Wednesday, March 2, 2016

40 Bags in 40 Days: Days 7 to 18: So Good.





I want more things to get rid of.

You heard me. More to get rid of.

The feeling I get when I create a clear wide open space is addictive, intoxicating! It makes me feel calm. It makes me feel free.

But a bit anxious too. What if my husband asks me for something I've let go of? What if after five years of forgetting--he suddenly remembers?


Day 7: The Laundry Room



I meant to do more, but the day got away from me, somehow.

Day 8: The Paint Spot


An hour and a half later...



The opposite happened. I hadn't meant to do so much! I cleaned out and reorganized the top two yellow drawers.


Day 9:  Donations Run I


release the kraken, indeed!

It took me more time to pack these up and load the car than it did to drive to two different locations to drop it all off!



I found more bags in the garage...so I loaded those up, too.

Day 10: Clean the kitchen Day!


I spent the day and cleaned the kitchen.

Day 11: Nada

I didn't do anything today.

Day 12: You Can Do Anything for 15 Minutes!

I decided to do just 15 minutes. I wandered down to the basement--and the first thing that caught my eye was these shelves. (Not surprising, they're just to the right at the foot of the stairs!)




And just like that, I had a bag for the animal shelter.



Day 13: Nada II.

A long, tiring day. I didn't try to declutter at all.

Day 14: A Pile and Some Files

This was actually a surprise. I was tidying the bedroom and decided to go through my closet and my drawers just quickly to see if there was anything I could let go. And there was!


In the evening, I went through the top drawer of a filing cabinet we have in the basement. It holds just our taxes and supporting documents.


Everything dated 2008 and before--except the returns themselves--was purged.


Day 15. The Past and Donation Run II.

I went back to the filing cabinet. My goal is to get these three totes into the cabinet.



I also bit the bullet on a few things that have survived past purges--but still, have never been used. Now they are gone.



This donation run saw me go to H&M for their cloth recycling program, Value Village, the animal shelter, and Habitat for Humanity's  Re-store (the old light fixture from the dining room). It probably took over an hour (well, there was a train, a slooooooooooow mooooooooooooving train, so definitely, it took well over an hour, lol!) to drive to all four places. Decluttering this way is not for amateurs!

Then, I went to Mom's and several hours later, left with a garbage bag I could barely lift and a liquor box full of movies on VHS. I dropped them at Value Village on the way home.

Yay.

Day 16: The Files, Continued.

More files.

Over half this drawer went to recycling. I had six inches of poli sci papers. I did keep a copy of Rawls' paper, "Justice as Fairness," however. It's a reminder of what I missed not finishing my Ph.D. Given the way things have turned out at Universities--especially in the Humanities, I am very happy I did not continue down that path to the ivory tower. I also kept a copy of The Constitution Act of 1867 to 1982 as a nod to my interest in constitutional law and a copy of the Indian Act because, well, because, every Canadian should have one.


The files in the totes are on hanging files. I prefer that system even though it takes up more room. Ever notice, sometimes, that "organizing" something isn't as space efficient as not organizing it?

Day 17: The End (of the) Files and Donation Run III

I finished up the files. I bought one more hanging file rail kit and a box of hanging files. (I didn't bother putting the tax drawer on rails.)



Just look at that!


The file drawers are labelled taxes, household, Memories general (and hobbies and Interests) Memories--Kids' school years).

That pink bucket up top? That's the burn pile.

We don't have a shredder--and there's no point getting one when we have a back yard fire pit. It'll just be a month or two before we can use it.

As for the donation run, I grabbed three boxes from the garage and went to my Mom's where she had a bag ready for me to take away. We filled another bag while I was there and I dropped everything off at Value Village on the way home. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me,

Day 18: Terrible Tuesday

I made the menu for the week and went grocery shopping. I decided that March will be "eat from the freezer" month.



I've decided I'm going to continue--though the pickin's are getting slim. I hope I can spend some time at my Mom's helping her declutter before my hours at work pick back up later this month.

If you'd like to catch up, here are the previous posts:

Introduction:  The 40 Bag Basement.
Day 1: Clearing the Decks
Day 2: I Can See the Table!

Days 3-6: The Bunny, the Comic Books and Other Difficult Decluttering Decisions

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2 comments :

Unknown said...

Alana, you're amazing! You're like a terrier who gets his teeth into something and is not going to let go until he wins the battle. Yeah to you!

My basement, is crying out yo me for an overhaul (which I still can't get to because of this cast and crutches). I want everything cleared out. All my school-teaching materials are going to go since they take up far too much space down there. Our basement is beautifully finished but it has become a repository for things. In fact, if I crawled down there again, I'm sure the Christmas decorations would still be covering the couch and chairs.

Keeping a house clean and organized is a huge, never-ending task even with just adults in the home and even crazier if you happen to add small chiLoren to the mix!

As you clear out 'extra' items, you're helping out someone else who could use them more.

Keep on at it! You're giving me impetus to do the same once I'm cleared by the surgeon.

Alana in Canada said...

I hope that day comes soon for you Jan! I appreciate your support, more than I can say.

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