Guest post from Sara of Traveling PhoBlog WriPher:
If there were a competition for de-cluttering, I’d be the winner. I picture a Biggest Loser-style competition. Confetti would fall onto my smiling face immediately after they shouted “Sara Bell, you got rid of 91% of your personal belongings. You are the biggest de-clutter-er!”
No, really. I got rid of 91% of my personal belongings.
My husband and I love to travel, so we decided to move into a trailer and travel all over the U.S and Canada. At the time, we lived in a two-bedroom condo with a garage so we knew we’d have a lot to get rid of. We just had no idea just how much!
Here’s how we did it…
1. Get rid of multiples.
Do we really need two TVs when only one of us actually watches TV? No. Then do we really need two DVD players? No. Since our laptop plays DVDs and our Xbox is always hooked up to the TV, do we need a DVD player at all? No.
Do we really need a desktop computer when we are usually just on the laptop? No. Do we really need two bookshelves when neither is completely full and one is a little rickety? No. Do I really need five of the same-sized sauce pan when there are only four burners on my stove any ways? NO.
Once you’ve done that, congratulate yourself!
2. Get rid of the things you don’t/won’t use.
That vase was a gift but I think it’s ugly. I have hated every book I’ve attempted to read by that author, yet I still have three more of his/her books on my shelf. That dress hasn’t fit me since I was in high school. I don’t know whose that is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not even mine.
All of it has to go!
3. Get over it.
Yes this part is the hardest part, especially for me since I am a very sentimental person. I was crying during half of my de-cluttering process because I felt guilty for getting rid of things someone gave me.
I had movie ticket stubs dating back to 2002. I had sweaters I’d hated from the moment I’d unwrapped them, many with the tag still intact. I had colorful scribbles drawn by kids whose last names I couldn’t even remember. I had 24 notes from my little sister-in-law, even though they all say the exact same three sentences on them.
When I couldn’t bring myself to throw something away, I’d tell my husband. Some of the things he’d look at and say “See if your parents will store it.” Some he’d look at and say, “Just keep that.” Some he’d look at and say “You’re joking, right? Throw that away right now.”
If you can’t throw a lot of it away, have a friend or family member do that with you. They don’t have the strange emotional ties to the object that you do, so they’ll be able to logically see if it’s something you’ll regret throwing away or if it’s garbage.
4. Sell that junk!
We gave our friends and family members a lot of things — especially our furniture. We put many of pricier items up on Craigslist… and we had a big garage sale. Anything we couldn’t sell we either gave to Goodwill or threw away.
We didn’t bring anything back into our house once it was out in that driveway.
5. Don’t buy more.
Now I’ve trained myself not to buy things I don’t need. 91% of my belongings were things I didn’t really care about getting rid of. 91% of the things I’d spent money on were things I didn’t mind throwing away.
I don’t buy clutter anymore, so I have more money to experience life with. I don’t have a ton of clutter all over my tiny little trailer, so I don’t have much tidying up to do and I don’t really feel any stress in that area. I de-clutter again on the first of every month… but I have to tell you, I de-clutter less and less every month and I think you will too.
Sara Bell is a 20-something currently residing in Prescott, Arizona. When she isn’t bargain-shopping or cooking, she loves reading, writing, knitting, and photography. She and her husband recently moved into a trailer so they can travel the U.S. in it. You can read about their adventures on her blog, The Traveling PhoBlogWriPher.
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Love you last point! We can purge and purge and purge, but if we keep bringing stuff *in* there will always be more to get rid of.
Contentment and gratitude for what we do have is so much for freeing that chasing after the latest and greatest new toy!
Way to go! It has been a struggle that I am still not done with. The best part for me is that I becoming more ruthless in my de-cluttering efforts and it is beginning to feel very freeing. PS We are practically neighbors since we don’t live too far from you. Enjoy your freedom!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!! I’ve beein doing my purge since Jan 1, but this has TOTALLY motivated me to hit it harder. LOVE it!!!
I love it. All very good points especially the part about less tidying up and “I don’t buy clutter anymore, so I have more money to experience life with.” Such a great idea even if you aren’t traveling across the US.
I like what you said about the multiple DVD players. We have (2) DVD players plus an XBox. It never occured to me that that is one too many. No one will be utilizing all of them at the same time. I think it’s time to get rid of one of these! Thanks for the idea
LOVE this post!!! About a year ago, my husband and I found out we were going to move. We had been living in our house for about 5 years, and he had lived in it for about 4 years before we were married. So, between us and our 3 kids, we had about 9 years worth of stuff in that house. I honestly didn’t think it was that much, because I’ve always been a “purger” and a “clutter-nazi”, but my husband…not so much. When we started packing, I figured it wouldn’t be that much work, but once we got further and further along, I was really frustrated with how much JUNK we were still hanging onto. And THEN! We hit the basement. You know, you kinda forget what you have when you aren’t reminded of it all the time…man…I was so disgusted with myself and with how much JUNK JUNK JUNK we were storing! It took SOOOO long to get rid of everything and sort stuff down there. It pretty much depressed me. Now that we are in our new house, I’m a million times more diligent about what stays and what goes. I never want that to happen again!! You may think you’re a minimalist, but start some organizing project and you may realize something else, like I did! lol!
Yippee for you! Thank you for sharing this. I am in the middle of an organizing challenge that Laura over at orgjunkie.com is running. I’m making good progress. The sentimental things are hard. I’m good at getting rid of things I don’t like. But the sentimental stuff is another story. Right now I’m battling over which set of china to keep. I have two full sets. I love them both. They are both from very close relatives. But I know 1 has to go. Thank you for the encouragement.
Pick the china you like the most and keep it, but give the other set to a relative on the side of the family that the china came from. That way you know it will still be loved and valued and kept in the family. My aunt sold a set of china that came from way back in the family and even though I didn’t know the family member it came from, it still hurts to know I don’t have that bit of family history that my ancestors treasured.
Ouch! I have a hard time with letting go of things, wondering “what if”. Such as, what if one of our VCR or DVD players broke? If I kept the other one, we wouldn’t have to buy another – which would cost more than what we could sell the current one for. (Just an example since we prefer the children to watch Bible related videos over television most of the time.)
I had someone come over a few years ago to help me clean one day, and I’ll admit that her words have stuck with me and I’ve thrown more than a thing or two away because I can see and hear her still.
Thanks for the motivation! We’re trying to pay off an unexpected HVAC replacement, and selling a few things would help get it out of the way.
My husband has much of the same way of thinking as you in the way you say you want to keep multiples of things in case one breaks/gets lost/etc… I’m of the mindset that I’d rather have less of something, and if that something breaks (or whatever) then we just learn to deal without it until something affordable (or free!!!) comes along to replace it. Example: We used to have Dish Network several years ago, but it was getting so expensive we cut out the service. We went a few years with no TV, not even local channels. We learned to live without it and we actually liked it! (At least I did…hehe) And then recently, a relative of ours gave us a subscription to Dish Network again…(I have mixed feelings about having TV in the house again, I’m very grateful for the gift, but TV is…well..you know…TV…) Just an example of how you can just let something go and learn to live without it. It might come back into your life later, or it might not. Either way, I think learning to live with less is better in the long run.
I agree.
I can’t believe the time that I used to waste watching television years ago. We just have old fashioned rabbit ears, so there’s not much temptation to watch the few channels we pick up! I couldn’t imagine the time lost (not to mention money) if we had cable or satellite.
We try to keep even just movies limited – but they sure were good to have on hand as I just was pregnant with our 5th, and during that newborn stage. Our oldest is 7, so there were times it was hard to keep the little ones occupied when Mommy needed to rest.
We did the same thing. When my husband and I were in college, we had free cable TV. Then we moved across country and one of the first things we did was sign up for cable. After a day or two, we realized we really couldn’t afford it. It was hard for me to give up, but even harder for my husband
. Fortunately the cable company let us have our money back. It’s been 4 1/2 years now and neither of us have regretted that decision once. In fact, we are SO happy not to have TV channels. It’s really just a lot of junk anyway. I guess it took not having it to realize it wasn’t worth it. Hopefully I can apply this thinking to the stuff I keep holding on to 
.
We are moving in a few months and I have known for over a yr that we were going to be moving sometime lol. I have gotten rid of so much stuff but it seems to be seeping out of the walls because there is always more! No I dont buy new things just some of the stuff I kept the first time becomes less important to have at the new house! This so works! I’d say we got rid of atleast 85% and theres more to go!
Lisa, I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one that has been trying to tackle this exact thing since January. I never imagined it could take so long.
Wow! You have inspired me to get working on getting rid of the clutter! I can’t imagine the freeing feeling of only having what we use, love, and need in our home.
I’d love to know how the author came up with the percentage. Keeping track of all the stuff I declutter is very difficult.
Maybe their trailer is only 9% the size of their old house so 91% had to go. That was my thinking
We inventoried EVERYTHING just for our own curiosity. But keep in mind, a trailer has all of its furniture built in so it includes big items like furniture, exercise equipment, musical instruments, etc.
I want to start purging my house of clutter, and I told my husband that I’m on a mission to declutter our house. He didn’t buy me the Hallmark blooming expressions flower that I ooohed and ahhhed over for Valentine’s Day because he told me it would just sit on a shelf or our 2 year old would just break it. He had a good point. The one thing I’m struggling with is keeping all of my daughter’s infant-2T clothes that she’s outgrown. I’m the first in my family (of 5 kids) to have a child and we’d like to have another one, so I feel that I should keep the clothes to hand down to my siblings and for if we ever have another one (we’ve been trying for almost a year). Is it okay for me to hang on to those baby/toddler items? My sister bought my daughter more items than I did, so I would feel really guilty about getting rid of them.
I have three kids, and I’ve dealt with this issue. What I did: keep it all for future children. That meant tons of Rubbermaid totes taking up valuable closet space. We know that our family is complete now, and I’ll be having a HUGE garage sale to sell all of our baby/toddler clothes this summer. I can’t wait to reclaim our closet space!
What I wish I’d done: choose my favorite 5 – 6 outfits, 2 pairs of jammies, and a few onesies in each size, making sure that it all fits in one Rubbermaid tote. This is enough, considering you’ll likely get some clothing as baby gifts when your next child is born. Relatives often give clothing for birthday gifts, too, so you’ll likely end up with enough…without having your house stuffed.
(Your sibings will likely get plenty of baby clothes when their little ones are born, too, so if you’re able to share a few favorites, that’s better than giving them loads of clothing to clutter their house.)
Thank you for this. After my daughter was born, I saved all her clothes in bins, bins and more bins. And more bins. Lo and behold, my next successful pregnancy was a baby boy. While a few things were neutral and he could wear… I passed on the rest to a charity and to friends. I currently have 2 bins of maternity and 3 bins of neutral clothes but I’m thinking of letting a lot of the clothes go. The clutter in my basement is getting to me and I know the clothes could do some families good. I take the nicer items to a maternity resource center and Freecycle other stuff.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between “useful” and clutter, but unless you’re really fashion-focused, I can’t imagine getting rid of clothes that will be hand-me-downs. In that case, the challenge is how to store it so that you can find it when you need it. We label tubs with size and gender and stack them in order – but we have a house with actually more closets than we can use, even with 7 of us living here.
When I put my littlest in a dress that her two older sisters wore, and that we got from a neighbor whose daughter had it handed down from a cousin, or when I put one of those well-loved items in the bag to go to my friend at church with one daughter among her 3 sons and 7 nephews, I’m reminded how right it is to hold on to these things. Some of this stuff is more than 20 years old – true, the really dated pants we’ve taken to Goodwill over the years, but tshirts, pajamas, and sun dresses don’t change much. It’s clutter if you won’t put future children in the clothes, but it’s careful stockpiling if you will. Imagine the expense if I’d bought all of those things new! Imagine the waste!
Good luck with your next child
I saved all, ALL of my kids cloths…but I did the same thing after my third was born…enough was enough! I had 15 totes in the garage of baby clothes! I picked 4 or 5 for each sex/size and got rid of the rest! Now we’re excpecting #4 and I am just happy that it’s done and we have space!
http://www.alighterjourney.com/2012/01/18/making-money-by-living-lighter/
I keep my favorites & even excellent condition items that I didn’t love. We always end up with too many clothes because of grandparents giving. I say only save it if it doesn’t stress you out….like if you actually have room to store it. I would worry about season & gender not being right so I would be cautious about how much you keep.
Maybe if you start with other sections of the house, you will be able to part with more of it by the time you get to the clothing. I keep some special toys & baby gear that I could see myself re-using or re-buying if I didn’t keep it.
If you find that you have children/baby/toddler clothes that you feel may be of use later, get those space bage. A LOT less storage room taken for those. Put a 8 x 11 paper with –example: size 3 girl on it..put in bag and put all of the seasons in it..summer/winter/etc. Shrink away and stack. when you need them just pull the bag, unzip and you have clean clothes to share. I have a bunch of them stacked in shed for ‘grow into’ by the next set of grandkids coming up. great when 1 is 4 and the next one is only in a 2…and hardly any room taken up. You can also shove them under beds..the dust bunnies don’t mind sharing their space
I have considered getting those space bags (I have a lot of clothes to grow into for my children) but they are so expensive. And just one set won’t do. Are you using certain sites to get a good deal on the bags? Until I find a good deal, I’ll keep the clothes in the bins in our storage. We have the space for it.
KC try amazon.com and actually they are not that expensive since you can use them more than once. I have used the ones I store my blankets in for 3 years now…winter blankets out..summer in..and on and on.
I’d say, don’t get rid of the clothes. If necessary, part with things that were/are less appealing but once you have another one you will be very happy to go through the bins and pick out what you need without having to hike from one garage sale to another. Baby clothes are a bit “iffy” to lend because of all sorts of accidents from spit ups that won’t come out or diaper explosions.
I don’t have any children, but so this might not be an accurate answer, but I’d hang on to it all. Once your family is done growing I think there is nothing wrong with keeping a few tiny baby items for sentimentality and giving the rest away/selling it in a garage sale.
Sometimes having no other choice is just the motivator we need to get rid of all that stuff that we hang onto for no reason. And think of how much lighter your load is traveling across the country! Not just for the stuff itself but also the emotional burden that stuff brings.
I have been decluttering now for a while. Just doing one area in my house a week (even if it’s that one drawer that I was putting off). I have just about finished now but I have a closet that I am desperately trying to avoid. The craft closet. I sew, quilt, knit, do machine embroidery, as well as lots and lots of other crafting. I also store our wrapping supplies in this closet.
I dread doing any of the hobbies I once enjoyed (or wrapping a gift) because as soon as I open the door an avalanche of stuff falls out. I tried to organize it all last summer and it looked wonderful, for about a month. I think it is finally time to purge 91% of all my crafting and sewing inventory. Thank you for the inspiration I needed today!
You go girl! If you aren’t even interested in your hobbies anymore because of all that clutter it’s definitely time to purge! You’ll feel so much less stress when you’re done!! =]
Great post! I absolutely believe that anyone can do this! We are a family of 5. Last summer we sold/donated everything we owned that didn’t fit into our cars and moved across the country. (Really, NO moving van!) We went from a 4 bdrm house to a 2 bdrm apt. so that my husband could take a great job opportunity in a new city. We replaced needed furniture, but don’t even remember most of what we gave up!
I LOVE THIS!!! We go camping every summer for about 2-3 weeks (depending) with our 3 kids and now 2 dogs. We pull a camper and I make a menu, pack what we need and we have so much fun. We use very little because we are out exploring.
I tell my husband all the time we should sell everything and live in the camper…. except all we have we like…so that won’t happen any time soon. If we do ever live in the camper, it will be until a shop goes up on property, then we’d live in the shop until we could build our “dream barn house”.
For us it is wonderful to get away in the summer for those few weeks. I love living simply, but the reality is that our lives are very complicated and we need most of the crap (nice crap) we have!
While I absolutely love the life I live right now, I have to agree it certainly isn’t for everyone.
I can’t imagine doing it if I had children!
This was a great post. I’m in the process of weeding out also. As I’m sorting out, I ask myself, “does this bless or stress?” It really makes the decision easy. For example I had a few pieces of my childhood tea set. They were cracked, covered in dust (which I’m allergic to) and a pain to clean. I threw them out. I went through my old files. I still had my old report cards…I really don’t think I will need my K-12 report cards for anything…threw them out.
I LOVE that. “Does this bless or stress”. Love!
That’s a great way of putting it “does it bless or stress?” I will use it int he future for sure.
You are my hero!!! I am not a hoarder, and am always getting rid of stuff, but somehow there is always more stuff around that is cluttring my life and it is stressful to me. When I’m cleaning and clearing out I do often think of uses for stuff that I have and decide to keep it when I should probably get rid of it. Last night as I was praying, I was thinking about how I am so busy with three kids, homeschooling, and basic housework that I’m having such a hard time getting my house de-cluttered. I just need the peace that comes with a clean home, and one that’s easy to clean. And the first thought that came into my head was to ask myself if each item is a blessing or a curse. So many things we have are just taking away time, money, and peace from our lives. it just isn’t worth it. Finding this post on my facebook page was just an encouragement bonus! I’m now hunting boxes to clear out! :0)
Thank-you so much for sharing!!!
Decluttering can be a totally painful *process*, but a great feeling after it’s accomplished! It’s like a diet for your house. : )
So what do you do when your mother-in-law keeps wanting to unload her clutter on you? Each item comes with a story of how meaningful it is to their side of the family/has sentimental value to the great grandparents, etc. She has saved so much of my husband’s things too and now wants to pass them onto our family.
Ooh, that’s a tough one. I am fortunate enough to be able to say “I live in a 31-foot travel trailer. I have no room…” but not everyone gets to use that as an excuse! I feel like honesty is your best and only option. Just explain that you’re trying to de-clutter and ask for help. “It’s a habit I’m working very hard to break and I would love it if you could help support me by not offering me some of these things.” Or, even better, after being honest about not wanting to keep everything specifically point out which things you definitely want and which things you don’t. Sometimes someone feels sentimental about an item so assumes other people will too.
Enjoyed your post, Sara! I too have gotten a bit weepy when trying to declutter–I am more emotional than I thought when it comes to “stuff”, especially things I’ve received from people I love! I have to keep telling myself, “It’s just stuff, it’s not a person.”
I also loved your last point about keeping stuff out once you’ve purged. It seems like each time we’ve moved into a bigger place, more things magically appear. It’s okay to have empty closets!!
The emotional aspect is without a doubt the hardest part for me… and mainly because I don’t tell myself that, my husband has to! =]
I love this! I love simple and minimal…LOVE!
http://www.alighterjourney.com/2012/02/13/fighting-the-good-fight-good-deals-vs-excess-stuff/
We can either be people who Have Things or people who Do Things.
Which would you rather be?
Which way would you like to be remembered?
Thanks for sharing this. I love it!
I have heard that you are supposed to take pictures of sentimental items and then have one photo album of “memories”…easy to store and clean. You can then tell the story of the item too and it is easier to pass on to friends and relatives. Make duplicate prints and pass them on. Then you give or sell item away depending on it’s monetary value.
I have done this with some of my grandmothers dishes that we always used…I included a picture of the bowl and the recipe for plum pudding that is in her handwriting. (light bulb moment: I should enlarge some as art work in my dining room. Hmmm, new project).
I do this for my childrens projects/papers from school. I take photos and make a scrapbook page(s) for each grade. I include their school picture, the report card and photographs of any projects/activities. Who wants to look at broken noodles in 20 years on a faded piece of construction paper?
I also plan to take pictures and label all of my jewelry so my children will know what pieces are special and why. A friend of mine passed away and I wish I knew the sotry behind some of her things.
Absolutely love this idea! I hate clutter and I will have to start doing this
THANKS!
This is timely for me. My kids and I are going to my parents for the weekend while my husband does some painting at home. While at my folks, I’m going to be spending several hours sorting and purging my stuff that’s still in their crawl space. I haven’t lived there since 1998 so it’s time. I plan to get rid of most of it and want to bring home very few things. I’m sentimental so this will be a challenge but I’m determined to only bring in my house those things we will use or my kids will use or have great sentimental value. I’m in purge mode with our stuff here, too. I don’t want to live my life surrounded by stuff; it just boggs you down physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
My husband and I jut looked through our stuff that’s in his parent’s basement. We didn’t do a very good job, though of getting rid of things. I found a box of old dolls and stuffed animals and it brought back so many memories, I just couldn’t get rid of it. When I got back home, I realized how silly it was that I couldn’t get rid of those things when I had completely forgotten about them for 4 1/2 years and had been happy without them! It was a good lesson
.
It’s amazing how quickly things start piling up. We moved last year – it was a pain to declutter and pack with two little ones, one a few months old and maintain your sanity. I thought I had been ruthless (decluttering part, sanity is still questionable.) And now here I am with some fresh clutter taking up my valuable space in my brand new home. I don’t know how it happened.
I am a saver, so it’s really hard for me to purge. But I have been trying!! One of the things I’ve been doing is scanning or taking photos of items (children’s schoolwork/artwork) and keeping those digital images. Sure, I still save some of them, but not nearly as many as I used to!
And since my family lost our home in a fire when I was in high school, and lost most of the treasures my mom had saved of my childhood days, it’s very reassuring to me to have those digital images than I can look at–and store in a very small space!!
I used to have a hard time getting rid of stuff too. But since hubby is in the military and we’ve had to move soooo many times, I’ve been forced on many occassions to get rid of stuff. With each time I’ve had to do it its gotten easier and easier. Now I have no problem with it at all. If a family member who gave me something objects to it I don’t even feel bad about telling them to get over it (maybe that’s too harsh, lol).
Thanks for sharing
He he, I think that’s my biggest issue! I can’t say no, even still. The day after Christmas I had no problem donating several of my brand new gifts but I still can’t seem to say no if a person is standing right there in front of me.
It is pretty hard at first. Even now I sometimes have a hard time getting rid of something when the person who gave it to me is standing right there, depending on who the person is. If they just gave me something for the holidays then I definitely wouldn’t chuck it right then and there. But if I’ve had it for a while and never used it or if I knew for a fact I wouldn’t use it anyway I’d usually wait until the coast was clear and then give it away.
There have been times when a family member has asked me about something they gave me after I had already given it away or threw it out and that’s when I’m ok with just telling them I had to get rid of it. If it is my mother, however I have to be a lot nicer about it than anyone else because she takes offense to that kind of thing. Thankfully she hardly ever notices when I get rid of something she’s given me ;-P
Great work! We’ve lived in 6 places in 6 years, and every time we move we purge more of our stuff. We are a family of 4, and the last move was from Maryland to California. It feels great to get rid of so much unnecessary excess!
How did you deal with pictures/photos?
I had to get rid of all of my picture frames, partly because we didn’t have the room and partly because they wouldn’t be a good idea while traveling. I do still have a few small photo frames to set out, but all of the rest of our photos are in photo albums. I don’t have any children though, so I probably have far fewer photos than most people.
We live in a travel trailer too! Only we don’t travel in it. To see a picture tour go here:
http://purposelyfrugal.com/2011/03/23/small-space-living-tour-my-little-home/#.TzxNXMAxBMk
The fact that you even shared your link tells me you’re just like me, love to see other people’s trailers! It’s such a small piece of space, it’s always great to see how other people have maximized that space. I’m so impressed by your use space!! I got a few ideas from you. =]
I haven’t read through all of the comments, but I wanted to add…TAKE A PICTURE! If you love something but don’t find a use for it or can’t display it, take a picture and find someone who will love it =)
We did this too when we were in our late 20s. Sold all our wedding gifts and furniture from our cute first year of marriage cottage. It was so much fun driving down the road with everything we owned on our back!
My mom lives in Prescott, AZ Very cool.
I have found that a great way to deal with getting rid of things that are sentimental to you is to take a picture of it and put it in a scrapbook.
Kid’s big bulky art projects, loved toys, and anything that makes you sad to think about getting rid of because of the memories associated with it, is a lot easier to toss or donate when you know it will forever have a treasured spot in your photo album. Even better if you can get the picture with the item being used and/or with the person who it belonged to.
Doesn’t work so well for heirloom furniture.
My son is sleeping in the bed his dad grew up in, and his grandfather. It (along with the matching dresser) was built by his great-great-great-great grandfather. It doesn’t matter how big it is or how awkward to cart around, I can’t get rid of it
I haven’t done so well at purging, but I have stopped getting clutter. Great approach.
That’s a start if nothing else! =]
So true! In a recent move for a new job, my husband and I plus 2 kids downsized from a 1300 sq. ft. ranch home with full basement and 2 car garage to a duplex with less than half the space and a 1 car garage.
It can be done and it feels so good when you do!
Great post!
LOVE this post! I have been in a declutter mood and need to jump back on the wagon! Another great tip (I am so horrible at this) When you buy something to replace another object, get rid of the object it is replacing! A year or more ago I had to buy a new can opener b/c mine had broken. Last week my can opener was not working…. I realized I had kept (in my already to crowded drawer of kitchen utensils) my old broken can opened!
In Nov I started to De-clutter. So far over 45 boxes of STUFF have left
the house. No where near 91 % but a lot less STUFF. Not finished yet still have my sewing room to go.
You’re getting there! Way to go!!
talk about purging, how about 12 (TWELVE) people in an RV.
Dad and mom and 10 kids, sold their house, now living and traveling in an RV (for the past 3 years) while they travel the country…
http://ticknortribe.blogspot.com/
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