365 Out

I am not into making resolutions for the new year, but I am all for setting goals for myself. As this year started up, I was floundering at getting some focus in my life. I seem to have the normal routines down, but being a working SHE, I feel that I need a bit more going in my "stuff" filled life. I need a guideline to keep me engaged in the quest for more peace.

So I thought about setting some expectations for myself. I thought about doing a daily fling, but that is more of a short term solution, and often is a task that goes by the wayside in the world of the work week. I had also read about the minimalist that challenged others to reduce their belongings to just 100 things. Well, that may have been possible if I only had me to worry about, but it still had me wondering if I am still way to thing heavy. So I came up with a couple of guidelines for the year that hopefully will not be too tough to accomplish, and that I will be able to follow through with over the course of the year.

First, nothing new into my space without losing two things in the same general area (could be the physical area where the new item is going or just from the general area of my life).

Then, over the next twelve months I will lose 365 additional items.

AS FLYLady says, "You can't organize clutter." And my favorite CEO (Cynthia Ewer, Organized) in Houseworks and Organized Home, the one-in, one-out rule and going on a no-buy diet are good ways to keep clutter from coming back into your life once you get it under control. So since I think I still have too many things in my life, and I know the reality that I won't completey curb obtaining new things, this new commitment seems to be the answer for me. Baby-stepping all the way to less "stuff" in my life. 

I have steadily, year by year, reduced the amount of stuff that I possess. I have slimmed down from closets and a shed stuffed with boxes and tubs of things that really were in the way with day to day living. Even so, I am really going to get serious about getting down to a lot less stuff. I don't think I will ever get to the point where I own just 100 things, but I do want to have the things that I need or love close at hand. The rest has just got to go.

As with most goals, the beginning seems to be going smoothly. Christmas gifts came in during the last week of the year, so I gave myself a jump start getting rid of  several no longer loved things 

*Kindle and two new books in, six books out---nice thing is that new Kindle books will not be clutter in my house

*Kindle cover in, two more books out---okay, I know the Kindle cover actually is an accessory, but since it won't always be on the Kindle I need to make some more room

*Travel mug, giant cocoa mug, soft throw, penlight key chain, stationary and memo pad with magnet on back in, 6 more books out (what can I say? I was on a roll with the book declutter)

*Blu-ray player in, DVD player and a no longer watched DVD out

*Necklace tree in, an unloved candle from my dresser and a broken necklace out- not sure why I was saving the necklace, since it can't be fixed but it was a favorite

*New bottle of perfume in, empty bottle out as soon as I finished with the last drops, along with passing along a small tube of scented lotion that was sitting on my dresser, unused for way too long 

Last week I went shopping and bought a new 6 quart crock pot as I needed to replace the 16 year old model, a 5-quart that had questionable temperature on low with one broken handle. I think limiting myself to getting rid of the old crock pot and an old cookie sheet (now too dark for baking cookies) was hard to do. My kitchen is in a very full state at the moment and I will enjoy lightening that load as time goes by, but it's not the time to do more just yet.

I will say that shopping is becoming a new kind of experience for me. Contemplating that I will have to get rid of two items in order to bring something new in is making me think twice. So unless it is something that I need to replace or something that I really have planned on getting for some time, I am sure I will just skip the shopping altogether.

Mail in, twice the magazines out. I haven't been counting the junk that went straight to the recycling.

I still need to focus on the 365 additional things out...so far six home improvement idea magazines are out...that leaves 359 more things to go. I can so do this.