Seeing that tomorrow is Easter, I guess my clock has expired on my challenge. So where did I end up? I can tell you that I ended up with an organized and clean/clutter free home. But I did not quite make it to 40 bags. By my very rough calculations, I cleaned out 32 bags. Much of this was estimated because I used various sized bags, boxes, and whatever else I could find. The most recent area that I cleaned was Jack's room. He and I cleared out some more toys and quite a few books. We love books, but we go to the library every week so we don't need a plethora here. Plus, Jack had so many books that you couldn't find the really good ones that the kids like to read. I gathered up a box of books to take to the church yard sale. I also boxed up books that Jack has "grown out of" but Audrey and Ayden aren't ready for yet. The easy readers and such. I think Audrey has outgrown her need to tear books apart. She went through a phase where she torn pages out of books. She even managed to tear apart some board books!!!
I also went back into the shed and threw out a garbage bag of old paint. The only area that I have not reinvestigated is the attic. Actually, I have never been in our attic, but Bryan told me that the previous owners left some stuff up there. I would like to go through that stuff before the church yard sale in hopes of finding some good stuff for the church.
I hope that this has inspired some other people to declutter their lives. I find that I can almost breathe easier with less stuff in our home. I am going to stick to my rule that every time something new comes into the house, something old has to go out. I am also vowing not to buy any new clothes for myself this year! My difficulty with clearing out a mere 40 bags makes me wonder how people "live with less." One of my friends blogged last year about "
living with 100 things." Take a look around your home, can you imagine living with only 100 things??? I know that it could be done, but can you imagine???
I made Audrey's dress about a month ago. On Saturday, I decided that she needed a little hair accessory. I'm not sure why I even bother, since she just pulls them off. I made a little headband with some left over brown satin from her dress and elastic. Then I made little roses with the green fabric and hot glue. I just ripped strips of the fabric and twisted it into flower shapes, using the hot glue hear and there to keep it in place.
