Friday, July 12, 2013

summer project: becoming minimalist // an ugly update!




 
 i've been working long & hard almost everyday & this is still what every room in my entire house currently looks like!
YIKES...BUT SERIOUS PROGRESS!!!
this looks far from progress, but the majority of this stuff is leaving my house!!!
FEELS SOOOO STINKIN' GOOD!

along with keeping up with a little bit of summer schooling, we've had a couple of family emergencies that required taking long road trips. one involved a family members extended hospital stay so I've kind of gotten thrown off track a bit. this has been a tedious process as i sort, purge, & organize each & every item as i go.
 
due to one of the fam emergency trips I missed our neighborhood yard sale so my current frustration is figuring out what to do with all these discards! for my sanity, i need to get it all out of the house to make it at least appear like i'm accomplishing as much as i am. (& so the kids wont go treasure hunting in the piles, or dogs & kids wont play in them & ruin my organization, etc...) 
 
a friend aptly labeled this as "THE GREAT PURGE OF 2013"!
tremendous progress...still a long ways to go BUT i now have a july 31st deadline & my mind is focused on attaining my goal of finally becoming more of a minimalist & having a drastically simplified life!

sorted, purged & organized so far:
(i'm trying to keep notes as i go)
 
1. each & every single book on the shelves. we had books in every single room including bathrooms! (i should have counted before i started!)
 
2. craft closet & supplies. down from approx. 15 bins to about 6 so far (still editing) 
 
3. my entire clothing collection, handbags, shoes. each of the girls closets & storage bins of clothes, shoes & bags. we got rid of everything out dated, barely or never worn, disliked, stained, too small (tried each item on), etc... most of the items were barely or never worn & had expensive price tags, some of the girl things i thought were super cute but not their tastes, some of my stuff was cute even, $$$ & barely worn also, but just not my style anymore. no matter...let it all go!
 
4. everything hanging on wall (art, photos, bulletin boards etc...) pottery barn? anthropologie? target? fave thrift store? love it? NO??? then who cares? its all just
" EXTRA STUFF"...let it go!
 
5. china cabinet, knick knacks & sentimentals...see above!
 
6. i tested sorted, purged, organized each & every pen, highlighter, marker, paint bottle, tub of clay, etc...making sure it's good & made an inventory list of  school & art supplies we have on hand & that needs to be replaces. i also examined school books, old school work etc...(* i have the old school work boxed, dated & marked to sort & reorganize in a more efficient system than what i previously had...another project & post for another day.)
 
7. i put all our photos in black photo boxes to sort & organize later also (* again new more efficient system...more later) in doing so i eliminated the big bulky containers they were in. the new photo boxes sit nicely & look much cleaner on the bookshelf.
 
8. sorted, purged & organized board/card games & puzzles. out with all the "baby-ish" games & puzzles, anything missing pieces or damaged. made an inventory list to replace only our faves that were damaged or incomplete.
 
9. cds: i set up a station to listen for skips, music tastes etc...as we go thru our day. we also upload them to our computer & make copies, putting the originals back on the shelf (to keep them clean or from getting any further damage).
 
10. purged kitchen cabinets & drawers. out with anything damaged, useless/unused, duplicates or not my fave. i really hate having too many kitchen gadgets, so this wasn't tough.
 
11. in the pantry i purged expired meds, including things like sunscreens, ointments, etc...we've have been cooking with stuff that needs to be eaten 1st in the fridge, pantry etc...makes for some interesting meals :)
 
12. we are using up any partially or unused body products 1st before we open or buy new. tossing anything old or outdated.
 
13. in the yard i've (drastically) reduced my "collection" of pots & plants that i did not particularly love...(waste of space, time & water!). this includes yard ornaments & figurines also.