Well, here I am–a fifth of the way through this challenge, and I still feel like I have a LOOOONG way to go.
Of course, that’s partly because the last couple weeks my challenges have been pretty small (so I haven’t noticed as much of an overall difference in our apartment), but it’s nice to know that I’ve made it this far still.
Anyway, it WAS kind of nice this week to have a smaller to-do list (as well as one that I could complete anywhere I had a computer), but I will admit, my results won’t be as exciting as in weeks past. But here, a quick recap of my past week:
-As my junk mail came through, I went ahead and unsubscribed from as many of them as possible. Already, my junk mail folder is significantly emptier
-Although I wanted to go through all of my folders and delete everything I didn’t need or want anymore, I just didn’t have the time. But I did have the time to go through and delete many of them. My plan going ahead is to try and tackle one or two folders a week so that I can pare down my email for good.
-Starting off this week, my most-used email inbox had over 150 unfiled messages in it. Right now, it only has one. Now I call that progress.
-To finish things off, I started paring down my “friends” on Facebook. Now, you must know, I have a terribly difficult time letting people go (even virtual ones!), even if I never really speak to those people. I’ve always been that way. But I did manage to delete about 50 people off my friends list who I really didn’t know at all. So it’s a start.
One thing all this made me realize? That social media and email and all this digital communication can become quite overwhelming and that it often takes the “simple” right out of life. So I’m going to be searching for other ways to pare down because to me, all this organization isn’t just about getting my apartment to be cleaner–it’s about literally learning to live with less stuff.
This Week’s Quick Stats:
# of Items Tossed/Donated: 0 (if you count digital items though, several hundred)
# of Items Left to Toss/Donate Before Dec. 31st: 373
Amount of Money Spent This Week on Organization: $0
With these last few weeks being taken up by “easier” challenges, I’m ready to take on something more, well, challenging. So next week I’m tackling:
My Clothes (and Matt’s too, if he’ll agree)
Clothing To-Do List
*Toss all clothes (including underwear and socks) that are ripped, badly stained, and unfit to donate.
*Pull out all clothes that are too small, especially the ones you’ve been saving for “that day when you lose the weight.” Unless you are frequently fluctuating between weights or planning on giving birth, you should toss or donate anything that doesn’t fit. (Look at it this way–if you lost all that weight, you’d want to buy new clothes anyway!).
*Go through all your pairs of shoes and toss any that have cracked soles, are uncomfortable, or that are too worn-out to be of much use anymore.
*Go through the rest of your clothing and shoes and sort it into three piles: Keep, Maybe, and Donate. After everything is put into piles, try on all the clothing in the Maybe pile. If you haven’t worn it in over a year, donate it. If you’ve only worn it a couple times, pull in someone to give you their honest opinion on whether you should keep it or not. Be brutal—if you do not love it, get it out of your life. If it doesn’t make you feel amazing, get rid of it.
*If you tend to keep lots of t-shirts (like me), but you don’t wear them that often (but save them because you figure they’ll be good for camping, bed, or working out), pare your stash down to no more than about five–a couple long-sleeved and a few short-sleeved. Everything else goes.
*Finally, when you’ve gone through and decided everything you are actually keeping, section off all the clothing that is out of season and box it up so you’ll have more room in your closet for the things you’re actually wearing now. (Yay! I can start boxing up *some* of my winter stuff!)
*Decide which clothes will go in the closet and which will go in the dresser. If your closet and/or dresser are too full, get rid of more stuff. Hang or store “like” items together to make them easier to find (cardigans, formal pants, jeans, etc.).
*Get a shoe rack or shoe organizer if you don’t have one already. Actually store your shoes (neatly) there.
I’ve been eyeing some new spring clothes lately, but I’ve refused to let myself buy anything else until I’ve significantly cleared out my closet and drawers. So believe me when I say I can’t wait to be done with this one!
(And yes, I realize the irony in saying that I want to simplify things and saying that I want to get new clothes in the next breath. I need new running shoes, okay? And maybe a new swimsuit too…)
My last complete closet overhaul was back in 2011 (check out this post on it) and my style has altered quite a bit since then, so I’m definitely ready for a change.
How often do you sort through all your clothes?
