2108 Decluttering: Near Year End Update

It's been a wild year of decluttering! The goal has been to achieve the deletion of 2018 items from our home and life. And there were and are no rules! I knew we would likely be moving in 2018 when I started on this project, so the number was quite achievable in my mind. Once the location was determined, we were soon to realize we would be downsizing to a much smaller space. We went from over 2800 sq ft to just under 1700 sq ft, and only a one car garage.

As of my last update at the end of August, we had eliminated 1980 items! In the months of September we downsized a lot of furniture, which we counted as more than one item each. We eliminated lamps, tools, cleaners, clothes, baskets, rugs, curtain rods, curtains, bedding...and much more to even list at this point. 

I will say that moving so fast in the last few months, it was a bit disorientating letting go of the quantity we did. But it simply had to be done, or I would probably have a room at our new place that is packed full! That luckily did not happen. For the most part we have been able to fit our items into our home with ease. It's still a work in progress as we have been here less than a month. 

You might find this story amusing. My husband's Army gear was in several duffle bags and a backpack. In order to fit it into boxes, the ladies that packed up, partially opened the duffle bags exposing the contents. Thus, when we unpacked my husband was shocked to find multiple sets of OLD army uniforms. Guess what we now need to let go of? Old Army uniforms! They fill a very large box, not yet sure of the numbers. 

The final tally as of this writing for the 2018 Decluttering Challenge is 2,768! Yes, I did count furniture and large items as much more than one. For example, we sold a fairly new refrigerator and I counted it as 250. There is so much more effort to decluttering by selling. Taking pictures, posting a listing in several places, and communicating with the buyer for pickup. That additional effort prompted me to count these types of sales for the amount I sold the item for. A $250 refrigerator sale as 250 items. Remember there are no rules on how you count an item in the 2018 Decluttering Challenge. The ultimate goal is simply to let the items go.

The year is not over! I expect there will be more items we will eliminate before the year is done. I challenge you to keep making some progress in this area as you clean your home for guests or prepare for the holidays. You do not need to make it a marathon, but simply notice as you reach into a drawer, open a bin or stash things in a closet, if those items are ready to leave. There is still time to declutter. Let us finish 2018 strong!!