Dreams of simplicity

OK, I said I wasn't going to write every day, but I'm just so darn excited about this new "challenge" that I've given myself! :)

So I've read Miss Minimalism: Inspiration to Downsize, Declutter, and Simplify, by Francine Jay. It only took me two nights to get through it. Not a very impressive feat; it's only 133 pages.

Turns out that that "one item a day" idea I had, well she does that also. Cool! So I've decided to try to do that all while doing a more important decluttering.

What I got rid of so far:
  1. A bag of clothes donated to Value Village
  2. A book I gave to a friend
  3. A curling iron I never use anymore
  4. Candle holders that I gave to my mother
  5. A tablet that I gave to my mother
  6. An extra kettle
I have dreams of simplicity. Dreams of getting rid of enough stuff so that when my mom moves out into her own place (possibly this summer), my daughter and I can move to a smaller apartment instead of renting the townhouse we currently live in. It's too big, too expensive, and I don't want to shovel and mow the lawn anymore. I figure that I could probably easily save 200$ to 300$ in housing costs if I move into a smaller apartment. That is a potential savings of 3,600$ a year!!! And, if I move to where I'd like to, I'd probably start taking the bus to work. So more savings there. I might be able to save up to 500$ a month in housing and transportation expenses, for potential savings of 6,000$ a year!!!! Like come on!!! I HAVE to do it!!!

So the plan is to get through the clutter by this summer. I'M SO EXCITED!!!

This Saturday, I will devote 4 hours to decluttering. I must be ruthless! I want to start with my home office area. I've been wanting to tackle this for a while now. I don't think it will take me the full 4 hours to work through my things there, but then maybe it will if I go all in and actually scan any of the paperwork I want to keep to store it digitally instead of in file folders. If it doesn't take me the full 4 hours, next will be my linen closet. I've already gone through it once not too long ago. But I'm sure I could pare things down even more.

I think I may be more excited about this than I was with the Whole30! However, I am planning on doing another Whole30 very soon. It just makes sense for me to keep eating that way. Why? Well because I felt good on it! What better reason is there than that?

I am considering doing before and after photos of my decluttering. I am a little embarrassed to show anyone the before shots. But I figure if I post the after shots at the same time, we can all rejoice in my accomplishments, right? :)

My next blog post probably will be after my Saturday 4-hour decluttering session. YAY!!

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