Downsizing!

 After the sucessful garage sale this year, I was left still burdened by the abundance of stuff we still had in our garage rental that we hardly ever used. It was almost always cold outside, raining or dark when I felt the urge to purge and I wasn't a fan of any of those conditions, which made it difficult to get things done. As a result, I brought all 42 boxes inside. I wanted to be able to go through them but at the same time it was overwhelming having it all available all at once; Not to mention cluttering our space and being an eye sore. I probably have moved everything inside and back out at least twice before I decided to bring it all back in again. I knew if I wasn't around it then my chances of steady progress would be slim.

I had purchased 10 more bins making it 52! Those filled up fast I tell you. After getting that job 6 months prior, I was buying a lot of new things. While part of it was good, it probably wasn't the best idea while trying to downsize. I did learn from it though and I tried the "one in, one out" method. Although, that really should be a 'one in, three out' method.

Anyway, around Christmas time I was jolted with energy and determination. I was going to do something about these bins that were sitting around stressing me out. So here's what I did. I took one week and went through bin after bin asking myself these simple questions. 

Is this something we use?

Is this something I love? 

Is this adding value to my life?

If the answer was no, it was gone!

Still to this day, I struggle with giving to Thrift Stores before offering my stuff to my friends and family. I know that even though I don't want certain things, others do. I know some things are really nice too so I like to offer it first. I would hate for my family or friends to have to thrift and pay for things that I donated; It's a struggle.

As Christmas was approching, I had a great idea. I was going to hold a purging party! I called it "The Great Purge". I was trying to downsize and I thought it would be a great opportunity for others to downsize as well. They could bring their stuff (if they wanted), hang out and take a look through mine. Anything left over was going to be packed into a giant box that I had and taken to the thift store for donation the next day. Plus, there was going to be a dessert competition. The winner could steal one thing they really wanted that someone else got at the end. It was exciting.

I managed to fill 15 bins of stuff to get rid of. I then organized it all so my friends could go through the stuff easier. 

Take a look!

&

Only one friend showed up the day of the party. She got first dibs on everything so I guess it was a win for her. She got a lot of nice stuff I had; Expensive stuff too. She brought some stuff over as well, so I got to pick through clothing for my daughter, and for others who were expecting kids soon. We enjoyed each other's desserts and It was a good time visiting.

The following day another friend of mine came by and checked out what was left. She got what she wanted and finally I was content. I could finally pack up the leftover stuff for donation; And that's what I did. I packed it all up and dropped it off at the thrift store. Except... It wasn't all of it! While packing, I kept a bin of things I felt someone else might still want. Now that it's been sitting around, I know not to do that again. It went nowhere.

Overall, downsizing that week felt amazing. I emptied a ton of bins and that put me one GIANT step closer to sucess for my family. Christmas that followed wasn't too terrible. We made a lot of progress with downsizing beforehand so the new things mostly were okay. To keep things under control, I keep a "Pass-It-On" bin to fill with unwanted, unused, and unloved things. I've filled 5 since then and for the sake of progress, I want to fill more. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed by clutter around you or find yourself always cleaning up when all you want to do is relax for once, I strongly recommend looking into downsizing. For most of us, our stuff owns us. It's time to turn this around and own it!

Until next time, 

                         Danika