Spring Decluttering Challenge Update

How is it going? We are 1/3 of the way through the Spring Decluttering Challenge. I know a few people are joining me, so I hope you are keeping track of how many garbage bags of stuff you declutter. (You can read the initial post HERE.)

I have 6 bags so far! I have had a few cleaning binges, but most of it has just been done in one small area at a time. The goal is to work on at least one small area per day. It seems like a daunting task, but if you break it down it is not so bad!

I decluttered the linen closet one shelf at a time. I decluttered my clothing one or two drawers at a time. I decluttered my craft supplies one shoebox tote at a time.

Another thing that I am finding is that I tend to have too many baskets or totes sitting around to collect miscellaneous items. I am trying to get better about finding a home for these items and then getting the basket out of my house so that there is not another place for random stuff to accumulate.

I also have a basket of bags of stuff that need to go to other people. I am trying to be intentional about delivering those things and getting them out of here!

Finally, I am trying to be a little more creative and practical about storing the things we do need.

So, do you have any tips? Do you have any success stories to share? Go ahead and leave a comment!

Spring Decluttering Challenge

The early March weather lately has definitely been affecting and reflecting my current mood.  

The sun is shining today, but tomorrow there will be rain and snow and yuck.

I warned everyone at the beginning of this school year that I would probably be a sappy mess by this spring with so many changes coming. Of course, there are so many extra frustrations and challenges and curve balls I never saw coming. It is actually worse than I exaggeratedly predicted.

I am ready for spring.

I have sort of fizzled out of my decluttering spree this year. My general ambition level has been pretty low, but honestly, I am in a funk. I guess it is my heart that actually needs to let go of some stuff... guilt, bitterness, anger, frustration, sadness.

I am ready to tackle this. I need to take some clear steps forward and I know that cleaning out the junk in our house will make our home more peaceful. One thing that I can do is to make a conscious effort every day to work on decluttering one small spot in my house.

Spring Decluttering Challenge

Last week I got out the Easter decorations. This morning I redecorated the website and took down those icky snowflakes. I don't care if it is the beginning of March- I am declaring it to be spring. I need the renewal of spring.

I think we all do better when we encourage one another, so I am going to try to check in with facebook more regularly, for those of you who follow me there. (They have changed the algorithm again, so I don't know if anyone will even see my posts, but I will try.) I will probably do some updates on my instagram story, too.

I am also starting a challenge for anyone who wants to join me. The goal is to declutter one area each day. Keep track of how many garbage bags worth of stuff you throw out/donate/rehome. Estimating is fine. On May 7 I will do another blog post with a giveaway. Each bag purged will count as one entry. I don't know exactly what I am giving away yet. I didn't think that far ahead. Any suggestions?

Oh, and I am going to use the hashtag #springdeclutteringchallenge to keep track of my progress if you want to use it, too. It is long, but it appeared to be unused so it doesn't get mixed up with something else. I am almost never short on words anyway.

Ready. Set. Go.

How I Use My Happy Planner

Last year I jumped on the planner bandwagon.My sister-in-law loves hers and it looked really cute! My mom always had one to keep track of all of our school stuff, sports, and activities. She called it her "brain" which made it funny when it got lost and she was looking for her "brain." :)

My wall calendar wasn't cutting it and I was having a hard time remembering everything. Something had to change so I picked up a Happy Planner at Michaels (mostly because it looked cute).

I started out having no idea what to do with all of those boxes! I consulted my sister-in-law, the planner expert, and she gave me some ideas. One of her best suggestions was finding free planner sticker printables on Pinterest. (Of course now I have a whole board of them HERE.)  I print them on adhesive paper and cut them out with scissors. I was worried it would use up all of my ink, but my ink cartridge lasted a really long time, so it wasn't as bad as I thought.

As the year went on I gradually started to try new things and find ways to make the planner more useful to me.

That also changed depending on what life looked like at the time. Sometimes I used boxes to write out to do lists and sometimes I listed my accomplishments for the day (when it felt and looked like nothing was getting done). Sometimes I used planner boxes to write down little things that I wanted to remember and sometimes I used them as a gratitude journal, recording things that I am thankful for. Sometimes they recorded milestones, and sometimes I just added decoration because I felt like it.  

I got some adhesive pockets on clearance at Michaels and they are pretty nice for storing appointment cards, extra stickers, or little things I need to save.

I previously used a calendar to keep track of meal planning, but I incorporated that into my planner, too. It is handy to have everything in one place. I also kept track  of my decluttering progress with a post it note in the cover. So, after one full year of using my planner I think I am finally starting to get the hang of it. I like to use the top row to show what we have planned for the day- appointments, practices, birthdays, etc. In the middle row I write my to do lists or anything that I may want to remember. In the bottom row I write out our meal plan for the week.  In the side column I write out my major goals for the week. Besides the printable stickers, I like to keep some washi tape, coordinating pens, and a pair of scissors in a little jar on my desk. (The kids are always swiping the scissors, though!) The washi tape is handing for dividing boxes, sectioning off certain days (like a weekend for wrestling tournaments), or making the boxes smaller in case my printable stickers are not the correct size. I like to alternate the pen color that I use because it helps things stand out a little better for me to visualize and remember. (I used that trick for taking notes in college.)

I also learned that it is a good idea to grab your new planner as soon as the store starts carrying the new line for the following year. They got really picked out and it took me 3 or 4 trips to Michaels to finally find mine. (It was like it magically appeared! It was NOT there before!) I really love the color scheme of this one, so I plan on trying to match my stickers as much as possible. (Although, I might get tired of it and change it up later- we'll see!)

I also decided to try putting my craft-related stuff in a Mini Happy Planner. I hope it isn't a pain having two planners, but I felt the need to compartmentalize. Does that make sense? The layout is a little different. I am officially hooked on this whole planner thing!

Do you have a planner? Do you have any tips or preferences? I am always looking for new ideas!