The past 10 days have been packed and, no offense to you, I would much rather spend any extra minutes with my sweet kiddo than in front of the computer screen so not a lot of blogging happened. I didn’t keep up with tracking what I got rid of every night, so some days are grouped together. If you are just tuning in, I am neck deep in a month long battle against my possessions in my own experiment in self reduction.
Days 19, 20, 21, and 22: So I’m sitting here trying to remember what I did these past few days. I honestly don’t remember what I purged on what day. I know for a fact there were a few days I didn’t have time to dig around and purge anything, I was taken out for a day with a terrible horrible no good very bad migraine, and we had a snow day thrown into the mix which was awesome but somehow sucks all the energy out of you, forcing you to sit on the couch and watch movies and eat cookies all day {snow days have magical powers like that}.
Totals for the past 4 days: they are literally so random I can’t even remember them all, but they include 1 frosting spatula, 2 picture frames, 1 stainless coffee carafe, 2 mixing bowls, 3 muffin tins, 2 strainers, 4 pie pans {I had 5, and that’s 4 more than necessary seeing as how I don’t really bake pies… no lie, there were 5 in my house}, 5 of Charlotte’s headbands and bows, 1 wooden shelf, 1 pair of pajama pants, 1 necklace, 1 scarf, 1 sippy cup, = 25 {not quite enough for 4 days x 7… but pretty close}
Day 23:
Conversation I had via text with one of my friends, Melody:
Melody: I have an urge to come digging through your donate box!
Me: haha, you can, but then you’ll have to go digging through your own stuff to find things to get rid of, that’s the rule.
Melody: I’ll pass… but what does that say about my urges?!
Me: That they’re the same as mine! I want to go digging back through my own boxes!!!!
We have black hearts, the lot of us! Here I am in the midst of a quarter life overhaul that God is implementing on my heart and I’m desperately trying to cling to my old ways and my stuff that has, for 29 years, been my comfort and my focus. I am still struggling with letting things go. Ever day is a struggle. I want so badly to pull some things out of boxes in the garage and put them back into my drawers and cabinets. This is difficult, folks, and I am starting to lose steam. Being sick, working, having snow days, and simply keeping a toddler out of my sorting piles is starting to wear on me too. Blah! I realize that if I just donated all of these boxes now it would be much easier on me. I love thrift stores and I typically donate things to them every year. For this project, though, I want to be able to see, in a tangible way, how my fast from things has not only improved my life but the life of someone else. Someone God loves and someone He wants me to show love to also. I am not sure yet who will be the recipient of this blessing, but I know God will present me with a clear idea on that after my yard sale when the time is right!
Totals for today: 4 children’s books, 1 quilt, 1 piggy bank, 4 receiving blankets = 10
Day 24, 25 and 26: We had a little 8 month old foster babe come stay with us for the weekend so I thought my cleaning/sorting/purging rampage would come to a screeching halt. Miraculously {hallelujahpraiseGod} I still managed to find a few moments to dig through Charlotte’s clothing in the peace and quiet of two kiddos playing together.
I am pretty confident that by the time this purge is done I actually won’t have any clothing or baby things left to sell. I have been successful in giving them all away to friends, mamas, and soon-to-be mamas! Our sweet little temporary foster babe even took some outfits and sparkly headbands home to adorn her bald baby head.
I am also pretty confident this month’s purge-fest will spill over into February. There’s just too much stuff… January can’t contain it all! I have yet to go through my office/craft room, the garage, and the attic.
Totals for the past 3 days: 3 children’s books, 12 hair bows/headbands/barrettes, 1 thermometer, 5 baby bibs = 21
Day 27, 28, 29, and 30: I am almost finished with Charlotte’s room and have even had a few minutes to venture into my craft room. This is a daunting task. I have a giant collection of craft things and I truly do use almost everything so digging through to find things I don’t use won’t work and won’t get me to 7 things a day. I am going to have to get rid of things that are purely excessive. and it will be painful. herewego!
Totals for the past 4 days: 5 pairs of girl’s shoes, 2 stuffed animals, 3 coats, 1 dry erase board, 2 coupon organizers, 3 stamp sets, 1 bag of random scrapbooking bedazzles and stickers, 1 hanging basket organizer, 2 small woven baskets, 1 bag of party supplies, 3 throw pillows, 2 empty scrapbooks = 26
Only 1 more day of January but probably another week left of reducing my possessions. joy.