It's been quite rewarding to clear things away in both the space it creates in our home and within ourselves as we unload things that are nothing more than a physical burden. We want to have space and focus for the things we love, use, and value by clearing away the things that no longer fit that description for us.
I have continued clearing the clutter in our home by playing the Minimalism Game for the month of April. Numbers motivate me. Who knew that would be the case? I surely didn't!
I always see on YouTube people that share their "hauls" -- the things they went out and purchased and brought into their home then filmed a video to show all the "stuff" they bought. This for me is an "anti-haul" -- the things I am getting rid of instead of bringing into my home. For the record, some of the items here are things that Annah and Abigail wanted to get rid of so not all of the things are necessarily mine but I was given permission to include them in the anti-haul. So here we go....
Day 1: A cooler that served Tim well over the years but he just doesn't use anymore. We have another small cooler that is our go-to when we need it.
Day 2: How many caulk guns does one household need? The answer is one...only one. So we kept one and happily part with the other two!
Day 3: 2 unused notebooks and a dog tie out that is something
we only used a few times when we took Ella camping with us.
She's a little dog and surely doesn't need something that
big to stake her out. :)Wrapping her lead around a tree works perfectly fine.
Day 4: A make up bag no longer used and 3 bandanas that the girls used for girls camp over the years. Annah kept the 2 she wanted and the rest are gone.
Day 5: Two Christmas trees the girls used in their bedrooms that they no longer want, a fall picture that is totally not my style, a mirrored tray that Annah no longer uses and an old Avon bottle in the shape of the Eiffel Tower that Annah got from a thrift store that she no longer wants.
Day 6: 2 light up letters of A and V (belonged to Annah then she gave them to Abigail and Abigail is ready to let them go), a beat up (but cute) scarecrow that has seen better days, some fall garland that I have never used but kept for years, a votive holder that I no longer use and a stuffed pumpkin.
Day 7: 2 stuffed turkeys, a box of glittery pumpkins, 2 Christmas place mats, a bag of loose jingle bells, and one extra long glow stick.
Day 8: 2 bags that no one claims ownership to, 2 belts, 3 phone cases and an Americana style wooden heart.
Day 9: 1 mirror, 1 makeup bag, one hair cutting cape, a black zipper bag, fall glittery gems, fall clothes pins with felt leave shapes on the end,
a package of soccer themed stickers, a travel size pill box (had 2),
and bag of greenish colored stones.
Day 10: 10 various piano books that everyone agreed they don't use.
We kept the few that are loved and used.
Day 11: 11 books we no longer use. And we somehow had 2
of the piano simplified hymns books. :)
Day 12: A package of 12 LED tealights I bought to use for a
young women's activity some years ago.
Day 13: A box that I covered with paper and used to corral papers in but no longer need, a basket not needed anymore since it is emptied out, a plastic container no longer used, 2 toothbrush holders (from girl's camp days), a syringe bulb we had around for when Mackson lived in KY a few years ago, yet another phone case, a binder clip, a hand sanitize holder, 1 book, and 3 CDs.
Day 14: "Real Life Organizing" book (as much as I like the gal who wrote it, I hated the book), 1 cup that once stored makeup brushes, measuring cups, measuring spoons, yet ANOTHER phone case, a blue plastic cup, a bag of silverware, a make up storage tray, 2 pot holders and an oven mitt, and 3 baggies with no longer loved necklaces in them.
Day 15:13 baggies with various necklaces and earrings in them to give away, a lip pencil not my color and a back end of a pig phone holder that in theory works better than it really does.
Day 16: 14 shirts and 2 pants all being given away by Annah.
Day 17: 10 glasses, 2 mugs, 3 paring knives that are dull and
the basket they are all sitting in.
Day 18: 12 gift bags (I had waaay too many!) 4 bags with jewelry in them, 1 phone case (just how many phones cases did we have??)
and a small plastic bin.
Day 20: 1 book, 2 tote bags, 2 plastic pieces (one lid, one bottom) that no longer have their matching parts, 1 3 drawer unit I no longer use because of all the stuff I got rid of, on top of the drawers there is a nylon backpack, 1 Snow White costume, 1 lunch kit with a fork and knife (we had two), 1 sweater, 2 bags of white stones, 2 masquerade masks, 1 pair of wire cutters that no long cut anything, 1 wind chime, 1 small pink notebook, 1 pack of To and From labels, 1 magnet, 1 selfie stick.
Day 21:1 scarf, 2 woven baskets, 2 pairs of socks, 1 pair of tights, 1 pair of slippers, 6 shirts, 1 hat, a set of 3 books, pineapple lights, a headband, a set of drum sticks gifted to Annah last summer by the drummer at an outdoor show, a scarf hanger,a black painted board, and a flower stem.
Day 22: 7 blankets, 4 decorative pillows, a glass jar with lid, 2 Easter baskets, 2 camp pillows, a black leather jacket (contributed to the count by Jacob) and 5 various trowels that haven't been used in a great many years.:)
Day 23: 19 hangers, a camera case, 1 plaid cape that I haven't worn in probably 20 years, 1 pair of pants, and an apron.
Day 24: 1 book, a mirrored tray, a protractor,1 white basket, 2 fans, 1 clay lamp, 12 baggies with jewelry, 2 baggies of fairy lights, a faux succulent, a 3-tiered jewelry tray, and one tube of tub and tile caulk that is has been laying around for a LONG time!
Days 25-30: The following days began to get mixed up for my count each day as we cleaned out the garage and got rid a LOT of stuff! The pictures of the following things that we got rid of aren't specific to the number of the day but they were gathered and are gone, and more that isn't pictured! For instance, I got rid of a bin full of 37 Halloween items that I forgot to snap a picture of!
4 various sprinklers
3 watering cans, 2 metal flower, 1 Frisbee, 1 unopened hose splitter, 1 unopened replacement gas cap (to a car we no longer own),
1 broken snow scraper, 4 sprinklers
4 pairs of gloves, 2 hats, one scarf, and 2 pairs of boots.
1 metal pumpkin, a waffle maker, 2 sleds (radio flyer and one plastic), 2 empty boxes we were hanging onto, a baby walker, a broken ice scraper, 9 plastic containers (8 of them with lids),1 tote bag, and a small fan.
3 backpacks
1 large trash can
An old, empty propane tank, an old broom, a broken wooden sword, a walking stick, and 2 scrap boards
4 waist packs, a string backpack, and a pink rain poncho
2 pairs of garden gloves, an outdated soil test kits, a small claw and shovel, rusted hedge trimmers, 2 pairs of rubber work gloves, 1 clay flower pot,
and 6 different brushes
1 jewelry box that I have had for a lot of years but after paring down what I had
I didn't something this big.
And last but not least...a lazy susan, a phone case (another one? Really??), a pad of paper, a pocket size thesaurus, gel inserts, a pair of shoe laces, 1 handbag, 6 bowls, a blue holder of things :), a metal office tray, 2 wallets, 7 books, 1 pink basket, a box that has been kicking around and the
sequin pillow that kept track of the days for decluttering (thanks to Tim!). It now says "bye". :)
So there it is....the second month of decluttering. It feels so good to have cleared our nearly a thousand things (and probably more!) out of our home. It was a very freeing process to go through as we accessed just what different things meant to us. There is so much that doesn't matter! Little by little we will continue to separate out the things that don't matter to make room for what really does matter...both in our home and our hearts. <3
