get rid of things I don't need

The thought of moving makes this easier and I’ve been donating toys, handing down clothes and baby gear, giving away hobby stuff (though I couldn’t bear to give away the scrapbooking stuff even though I’ve only used it twice). I don’t want to have to pack up a bunch of stuff I don’t use only to have to unpack it and find somewhere to put it so I can not use it again halfway across the country.

Three bags of trash taken out, but it still looks the same! How can I have so much stuff that I don’t need, and why, at some point, did I really think that I did? After I accomplish paring down my belongings, I need to adopt the goal of living simply. Not only to want to be without the clutter, but to be satisfied with my life in a way that I do not miss any of it, and not feel the urge to start the madness again!

Kitchen cupboards?...Check!
Baby’s room?...Check!

Slowly but surely I’m declutterizing (my new word) my spaces.

I tossed half of my old magazines today, I couldn’t bring myself to clear them all out at once. I guess I can stand to part with some of the 5 year old copies of Baby talk magazine (they were a free magazine at the Dr’s office) that I never really read anyway. Though in the back of my mind I keep thinking “what if there’s something in there that I really need to read, maybe I should just read through them before I take them out”. Now there’s an empty spot on my bookshelf, I’m not used to that, it looks odd!

Yesterday the medicine cabinet got cleared, threw away everything that I haven’t used in the last year (even if it was unopened). Outdated medicine went, old make-up went, that stinky perfume that MIL got me for my birthday two years ago went. Next the car got it…the two sets of sunshades that sat in the car unused forEVER – TRASH!!! Then, the “appliance graveyard” in the kitchen. Threw away the wok (I couldn’t cook an entire meal in it for my family anyway…I’d need three woks to cook that much food). Threw away the waffle maker (I buy frozen waffles…I haven’t used it in years, plus it was gross-how embarrassing!). It’s nice, I like that “My life isn’t entirely a huge cluttered mess” feeling when you get stuff like that done! Today…my office, or at least a start on it anyway! No hanging onto things “just in case”!

I’ve made a new habit of making sure that I throw something away every day. I don’t need most of the stuff I’ve held onto and with everything that goes it gets a little easier to get rid of the next few things. Do I really need 3 years of back issues of 5 differnt magazines? Are the kids going to want to see EVERY paper they ever brought home from school? If I lose enough weight to fit into a size 8 again, I think I’ve earned new clothes!