Sometimes I Write

It’s happening AGAIN. I’m finding myself fuming and pouting because I am picking up my family’s crap AGAIN. We have too much stuff AGAIN. I spent most of 2011 working through and posting about my decluttering challenge. Click on the links to read how I did it:

• January – Books
• February – Knickknacks
• March/April – Paper
• May/June/July – Misc. Household junk
• August – Clothing
• September – Medications
• October – Auction Items

It’s only been four years since I learned (and taught) about decluttering and minimalism. It’s only been one year since we decluttered to move to our current home. It’s not like I’ve forgotten how to do it, so maybe I needed new inspiration to do it again. Don’t we all need that now and then?

Enter my friend, Penelope Hoyt.

She’s written several books on the topic as well as homemaking, homeschooling, organizing and prepping. I started with her book, The Simple Minimalist, and I’m still working my way through her stuff. She has lots of great tips including defining minimalism for yourself (Hint: It looks a little different for each person) and pursuing a simple, peaceful lifestyle free from emotional and mentally draining clutter. She encouraged me by reminding me WHY I want to live simply – so I have more time, energy, and resources to live life with the people I love.

Sadly, she lives too far away to grab a cup of Chai and pick her brain, so I spent last week reading several of her books. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can read most of them for free, but her prices are amazing even without KU. Here’s a partial list of the books I read:

Minimalism Made Easy: What It Really Takes to Live with Less It was a nice surprise when I discovered I already had this on my Kindle before we even met. 😉

Going Green: 25 Recipes to Save Your House and Your Life

Natural Living

Downsizing Made Easy: How to Simplify Your House for a Quicker Sale

101 Things to Teach Your Kids This Year

Her Minimalist Hacks series was great too. I decided to stop reading for now and start minimizing! When I thanked her for inspiring me, she responded by giving me a few tips. The most important one is this: Buy big black trash bags. You are more likely to get rid of things when you’re not staring at them, possibly having second thoughts.

I read and got inspired again. I formed a plan. I talked to my family and they all jumped on board the crazy purging train I’m conducting. Woot! Woot! This is Nowell Purging Week, and today was Day 1. Benny posted this on Facebook today:

Hey! I needed a staging area.This is what happens when you have kids hauling everything up and down stairs. They dump it wherever. Hmmm…seems to me that’s what got us into this mess. Bringing too much stuff into our home contributed as well, I suppose. It’s okay. We’re punching the reset button.

Here’s my basic plan of attack:

Monday: Pete’s room and our bookshelves. DONE and DONE!

• 7 boxes of homeschooling curriculum (not mine, I was storing them)
• 7 boxes of books – mostly mine
• 3 bags of stuffed animals, clothes, and shoes (plus a few GIANT stuffed animals)
• 2 bags of misc. toys and stuff
• 1 big bag of trash

Tuesday: Max’s room. Dear God, please help me control my tongue and attitude, and have someone bring me Chai.

Wednesday: After I get home from work – The bathrooms and hall closets.

Thursday: Zoe’s room and the living room/dining room. She’s been cleaning, so it will be easier than riding herd on helping the boys.

Friday: The kitchen and the laundry room.

Saturday: Finish up our bedroom, which is where I began before officially starting this purge.

Sunday: A much-needed day of rest! 😉

I’ll let you know how the week goes by updating this post with how much stuff we haul away.

I’ll be back with more thoughts on this and how we can avoid a repeat of this process next year, but in the meantime, visit Penelope at her blog, The Nerdy Survivalist, buy her books on Amazon, then go declutter something!

You can do it!