In 2010, Amy over at The Finer Things in Life made a goal to get rid of 730 things in 365 days, and hosted a monthly decluttering linky.
I felt like her challenge was made for me.
I loved looking back each month at my decluttering progress, seeing that some months were more productive than others, and having the opportunity to pat myself on the back or spur myself to do better the next month.
The best thing about stopping each month to do an update was that it helped me realize an entire month had passed.
Time-passage-awareness isn’t exactly one of my strengths, especially when it comes to my home. This is evidenced by things like my daughter’s April birthday cards being removed to make space for Christmas decor.
So here’s my November and December update . . . I had three posts in my decluttering category for those two months.
Three.
And my blog is all about my deslobification process.
In one of them, I didn’t actually get rid of the stuff, I just hid it under the kitchen sink, and another was more about cleaning than decluttering. The only one that truly counts was about my joy (experienced after the what-if-I-need-that-tomorrow-moment-of-panic) over having someone come pick up boxes and boxes of junk from my front door. Even though I had technically decluttered all of that stuff in previous months, I’d driven around my small town for quite a while with all of it sitting in the back of my Suburban, waiting to be dropped off by this scatter-brained mama.
I was a little relieved when I realized that although I didn’t post about it until January, it was technically still December when I threw away 21 pounds of coupons. But other than that, not a lot of decluttering went on around here during those months.
The fact is, there are seasons of life when decluttering can’t take priority over . . . living. Decluttering is mentally-tough-decision-making-work, and in the midst of preparing your home and family for the holidays, it’s OK to take a break from it.
Because no matter what, there will always be more decluttering to do.
Amy has had an extra full life for the past four months or so. With a newborn, three other children and a hubby to care for, the last thing she needed to think about was decluttering. Those are the days when you live with, and in-the-midst-of . . . whatcha got. So, when I volunteered to host the final 2010 decluttering linky, she quickly agreed. I believe her exact words were, “I’m tired.” She also gave me her blessing to keep the monthly link-ups going, here at A Slob Comes Clean.
Because decluttering is a never-ending process.
I’m going to go back over my own progress after each month, in an effort to be sure that I’m in a constant state of decluttering, and I’ll host a monthly linky, too. I’d love it if you would join in, sharing your own decluttering progress either in the comments or by linking up a blog post.
I’ll host the first one on February 1st, which is a Tuesday. Since January tends to be a great month for being motivated to organize, I hope you’ll come back and join in! I’m already excited about the decluttering I’ve done in the past week, and I know others of you are madly organizing as well.
Something about the fresh-start-feel of January makes you suddenly become aware of the things you don’t need anymore.
For now, you can link up below or leave a comment about how you did in November/December, or an overall report for 2010!
Emily says
I just came across the 730/365 clutter challenge in the last couple of days…it has spoken to me, too! I am going to work on this challenge starting today! I have already found 6 books to give to the local library, 9 purses and 2 bags to take to Good Will, and a whole bag of pew bow hangers and such for my MIL to use in her church wedding planning… I have caught up to 18 items for the 9 days of 2011! Thanks for the motivation!
Kimberly says
I am still laughing over your word, "deslobification"!
Shelly says
Count me in for February!
Amy @ Finer Things says
Thanks for taking this over! I *need* to keep participating. 🙂
Krajcimama says
Oh! Oh! Oh! I LOVE this idea! 🙂 Headed over to see what it's all about and most likely going to jump in feet first!
Christine S says
I am in! I have been working on taking back our foyer and formal living room (which is finally done) but there is still so much more to do! Love this blog!
ABCSteed says
I'm in! I've been trying to clear out stuff from our house these past few months, but not with any kind of goal in mind. I found the 730 challenge recently also (just like Emily) and I'm sure that we could easily donate/toss that many items.
Thanks for keeping the humor in the "deslobification" of your life!
Jenny @ Words on Wendhurst says
Thanks for the shout out! I am excited about the girls that are linking up and the progress we're all making! And you are absolutely right, decluttering is an ongoing process. Keep up the good work!
Kelly says
The 730 in 365 challenge was very motivating to me during 2010. I was able to rid my home of 2256 things!! I donated, freecycled, recycled, sold and trashed all of it. When you have a hard time finding 5 white elephant things for a holiday party, you know it worked, LOL!
I'm continuing the decluttering for 2011. Like you said, it's never-ending. My goal for the year is to get rid of 30 things per month.