Decluttering Challenge: Days 15-21
September 20, 2008 by Maricar
Filed under Organizing and Clutter Control
The decluttering challenge I issued to myself is turning out to be harder than it looked at first. Really, one item a day shouldn’t be too hard, right? Well, it’s turning out to be a challenge. There are days when I haven’t tossed anything.
While we don’t have a whole lot of clutter, I know that there is still room to be had by paring down stuff to what’s useful or beautiful. But the hard part is deciding that something’s not useful anymore, or doesn’t add beauty to my home. It’s the letting go that is the challenge. But I’m determined to go ahead with this. So here’s my update of where I am so far in my decluttering efforts:
Day 15 – stack of old Parenting magazines, from 2004 – 2007
Day 16 – 3 more refrigerator magnets
Day 17 – half-consumed and expired box of cereal
Day 18 – crumpled cellophane sheet I’ve been “saving” for a craft
Day 19 – already-past invitation to a birthday party
Day 20 – 3 library books I’ve kept renewing but never read
Day 21 – a handful of sheets of my children’s scribbles (not drawings, just scribbles)
To see what I’ve thrown out on the first 14 days,
Decluttering Challenge: Days 2-4
Decluttering Challenge: Days 5-13
Decluttering Challenge: Day 14
Hi Maricar! I just found your 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge posts today. WTG on taking your own challenge and beginning your decluttering journey. The hardest part of doing something is starting and you’re now past that.
On our 365 Days of Decluttering blog, I have a list of challengers’ blogs. Would you like me to add yours?
I noticed that your last update was a month ago and really hope you haven’t given up on yourself! If you’ve been overwhelmed with life and have fallen off your challenge, that is OK. Just jump back in and join us where you are now. We are not about perfection here, insisting that it’s 100% results or nothing. Nuh uh, there’s no good use for that in our life.
Again, congrats on taking your own 365 Days of Decluttering challenge!
Hi Suzanne, thanks for dropping by. You’re right, it is difficult to do the challenge every day. I’m trying my best.
That is why we named it the 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge! Most of us are very experienced with “crash & burn” decluttering spurts. It’s the day-to-day stuff that gets away from us. By keeping the idea of choosing something to declutter each & every day it becomes a new way of thinking and routines are formed by simply doing it day after day.
Hopefully I can put a link. This post is from the early days of the challenge and you can see that you are not alone. There have been others who realized that their previous notion of decluttering one thing a day being very easy to do actually was not. The truly committed ones re-focused on their challenges and kept going. I hope you keeping going too, and continuing to do your best.