Daily Declutter

This weekend I spent some time thinking about the things in my closet.  Things I love, things I want to love, but can't, things that don't love me.

Today I decided to take a (small) step and unburden myself of two items.  I bought both of them on clearance and I loved them both when I bought them.  The first one is a dress.  It's an adorable Columbia dress, great for the summer, light weight, breathable and yet, I'm giving it up.  Why?  Well, when I first bought it, it looked great on, but somewhere along the way, my body shape changed (my health/weight journey) and it made me look frumpy.  I'm sad, but it's in good condition and I'll find a new home for it.  It's going into my consign/yardsale  bag.

Pretty summery print in tan and orange on a white base.

Regrettably, the second piece I'm parting with I loved from the start, but it never loved me back.  I wanted it the second I saw it and I grabbed it for an absolute steal.  Light green, hooded, with cute detailing.  Columbia, long sleeve hooded tee.  Not once have I worn this and felt like it was flattering.  I keep trying and keep getting disappointed.  I think the combination of the not well defined shoulders on the top plus my own rounded shoulders allows for it to slip into some ugly positions.  Add to that the small v-opening at the neck which gives it a chance to slide up constantly and ugh.  No good.  So, with a heavy heart, I'll release this piece from my closet as well.  Of to the consignment bag it goes.

 Wrinkly but in great condition

See the cute detail on the back?!  Waaah!  :o(

It leaves me wondering...am I not meant to wear Columbia clothes?  I have a Columbia jacket which I adore and it fits well and is comfortable and well made, but maybe the pants and shirts and dresses just aren't for my body type?  I wonder if I should keep trying them out.  Perhaps if I find them in the thrift stores or on sale for a price I just can't pass up.  For now, I guess I won't go running out to buy any (unless it's outerwear).

Daily Declutter and Discard

It has occurred to me that calling this my daily declutter/discard may seem a bit misleading, but I promise, though I'm not photographing every single thing I discard, I am faithfully getting rid of something each day.

I ran to Target (I've got my eye on some clearance stuff, I'm waiting for it to get one more markdown!) and as I passed the Dollar Spot I spied some little plastic baskets with handles.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them in some of the local dollar stores, but always in colors I'm not so fond of, so I pass on them.  This time though, they had black.  I grabbed two of them for use under my kitchen sink.  Yay!

I collected all of my cleaning supplies (the ones in the kitchen, at least) and stuck 'em into the basket.  It's not particularly rigid, so I was able to comfortably fit what I had in there.  I ended up only needing one, so I've got one free to use as I see fit somewhere else.  I'm toying with the idea of sticking plastic grocery bags in the other one, since those seem to multiply and take over my under the sink cabinet space.

(In the basket, Magic Eraser, feather duster, glass cleaner, Simple Green, air freshener and a Sham Wow {hubby made that purchase!}.)


My discard for today is a dog waterer.  I bought this one gallon waterer for the little princess after her big sister passed away a few months ago.  For some reason, she's terrified of it.  It's been sitting there since I bought it.  I wash it and put fresh water in it and she won't touch it.  She drinks out of a tiny plastic leftover bowl instead.

I'm adding this to my box of items to consign or yardsale.  It's nice to have a designated place for things I don't need/want/use anymore.  It feels liberating to trash the stuff that's taking over and to know that I'll be finding a new home for the better stuff that we just don't want or need.

First Real Declutter

I decided to make the hall closet my first decluttering project.  I took some pictures of the before. They're scary and I'm ashamed! 

That closet is literally right beside the front door when you walk in.  Every time one of us walks in, we close the front door and open that one.  Shoes get kicked off, yoga mat gets tossed in, sometimes the boys throw their socks in.  Gross!  I'm just tickled that all of the coats get hung up.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but under that pile of shoes is an actual shoe shelf.  Fat lot of good it's done.  On the left side of the closet, a hanging shoe bag.  Empty.  Completely empty.  *sigh*

After about an hour or sorting and cleaning, I can happily say, it's nice and tidy.  Ta Da!

Obviously, you can see in the pictures, I didn't add anything.  No cute baskets or tags.  My guys won't notice or use that stuff, so basic is best around here.  I took advantage of the hanging shoe bag and put everyone's flip flops, my ballet flats and lawn mowing shoes in there.  That cleared up a TON of floor space.  The remaining shoes are those that are being worn at least a couple of times a week.  Yoga mats and blocks made it up to the top shelf, dumb bells tucked away on the floor to the left, easy to access, stretch bands on hooks above the weights.  My coats on the left, his on the right, the boys keep theirs hung up in their room.


This decluttering resulted in some trash (as I'm sure you guessed from those before pics).  I pulled both of my sons ponchos.  Both were ripped at the neck enough that it was kind of a waste to keep them(that's the blue and beige you see in the pic).   To the pile of things headed for the trash, I added a pair of my youngest sons ripped jeans and a stained shirt belonging to my oldest.  Sadly, last week our Keurig died after more than 2 years of dedicated service to us.  That, too, joined the pile of things to go. 

It felt great to get this done and I'm pretty happy overall with the accomplishment.  It's small, but it's a start.

After all was said and done, I did some laundry and found a few items that, while in great condition, just don't fit my kids anymore.  I pulled those aside for either consigning or donating.  When I cleaned the closet  I also pulled a small tote bag that had a Happy Bunny graphic on it.  It was cute, but I never used it.  Not once.  In 4+ years.   That was also added to this pile.

So, there you have it.  My first decluttering!