Friday 16 August 2013

Challenge - Declutter 100 things in a month

Lots and lots of blogs out there with posts about decluttering 100 things.
Some are for 100 items a month:
Others suggest doing it in a weekend
(love the idea of a ‘diet’ for the house).
As you all know I’ve been gradually decluttering, sorting out the wardrobe, trying to stick to one-in, one-out and reducing shopping and keeping an eye on the amounts of overall ‘stuff’ coming into the house.
But even with this focus, it felt as if the house was just too full.  It wasn’t messy, and everything had a home, but there were too many cupboards where things only just fitted in, and others where items had an annoying tendency to jump out and land on my toes. 
So for August I’ve committed to reducing the number of things in our house by at least 100.  The total can include anything from the smallest items (baby bottles that are no longer needed), through to larger/more expensive things (such as that ridiculously expensive high chair that she only used for about 6 months).
I set myself just 2 rules for the challenge. 
1)      For an item to count, it has to leave the house by the end of the month.  Just putting it on the ‘to eBay at some point in the future’ pile doesn’t work.
2)      Items that enter the house during the month and are then thrown away or recycled (such as magazines), don’t count toward the total.
I’m currently at 87 items, which I think is pretty good for half way through the month, don’t you?  And my cupboards are definitely looking less cluttered as a result. 
Here is the list so far.  Apologies if my maths is wrong and it’s not 87 items – feel free to point it out!
1.        7 jars of various jams, preserves etc that were lurking at the back of the kitchen cupboard and well out of date.  I’m not usually too precious about use by dates, but I think 5 years may be pushing it a little.
2.       1 plastic baby toiletries gift box.
3.       1 tube muscle rub
4.       7 books
5.       1 pile of papers
6.       1 pile of bills etc no longer required (counted this as one)
7.       2 handbags – eBayed one and gave the other to my mum
8.       1 plate
9.       3 dresses
10.   2 cardigans
11.   1 pair sandals
12.   Kit for making an owl doorstep, which I got free with a magazine and which there is very little chance of me making
13.   3 pairs shoes
14.   1 slightly mouldy jar of gherkins
15.   10 magazines
16.   1 hair spray
17.   Bundle of baby coathangers
18.   1 bra
19.   1 pair knickers
20.   1 bottle bubble bath
21.   1 out of date bottle of sun lotion
22.   9 pens (I know – this sounds like a slight cheat!)
23.   1 linen shirt
24.   1 wooden coat hanger
25.   Tub of earbuds
26.   1 bottle of baby lotion
27.   2 pairs of potty training knickers
28.   2 baby gros
29.   2 toys
30.   1 money box
31.   1 cot bumper
32.   3 pairs trainers
33.   1 tote bag
34.   1 packet of seaweed flakes
35.   1 pair jeans
36.   3 travel adaptors
37.   1 bottle room spray
38.   Various little ‘free’ bottles of shampoo etc (counted as 1 – makes up for the slight cheat with the pens, no?)
39.   Bath mat
40.   White vest top
41.   Black slip
42.   Bottle of Clinique lotion
43.   2 baby bottles
44.   1 small blackboard
Still to go are the high chair and a set of Chinese bowls, but as these haven’t yet left the house they don’t count.
Have you ever done anything similar?  Did it make a difference?

1 comment:

  1. I LIKE this idea - been gradually decluttering but still have a LONG way to go, this sounds like the sort of thing to kickstart (and to get the 'to ebay' pile actually onto ebay rather than just onto the dining room table

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