Lots of stuff on it's way out!

This was a good evening for getting rid of stuff! I decided to go through some of the cabinets I avoided last night. I wanted all of the upper cabinets finished and I did that plus one lower. I also did the other two drawers (but forgot to take a picture of one). These before and afters aren't quite as impressive as the others because these contain things I really do use on a pretty regular basis. Not to mention that some of this stuff was layers deep so you can't really see everything. But, a whole lot of stuff did come out.

The flower bowls in these pictures do not get used all that often, but my aunt painted them for me and I refuse to get rid of them. I said I was paring down, I didn't say I'd go full blown minimalist!

These cabinets go pretty far back, so there was a lot of stuff here that you couldn't even see.

This one is the one I'm most proud of. I still might get rid of more plastic stuff in here, but everything that is left does get used. I had held onto that notion that you have to have an eight piece place setting so I'd kept an eight piece setting. I decided that was insane, kept four of everything except the mugs and now I'm happy.

I had things in this drawer that not only had I never used, but I didn't even know what they were!

Really only got rid of a few things here because the rest of this stuff is in heavy rotation. Giving my mom my salad spinner and George Foreman. Threw a way a sandwich maker that was broken. I guess I do keep some broken things after all!

While part of me wishes I could get rid of even more here, I think I made good progress and am left with things I actually use. I may pare down more as I see what I do use over the next few months, but this was progress. I only have two more cabinets in the kitchen, but one is the worst of all. I hope I survive!

Anxiety High Alert

Today was a high anxiety level day so I felt like it would be good for me to purge something, but not anything that would be too sentimental or hard for me. So I decided to tackle the cabinet above the stove. This started out as my cookbook cabinet, but the cookbooks long spilled out onto another space (that I'll purge later) and then I ran out of spaces for bowls. Here's the before...

This space also contained a lot of recipe magazines and warranty or instruction papers for electronics and such. Here's the after...

I actually do use all of the bowls on a regular basis so they stayed. I only needed 1/4 of the warranty papers I'd saved, and only use a few of the cookbooks. With the exception of a few cookbooks I listed on Amazon, everything will be at Gift & Thrift tomorrow! It feels good!

Big Day!

I didn't get an decluttering done yesterday and sadly may not today either. But, today was a big day in my weight loss journey. I switched my weigh in day to Wednesday due to schedule conflict so I had planned to weigh this morning. However, the person who was supposed to work at the center couldn't, and so I went in to cover for her. I decided I still had to know my weight for the week, so I hoped on the scale and couldn't believe my eyes! I was down 4.6 pounds and had finally hit a milestone I've been wanting to see forever. I've now lost 60 pounds with Weight Watchers!!!!!!

Now granted, I gave blood two days ago and I've been under a ton of stress, so I won't be shocked to see some of this return next week, but for today the number is 60 and I am thrilled!!!! On top of that there's a member who I know has been struggling with small losses (which is how I lost most of mine) and several times our paths have crossed at just the right time and I've managed to keep her going. Today was another one of those days. We had more time to chat and I think I was able to help her understand some things about her losses and give her some more hope. Fingers crossed she sticks with it and is able to feel as good as I do some day!

A Day of Donating

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, the bottom dropped out of my evening and I just didn't have time. Yesterday was the day of donating. I took three shopping bags of stuff to our local thrift store, and a bag to my mom's because I had some things that were hers. I also donated a pint of blood. So, a lot went out yesterday and that made me happy.

I didn't have a lot of time to declutter anything, but really want to try to do at least one thing a day, so I decided to tackle the "junk drawer". This proved to be a little harder than I thought, because the "junk" is actually stuff I use quite a bit. But here is the before...

I did re-home a few things from this drawer before returning everything because I use these things a lot and wanted it to only contain what needed to be there.

The Indecision Of It All!

I'm resisting the urge to tear my house apart all at once quite well. I'm making myself take it cabinet by cabinet and stopping when I feel the need to pull something out of another cabinet that I know I want to get rid of. Tonight I've done two cabinets so far. Now, keep in mind that due to the amount of stuff I have some of my placement of things doesn't make much sense. I will put things in more logical homes at some point, but right now I'm taking before an after pictures with what came out of each cabinet.

It feels amazing to get rid of that much and it's getting easier every time! I did hesitate for a while over a vase. It's in the bag to be donated, but it may end up going back in the cabinet. It's really beautiful and while I don't use it often, it has been used, and I love it. So we'll see what I think about it tomorrow.

I'm also struggling with some other items, and I expect this to continue. Part of my goal in all of this is to give myself the freedom to do more things that I enjoy and spend more time with the boys. They love to cook and I need to cook more meals at home. I have a lot of cooking items (I have a lot of everything remember) and the first question of what to keep came with my silicone molds.

None of these have ever been used. I purchased them on clearance after the holiday in which they were for sale, but they've been in the cabinet since. Now, my first thought is to get rid of them since they've never been used. But, will I use them once my focus has fully shifted? I know the theory is often to get rid of it and replace it if someday you ever need it, but I can't really afford to do that right now. So, to stay or to go?

The Day After

So it is the day after my first big (little) purge. Big in that for once I really got rid of stuff instead of keeping things I thought I might use. This time I only kept what I know I will use, and if it doesn't get used in the next few months, it's gone too. Little, in that I know it was just one cabinet and I have a ton of stuff ahead of me. That fact is rather daunting and probably why I haven't done this before.

When people come in to start their weight loss journey we give them a 5% and a 10% goal. These are small goals and we try to get them to focus on those goals rather than the total amount of weight they need or want to lose. I have to take the advice I give others in this situation. I can't focus on the whole house, or the anxiety will take over and nothing will get done. This could take a long time and I have to be OK with that. Honestly though, I think this might be harder than my weight loss journey.

But when I woke up this morning I did not have an urge to go put anything back in the cabinet that was slated for donation, so that must be a good sign. There was a little sense of unease, but it's already being replaced with the idea of what things will look like once the stuff is pared down. I even have some friends who are talking about doing the same thing, so I may have a little support team doing this with me.

I started!

So immediately after writing my post about scaling down and getting rid of stuff I felt like I just had to tackle that candle cabinet!

I went in there and pulled everything out of it. But the whole time I was pulling things out I was feeling a lot of anxiety. Brand new candles in their packaging and I was thinking I should keep them to give away as gifts. I powered through it and got all of it out....then called my mom to tell her what a nutcase I am to be having an anxiety attack over candles. We kept talking and I got it all pared down to what I think I will actually use.

It probably won't stay in this cabinet now, but I wanted to show the perspective. All of what I took out will go to yard sale and goodwill. I have to say, I feel lighter already.