40 Bags in 40 Days

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for all the awesome comments on my last post about house size…I love it when a blog post turns into a conversation. I’m really enjoying reading all your responses, getting different perspectives on house size, and just generally getting to know y’all better. That comments section is a wealth of knowledge and if you haven’t read it yet, you should (and add your two cents!)

While reading the comments on that post I noticed a theme…most of us struggle with “stuff”, myself included. We have no place for it, too much of it, and have a hard time parting with it. I hate that stuff is such a struggle for me because it’s just stuff….it doesn’t matter, I can’t take it with me, and most of the time it’s more of a burden than a blessing. It takes time and focus away from the things that really matter. I’m a creative person who lives on a budget (and I bet most of y’all are the same), and I tend to retain clutter because “it was only $3!”, or because I want to save it and repurpose it in the future. But stuff stresses me out, and it REALLY stresses my husband out. He is the ultimate purger.

ANYWAY, yesterday I ran across THIS POST on another DIY blog called White House Black Shutters. It’s called the The 40 Bags in 40 Days Decluttering Challenge, and it is about simplifying and getting rid of clutter.

I just told Adam about this, and I didn’t even finish my whole first sentence before he said “you can just stop there, I’m in”. I even warned him that while decluttering things usually get worse before they get better, so he’s prepared.

I’m really last minute on this, because it starts TOMORROW (today for everyone that reads through e-mail). The challenge runs March 5th- April 19th, and each day you pick one space to completely organize and declutter. 40 spaces, 40 bags, 40 days. I know 40 bags sounds like a really large amount, but don’t concentrate on the bags, concentrate on getting rid of stuff. If that ends in 10 bags or 100 bags, both are great.

I’m not going to post all the details here because they are so clearly laid out on White House Black Shutters. She has more a lot more information, including free printables to get you started and keep you on track, and a facebook support/encouragement group for everyone that is participating. Also, I promise not to fill up my blog with updates on this, I’ll just post a recap when the 40 days is over. Now that I just said that I really have to do it… talk about accountability!

GO HERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION

Honestly, this sounds like a really daunting task, but I’m excited. Having less stuff in my house sounds so…freeing. More organized spaces means less stuff for my boys to move around and destroy, which means less time cleaning and more time…well, not cleaning. Doesn’t that sound appealing?

So, who’s with me?