365 Days | 365 Items : Master Bathroom Vanity + Final Month Totals

365 Days | 365 Items Challenge

So forgive me. I missed a week, AGAIN.

The good news…missing a week does not derail the entire challenge. Unlike some other decluttering challenges out there, this one is meant to be done over the course of year, a bit at a time, with the end-result more important than each individual week.

So if you get off track, or blow a week. Don’t worry. Just commit to going through another shelf, drawer, cabinet, or bin next week.

But on to my challenge. This week I finished de-cluttering my bathroom and went through my vanity drawers.

Here is the sad state of affairs of both of vanity drawers when I started.

As, you can see, the top drawer was JAM PACKED full with various bits/cleansers/moisturizers/hairstuff. And the bottom drawer was JAM PACKED with everything that wouldn’t fit in the top drawer.

Again, I asked myself the same questions…

1. Is it my color?
2. Is this the only one I have of {insert beauty product name}?
3. Will I use this in the next six months?
4. Do I even know what this does?

If the answer was NO to any of those questions, I either threw it away or put it in the pile going to Safehouse. (I only gave unopened items to Safehouse.)

As usual, I found several items that NO was the answer. (In some cases, on all four questions…SAD, I know.)

Here were the casualties and another 18 items were put into the trash can.

1. 77 items this month. That’s crazy-sauce people. I got rid of 77 ITEMS. That’s a ton of cosmetics that were collecting dust in my bathrooms. I’ve always known I have an addiction problem, but these last four weeks have really made me aware.
2. It’s so much easier to find things. I know this goes without saying, that having less stuff, makes it easier to find stuff. There is something freeing about seeing SPACE in areas that used to be JAMMED full of stuff.
3. Outside of my kitchen, this month was the hardest. Understanding weaknesses is key. I could de-clutter my kids toy room in under 30 minutes flat and be BRUTAL about my choices, but it was hard to get rid of items this month. HARD, people. Could I have gotten rid of more…absolutely. But allowing myself a little grace was key. I still de-cluttered, but I was able to keep a fair amount of the things I love. Win-Win, I think.

Join me next week, as I tackle the spare bedroom (also known as the abyss where everything goes that doesn’t have a proper place like kid’s artwork, home decor, clothes, blankets, candles, pillows, stuffed animals, and more.)

So how did you do? What things did you let go this week? What are you doing with all of your unwanted items?

The 365 Day Challenge is getting rid of one item per day over the next year to declutter your house and your life. You can see all past posts on the 365 Days | 365 Items Challenge.

Image credit: ronstik / 123RF Stock Photo