Deslobification Update: 111 in 1/11

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned a goal I set of decluttering (donating, selling, or otherwise getting rid of stuff) 111 things within January 2011.

We surpassed 111 things!

We've got a "to donate" box, and we kept filling it and forgetting to drop things off, so when my wonderful husband finally did make the trip to Salvation Army (and then to Value Village because Salvation Army wasn't accepting any more donations) We had almost 4 boxes of stuff to donate.

Presenting our 111 Items:

1: Large Bag of Cotton Batting (I thought I'd take up quilting 2 years ago... nothing happened)

2-3: Speakers (they still work)

4-8: Computer games

9-11: Board Games

12-41: Books

42-44: Musical Instruments

45-57: Kitchen equipment (including dishes, coffee maker, and cake pans)

58-72: Candle holders/Home Decor

73-76: Craft Items (sewing kits, wreath form...)

77-104: Toys (stuffed animals, balls, cars, noisy toys)

105-11: Clothing and Random objects (locker shelf, blind for a car window...)

(I donated the toys to the church nursery so that our monkey can still play with them, but also so I don't need to constantly pick them up. Everything else went to Value Village)

We're hoping to keep decluttering, and maybe this year we'll shoot for decluttering 730 things in 365 days! (that's an average of 2 items per day, and so far in 30 days, we're already 15% finished!! We have 619 items to go and 338 days left)

I think we can do it. I have a whole bookshelf of cookbooks to go through, and we've got only a million toys or so for the monkey... I think we could get rid of 638 toys, and he'd still be fine! (he's got those mini plastic army figures...)

So far, my decluttering goals for 2011 are right on track.

Now I'm off to clean my partially decluttered house...

~A

Link Loves (January 22) and Word for the Year

I love the links from the Finer Things this week!

Specifically:

-the one talking about the National Debt (I'm Canadian, but we could still learn something from this article)

-the one talking about living small (This goes with my goal to organize, declutter, and simplify my home this year)

-the one about training your children (or how to be a lazy housewife) (Of course, if I wanted to follow this one, I would need to have 3 more kids, which could take quite a while...)

Also, tomorrow is National Pie day (not to be confused with pi day which is in March) and Life as Mom has quite a few pie-baking tips and recipes.

I'm hoping to make an Apple Pie, and maybe a Chicken Pot Pie (except I'll use turkey).

I should probably make a Lemon Meringue Pie too, for my sister's birthday, but I'll probably make it from a mix, not from scratch. (I know that it's cheating, but I'll be at my parents, and I'd rather not bake all day)

Other things I've been reading this week:

-I love the concept of making a different crochet block every week and then sewing them together into an afghan when I’ve got enough.

-These are the cutest Apple, Pear and Strawberry coasters! I know a few teachers I’d love to make these for.

-In the spirit of helping me get organized, I’d love to make a day planner like this one.

-This year I’m turning 25 (I’ve been trying to forget about that). I guess I should make a list of 25 things to do before I’m 25. Check out Tabitha's list.

I almost forgot! The Hubby and I have decided on our word for the year. We really want to live on purpose instead of coasting through. For that reason, we've decided that 2011 is going to be all about living intentionally. Our first intentional act this week was to redo our budget so that we could see where our money has been going, and where we are going to put it. Our priorities in life are the things we put the most time and money into. We as a family want our priorities to be clearly identified, so we're trying to clear out the clutter from our home, from our bodies, and from our minds.

This will be an amazing year of growth and changes, and we're all excited for where God brings us. I hope you all have an amazing weekend! We're headed to visit my sister for her birthday!

until next time,

~A

Deslobification...

Thanks so much to Nony from A Slob Comes Clean for this wonderful word which so aptly describes the process the Steeds are going through this year...

Two posts are inspiring me to be exceptionally strict this month with what I keep and what I get rid of. The first is from Nony from A Slob Comes Clean, who is taking over for Amy of The Finer Things and the 730 in 365 Challenge. I didn't get involved in this challenge (to declutter 730 items from your house in 2010) because I just found it a couple weeks ago, but I would love to make a similar goal for our family this year.

The second post that inspired me is from Jenny at Words on Wendhurst about 111 in 1/11, and decluttering 111 thing in January 2011. This is a large challenge, but we've got the stuff, and I'm hoping to not have it for long.

I'll try to take pictures, but I'm not promising anything fancy. Our camera is on the fritz, so I'm using a polaroid from my mother, and I'm not sure how it works yet.

Any suggestions or encouragement is really welcome!

Check back later this week as I'm narrowing down my word for the year. I'm leaning towards either "home" or "intentional" but I want to talk it over with hubby to see if he has any other ideas.

Thanks for reading!

~A