Declutter Challenge: Week 7

Let's start by recapping what the "Declutter Challenge" is in the first place (read more here). This is my weekly challenge to get rid of any one item in my house. There are no restrictions about what it should be. The one item can be big, small, new, old, or even "where the heck did this come from." The point is to get a handle on the clutter that I am dealing with. I'm not a hoarder and I don't have any compulsion to buy stuff. I have simply accumulated too much stuff in my ## of years.



I just finished last week's challenge. Usually, it takes me until the next weekend to decide what to get rid of. Not this week! Today is President's Day, so I stayed at home with my little guy. While putting away laundry, I noticed that I had a few clothes (a Christmas sweatshirt and a torn pairs of jeans) that I had thrown on top of my drawers in my closet. Naughty me!

Well, I put those where they should go (yes, I saved the jeans because I make jean quilts). Then, I noticed that some of my drawers were too full. What did I do then? Why, I went through them and cleaned them out! I had already cleaned out the socks and underwear, but I found a drawer stuffed with old PJs that don't fit (but might someday). Some old belts, two hats, and a tie; all of which were purchased years ago for spirit days at the high school I worked at.

Yes, I was saving PJs, just in case I lost weight and could wear them. Really? Its not like they were designer PJs!

After I finished that, I noticed that the floor of the closet was very messy! I have pairs of shoes in there that don't fit (did you know pregnancy stretches your feet?), are old, uncomfortable, or just plain ugly. So, I decided to clean those out too. I pulled out two old pairs of tennis shoes, old old pair of dress shoes, one super cute pair that doesn't fit, and two pairs of flip-flops that aren't comfortable.

I love the blue ones! They look like denim with little daisies...missing them :(

What did I do with all this treasure you ask? I dumped it all in a bag and put it in my car to go to a thrift store!

Now, you may have noticed that my last two challenges (week 6) were actually more than just one item. My original challenge was to get rid of one item each week. That would end up being 52 items by the end of the year. One item each week is my goal and I'm sure as I get later in the year, I will be sticking to just one item (like in week 5). However, I had so many pairs of shoes to get rid of, that it would feel like cheating to send one pair of shoes each week.

 So, that is my completed challenge this week!

I like clearing out this way. I've always felt like I need to wait to clean up until I have time to really go through everything and clean out a whole car load. That is a daunting task! This break it all up, so I'm getting rid of a lot, but with the work all spread out over a year. Do you like the idea of clearing things out this way or do you prefer the all at once approach? Have you thought about joining me yet?