DAY ONE: My 'Extreme Decluttering' Experiment



This armoire used to contain an
unused TV.  Now's its a pretty
new home for my shirts!

The weakened economy has Americans doing more than just learning to live with less income and gasoline. We are learning to live with less stuff. Being fanatical about cleaning and organizing, I enjoy scouring the internet for ideas and tips. On CNN’s website recently, I stumbled across an article about the latest trend of Extreme Decluttering. The article suggests pretending that you are planning to move overseas. What would you take with you? Of course, no one would lug everything in their home onto an airplane (or even pack and ship the stuff in crates). Naturally, planning such a move requires pairing down to the essentials.

I decided it would be like going on an extended vacation. What would I take? I started with hair and makeup products since that usually what I pack first. Like most women, my bathroom is full of products I don’t regularly use. Some are things I bought that didn’t work for me. Same thing happens with clothing and shoes. Although with those items, it’s usually that it goes out of style, doesn’t fit, or wears out. Then I thought about kitchen supplies. I’d probably just sell my stuff and buy new as it would likely be cheaper than shipping the old stuff. But still, I had all these extra items lying around my house that required storage that I didn’t use (and likely never would again). I had to wade through the extra items in my drawers, closets, and cupboards at times to get to the stuff I really need and use. It was silly, really, when I thought about it.

So how does one go about the seemingly enormous task of weeding out unused stuff? Even if I dedicated an entire weekend to the task, that would only cover the house. It wouldn’t touch the garden shed or the machine shed. There was just too much to do at once. Then I found a website touting a not-so-new concept called the Get Rid of a Thing a Day Challenge. Now, this was definitely a more realistic goal!

But what to pick for my first item? I considered our bedroom TV. Because of its smaller, poor quality screen, we rarely watched it. My husband and I agreed weeks ago that it and the cable TV receiver it uses could definitely go. Yet, they were still taking up valuable space in the armoire. So, while writing this blog entry, I got out of my chair and went to the bedroom. I unhooked the TV and the receiver and collected their remote controls. With help from our son, the stuff was hauled to my vehicle. I knew that would ensure I dropped the items off at Goodwill on my way to work Monday.

So, this is how my Extreme Decluttering experiment began. Where will yours begin? If you need help sticking to your goals, consider getting an Accountability Partner. I’m hoping that my husband or my sister will be mine. Already, I’m wondering what to pick tomorrow.