August Declutter Challenge

I participated in a month-long declutter challenge over at Organizing Queen. Each week, I posted pics of the stuff I'd decluttered, and it was a great experience!

I have a lot more work to do in this house. As most of my readers know, we moved from a larger, suburban home in Atlanta to a smaller in-town place here in Toronto, and didn't really downsize all that much before we moved. We have MUCH less storage space here, and so we are paring down our stuff across the board.

It feels really good to become lighter as a household. In many ways, it's similar to losing weight. There are huge psychic benefits to getting rid of stuff, both the hidden, stored things and the visible, out-in-the-open possessions. The house is becoming calmer and more inviting. It's certainly easier to clean and maintain, although we wont' see the full benefit until a lot more clearing out takes place, particularly of some furniture items that we are realizing simply HAVE to go.

I also need to make a more concerted effort to get rid of books and craft supplies.

I will likely continue to post my weekly efforts as the documenting of my activity is very motivating. For those who'd like to join me, there is an excellent decluttering calendar over at My Simpler Life in the sidebar. She suggests an area of the house each day to focus on. This is great particularly if you're feeling overwhelmed about the extent of the clutter issue.