Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
Today’s things I got rid of:
- 2 shirts
- 1 pair of shoes
- 3 necklaces
- 1 lone earring
- 1 pair of earrings
- 1 book
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
Carrie says
I keep working on legos. I filled another 4 ziploc bags of legos to sell. I also filled up a box. I should finish this today. Yes, we have a TON of legos.
I found a few more clothing items that I will be giving away that boy #5 outgrew. I’m anxious to get rid of all his winter clothing from this year because it won’t fit next year, but as we had snow on Monday…I may wait another month.
I also am doing this challenge at work. I had a bunch of agency water bottles. I took them in to the new employees to see if anyone wanted them. I cleaned out books and miscellanelous from my work closet and shelves. I also went through files and was able to eliminate probably a thousand pieces of paper! My office is looking so nice and clean.
Crystal says
Oh, I love the idea of doing this challenge at the office, too! Great idea!
Anel says
Hi, Crystal – how doe you “get rid of” the stuff? Where do you take it?
Crystal says
We’re taking most of it to Goodwill and a local charity.
Jan says
I’m having a garage sale this week and then everything else is going to Goodwill. Can’t wait to be rid of it all!
Susan says
Linda commented on how she would get bogged down in determining the best way to get rid of things. Been there! I used to obsess about how to get rid of things. Do I throw it out or is it good enough to donate? Should I keep it for a garage sale or try to sell on Craig’s List or a consignment shop? If I donate it, what organization should I donate to? Is there someone I know who I should give it to instead? Decision decisions! It’s no wonder I never got any decluttering done.
Finally the light bulb came on. What I really wanted was to get all this excess stuff out of my house! Do I really need the money from selling it? No. Does it really matter who ends up with my donated stuff? No. Do I really care about filling up landfills with junk? Well, yes, but filling up my own home with junk is worse. Once I stopped thinking so hard it became so much easier to just get rid of stuff.
To toss or donate — when in doubt throw it out! Where to donate –in my state there are organizations you can donate to and receive a tax credit (a credit, not a deduction) on your state taxes up to a certain amount, so I donate to the one closest to me, and that’s where it goes. For items that were actually worth something, I had good luck with Craigs List, but I was really selective about what items were worth the hassle of selling. I also had success using Craig’s List for items that were too big for me to haul off, like my daughter’s outgrown swing set. I listed it for free on Craig’s list — you disassemble and haul it off and it’s yours — and it was out of my yard withing 24 hours.
The Fly Lady had a challenge earlier this year to get rid of a box a day — 40 boxes in 40 days — for Lent, and I took her up on it. A “box” is loosely defined; some boxes were bigger than others, and sometimes it was one item, like an old computer monitor. And I counted the swing set as one “box.” 🙂 It did take me longer than 40 days, but I managed to get rid of 40 boxes worth of stuff, and I’m quite pleased with myself. 🙂
Luba says
Today I really tried to get rid of a bunch of things, including the following: empty perfume bottles (2), pens that do not work (5-6), a bunch of papers to recycle, and hair care samples I was not going to use. Thank you for such a wonderful challenge, Crystal!
Kiera @easytravelmom says
I am just catching up but I’ve been selling things on ebay & craigslist so it’s taking a little longer. I’ve had a lot of success though with getting rid of about 20 items for about $20 each on average. I am going to start your challenge and get to it though!
Andrea @the Distracted Housewife.com says
I finally dug down into my makeup bin and got rid of some seriously unused and unloved makeup.
Crystal says
Oh, what a great place to clean out! Love the idea!
jennifer says
In cleaning out today’s clutter, I found a copy of my birth certificate. This would have been handy two months ago when I needed a copy to renew my driver’s license and had to pay $25 for a duplicate! But, I also found my husband’s and he’ll need his for renewal in just two months.
We’re donating a dress shirt my son has outgrown. And I tossed a sock, a mitten, an old magazine, a really expired bag of Heath chips (2011! yikes!), a stained manila envelope and some outdated homeowners insurance papers.
L says
In almost 20 years of marriage, I have FINALLY organized my important papers in a binder with plastic sheets (I am not sure if I got this idea from MoneySavingMom or another site). These are kept in our safe. The categories include social security cards, birth certificates, marriage certificate, wedding ring info, wills, life insurance info, vehicle titles, credit card info, etc. This has been one of the BEST organizational things I have done and I can’t believe it took me this long to do it. I also made a binder like this for my kids for when they get older to help them out right from the beginning.
jennifer says
Wow, thanks. That’s a great idea! And I already have some clear plastic sheets to use. My husband and I aren’t getting any younger so I like the idea of everything being easily located.
Erica Lynn @ Optimal Health Consultant says
Today was a much harder day for me. I am really running out of things to get rid of. You can read my post to find out more.
Crystal says
I think that’s a really good problem to have. 🙂
Linda says
Your last statement may be a key to getting rid of things…simply! My adult daughter & I both get bogged down trying to determine the best way to get rid of things: there are consignment shops, Goodwill, selling things @garage sales/ebay etc…way too many choices & thought processes. Add trying to be a good steward & get the most for what you need to get rid of and…it can be a MAJOR headache. If you decide just to donate, then that’s it & you’re done!
Louise says
Do you save some of these things for your garage sale?
Crystal says
We’re donating everything this time around.
Bobbie says
I’d like to know everyone’s criteria for which items count. I find myself being pretty critical when considering this.
Like, I’m not sure if several small individual items should count as one? Or whether donated stockpile items should count at all? Since I can easily take out 7 sample sized items and give them away, that’s not much of an effort, and something I would do regardless. Also, I view any stockpile item more like the food in your fridge, something that is used up, you wouldn’t count that, would you? I even wonder whether I can count something I recently acquired a replacement of – like can I count throwing away a very worn out pair of pajamas when I received new ones for Christmas?
Anyone else being overly analytical about this? 🙂
Erica Lynn @ Optimal Health Consultant says
Ya, LOL I have thought about that. I have decided to count every single item because it makes me feel better. Any little boost is a positive, so I figure I will enjoy counting every single item.
Bobbie says
Yes, maybe it is best to count more items just to keep yourself more motivated!
Andrea @the Distracted Housewife.com says
This time around I am counting every little thing. The last time I did this I had a stack of somewhere around 30 papers and I counted it as one, so I totally get this!
Bobbie says
I’ve ended up doing kind of a combination of the two, seems to work the best. But I still keep second guessing and it’s helpful to hear about others’ choices!
Kara says
Today I got rid of 4 cologne samples someone gave to us that my husband will never wear, 2 packages of unopened hairties (we have a third we kept), brand new mary kay lip gloss sampler that will never be used (regift), rhinestone tweezers never used, plus I packed a bunch of our samples up for our trip to Germany next week so they will actually get used, plus they will be tossed on the road which means less baggage on the way back and room for more chocolate 🙂 Can’t wait to dive into the junk drawer in the kitchen tomorrow :/
Melissa says
I threw out my old pair. I had put them in the box when I got new ones thinking I’d use them for dirty work. Nah! Decided while decluttering one giant trash bag and 2 over flowing boxes last night. Still could find more stuff in my daughters room and mine.
Jessica says
May 14:
donate:
Pair of girls socks with individual toe slots
4 winter baby sleepers- wrong size/season
plastic block
broken paper cutter (trash)
flimsy plastic seed starter greenhouse (recycle)
plastic containers that I had saved for starting seeds (recycle)
Jen says
You seem to be getting rid of a lot of clothes in this challenge. You always talk about how little your wardrobe is. Do you have ANY clothes left after getting rid of all these shirts and sweaters??
Crystal says
Not all of them are mine… some are the girls, etc. But I’ve been going through my wardrobe and have gotten rid of almost everything from fall/winter because I wore it so much that it needed to be replaced. That’s one of the downsides of not having a whole lot of clothes.
I think I’ve decided I’m going to have a larger wardrobe this summer because I’ve been needing to dress up more for traveling, speaking, meetings, etc. and my six mix and match stance just ain’t cutting it. 🙂 I think I’m going to have a business wardrobe with four complete outfits and then a home/everyday wardrobe with six mix & match outfits. I’m going to try that and see if it works well for this season of life. If not, I’ll go back to the drawing board for fall!
Erica Lynn @ Optimal Health Consultant says
I like that idea, and I bet it will work. Four business outfits will keep your wardrobe fresh enough and yet no one will notice if you repeat that sparse.
Susan says
That book is a keeper!
Crystal says
It was okay… we just finished it and didn’t love it enough to keep it, though. 🙂
Rachel says
I loved that book when I was little, and would love to find it for my littles . . . 🙂
Anna (Frugal For You) says
Time for us here to get rid of some shoes too!
cheranne says
I got rid of 1 shirt (rag bag), 12 wire hangers (recycled back to the dry cleaners), 4 kids books and another old pile of birthday cards :). 2 toys also went to the donation basket.
Anna (Frugal For You) says
That is nice that you can recycle the hangers at the cleaners. Need to pass on that tip to my father-in-law!
Shelly says
Today we started working in my daughter’s closet. This task is going to take us a few days. We found a couple of shirts, some old flashcards and some rusty paper clips to get rid of today.