While I have no problem getting rid of things, I am typically the get in the purging mood and get it done all in one day or an intense few hours or not at all type of purger. This is how it went attempting to do it daily:
Day 1 (Monday, January 2) - Large box of cardboard recycles
Day 2 (Tuesday, January 3) - Small Target bag of bathroom trash
Day 3 (Wednesday, January 4) - Basket of dog stuff the lived at the front door forever - most of it was crap aside from the poop bags and leashes, so I got rid of it because it's a place for people to crap up. I ordered a wall hook from Amazon instead.
Day 4 (Thursday, January 5) - One large box of wine glasses for donation.
Day 5 (Friday, January 6) - I set aside two pair of shoes when putting away a newer pair of shoes from Christmas that had not gotten a home yet.
Day 6 (Saturday, January 7) - I do something I never do, which is to cherry pick shit to get rid of. While putting away laundry, I pluck two sweatshirts I rarely wear and drop them on the shoes from last night. While doing a pass through the spare room I grab two fancy hats that haven't been touched in years and add them to the pile. That'll do for a medium sized paper shopping bag.
Day 7 (Sunday, January 8) - Kitchen towels sorted and set aside for donation, as well as two chalkboards hanging on the side of the china cabinet.
Day 8 (Monday, January 9) - It was negative eleventy degrees, I had hives, and I came home and took benadryl and went the fuck to sleep.
Day 9 (Tuesday, January 10) - Sorted old baseball hats for donation.
Day 10 ( Wednesday, January 11) - More hives. More benadryl. More early sleep.
Day 11 (Thursday, January 12) - Shitcanned a bin of cleaning products in the coat closet, where it has lived for years but never truly belonged, and put the still usable stuff down in the basement with the rest of the cleaning stuff.
Day 12 (Friday, January 13) - I went through the dog meds bin and got rid of a bunch of old dog meds.
Day 13 (Saturday, January 14) - I added some old candle holders to my donation box.
Day 14 (Sunday, January 15) - Upstairs freezer purged and reorganized, got rid of a small bag of food that was beyond its expiration date.
Day 16 (Tuesday, January 17) - One small plastic grocery bag of miscellaneous wrapping crap for trash
At about day 18, I was resentful of the daily task. It's not sustainable for me because the urge to purge does not strike every day. I also don't think in numbers when it comes to how many boxes or bags I want to get rid of - I want to get rid of stuff that doesn't get used, isn't loved, or is not beautiful in my space. I don't want to get rid of things just to say I did. Through the remainder of the month, I packed old dog costumes for donation, purged my nail polish, and set old towels aside to be donated to the animal shelter.
What type of purger are you? Small and measured or when the mood strikes?
I think you did awesome & found what worked for you. We like to have a good purge every 3 months or so and create a free box that goes so quickly in our neighborhood LOL! xo, BIana -BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteVery nice. I have purge moments, too. We have a very close clothing and shoes bin that is easy to get to. I can zip in and out.
ReplyDeleteWhat you do after a very long work day is admirable. Goddess speed for a very happy day! Love. Your. Momma. 💖✨☮🦄😇🗽🍀🇺🇸❤️🏖🌊☀️🙏🦋🌏🌎
I'm a mood strikes purger for sure. It's hard to get in that mindset everyday for me. Sounds like you got a lot accomplished though!
ReplyDeletei have 4 bags ready to be donated to a shelter for the homeless and looking forward to dropping them off...there's some really good stuff in there and i crocheted some extra things for men and women.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could do every day either. Too much pressure. You did get a lot done even in just the 17 days! I'm a cherry picker as you called it most of the time. As I do the laundry I will pick things out that I don't wear and set them aside in a large garbage bag. Once the bag is full is when I call the Vets to come pick up. There are a few times a year where I just start throwing everything out though.
ReplyDeleteI am the exact same way. when i get in the mood to purge it is a beautiful thing and i just go with it. but if the mood isn't there it's more just annoying to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a when the mood strikes purger for sure. I go through phases. You lasted longer than I would have!
ReplyDeleteI'm a DO IT ALL TODAY or a not-at-all purger. Sometimes I would get overwhelmed by how much needed purged that I would legitimately just avoid it and then stress about it- ha. I've got problems ;) But a few months back when we knew we'd likely be moving I got into a much better weekly routine of trying to get rid of things. I leave a box or tote by the front door and try to add a few things to it each week that need donated. That is helpful to me! I might try a 30 days challenge or something too. I've got a few things saved where it tells you what area of the house to work on each day and I might try it just to mix things up and maybe make me see things I didn't realize we had.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm somewhere in the middle. I like to do it when the mood strikes, but I also like having an end goal to works towards, like either the time frame or the bag requirement. I work better with perimeters, rules give me life haha. I couldn't do one bag each day either. I found myself working in sections and if a section (like John's car) gave me more than 1 bag, I let myself take off the next couple of days.
ReplyDeleteGo You!! It's always good to do a purge, and it sounds like yours has been pretty systematic.
ReplyDeleteI live in an area where we receive postcards from the Boys and Girl Clubs or Vietnam Veterans of America asking for donations. I try to have a couple of items out for them to pickup every time I get a postcard. Usually about once a month. I usually have a box in the basement labeled donations and as I come across things I want to donate I put them in the box. I used to be an all at once but then kids happened and I don't get to binge clean/sort like I used to. I miss it!
ReplyDeleteYou did an awesome job tackling your goal and I love your reason for stopping before the end of the month. If something isn't purposeful to you anymore, there's no point in keeping with it.
ReplyDeleteAt least you got a bunch done ... I'm more of the 'when the mood strikes' - or more like "when my house falls in on me"
ReplyDeleteHey, you made it half-way through January! I made it...two days.
ReplyDeleteYou did really well! That's more than most people do in a year. I tend to purge everything a few times a year. Jacob will randomly pick one spot that he just can't stand anymore and take care of it at once. It was the medicine cabinets last weekend. We still had infant Tylenol for the kids. Ha!
ReplyDeletei had to laugh at day 8. i also have never done the cherry picking thing.
ReplyDeletewhen you first talked about this, i was like yeah that sounds great! but i think i'd come to the same realisation that you did. i love when the urge to purge hits me and i go through my house like a cyclone really analysing things. i don't think i would do well 'forcing' myself to do a bag every day.
I am with you, I have to be in the mood to purge so I wouldn't be able to do it every day. I say at least you got rid of unnecessary stuff this month! That is a win in my book.
ReplyDeleteI have so much crap to purge, this post inspired me to get it done!
ReplyDeleteHow do you get rid of nail polish? That's first on my list but I don't know if I should just throw it out or if there's a special way I should do it. Recycle? Freeze?
I am definitely a when the mood strikes purger. And when it does, look the fuck out because nothing is safe.
ReplyDeleteI previously have always been a let's purge all the stuff on a Saturday type of person, but with my busy schedule it just was no longer feasible. So I've started doing a little at a time. Not necessarily an everyday thing, but at least once a week, I pick a spot in the house and have been purging and re-organizing. It has been amazing, and even though most people probably can't tell the difference in my linen closets lol, I'm so much happier. It's also been nice to check stuff off a list of things to do. :)
ReplyDeleteI should really do this challenge! I've been organizinga lot in the last few weeks. It sounds like you are doing an awesome job. Do you feel a lot better?
ReplyDeleteI'm still amazed by how many boxes/bags you were able to get rid of! That's still awesome, but I know what you mean about needing the inspiration to strike!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a purge when the mood strikes kind of person. I will go on a rampage for a day or two and get rid of a TON of stuff, and then not do a big purge again for months.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you did a great job from day to day but yes you have to stop somewhere. Depends how much shit you have but I tend to purge every 6 months or if we're moving home then a huge purge is done. Otherwise, I think I'm down to the basics except the baby books and old school crap my mom keeps sending me. I guess that's her way of purging.
ReplyDeleteI'm ALL about when the mood strikes. Every day is a great idea, but every day is rarely sustainable.
ReplyDelete17 days strong-ish is pretty good. I'm a purge-while-the-iron's-hot kind of gal, so I think I'd struggle with 30 days straight of cleaning. Plus, I tend to purge when my emotions are low, otherwise I struggle... lol.
ReplyDeleteI am an impulse/opportunist purger. If I tell myself to do something (ANYTHING), the committee filibusters me into failure.
ReplyDeleteI still think you rocked it! That's a lot of stuff that found a new home. I tend to be spur of the moment AND measured. I'll know I want to do a purge and will then schedule a pickup. That's my deadline so anything that goes in the box/bag up to that date gets purged. Or I'll just start a box and when it's accumulated enough stuff, I call them to pick up.
ReplyDeleteWow, I love the idea of it though I don't think i could do it either. I'm impressed you made it to day 18! That in itself is incredible.
ReplyDeleteI'm when the mood strikes, and it often strikes at such weird times. My Feb to do list is to deal with my two junk kitchen cabinets and a box of "to keep" wedding-related shit that needs to be either inserted in a scrapbook or thrown away.
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I'm definitely a when the mood strikes kind of girl... And when that happens? BEWARE OF ALL THINGS NOT NAILED DOWN... lol
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