Cleaning Out

Who has too much stuff?

I did.

Notice the past tense.

Over the past week I have donated three boxes and two bags to the local Goodwill.  It feels so good to move on what I do not need.  As I have been going through things I have been making mental notes to remind myself there is stuff that I do not need!  I wanted to share some of my "mental notes" today.

1.  Books

When my little girl was a baby I signed her up for the {Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book Club}.  That is one awesome program!  Every month from the month she was born until she turned five years old she received a book.  These were GREAT books!  A few titles:  Llama Llama, Lady Bug Girl, Otis, etc.

Over the course of five years she received sixty books.  Some soft cover and some hard cover.  They were all awesome.  

Along with those books I also purchased her books and she was gifted books.  

I believe I have read each one a minimum of twenty times.  After a while the books became clutter.  We knew the stories without opening a page.  They were becoming dust catchers.

Originally, I thought I would save the books for Little Man.  Then I started thinking: whoa this is a ton of books....a ton.

So I made the decision to go through each one and the ones that really were enjoyable for my daughter and eventually for a little boy with a curious mind I would keep.  The rest I would take to the preschool as a donation.

Since we visit the library weekly for check out I don't plan on purchasing anymore books.  I can apply that money to something else like dance class or babysitter night.

2.  Duplicate kitchen gadgets

Exactly how many whisks does a family need?  This is a critical question.  As I have been taking apart my kitchen cabinets and drawers I have found that I have a surplus of whisks.  If there was ever a shortage I could be the resource for the whisk-less. 

Spatulas are golden to me and apparently I took that seriously!  

I also have a wide assortment of kitchen mits and potholders (Santa, cows, blue, green, red, etc).

I have really started taking a count of everything I had that I never used!  I know I used two whisks but not six!

As I was sorting gadgets and cooking/baking supplies I started thinking:  I need good stuff and not in bulk!

There are many utensils that you do want more than one of but it is important to look and see exactly what you have and in what quantity.  Drawer space is critical and it shouldn't be wasted on items you only use here and there!

3.  Cookbooks

I used to have a blue million cookbooks.  I love them!  I slimmed my collection down to ten in this packing of my kitchen.  I may go ahead and slim them down some more.  

Cookbooks are generally bulky and take up a lot of space.  If you are like me you have ten but only really use two.  In the technology age we can easily Google a recipe and boom we get five billion resources!

4.  Reusable Containers

It is safe to say I have a love hate relationship with reusable plastic containers.  We use them daily for lunches and storage of left overs.  However, like my dryer eats my socks my kitchen eats my lids to my plastic containers.  

Recently, I sat down with all my plastic pieces and played the matching game.  I came out with three containers that still had lids.  That freed up an entire drawer!

5.  My linen closet

Isn't that a great name?  Linen closet.  I would imagine that meant it was a closet for towels, sheets, spreads, etc.  I learned that in Brownie Land linen closet was a bogus term.  Of course there was bedding and towels in there but I also found medications, cleaning supplies, bath toys, hair products, stashed toys, etc.

I have four shelves in that bad boy.  After going through it I have three shelves with what belongs in a linen closet and one sitting bare.

While I was in that war zone I checked the status of my linens.  I must say JC Penney and that old store Linens n Things make some great towels.  Most of them are in great condition!  However, I had a few towels that were threadbare and bleach stained.  I used to keep some of these for house work no more....I don't need that in my way.  

6.  Baby Stuff

Babies grow fast so the clothes don't fit them long enough....I had a lot of baby stuff around the house that my Little Man is way past.  I could have had a yard sale (with everything I found not just the baby stuff) but I wanted it gone and gone fast.

Some friends of ours had a little boy a few weeks back.  He's in the NICU for a month or so.  I spoke with his mom and guess what?  All the stuff is going to help them out.  That is awesome.

I also gave her a set of great toys for an older child in their family.  It was in mint condition so it can be "gifted" at Christmas and ease the financial strain that the holidays bring.

7.  The laundry room

My laundry room was my true catch all room.  We kept everything in there.  I hate it.  One thing we kept a lot of was electrical stuff.  You know fifty USB cords, seventy adapters from various phones or toys.  Extension cords, batteries, etc all decorated the laundry room.

No more.

I saved a couple universal adapters, one extension cord for inside, and a surge protector.  The rest is gone baby gone!

Remember my jar fetish?  Its over.  They were just sitting there not being used (like I had all the intentions of using them for) so they went into the recycle bin.  Hangers?  Placed in the closets so I don't have to add them to my store list.

I must say I dreaded this clean out.  However, I am so happy to be doing it.  Not only am I making room for what I do actually need but I'm also helping others out by giving them some stuff they may need!  Also, I'm doing my part at helping keep Goodwill going by donating my stuff so people have a job sorting, tagging, and cashiering!

Let's not forget that pretty soon we'll all be getting some new things here and there with the holidays rolling in - why not go ahead and help eliminate some clutter!