shock at how bad my living room and front porch are. She couldn’t believe how much stuff there was. As I’ve mentioned before, a lot of it comes from her so I had to laugh a little bit. I made sure to mention that this is the reason that I keep telling her that I don’t need anything. The worst part of it all is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have a few room in my house that look this bad. Ugh. Somedays it just seems hopeless but I know that I’m making progress.
I think you are allowed a day of “rest”, you do know that as of day 18 you have shed 671 items, right???? I think you have done a PHENOMENAL job 🙂 🙂
LOL.. I hadn’t added it up in a few days! I guess that is A LOT!! I don’t want to lose momentum though.
When you were growing up, was the house you lived in really clean? Or did it have a lot of clutter everywhere?
We lived in a tiny apartment and it was pretty packed. My mom worked two jobs so she wasn’t home much and I’m sure it was a mess.
I was just wondering if you tended to go the same direction or opposite direction – I feel like the house I lived in growing up was rather cluttered and there was lots of stuff everywhere but I went the opposite way as an adult. I can see how it could go either way, though. Some people tend to be like their parents in some ways and other times try to be completely opposite.
We’ve all had these kind of days. Sometimes a break is just the solution. Don’t stress yourself out because you are taking a day off. Enjoy the day! The clutter will be there tomorrow. You also are going through a change in your mindset about stuff. Give your mind a chance to mull it over. Whenever I take a few days off from decluttering, I can go back to an area I thought was finished and find more items to leave.
I also found that making regular trips to donate stuff helped. It got the stuff out of sight (and helped our taxes a bit!). I know you like the donation table but maybe some of it just needs to leave sooner rather than later.
My brain did need a little break. And I took your advice… I filled up my car today and hauled it all away to my local St. Vincent de Paul store! I’m so glad that it’s out of the house.
I’m with declutteringthestuff,
sometimes you just need a breather to mentally catch up to all the decluttering… and I’m really with her in GETTING THE STUFF OUT OF THE HOUSE, it is such a relief just getting the “crap” out of the house.
I try to give away as much as possible to friends and family or neighbors… but often that means it’s “hanging around the house” for people to have a look at it… sometimes that is OK, but sometimes I just NEED to get it out, for my own piece of mind.
I think at times driving stuff to a donate place can be extremely beneficiary in keeping the decluttering momentum going, as it makes it easier for us to see our progress 🙂
I’m rooting for you on your continuous decluttering journey, I’ll be following suit.. albeit at a bit of a slower rate 😉
I took the advice and got rid of it! It’s gone and out of the house. Yay! Now, I need to haul about 3 more truck loads over there and then maybe I’ll see a difference!
We all need a break sometimes! So hope you enjoyed yours and are ready to get back at it soon. Yes, I wish people wouldn’t keep giving us stuff too, I always feel guilty about slinging ‘gifts’ out but I am being much less sentimental now. And we tell people not to buy us presents any more. The best gift for me is flowers because you get to throw them away after they die.
I try to tell people that I want gift cards for things like gas and food. I know that with those, I won’t be bringing more clutter in. Flowers are a good one too though! I hadn’t thought about that.
Now that’s funny, right there! She’s in shock, and it’s her giving you stuff! Maybe NOW she will believe you when you say you don’t need anything!! Here’s hoping, Jen!!
I hope so! I think that she might get it now.. maybe.. lol
😉