365 Days | 365 Items – Calm The Clutter House Project

So about a week ago, I hit the wall.

The “Why Do I Have So Much Schtuff?” wall.

It happened because I was trying to find a hanger in my closet. Upon further inspection, I realized I had racks full of shirts, pants, or dresses on hangers. Unfortunately, most of those items had not worn in over a year. In some cases, it had been several years since the item (formal dress of 2001) has seen the light of day.

It was ridiculous.

But being the person that I am, I ignored it and moved on to something else.

A few hours later, I opened the spare bedroom closet and had “schtuff” fall on me.

You can visualize it, right? Opening the closet door and having to move like Batman because a whole shelf full of “schtuff” falls down. And because you don’t want to deal with it (I might need/use/desire/ignore it some day), you use your best JENGA moves and pile it back up on the shelf and shut the door quickly…because if I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.

I’ve decided that enough is enough, and I’m calming the clutter in my house.

Over next 365 days and getting rid of 365 items.

Here are my rules…

1. The item had to be something that was either given to me or I spent money on. (Piles of school papers or kids artwork don’t count.)
2. It has to have been in my house for 30 days or more.
3. The discarded item then needs to be sold, given away or thrown away before the month end. (Because it does no good to just move it from room to room.)

And my schedule…

• July – My Bedroom
• August – Bathrooms (all four of them)
• September – Kids Bedrooms
• October – Living Room
• November – Kitchen
• December – Holiday Decor/Attic
• January – Kids Playroom
• February – Office
• March – Spare Bedroom
• April – Pantry
• May – Garage/Shed
• June – Basement

And to make sure I stay on track, I’m sharing the experience with you. The WHOLE experience.

• A weekly recap on Saturday.
• Includes my seven items + an explanation of why I bought/given the item in the first place and why I’m getting rid of it.

And a side note…this is NOT a “let’s live like minimalists” kind of series. I’m not a minimalist. I own over 25 small kitchen appliances, people! But, I “get” that I have a ton of “schtuff” that no longer serves a purpose (nasty fake flower arrangement from 2003) that just needs to be gone. And while the thought of doing it all at once gives me the hive, getting rid of one item per day seems easy. (In theory, but I haven’t started yet, either.)

So if you are interested, I’d love to have you join me.

365 Days | 365 Items Challenge

Image credit: ronstik / 123RF Stock Photo