More Stuff Gone...

1507 things gone. Junked. Kaput. :)

The First Declutter Sweep

As I open each box in my basement, I usually pull out at least one or two items that are going in a Maybe Keep box. I admit this is probably not the best and most ferocious decluttering technique for someone trying to rid themselves of Ten Thousand Things, but it gives me a little emotional leeway.

Because at the back of my mind there is still a little voice saying, "Hey, you should really sell this instead of giving it away...you might get five bucks for this!"

I figure I can always go into a more serious decluttering mode when I've gone through all my flea-market boxes at least once. Plenty of time to get rid of it all eventually, right?

1360 things decluttered.

Hope for the Garage

I can actually see huge results in the garage now--great wide open expanses of empty shelving. Hmmm, now that there's all that space I can see how badly the walls of the garage behind the shelving need a good coat of paint...

1210 things gone now.

Getting to be a Familiar Face

So it seems I'm falling into a routine: every day on my way to pick up Jeff from work, I swing by the Goodwill and drop off a couple of boxes. And if I have a bag of books to donate to the library sale, I drop by the library too. I wonder if I'm starting to look familiar to the staff.

1110 things gone.

More Miscellany Hits the Road

When I told my friend K that I was junking out, she told me to be on the look-out for a) blue and white things because she adores that colour combination, and b) teapots in any condition--she'd had a dream about a garden planted in teapots and thought she'd like to recreate it.

I like blue and white things too, but y'know I think i already have enough of them. As for teapots, I've got two already. So these things are finding a new home at my friend's house.

I found it's even easier to give things away if you know somebody is particularly pleased to receive them from you.

For instance, I gave this china saucer ( The Engagement by Brambly Hedge) to an old fellow who had visited my garage sale several weeks back and bought a matching cup. He said if I ever found the saucer to give him a call, and he gave me his number. After I found it (many boxes later) and phoned him, he was johny-on-the-spot and picking it up ten minutes later. He was so happy to get the piece. Heh, seemed to make his day. :)

As for this last piece o' junk (our old bathroom counter), it had leaned up against a wall in the garage for over a year before we finally recycled it at the Re-store this weekend. It's a recycling place run by Habitat for Humanity and takes all sorts of home renovation leftovers.

This brings the grand total of things gone to 1010.

The Magical Curbside

I have discovered that if you want to make something magically disappear, simply put it out at the end of your driveway. It will be gone.

After my recent garage sale (before I started this full-out declutter project) I put out several ugly lamps and they were gone almost before I'd made it back into the house.

This horse disappeared after a few hours: somehow I knew this papier-mache horse/camel wouldn't need to be brought back inside again.

I think my friend in the Society for Creative anachronism made it for a party---a camel race? I'm not sure. I took it off her hands last year when she moved because I thought it might be fun to have as part of a Halloween costume, but somehow I don't think that would have ever happened.

One Tenth of the Way

There. One thousand items less in my house. Is it decluttered yet? Nope.

But I can't help but feel a bit lighter.

P.S. My husband Jeff would like to point out that despite the fact that it looks like I've tried to throw my cats out several times during this process, we're a-keeping them.